Because you have to retype you CD-Key everytime you start a game?

No... it's more equal to you being forced to actually use the key (code) your landlord gave you, on the (key)-lock he has on the door to prevent thieves and other unwanted people from getting into his house that he is renting to you...

Aside from the fact that I don't know of a single game where you have to type in the CD key every time you start the game, I was talking about the authentication key that is returned in the challenge-response authentication system used in pretty much every type of copy protection and DRM.

The problem lies in where you need to get the response from. With disc-based protection, the response needed was on the disc, which you always have on hand. With DRM, the response the authentication system needs is on a remote server, the availability of which is completely out of your control.

So you prefer disc based checks?

I personally like not having to change the freaking disc everytime I switch games. I don't hate DRM out of princible, I only avoid the once that actually bother me.

He seems to have some innate problem with the lack of control over it, even though in practice he may barely ever suffer any negative consequences to it.

I prefer any type of check that doesn't depend on an external service. Even the dreaded manual/code table copy protection of the 90s (joy oh joy) - horrible and time-consuming as it was - is preferable to online checks, simply because the means were always at your disposal.

Yeah, and in the midst of your condescending tone did you help stop to wonder why I want control over it? I've had problems with the online DRM of countless games, usually attributable to my key being stolen or the servers being down.

Or did you seriously fucking think that I had never had any games with DRM?

this is what seems to be the issue with most gamers who are vocally anti-DRM.

in practice, gaming hasn't changed much at all, and certainly not for the worse.

the fact that i no longer need to play disc jockey is a huge plus. the fact that i can download a copy of my disc-based game from Steam or Origin is a huge plus as well.

what's so inconvenient about a simple online activation? you only need to activate your game once per installation. keep it installed for months or even years. it's a ridiculously small effort on your part. if this is enough to put you off gaming, you've probably never been truly into it in the first place.

that does not sound very credible, TBH. or you must have been extremely unlucky. but really, "countless" games? key "usually" stolen or servers "usually" down?!?
or perhaps you've simply bought a lot of UbiSoft games...

Can you explain to me what part exactly was condescending? Because I'm not native English and wasn't aware any of that sentence was.

And I did use the word 'may'. I did not state you didn't.

Usually attributed to your keys being stolen (part)? How often did that happen? Servers being down is naturally a pain which is why I preferably don't endorse Always-Online DRM either since those basically kicked you out of game if you lost your connection even for a bit.

It's not normal to be so socially awkward your friends are commercial products you then get overly emotionally attached to. Also therapy can be awesome, I'm a big fan of it.

Where did you buy the games? And where they new?

In my local Saturn people got fired because they opened and resealed boxes to get some promo items. Only because it's "shirnkwrapped" doesn't mean it has never been opened. I once bought a shrink wrapped DVD with no disc inside ...

I bought Mass Effect in Media Markt, Two Worlds in Karstadt. Can't remember where I bought XBlades but it was new. It still has the €49.99 label on it so I think probably Media Markt. I got Company of Heroes new off Amazon, Speedball 2 from Real (amazing what games you can pick up there).

All of them were of course sealed and new, but as you say, sealed doesn't necessarily mean unpacked. I've had a couple of situations where the disc was missing. Media Markt is usually pretty good with that sort of thing, but Karstadt was unrepentant and refused to give a refund. Problems with discs missing or keys actually missing from the box are usually manufacturing errors. Keys actually having been used are the result of arseholes using keygens.

I very rarely buy used, unless a game is OOP.

(Edit: The only hilarious situations I've experienced with keys were Bad Company 2 - the Origin key to which Gamestop had unwisely decided to leave in the box on the store shelf - and Prey - which had the key printed on the plastic foil no less! Thankfully, those keys were alright)

Does sound like he either bought from a second hand store, a store with pretty bad employees or a store that was so ignorant to put the boxes with keys on the shelves. Either way that's a store issue, not the DRM itself.

For him all issues come together.

Actually I must have bought at least 100 games in boxes in my life never a single disc was missing or not working.

Although I remember once amazon sent me a wrong movie. I watched it and sent it back. 2 days later I had the right one. That was okay. Good service amazon.

Just my two cents... the only reason I buy digital games is if I can't find something in a store, which sadly seems to be the case more often these days. GameStop pushes consoles, and the actual selection of PC games is sadly laughable. Wal-Mart offers more and their selection isn't so hot either. I hate to think of the day when physical copies will no longer be an option, but I see it coming.

Innovations are great, but there comes a time when you innovate yourself right out of a job. It's funny, there's all this emphasis on profit at all costs - screw employees, screw customers, we found a cheaper way to do it and that's all that matters! - and you end up destroying the very thing that keeps you alive. Short-sightedness.

Gaming, unfortunately, has become a bandwagon onto which many people attempt to jump. As with many other things, a lot of crap gets pushed out there in the race to win the almighty dollar. People used to have jobs because they knew how to do things; these days any moron with a smart phone can push a few buttons and say "Hey! I made a game!"

In most aspects of my culture, the trend seems to be to move away from specialization and instead blanket everything with an "Anyone can do this!" attitude. It may seem fun for a few years, but in the end all we're going to do is push ourselves back to the Middle Ages (if we're lucky).

I guess my point is, I'm not sure if I should be afraid of or look forward to the future of gaming. I will always want to game, been doing it more than half my life, but I hope in the future it will still mean something.