I have recently bumped into a couple of interesting situations related with DRM that I think deserve a bit of analysis (I hear about them here in the forums, but I don't find the threads now, sorry). These are: the "DRM-free" system of GamersGate and the DRM-free system of Darkspore.

In the first case, the system works as follows. After you buy a game marked as DRM-free in GamersGate, you receive a game- (and maybe client-) specific downloader. When you run that downloader, it connects to your account and downloads the files to a temporary folder. When the download ends, the game is installed. After the installation, you can keep the temporary files for youself, but the installer is missing. Technically, this means that you have to connect to your account and, therefore, to GamersGate, every time you want to install the game. There is a simple bypass to this: you can hijack the installer (called "setup.exe") as soon as the installation begins and forget that GamersGate even exists afterwards. I contacted GamersGate on the situation and here is their answer: So, apparently, they don't consider it DRM, :/

In the second case we have Darkspore. Darkspore will be some sort of Diablo meets Pokemon thing. You can customize and develop various heroes that you will then use to combat in Diablo-style. According to Maxis, the game does not have DRM (rejoice!!), but it requires a permanent connection to the internet. As a moderator says, "think of it as an MMO", even if it isn't. Another say "you'll be able to play in any computer, because we keep your save files", but you cannot keep them yourself. The end result is that you need to connect to EA servers every time you want to play it and, knowing EA (remember C&C4), it is reasonable to think that they have made all the design decisions to make the game look as multiplayer oriented as possible. It is also important to remark that, as the game is tied to a single account (Online Pass), the game has zero resell value.

In both cases, the customer depends on the servers of the publisher/distributor to install/play their games, but in both cases they say the games are DRM free. At this point I don't even know if Darkspore is technically DRM free or not, but it doesn't really matter. They are shifting the debate on DRM to a debate on definitions and, as soon as they find a way to justify calling them DRM free everything seems to be ok. My opinion, and I hope most of gamers understand it this way, is that the core issue with DRM and DRM lookalikes is about control. I want my games independent of the distributors, mines to keep. That a game does not have a piece of software that could be called DRM is irrelevant if they find an alternative way to control my gaming.

What do you guys think about it?

GamersGate delivers DRM-free games without DRM, that you need a little piece of software to download it once is fine in my eyes.
It doesn't install anything and it's not needed if you want to install your games later on, it's just their way to protect their servers/bandwidth.
That being said, an option to copy the installer to another location or a 'just download the installer, don't install it' option would be more user friendly than having to copy the files yourself.

I live on a sailboat. I make a big fuss when I encounter a game requiring an internet connection. Believe it or not, a lot of the ocean still doesn't have Wi-Fi hotspots.

Technically speaking Darkspore sounds like it indeed has a pretty strict DRM. Your savegames are in a server, the game is tied to your account and you need a constant internet connection in order to play it. So yes, I'd say it has DRM.

GamersGate on the other hand requires only the installer to be run, while you can keep the files on your own computer and don't need an internet connection afterwards. And you can even bypass the system. I'd say GG is more in the gray area of DRM question and it really depends on the person, if it's considered DRM or not.

In the first case, if you can crack it that easily then it's not DRM, frankly. In the second case, it's most definitely DRM.

This is the way it's always been. Consumer's don't like something about the product or something has happened to negatively affect sales of the product? Cheapest option: keep the product the same but change the brand name. Works every time.

Best way to keep aware of these things is to make the information as prominent as possible

This is the future of DRM. Always online games singleplayer or not. If you want to be able to play your games in the future you'll just have to find workarounds to do so because the people who care about these games are 1% of the 99% who really don't give a fark if they can play the game a month from now vs 10 yrs from now.

I have an "uninhabited Island' method to determine if it is DRM or not.
After a shipwreck you are washed up onto an uninhabited island and the only thing that you have on your person is a game of your choice (it can be a physical edition or a backup of a digital copy on a cd).
After days of building a hut, catching fish an gathering fruit, a single box washes on the beach. In it is an intact laptop with its batteries full (just go with me here). The laptop has a clean install of operating system of your choice, it is updated to newest versions of directX and video drivers and obviously no internet connection (no other programs inside).
Rejoicing you grab the laptop, install the game and just as you take out the disc after the installation, a stray crab shuffles up to you, grabs the disc and breaks it.
A question: Can you play the game of your choice to the end with no problems?
YES. No DRM
NO. DRM.
As easy as that.

This is obviously some magic island where DirectX runs on OS X.

I had no headbutts with OSX or Linux so you will have to excuse me, but considering that many games do not work on those operating systems, they are exempt from my method.:-)

So I don't really know either of these games, but is Darkspore a single player game? If so, requiring a constant online activation should not be necessary and would definitely, absolutely be DRM.

As for GamersGate, the relevant question seems to be, do I need setup.exe to install the game on a new computer or partition? If I can simply copy the game content and play it without activation, then I don't really need the setup.exe and I can use a copy of the full game as backup. Hunting down files installed and required by the game strewn all over the file tree like system files and the like where I don't a priori know that they exist or what they're called might be considered DRM by inconvenience, but that's about as bad as you can call that. :P If I can simply burn the game's folder to a DVD or copy the game's folder to an external hard drive and I have the full, playable game with no downloading required, then yes that's fair to call it DRM-free. Why they would remove setup.exe from my local drive then would be puzzling, but not a problem.

If they require the installer to be run for a game to be active somehow (i.e. I can't just find and copy the game files and have a perfectly working game), then I would indeed consider that to be a very, very mild DRM - especially due to the ease of the workaround.

EDIT: beliar's scenario while needlessly elaborate I think pretty much gets at the essential question. :)

Oh, I'm just teasing. I found it amusing that the choice is clearly Windows, Windows or Windows. Choose wisely.

You can choose DOS :-P

In case of Darkspore it's clearly a case of mislabeling. A copyright infringement of the term DRM free. :) Only DRM free products can be named DRM free! Sue them. Shame on them.

In case of Gamersgate I don't understand their answer. In no case I needed the downloader again. So it's wrong what they write. Unless they mean the first time. But that's okay. Being an online purchase, I need to download my purchases at least (and at most) once. So, I take them to their word that the games are really DRM free and continue using them as long as you don't need the downloader again. Should this be someday not possible anymore, then it would become a case of mislabeling. See first paragraph.

So all in all: +1

I can't believe people point that copying-the-install-file thing out to Gamersgate constantly. You are not the first to post about doing so. The more publicized that gets the more likely it is they will remove the option. STFU about it for God's sake.

As for Darkspore EA said the same thing about CnC4. They're stupid.