When I wrote the post I didn't realise it was an old thread, the thread came up in a search and I didn't pay attention to the post dates until after I made the post. My apologies.

I only hate DRM for the risks of it impacting the longevity of games, i.e. a game being playable in 20 years or more. I regularly play old as heck games so the longevity of the games I buy is important to me.

Cracks and such can do what publishers refuse to, which is keep games playable, but they're not as good as real support from the publisher. Almost every complaint I have about DRM would go away instantly if all publishers removed all DRM 2 years after release of the game as a rule.

DRM is the least of your issues there. I can't play half of my old games because of hardware issues.

If you get Hexplore running in Windows XP or 7, let me know. Would love to finally finish that WITH internet guides to find all secrets.

EDIT: Ok, found a patch.
http://www.kamia.de/ejo/HEXPLORE%20FIX/Hexplore%20Update%20for%20modern%20PC%27s.rar

I have a very similar question:

What is the booty and how will I know if I'm shaking it?

It's another issue, is the point. Also my success rate is about 90% higher than yours.

Folks wrote longer posts 4 years ago. Bookmarking till I have a few hours to read a couple of those on the fp.

I hate DRM because of activation limits or online activation. It's hard enough to keep a game you like running because of OS and hardware changes. Putting DRM in the mix puts the control in the publishers hands.

Can you imagine needing and account and activation with each record label or studio that sells music or movies on itunes?

That's what it's like to buy games from Kalypso, Reality Pump, Focus Home or Ubisoft. Not only do you need a Steam account you also need an account with the developer so that they can have total control.

What REALLY ticks me off though is when good publishers like Projekt Red remove their DRM but then have to report that their game was pirated 5 times more than it sold copies.

The more interesting question (but harder to answer) would be: How many times was it pirated in relation to a similarly popular game that was only sold with DRM on it?

From what I've seen, the numbers are usually reported to be 9:1 for piracy rates of games, no matter what DRM they have.

Why do we hate it? Because that's what all the cool kids are doing.

Some practical issues as mentioned numerous times in this thread and elsewhere, and some issues concerning the basic ideals of ownership and long-term play. Both valid. However, some care and some don't. For those folks who don't bump up against the limitations that DRM can present, many probably won't really care one way or another until it actually impacts their attempts to play a title they've purchased.

I hate it for my own reasons. It's my game. I paid for the farking thing. I do what I want

And it did turn out to be a big if.

You don't, unless it's open-source. You're a slave of license, whatever you do. Muhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!