No DRM digital distribution sites:

http://www.gog.com/

http://www.abandonia.com/

http://www.humblebundle.com/

http://news.softpedia.com/news/DRM-Doesn-t-Stop-Piracy-Game-Content-Does-Good-Old-Games-Believes-237641.shtml

Origin account bans & Physical vs Digital.

Owning a game vs owning a license to play a game -- one that can be removed very suddenly. EA placed numerous forum account bans in 2011 that affected the games of the offending account.

EA Forum Ban.

Retracted.

Still a problem.

Mistaken ban + games blocked.

Documentation of ban ordeal. 

Digital distribution and content delivery software bring the question of owning a game vs paying for the ability to 'rent' a game to the forefront. Gaming lawyer Jas Purewal states;

"[....]he explains that the commonly taken position is that when we buy a boxed game, we own the DVD, but only have a license for the software on it. “A ‘licence’,” Purewal explains, “is essentially a limited personal right to use the software on certain terms and conditions – it doesn’t give you the right to e.g. sell/transfer/copy/reproduce the software.” [Walker, John. 2012]

However, the article goes on to note that with a physical DVD, we at least have some power over resale and ownership. However, in the digital distirbution market, there is no power over resale and at any time, the ability to play the games you've bought can be taken away.

In 2012, Valve changed their ToS to deny customers the right to a class-action lawsuit -- stating the only way to resolve a dispute is through an arbitration. Customers sent query in regards to what would happen if they did not wish to accept this new terms of service, and received the following response:

 
"Thank you for contacting Steam Support. We can permanently deactivate your account for you, remove any stored payment information and clear your Steam profile. Disabling your account will not result in a refund, as explained in the Steam Subscriber Agreement. The games in your account will not be accessible for future use. It is impossible to make your games available once your account has been deactivated and your information deleted or archived. Once we have permanently deactivated the account, we will not be able to reactivate the account upon a future request.

Please let me know if you would like to proceed." [Alderman, Justin. 2012]

Ubisoft DRM.

Do we own our Steam games?

Steam changes ToS, will remove games if customer doesn't accept.

Account disable.

Valve's ToS.

Valve sued in Germany.

 

Walker, John (2012). Thought: Do We Own Our Steam Games?. Available: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/01/thought-do-we-own-our-steam-games/. Last accessed 06/02/13.

Alderman, Justin. (2012). 0 Valve: Accept New Steam Subscriber Agreement Or Disable Your Account. Available: http://wegotthiscovered.com/gaming/valve-accept-steam-subscriber-agreement-disable-account/. Last accessed 06/02/13.

Steam submission

Unfortunately Steam's FAQ has changed since the release of Greenlight, so I can't really find out what the specific processes were before its release. However, it seems as though one of the first steps would be to email Steamworks about publishing at steamworks@valvesoftware.com.

Link to Steam FAQ.

Steamworks Brochure.

Content delivery software appeals to indie developers due to low to no costs for updating, activation, bandwidth, etc.

These costs and advantages apply to games on steam post Greenlight.

Microsoft's Indie Game section of XBL requires an annual membership fee to submit games, according to their FAQ.

http://xbox.create.msdn.com/en-us/home/faq

Indie Games & Content Delivery Software/Digital Distribution.

Potential essay title: How has content delivery software/digital distribution changed the games industry?

Another: The positive and negative effects content delivery software/DRM and digital distribution have had on the games industry.

After discussing my report with Sharon, I've decided to try an Industry Report in order to keep the writing style similar to previous essays.

Elaborating on some of the points I brought up in my presentation:

For indie developers, content delivery software such as Steam has been a godsend -- allowing them creative freedom where previously they may have found themselves restricted or held back by the demands of publishers, or even the systems they developed for. A recent example of these restrictions:

[Holmes, Jonathan. (2012), via Edmund McMillen's Twitter]

The final paragraph is most relevant to my research, though the entire quote stresses the problem indie developers have with publishing their games; themes and content can often clash with what a publisher or distributor feel is safe or appropriate for their consoles. This either stops the game from getting published entirely, or forces a change from the original vision of the game.

Other points:

Negative aspects of content delivery include:

• Privacy. EA's Origin underwent a lot of controversy after its original EULA was examined. Section 2 & 3 cause most of the issue.

"You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol Address), operating system, Application usage (including but not limited to successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware, that may be gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, dynamically served content, product support and other services to you, including online services,"

"EA may also use this information combined with personal information for marketing purposes and to improve our products and services," the section continues. "We may also share that data with our third party service providers in a form that does not personally identify you."

The Section 3 passage reads: "EA reserves the right to monitor communications on the Application and disclose any information EA deems necessary to (i) ensure your compliance with this License; (ii) satisfy any applicable law, regulation or legal process; (iii) protect the rights, property and interests of EA, its employees or the public. EA also reserves the right to edit, refuse to transfer and/or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in EA's sole discretion." [EA, 2011]

The EULA then goes on to note that if customers do not agree to these terms, they shouldn't install the application. However, as Origin is required to play some of the latest EA titles, gamers were left either submitting to the EULA or simply missing out on the games they want to play -- perhaps even after purchase.

This EULA was revised after a public outcry, and now includes a passage addressing customer concern and other amendments.

"EA knows that you care how information about you is collected, used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly," the document now reads. "Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and EA would never sell your personally identifiable information to anyone, nor would it ever use spyware or install spyware on users' machines."

"In addition to information that you give EA directly, EA collects nonpersonally identifiable (or anonymous) information for purposes of improving our products and services, providing services to you, facilitating the provision of software updates, dynamically served content and product support as well as communicating with you. The non-personally identifiable information that EA collects includes technical and related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol Address) and operating system, as well as information about your Application usage (including but not limited to successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware. As noted above, this information is gathered periodically for purposes such as improving our products and services, troubleshooting bugs, and otherwise enhancing your user experience." [EA, 2011]

There is no longer any mention of sharing information with third party users. However, this EULA still indicates that Origin will collect information on hardware and software unrelated to itself. To play their games, PC gamers are forced to install a piece of software they may or may not want.

• Centralization of games -- the good and bad.

There are positives to having all of your games in one central location. Ease of access, safety vs physical media (disc scratches, lost disc, etc), ease of updating for bugs and content patches. The negatives include enforced use of content delivery software for DRM purposes.

Chris Priestly on ME3 & Origin: 

"1) Will Origin be a requirement to play all versions of Mass Effect 3? (Digital and/or from a retail brick and mortar store)
Yes, Origin is required for all PC editions of Mass Effect 3, physical or digital." [Priestly, Chris. 2012]

Steam is similar in that certain games require Steam to be running, but others can be launched straight from their executable in the Steamapps folder. A list of games that require Steam to be running (and will launch the program if it is closed) can be found here.

• Death of game re-sale vs accessibility on any PC.

Games bought digitally via content delivery systems like Origin and Steam cannot be sold on later. They can, however, be redownloaded from the appropriate account and installed on as many machines as the consumer wishes. However, restrictions still apply on games that require the content delivery software to be running and signed into the appropriate account.

• What happens if the companies responsible for the software go bankrupt? 

There's a worrying lack of an official statement on this. The Steam forums indicate that Valve would release a patch to allow all installed games to be played without the Steam Client (or at least with it offline), but this is all third party whispers and the official source appears to have been lost. EA's Origin FAQ merely states "Origin is powered by EA, the leading publisher of the world's best games, and we're not going away anytime soon." [EA, 2012]

Holmes, Jonathan. (2012). Nintendo won't allow Binding of Isaac on the 3DS eShop. Available: http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-wont-allow-the-binding-of-isaac-on-the-3ds-eshop-222917.phtml. Last accessed 06/02/13.

EA. (2011). EA EULA Origin June Launch. Available: http://eacom.s3.amazonaws.com/EULA_Origin+_June+launch_.5.17.11.pdf. Last accessed 06/02/13.

EA. (2011). Origin EULA 8.24.11. Available: http://eacom.s3.amazonaws.com/EULA_Origin_8.24.11.pdf. Last accessed 06/02/13.

Priestly, Chris. (2012). Origin and Mass Effect 3. Available: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/8975536. Last accessed 06/02/13. 

EA. (2012). Origin Frequently Asked Questions. Available: https://help.ea.com/uk/article/origin-faq#18. Last accessed 06/02/13.

EA FAQ.

On Steam Bankruptcy.

Origin EULA Revision.

 Origin EULA article & discussion.

Links.

Saving these links for later once I pin down my report title.

Origin.

OLD.

XBL.

Game Technology.

Steam & Desura.

I chose to look into digital distribution software, specifically for the PC. This led me to focus in a little more on the opportunities that certain pieces software from this background have created.

While digital distribution had been a valid format for other forums of media since the 1980s, it didn't become a popular method of distributing games till the early 2000s. This was primarily due to bandwidth limitations relative to the size of the average game. Before then, there were a few attempts to create an online distribution service for games, the first of which was GameLine, which operated in the early 1980s and died during the video game crash of 1983. GameLine was used with the Atari 2600 to rent out specific games to users for 5 - 10 days.

During the 1990s and late 1980s, Nintendo and Sega released various peripherals for their consoles in order to enable online functionality, including the Famicom Modem, Satellaview and Randnet. These platforms were used to provide subscribers with extra content such as game cheats, connectivity with friends and occasionally a very small amount of DLC.

The PC platform granted easier access to digital distribution in this time due to the hardware already being available for online connectivity. However, there were no dedicated services for digital distribution and most content sharing was done from person to person in the form of user content.

In the early 2000s, digital disribution changed forever. Valve Corporation had encountered issues releasing patches and content for their online games. Releasing a patch would result in a disconnection for a large amount of their userbase for several days at a time. To counter this, they resolved to make a platform that would enable them to update their games automatically, while providing better anti-piracy and anti-cheat measures.

While Steam started out primarily as a means to provide updates to players for their games, Valve soon began making deals with independent and big name developers in order to bring their games to the platform. Social aspects were also included, allowing players to keep track of and talk to their friends in a streamlined format similar to instant messaging software like MSN and AIM.

This interface, accessible within games through the keyboard shortcut of shift + tab, brought the social aspect of couch or LAN gaming to games that were otherwise single player and cut off. Many gamers began outright abandoning other forms of instant messenger. Steam capitalized on this fact by providing everything a gamer would need on their one platform.

The Steam Workshop is a place to find user-generated content for games like Portal, Tf2, Scribblenauts and so on.

Dedicated distribution platforms like Steam began to create a very centralized, all encompassing and self-contained environment for games and communities that had previously been very spread out or even isolated. Games could be updated and updates applied smoothly and automatically, keeping security and stability intact with little effort from or disturbance to a player's experience. News sections kept players filled in on new and upcoming events on Steam and with Steam-related games, allowing games with little advertising of their own to step into the limelight. The indie community flourished in this environment, especially with the release of Steam Greenlight.

Steam Greenlight was released on August 30th of 2012, and allowed indie developers to put their game at the community's mercy for a small, one time fee. Using Greenlight, Steam users were able to vote on games that appealed to them and that they wanted to play. With enough votes, the game would be put on Steam as a fully fledged item in the store. This allowed indie developers to continue working under their own employ as they always had; without meddling from publishers or executives and, at the end of development, they were able to place their finished product on a platform responsible for an estimated 70% of the digital distribution market (in 2009). [Brad Wardell, 2009]

With the big franchises and developers not appealing to every section of the market, digital distribution platforms allow communities to play and support what they want to see. A big issue indie developers had was finding a publisher for their 'risky' and intuitive game ideas. Steam bypasses this issue, allowing indie developers to put their game straight onto Greenlight and allow the public to decide on whether or not they want it. With Steam collecting statistics for purchases (only available to game companies and secured with an NDA) and votes, hard evidence can be provided in regards to the popularity of each game and each genre, showing exactly what consumers wish to buy and see more of.

Games that may previously have struggled to sell have sold extraordinarily well on Steam. Terraria, a 2D adventuring/building game (think Minecraft) sold over a million units in a year. Demilogic via Youtube on 25 Nov 2011.

Another very similar platform to Steam is Desura. Desura, however, focuses more on the indie side of the games industry (and did so long before Greenlight existed). Desura provides much of the same essential functionality with Steam, and the developers do not view their program as a rival to Steam -- only a similar platform that focuses on another area of the market.

Developing games to place on Desura is transparent and easily accessible even to the average viewer -- the main software page dedicates a section to it.

Desura is more accessible to indie developers than Steam. This is both good and bad; less confident developers can get their game onto Desura more easily but have to compete with a fair few trash games for attention. Notably, unlike Steam, Desura does not use DRM where possible. In regards to games that require DRM (due to requests from publishers/devs), Desura will allow DRM and inform potential buyers of that fact before purchase. [Keith Poole, 2011]

Digital distribution for PC games has vastly improved the diversity and accessibility of what is immediately available to all levels of gamer. These platforms have helped raise awareness of many independent games and have, in some cases, been the cause of the of the success of individual games. In recent years, Valve has expanded Steam's reach onto the PS3 via Steamworks, allowing cross-platform play between PS3 and PC when playing Portal 2. The same will be available for Valve's Counter-Strike: GO, with the additional option of mouse and keyboard support in order to allow for equal play. [Mike Bendell, 2013] This brings once divided communities even closer together, allowing those who were once isolated on the PSN to communicate with gamers using Steam.

Digital Distribution Software and network platforms in general have allowed gamers to expand their horizons and friendship groups. Having developed software that focuses the community of a single console or platform, developers are beginning to focus more on the concept of cross platform play, further expanding the linked network of gamers and bringing an ever-diversifying library of games to the attention of more and more eyes.

Brad Wardell. (2009). Customer Report for 2009. Available: http://www.stardock.com/press/Reports/Stardock2009.pdf. Last accessed 03/01/2013.

Keith Poole. (2011). Interview with Keith Poole from Desura. Available: http://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?threads/interview-with-keith-poole-from-desura-part-2.503/. Last accessed 05/01/2013.

Mike Bendel. (2011). Valve Confirms Cross Platform Co-Op for PS3 Portal 2, Steam Copy Free With Purchase. Available: http://exophase.com/20856/valve-confirms-cross-platform-co-op-for-ps3-portal-2-can-unlock-copies-on-steam/. Last accessed 05/01/2013.

Research links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_%28software%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_live
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Live_Marketplace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desura
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_distribution_in_video_games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_video_game_development