The “No DRM” PS4 campaign is about to add the Xbox One as it enters phase two.
One of the little known backbones of gaming culture has always been used games. The prices charged for new games tend to be on the high side, spanning anywhere from $50 to $80 or higher, depending on whether or not you get collector’s editions or director’s cuts. Used games have allowed gamers on a budget to still enjoy the games we love without having to break our bank accounts in the process.
However, Sony and Microsoft have both planned to use DRM (digital rights management) to regulate used games, even charging the full price of the game to play it on a different machine. This could kill the gaming community as we know it, especially in hard economic times such as this.
NeoGAF member famousmortimer began the infamous #PS4noDRM hashtag to combat the problem on the PlayStation 4, and made it very clear to Sony how we feel. He urges gamers to keep it up, even if we don’t direct our tweets at Sony employees themselves. After all, how likely are you to agree with someone who nags you constantly?
As it is, the “No DRM” campaign will not end any time soon. In fact, it is expanding to include the Xbox One. Microsoft has been ignoring customers on the most part as they build what they think we want in the next generation console. Microsoft has been planning to make it so that in order to play a used game, you have to pay them the full game price, due to DRM controls. This will only make it so the rich will be the only ones who can afford to play Xbox One games, new or used.
The way they managed used games on the Xbox 360 actually worked just fine. All we had to do was insert the disc to play the game, even if we had it installed on the hard drive. If you didn’t have the disc, you couldn’t play the game. Simple and inexpensive.
The gamers at The Inquisitr fully stand behind the “No DRM” campaign, as we know it may be the only thing that keeps the gaming industry alive after the launch of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On Wednesday, June 5 at 9am EST/5am PST, the second phase of the campaign is planned to commence. We want to put a bug in the ears of everyone in gaming development before E3 2013.
A campaign member who wished to remain anonymous has stated, “We’ve spread the word and contacted as many gaming/press sites as possible. We’ve also got the message out through supporters on twitter to get as many people as possible participating. We believe that with E3 on the horizon it is important to make a second push and let our voices be heard again.”
Make the hashtags #PS4NoDRM and #XboxOneNoDRM trend that day and keep your tweets polite. Let your voices be heard and perhaps we can save the future of console gaming.
Will you help with the second phase of the “No DRM” campaign for PS4 and Xbox One?