The head of publisher and developer Paradox, which has its name on such well received titles as Mount and Blade and Magicka, has spoke out against DRM, suggesting that it's one of the worst things you can do to gamers, since it tends to punish those that paid to play in the first place, while the pirates get off without a hitch.
Speaking with Gamespot, CEO Fredrik Wester said: "It can punish players who actually bought the game. I remember buying Civilization III, and I couldn't install it because I had something else installed. I had to uninstall two different programs, change settings...it was a hassle."
The problem with it, he said, was that as it stands, pirated versions are often easier to download, easier to install and easier to play. They're just "more convenient," he said, claiming that his company was far more focused on creating a better alternative to piracy than he was in stopping them from downloading the games illegally.
"I have no idea how many of our games are pirated," he said. "We don't really have any intention of finding out or hunting these people. What we want to do is provide people who bought the game legally a better service. With frequent updates; good and convenient services; that's how we fight piracy. I hope it works. I keep my fingers crossed."
While this is always something great to hear from a CEO of a developer/publisher, it's fortunately something that we've started to hear a lot more from higher ups in the industry as of late.
Do you guys think this represents a turning of the tide in the DRM fight? Are we just a few years away from no games coming pre-fitted with DRM?
Image source: Wester's Twitter
