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In most circumstances innovation in gaming would be a good thing, yet this week id Software Creative Director, Tim Willits, proved that this is not always the case when he unveiled the DRM regime for his highly anticipated title, Rage, in an effort to criminalise the used-game consumer. The single-player portion of the game is to be dotted with numerous hatches and bunkers which may be entered to find loot and other rewards – or at least this will be the experience for the gamer who purchases a new copy of Rage – used consumers will be able to find these hatches but will not be able to open them, leaving them out in the cold. To put this into perspective for Lusipurr.com’s weeaboo readers, this would be akin buying a used copy of a Final Fantasy game and not being able to open any of the chests.
One might wonder what mind could have created such a cruel apartheid system for segregating players based on arbitrary consumer preferences – and they would need look no further than the priorities of Tim Willits to sate this query. When questioned on the merits of ‘always-on DRM’, Willits had this to say: “If you have a juggernaut, you can make change. I’m all for that. If we could force people to always be connected when you play the game and then have that be acceptable, awesome.”
While Rage may not be the type of game which typically excites the majority of the Lusipurr.com readership, this should nevertheless be sobering news for anyone planning on picking up a used copy of parent company Bethesda’s latest entry in their seminal Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim. It is uncertain whether id Software developed this punitive DRM regime of their own volition, or according to the directives from head office.
