As in Dejà Vu of 2013, the public is once again talking about DRM and Xbox . During the weekend, Xbox Live servers suffered a series of problems. Among them, it was mentioned that it was impossible to access digital games, even if these were one player. For many, this is similar to the controversy that the company lived at the beginning of the Xbox One generation, where the DRM was something completely mandatory. To all this, What is DRM?
Digital rights management, or Digital Rights Management (DRM) in English, is a system to prevent unauthorized copies from digital content. We are talking about software that prevents piracy in digital services . There is not a single way to implement this. For example, Netflix prevents you from capturing screen, while other services block any way of recording from a PC or mobile device.
In the case of video games, this protection seeks a license associated with the user’s account and, if you find a coincidence, start the game. If you do not identify a license, the title does not start. In extreme cases, The DRM requires an active Internet connection at all times . In this way, “purchases” the digital rights of a game, and the platform of your choice manages them and everything that entails.
In addition to this, the DRM also manages elements such as Steam, Xbox and PlayStation trophies. However, not all platforms are designed to last forever, and that can cause some problems. This is something that basically all games have, But it is their implementation and limiting that vary depending on the platform. Along with this, consoles like Xbox ask that you be connected to the Internet for most of the time. This was a big problem during the beginning of the Xbox One, although this eventually decreased, the recent failures on Live servers show that there is always a risk.
If you want to play without the risks of the DRM, You can always choose to buy games in digital PC stores such as GOG, Humble Bundle and Itch.io, which do not have this safety measure. Similarly, developers can choose to sell games without DRM in Steam.
In related issues, you can learn more about the recent Xbox problem here. Similarly, the company’s response to this problem further enraged fans.
Editor’s note:
DRM can be seen as a necessary evil for many, but in reality it is just another way to protect the license that a person buys, and thus avoid piracy. The problem arises when the different companies, or Xbox in this case, force you to have an Internet connection at all times, instead of just checking the license when necessary.