An eight person jury has let Apple off the hook in the iPod DRM class action lawsuit trial. The lawsuit aimed to force Apple to compensate those who bought specific iPods between 2006 and March 2009 after it was found that Apple was anti-competitively blocking and removing songs that were paid …
Read More »Ex-iTunes engineer admits Apple tried to block rivals on iPods
Apple is facing a pretty massive class action lawsuit at the moment over accusations that the company removed songs from customer iPods if they weren't bought from iTunes. Now an ex-iTunes engineer has testified, admitting that Apple did attempt to block music bought from competing services. Former iTunes engineer, Rod …
Read More »Apple iPod DRM lawsuit is falling apart
The class action lawsuit launched against Apple over iPod DRM is falling apart as new evidence has come to light, showing that the two named plaintiffs did not actually buy the affected iPod models covered by the lawsuit during the relevant time frame. This case pertains to anti-trust issues, claiming …
Read More »GoG’s DRM-free ‘Big Fall Sale’ begins
One of the best parts about GoG, is that whether you're buying one of the site's newest games, or its oldest, you get a DRM free installation that isn't beholden to some archaic software or login system. It's a beautiful experience for a PC gamer and it continues to be …
Read More »GTA V PC rumored to use Denuvo DRM service
It is rumored that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V will make use of the Denuvo Digital Rights Management service, the same one used by Lords of the Fallen and Fifa 15. DRM can be a touchy subject and can often make honest buyers feel punished with restrictions. …
Read More »GOG starts selling DRM free gaming documentaries
Digital distributor, GOG, has begun selling DRM free gaming oriented documentaries on its store. The company is hoping that eventually it will be able to convince hollywood studios to sell DRM free versions of TV shows and movies through its store, although so far the talks have been unsuccessful. GOG.com's North …
Read More »Borderlands update paves way for Steamworks
Borderlands is the latest title to be saved from the Gamespy shutdown as a new update removes the title's SecuROM DRM and paves the way for Steam Works integration. Right now Borderlands is a multiplayer-less game but co-op will soon be making a return for those who still play. The …
Read More »Paradox CEO agrees with you: DRM stinks
There's very few CEO's of gaming publishers that ever sound like actual fans of gaming. You might hear them talk at an E3 presser about how they like to shoot some guns using their joysticks or whatever the kids use these days, but very rarely do you hear one that …
Read More »Games for Windows Live isn’t shutting down after all
It turns out that Microsoft's Games for Windows Live PC gaming service isn't going anywhere, despite many assuming that it was being killed off. Even developers thought it was shutting down at the start of July as plenty of games switched from Microsoft's service to alternatives like Steam Works. Rumors …
Read More »Ubisoft admits that DRM doesn’t stop piracy
Yesterday we reported on GOG.com's thoughts on DRM and how the industry needs to move away from it. Today in the aftermath of that discussion, Ubisoft has admitted that DRM doesn't actually prevent piracy and thinks that more companies should focus on making games that people want to pay for …
Read More »GOG: Gamers are not criminals and do not need DRM
Should the video games industry rid itself off Digital Rights Management (DRM)? According to GOG North America boss, Guillaume Rambourg, it absolutely should. GOG has always taken a negative approach to DRM, in-fact no game on the store is allowed to include any form of rights management. DRM is used …
Read More »Square Enix sees DRM as a way to maximise profit
DRM is a controversial topic in gaming. Our console cousins don't tend to be too bothered by it, since it's rare it ever causes problems on those closed systems, but on the PC, where supposedly the master-race does their gaming, DRM is abound. Some companies like Ubisoft have stopped the …
Read More »Gabe Newell denies Valve collecting browser data
The past 48 hours have been a hotbed of roiling trust issues over in the Reddit Steam community, as one user claimed to have proof that Valve's anti-cheating software, VAC, was sending browsing history data back to Valve servers and effectively tracking all Steam gamers. However, now Gabe Newell, Valve's …
Read More »Metal Gear Rising PC won’t work offline at the moment
Update: The offline mode issue has now been patched Yesterday we saw the release of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on Steam, almost a year after the game's release on consoles but unfortunately a lot of buyers are already facing problems getting the single player game to launch in Steam's offline …
Read More »Some of Assassin’s Creed IV single player requires online pass
This generation has had some pretty anti-consumer and terrible DRM policies trialled over the past few years, and Online passes probably land somewhere near the top of the list. But even after EA realised its mistake and got rid of them, Ubisoft is still using them. If you were planning …
Read More »Xbox One day one update will take about 20 minutes
Microsoft dug itself into quite a hole earlier this year with its Xbox One reveal. It wasn't so much that every idea was bad, family sharing would have been pretty cool, but other than that all of the restrictions and privacy concerns with Kinect just didn't seem worth it. After …
Read More »No online DRM for Sims 4
Yesterday at Gamescom, EA Games and Maxis debuted a trailer for their highly expected Sims 4 game, set for release later this year. However, it wasn't all nude shower patches and make-believe-languages, some people were worried that we'd see the same sort of forced-online DRM that we had with Sim …
Read More »New ebook DRM surfaces in Germany
While gamers might complain about DRM ruining games, readers might soon be saying the same when it comes to ebooks, as a German research group has just invented a new method of locking down digital copies of the world's novels, by injecting them with text and punctuation changes. The technique …
Read More »EA Games is ditching online passes
Thank god. EA Games has announced that due to its player base not really taking it up on the offer of paying for games' multiplayer content, after they bought the game second hand or borrowed it from a friend, that it was dropping the much hated Online Pass system. “We're …
Read More »SimCity is taking a beating for always-on DRM
The latest version of SimCity has only been out for a couple of days, but it's already drawn a lot of flak from gamers. Initially it was because the servers were intermittent at best and now it's because EA took them down in order to improve stability. Of course none …
Read More »BBC supports idea of HTML DRM
The BBC, an organisation that in the past has championed open standards – according to their own blog – has pledged its support for the W3C proposal put forward by big media giants last week, in an effort to have the standards group push for DRM restrictions on HTML. The …
Read More »HTML could soon have its own web based DRM
While it seems to be uncertain at the moment if it'll become a standard – here's hoping not – the possibility of adding DRM to HTML is being talked about as a very real possibility in the near future. Known as the Encrypted Media Extensions proposal, the project is already …
Read More »Humble THQ Bundle raises stock price and millions of dollars
THQ hasn't had a good run of things in the past year, with stock price problems, studio firings, game sales below expectations and more. However, one bright spot in the murky waters has been the new Humble THQ Bundle, which has seen over $3 million generated in the past few …
Read More »DRM for 3D printing gets the go ahead
Those that produce DRM are never really considered to be ahead of the game. In almost every instance it's a reactionary measure designed to provide a level of ass-covering for higher ups in a company that isn't really aware of how easy it will be circumvented. However when it comes …
Read More »How many times should you pay for the same content?
Vince Cable's announcement that some format shifting would be allowed, in law, by the end of this session of parliament – finally allows the corporations the chance to operate in an intelligent way. KitGuru believes that the real question is actually, “How many times should you pay for the same …
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