On the 29th, Stardock announced “The Gamer’s Bill of Rights“, a list of ideals for PC gamers that publishers should all adhere to (fuck you Electronic Arts).
The Gamer’s Bill of Rights is as follows:
- Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
- Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
- Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
- Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
- Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
- Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
- Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
- Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
- Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
- Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.
While I haven’t been a PC gamer for a few years now, I think this is a step forward in making DRM for PC games a lot more bearable and a lot less oppressive. I hope more publishers take note, because let’s face it, nobody’s even heard of Stardock. They’re a nobody trying to get some people on their side by picking up on something gamers care about – digital rights management being a huge unnecessary piece of shit.
Source: Stardock.com
Image shamelessly stolen from Edge.