'Some DRM is evil, Steam is not' argues Football Manager boss

August 15th, 2011, 22:21 Posted By: wraggster

Football Manager gaffer Miles Jacobson believes there' still "isn't really a DRM solution" and that "some DRM is evil".

The Steam DRM that Football Manager uses, however, is not evil and benefits the player in a lot of ways, according to the Sports Interactive studio director.

When we asked Jacobson about his thoughts on DRM and whether it was the right approach to combating piracy, he pointed out that the issue is far muddier than that:

"I don't think there is a right approach to how you handle piracy. I don't think there ever will be a right approach to how you handle piracy, but then I don't think piracy is right either."

When we suggested that DRM might be a lesser of two evils, then, he again said there were factors that made the whole issue far from being black and white.

"It depends which system you're using really," he replied. "Some DRM is evil, some isn't. I don't think that Steam is evil DRM, I think it's a really good helpful platform that gives a lot of benefits to the customer.

"But there still isn't really a DRM solution that works, there isn't one that stops people copying games. It's a difficult position for any developer to be in," he continued.

"Basically I would like nothing more than to not have to put any DRM onto my titles ever and to allow people to freely make copies and back-ups of discs to their heart's content.

"Unfortunately there are dishonest people in the world who would take advantage, who would sell copied versions of the game, who would give those copies of the game away to their mates who haven't bought it and I do believe that people who make games should be paid for work that they're doing.

"In a perfect world there'd be no DRM. We don't live in a perfect world," he concluded.

Ubisoft would probably disagree with Jacobson. The publisher hailed DRM as a success back in July, pointing to a "clear reduction in piracy". But then, a lot of gamers would disagree with Ubisoft when it comes to DRM.

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