Bonum Certa Men Certa

Bringing DRM to GNU/Linux to Attract the Stereotypical 'Gamers'

DRM at the application level as opposed to operating system level

Mythical 'Gamer'; Stereotypical 'Gamer'



Summary: With streaming disservices such as Google's Stadia (GNU/Linux-powered, albeit proprietary and spying) and rental-like disservices such as Steam the situation is further complicated for Software Freedom; what can be done? Gamers aren't 'lamers' and attracting them too would be better than leaving them stranded in Windows.

THE "Linux Gamer" (Gardiner Bryant) cited our articles about DRM in Linux about a year ago, bemoaning what was happening to Linux (the kernel). But he himself is promoting lots of DRM (like Steam) and to many GNU/Linux users Valve is like an "ally" of GNU/Linux because SteamOS is Debian-based and there are WINE-centric efforts, which at times contribute to graphics drivers (upstream patches, so to speak).



"This subject is very difficult for a lot of reasons."Earlier this year Alex Oliva (the 'young Stallman') asked me why I kept linking to news about computer games which were clearly proprietary, albeit had been ported to GNU/Linux (usually native, 'proper' ports, not WINE or similar). I told him that people would accept or tolerate such DRM regardless of the system, so whether they gamed on GNU/Linux or on Windows would sort of leave us in a situation of flux. The unspoken hope is that by bringing those users over to GNU/Linux we can introduce them to Free software (like browsers) they otherwise would not be exposed to, or even games that are free/libre. Heck, maybe even the game developers themselves would decide to liberate the code, bearing it mind that can help them receive code contributions (improvements to their games, game engines and so on).

This subject is very difficult for a lot of reasons. We'll deal with only a few of them here. When I started using GNU/Linux more than two decades ago there were barely any games at all for the system (except very simple ones, nothing that could be taken seriously or be the equivalent of "killer app"). So seeing GOG, Humble, Steam, Itch and the rest of them sort of embracing GNU/Linux is perhaps more "gain" than "loss" (the alternative is no support at all). Remember that Linux Game Publishing and Loki Entertainment weren't exactly a free/libre thing. Neither were some of the earliest GNU/Linux distributions -- some of which contained more binary (proprietary) blobs than today's distributions.

Loki EntertainmentWe may have to disagree with Mr. Oliva on this; Oliva told me he had gotten addicted to some games and I can relate to it because I spent much of my childhood gaming and in my 20s I got hooked on some games again (to the point of playing from dusk till dawn and dreaming about those games at night).

Games are not a good substitute for life, unless life sucks so badly (which is a reality for more and more people as the pandemic takes its toll). If people who love games choose GNU/Linux as their underlying platform (for better security, performance, maybe lower cost), let's welcome them. Blasting Valve for its DRM schemes can be done politely, in conjunction, bearing in mind that they do in fact hire some Free software developers (last month they decided to pay the developer of Zink to carry on with his fine work).

Life is full of trade-offs and compromises; whether Steam runs on Windows or on GNU/Linux, it'll still be problematic for many reasons. The question is, does it tempt away existing GNU/Linux users from freedom? Are users of Free software going to suddenly drift away to Google Chrome (proprietary) and Oracle databases because there's some game they like on Steam? It seems very unlikely. Moreover, with games there's a lot of emphasis on copyrights of games' "assets"; surveillance isn't a main feature because users barely feed any personal data into games. So is there so much to be lost? It is not ideal, sure, but let's pick our battles for Software Freedom carefully. I, for one, welcome heavy gamers who jump over to our camp. Even if they use Steam a great deal (Debian Developers were given free access to it, so quite a few of them play games in their spare time).

Recent Techrights' Posts

After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
 
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part II: Lying to the IRS is a Big Issue
The OSI of today pretends to be something that it is not
Bloodlust and Love of Blades (Fascination With Murder) Nothing New Among Microsofters
Violence is not a joke and no group is magically entitled to make such "jokes"
Links 01/06/2025: Bird Flu, Food Price Inflation, and Growing US-China Hostilities
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: "Vibe Coding" Turns Out to be a Fraud and Amazon Merits Boycott, Argue Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: "Stardust" and Ideal PC Setup
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, "It's FOSS" Still Promoting Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: Simplification and Networks Everywhere
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 31, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 31, 2025
Google Bribes EFF. EFF Promotes LLM Slop as 'Fair Use'. To GAFAM It's a Low-Cost Lobby Hedge.
So the bribes pay off ("slush fund") and the word spreads
Slopwatch: Fake Text and Images, Financial Bubbles, and Scams in "Intelligent" Clothing
Sometimes what they mean by "AI" is just cheap labour somewhere else, as we discussed in IRC a few hours ago
Why Microsoft is Collapsing (Similar to What's Happening at IBM), As Insiders See It
IBM seems like one heck of a mess
Reliable Computing Means Free (Libre) Computing
Sites that want to promote security ought to deal with the biggest issues
Links 31/05/2025: US Court Orders Sides With RFE/RL, War Updates From Ukraine
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/05/2025: ARM Server and power_supply Subsystem
Links for the day
Links 31/05/2025: Slop Stigmatised as Disinformation, Catalyst/Driver of "Death of Communication"
Links for the day
Common Sense 101: Do Not Write Blog Posts Saying You Want to Murder Colleagues (or Yourself)
Only crazy people would think stabbings are a joke
Microsoft Bankruptcy
"Microsoft unit in Russia to file for bankruptcy, database shows"
Techrights Does Not Compete With LLM Slop, It Exposes the Bastards, Plagiarists and Scammers Who Do That
People like Scam Altman, still facing a lawsuit from his own sister for sexual abuse against her
Links 31/05/2025: Microsoft-Connected Builder.ai is a Fraud and US is Purging Students Based on Race/Nationality
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/05/2025: Limmat, Doomscrollers, and Arguments Parsing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 30, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 30, 2025