DIABLO III

While Blizzard would surely prefer if the gaming populous just sang the praises of Diablo III, teething problems during the game's launch dominated the news. The widespread problems players had while signing in, and the subsequent downtime during this period were prominent enough to be reported on mainstream news sources.

Like past examples of DRM follies, this will pass as fewer people encounter debilitating problems with the system, but perhaps it's time a greater discussion was had about the value of DRM to the customer and to the publisher. 'Always on' DRM, where a constant Internet connection is required to play, regardless of the game type, is a system that's gaining traction with publishers. In the eyes of the publisher, it is potentially the most effective to combat piracy. In the eyes of the customer, it's a requirement that offers no advantages and significant disadvantages at the same time.

However, there are always more ways to look at an issue, and this is no exception. Despite Diablo III's framework being a single player game, there are extensive features within it that push the game towards an MMO (particularly given that a Player vs. Player mode will be implemented at a later date). Blizzard have developed the game as a single player game, yes, but they've also utilised the Internet to create a fuller and richer experience as well (though that's dependant on who you ask). In that regard, the DRM brings with it an array of features that offer the customer more options for play, which, strictly speaking, is better than any game that just features the DRM.

Of course, it'll be personal preference whether or not customers see the value in these additions. Diablo III is marketed as a single player game, and the requirement of a constant Internet connection does not mesh with that marketing. As mentioned earlier, the game does implement some of the components from the MMO world, but that does not make it an MMO. Single player games are just that, and should always be available offline.

If there's one advantage that single player games have over MMOs, its that: the ability to be played offline. The MMO market is constantly changing, and games that arrived to large fanfare can find themselves closing shop a year or two later (Blizzard's success with World of Warcraft notwithstanding). When an MMO shuts down, that's it: the world, the characters, the stories and the gameplay that went along with it cannot ever be accessed again (at least, not without some severe wrangling). For preservation sake, this is a horrible thing to occur, and while it's unlikely that Diablo III will simply fade away into history and be forgotten, it could potentially be the fate of any game that utilises this form of DRM. The fact that I can track down an incredibly old game and get it working on modern hardware with a minimum of effort is one of the reasons I love PC gaming so much: it'd be an utter shame to lose this aspect of it as a result of overbearing DRM.