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Saints Row 4 developer Volition has discussed the issue of DRM on Xbox One – and potentially PS4 – telling VideoGamer.com that the industry needs to “continue the conversation” and “continue to work on” the policies proposed by Microsoft for its next-gen console.
“[The DRM issue is] a really tough one,” Volition producer Jim Boone told us earlier today. “I don’t think there’s a singular ‘that’s the way’. There’s too many sides to it that are too passionate. I think this is going to be one of those things that we have to keep talking about as an industry and as a community from the gaming perspective and just continue to work on it.
“My perspective is that we haven’t quite struck the right balance where everyone embraces either side, so we’ve just got to continue the conversation.”
Scott Phillips, design director on Saints Row 4, suggests that DRM could help protect developers, however, recalling issues the team faced with piracy on Saints Row: The Third.
“You know, some people don’t like [DRM], some people think it’s a business necessity,” said Phillips.
“One interesting fact for us on Saints Row: The Third was the PC game was heavily pirated. We had, I think – I don’t remember the exact statistical numbers – but it was essentially like, we had an enormous number of players playing in Russia, and we sold maybe 1,500 copies in Russia total.
“Piracy’s a big issue, so each side has their concerns,” he continued. “We don’t know what the solution is and I don’t think either side really knows what the solution is.”
Microsoft continues to face criticism from the community for its Xbox One DRM policies. The upcoming console requires that players register disc-based games to user accounts, and poses restrictions on sharing and selling titles. Comments from Phil Spencer earlier today suggest that the firm won’t be budging on its decision.
Sony, meanwhile, has confirmed that it will not be adopting DRM for its first-party PS4 titles, but it’s still unclear whether the platform holder will allow third-parties to implement such measures.
