Comment by tomrod
4 years ago
They should adjust the business model to address market demand. Be a platform, not (just) a console.
Works great for Apple and Play!
4 years ago
They should adjust the business model to address market demand. Be a platform, not (just) a console.
Works great for Apple and Play!
Wouldn't that "platform" need DRM to attract third-party developers too?
Yes, this is the issue GOG continuously ran into in order to maintain their DRM-free philosophy. DRM is a move made to please publishers, not comsumers.
GOG recently made an official statement that they're fine with DRM as long as it only affects multiplayer.
That was a sad day.
They haven't seen fit to change their homepage copy of "We are GOG.COM, the DRM-free home for a curated selection of games."
Being just a platform didn't work so well for Atari (see the crash of 1983). And both the Apple and Play stores have a terrible reputation for allowing (nearly) anything on their stores, which is something that Nintendo would want to avoid.
App stores are the worst of both worlds, IMO.
On a PC, you get the freedom to install what you want.
On consoles, you get a certification of quality, integration, and style for the console. Everything fits with well-defined hardware as well. And since it's just video games, it's not a huge deal if it's limited, you can always install indie games on your actual PC.
With an app store, you just get shovelware that is unduly promoted combined with a gatekeeping what software you can run on your device, which could have otherwise been open.
Apple has put a lot of effort into making app piracy very difficult on their platform, arguably more than Nintendo.