Red Shell

[owsf2000]

Something recently came to light in the gaming world on reddit - and naturally since I typically avoid the place, I didn't hear about it til it hit slashdot today.

Seems games are now starting to come, in addition to excessive drm and/or online connections, with their own spyware in the form of Red Shell. Like the various DRM options, this is code created by a third party and sold to the game companies to include.

Basically the program collects user data from new installs, along with whatever data it can find on your computer like font information, etc.

It actually got a bit of a stir out of some people for once and it seems some game companies are promising to remove it. I don't know the full list of games infected with this shit, but at the very least none of the games I own appear in the list compiled so far. Yay for only playing old and niche games~ (I suppose that's a "Yay for having a shitty computer." but whatever.)

I hope enough people also swarm Valve with complaints about it. Bad enough we have companies that try to hide the fact that they have third party DRM on their games until people catch them with it - at which point they finally put up the "missing" notice on the steam store page. Now we have to wonder what other third party bullshit they're installing that isn't really a part of the shit the customer wants to buy. Personally I'm hoping Valve requires publishers to disclose if they're using tracking software. (As this can really get those companies in some seriously hot water with the new european privacy laws.)

I think the program that surprised people the most on this list was Kerbal Space Program.

Comments

[kane_magus]

Yet another reason to just avoid modern gaming entirely. *shrug + weary sigh* You never know what kind of secretive spyware/malware bullshit they're going to infect games with for nefarious purposes.

If one were an optimistic type, one might think the industry would have learned its lesson after the SecuROM fiasco. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. If one is a jaded, cynical pessimist like me, however, they would not be surprised by shit like this at all.

Only game on the list that I've played myself is "Secret World Legends," and this doesn't please me too awfully much. At least they're on the "pledged to remove" list. I do have "Civilization VI" on my Steam library and was actually eyeing it to maybe play the other day. Guess that's shot to hell now. (EDIT) Actually, I don't own Civilization VI. I only have Civ III-V. So, change that to me not ever buying Civ VI. (/EDIT) And whatever vague interest I may have had in buying "Kerbal Space Program" at some point has dried up to nothing now, as well.

[pgum_chan]

I think PC gaming is just catching up to what phone apps have been doing for a good long while. Think about it; If I can collect and sell a bunch of user data just by making a quick app that let's you turn on your flash as a flashlight, then why can't we get just as much data or more from the games we are putting millions into? There's less info on dedicated gaming systems like Xbox and PlayStation, until you think about the info on your account. Credit card numbers, your transaction history, and anything you voluntarily add to your profile. Really makes me miss the days of Nintendo cartridges!

[owsf2000]

The bigger reason why you -shouldn't- do that, (As obviously they're trying to), is that with PC Gaming you're already getting paid up front for your product compared to mobile gaming which offers their crummy product for free. There are breaking points on this path eventually, as we've seen with pushback against loot boxes lately. Yeah there are enough "Sheep" to keep the practice going, but the system is overall detrimental to the real path to higher profits - expanding your market. (ie: getting more people turned on to gaming, rather than turning off the ones already handing over money.)

I still buy games certainly, but I can definitely say all the bullshit that's gone on over the last 10 years has DRASTICALLY slowed down my spending. And there are a lot of lost sales because a company will try to increase the total cost of a game by shoeing in 50-1000 dollars of DLC to a 50 dollar game.

[pgum_chan]

I think that the gaming companies are starting to realize that PC and system gaming isn't profitable anymore. So, they are doing everything that can to milk as much money out of them, before they all move straight to mobile.

Look at Nintendo, for example. Their mobile games have turned into an obvious money grab. A simple game like Animal Crossing not only has Loot Boxes but also an in game currency to be able to buy "special items." People are crying for Animal Crossing on Switch because they think it'll take that away. I have no illusion that it will. In fact, I think that Pocket Camp is a test to see how willing people are to dish out real world money for the Animal Crossing franchise.

[owsf2000]

Eh, it's not that they're starting to realize that the PC market isn't profitable anymore - hell, it's hitting record profit levels every year.

The problem is with corporate. Every year, no matter how well a game company does, that sets the bar of expectation for the following year - plus X% added to cover expected inflation. If they don't do at LEAST that, then they moan about the "Shrinking market" and "pirates" and "used game sales eating our sales". All this while they backflip into swimming pools of money.

Regarding nintendo's mobile crap, you have to remember that it was shareholders and the like that bitched and screamed for Nintendo to do that while it was losing money with the Wii U's dismal performance. While I wouldn't bet on microtransactions to be taken out of this Pocket Camp game if it were on the Switch, I do find it hard to believe Nintendo would actually bring the game to the Switch in the first place. I'd expect them to release a proper Animal Crossings game on the Switch before porting the mobile crap.

I can't say I've actually checked the eshop on the Switch since Blaster Master Zero was released. Has Nintendo ported any of their existing mobile crap to the Switch yet? If not, it's probably a safe bet they won't. (Why smudge the Switch reputation with phone garbage after all.)

Anyway, yeah, more corporate greed than them realizing the PC market isn't profitable. When they say the market "isn't profitable anyomre" it means what I point out above. They're just not making 20-30% more than they did the year before. (Even if the previous year was wildly more profitable than they even expected it to be. Wouldn't matter, that would be the new benchmark for next year.)