gamers-bill-of-rights posts

In August 2008, game publisher Stardock announced that it was creating a Gamers' Bill of Rights for PC game consumers. At the time Stardock said these 10 rights were what PC gamers should expect when they purchase any PC game. The document was revised later in 2008. You can read the current version at the Gamers' Bill of Rights web site.

In Stardock's newest Customer Report that was issued earlier this week, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell states, "We are currently talking to developers and publishers regarding a 2011 edition of the GBOR." Some of the rights in the current version are likely to be changed or removed due to current trends in the PC gaming industry.

Wardell states that the "core ideals" of the Gamers' Bill of Rights are:

1. Gamers have the right to return a game if it doesn't work as designed on their computer for a full refund.
2. Gamers have the right to play their game without being inconvenienced by copy protection or DRM.
3. Gamers have the right to their privacy and anonymity in a game.

Wardell states that updates to the Gamers Bill of Rights will likely be revealed in next year's Stardock Customer Report.

Just over a year ago, the PC Gaming Alliance announced their formation. The non-profit organization consisted of companies that normally are fierce competitors; Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Acer, Activision and more. They wanted to come together to help promote and improve the state of PC gaming.

Last June, Big Download chatted with the organization's president, Randy Stude (he is also the director of the Gaming Program Office for Intel) to get more infomation on the group and their goals. Since then the PC Gaming Alliance has released its Horizons report which they say shows that the industry is still growing and brought in a total of $10.7 billion in revenue worldwide in 2007.

With the Game Developers Conference coming in late March this year, it's likely that the PC Gaming Alliance will be making even more announcements and reports public. However we wanted to get back in touch wth Stude beforehand to get an update from him about the group, including their new membership tiers, his opinions on what other developers have said about industry issues and more.

Last August during Penny Arcade Expo, game publisher Stardock released the first version of their Gamer's Bill of Rights. They were 10 ideals that they believe PC games should expect from their games. The list generate a ton of talk on the Internet and as stated in Stardock's new Customer Report, "we have had an amazing level of support from the publisher and developer community." As a result of those discussions the report has what is being called an "interim" revision of that original list. The revisions deal with DRM set-ups, customers being able to resell games and some clarifications on what Stardock means by expecting games to be released "in a finished state" You can check out the revision after the jump.

Stardock and its CEO Brad Wardell have always been champions of PC gaming and the belief that the platform is as viable as the console industry. Today the publisher released what their are calling the "Gamer's Bill of Rights". They are 10 statements that they believe PC gaming consumers should get for their purchases. Stardock intends to follow its own statements; it has announced that anyone that can't run their recent strategy game The Political Machine 2008 on their PC can get their money back from Stardock if they purchased the game in retail stores.

Here is the full list:
1) Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
2) Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3) Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
4) Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5) Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
6) Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
7) Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
8) Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
9) Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10) Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.