Aspyr’s GameAgent Fails
I have a lot of respect for the work Aspyr has done to further the cause of Mac gaming in the past, but in the last few years they seem to focusing their efforts elsewhere. In particular, they’ve been doing much more business in the PC and console publishing world than the Mac game porting/publishing that was the roots of their company. The latest straw log on the camel’s back is their new GameAgent game store.
Aspyr announced plans for a online digital-download store back in May 2006. The service, dubbed Gamerhood at the time, was intended to help increase Aspyr’s exposure at a time when retail presence for Mac games was shrinking from what was already small to minuscule (thanks, in part, due to the onslaught of iPod accessories at the Apple store).
Instead of only being able to sell boxed copies of their games, Aspyr would sell their entire catalog online for near instant gratification (as fast as you could download). The hook is convenience of digital delivery and the ability to have a limitless back catalog of older games for in addition to the newest hits.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is, online delivery wasn’t a new idea even back in 2006 as the iTunes music store and Steam, a PC gaming service which allowed for downloads of some big titles like Half-Life 2 on the PC side. Macworld has an interesting interview with Aspyr’s president Michael Rogers where he compares and contrasts the service with Steam and iTunes, and lays out grand plans for Gamerhood and stating “For us it’s about getting the experience right first.”
Ironically, more than 2 years later, Aspyr has done anything but get it right. Though Aspyr does have a GameAgent software program for Macs it seems to be only half functional; it shows the Aspyr catalog of games and can help determine if you machine is compatible with a certain game but that’s about it. A recent update added the ability to check for updates to games in the catalog but, in my limited experience, the program repeatedly recommended the same update but never correctly applied it.
Now, Aspyr has finally launched GameAgent.com as a venue to sell their games but the service itself is run through third-party e-commerce provider DigitalRiver (their logo even appears as the site’s favicon) and not integrated into their GameAgent software. Macworld detailed the arrangement earlier this year and provided some basic information on why the service has taken so long to launch which sites issues with “trademarking the service name, securing a URL and other business-related issues.” (By the way, Aspyr, next time you want to launch a product in less than 2 years, let me know and I can help you secure a domain in 10 minutes.)
However, if Aspyr wanted to ‘get the experience right first’ they would have kept this one under the rug for another few years, because GameAgent.com is a seriously flawed implementation of the original idea. The site only offers two products at launch, the headlining Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Mac and a Mac version of the edutainment title futureU. But it’s not the lack of titles that is the problem here, it’s the DRM. Here’s a direct quote from the GameAgent FAQ:
Can I switch to a new machine and still have my games?
Yes, but only if you have purchased the Extended Download Service (EDS). EDS essentially allows you to download your purchase again for up to two (2) years, in the event your computer crashes or the downloaded file becomes damaged or corrupt. It can be thought of as an insurance policy in case anything goes wrong with your computer or the downloaded product. […]
You are also allowed to activate your game up to 3 times with a single serial number.How will GameAgent.com handle piracy issues?
Each game that you download is, by default, locked to your computer. A game can only be played on the particular computer where it has been authorized.
I’ll summarize: You ‘buy’ a game, but you can only download it once unless you pay $5 per game for ‘insurance’ (which only lasts for 2 years). You can only play it on one computer at a time which must be authorized. You can only authorize 3 computers (or possibly the same machine after a system change) ever.
Might I add, that the price for this convenience, Call of Duty 4 sells for $55. Amazon lists Call of Duty 4 for Mac for $49 at the time of writing.
This kind of BS is just ridiculous. Even Steam, the closest/most-well-known analog to GameAgent offers better terms than these. When you buy a game from Steam, you can download it again whenever and however often you like, for as long as you like. You can play it on any machine you authorize with your account and their prices are usually in line with retail (if not cheaper). There is no download insurance, there are no time limits, there are no activation limits.
GameAgent’s terms are even worse than the recently decried DRM-issues with Spore, which was bombed with 1-star reviews on Amazon for its DRM policy which is tame by comparison. Other companies, like Good Old Games and Stardock are going so far as eliminate DRM from their products and establish a PC Gamer Bill of Rights decrying restrictions such as activations and download limits.
So why, in this time where people are pushing back against DRM so strongly are Mac gamers getting the shaft? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because they don’t think we’ll notice or know better. Maybe because they just think they can because there’s not that much gaming on the Mac. But, in my mind, policies like this only make the platform weaker. I expected better of Aspyr.
PS: It’s worth noting that there are digital download game stores for Mac, though I am not familiar with specific DRM policies I’ve had good experiences with several. They include MacGameStore.com, Virtual Programing, Ambrosia, and, Blizzard.
