Not-So-Inter-net

One tends to think of the internet as a very international affair. Obviously I also use it to find local information, but much of the discussion going on for example on games is pretty much international. Most of the content of the internet is text and images, and even if the text is about something local on the other side of the globe, at least nothing keeps me from reading it.

But with the increase in broadband connections, the content of the internet is changing in nature. There is more music, and especially more video to be found. Google just launched a video on demand service, and iTunes already outsells traditional music stores. But what iTunes and Google video have in common is that I'm not allowed to use them, because I live outside of the USA. Legal downloads of media have some sort of "digital rights management", and rights are national affairs. Google can't show me episodes of US TV shows because of contracts between the studio that made the TV show and distributors outside the US, who often get the same shows a year or two later.

The same unfortunately applies to digital distribution of games. While the first services selling games as downloads were usually just selling older games and wasn't restricted to any location, now you often find download services even for new games like Civilization IV. But these are then often restricted to North American residents only.

I remember paying about $10 to a company for pretending they were me, and getting me a US account for World of Warcraft, when the game wasn't out yet in Europe. Makes me wonder if soon there will be "pretend to be American" kits sold on the internet, which by redirection of the IP address and the credit card number enable e.g. Europeans to access and pay for media on the internet that are usually restricted to North Americans only.

But in the long run, companies have to sort their digital rights management out to be less restrictive. If iTunes taught the industry anything, it should be that people are eager to give them money, if only you let them. A big part of the earlier success of P2P networks was that they offered access to media for which no legal way of online purchase existed. When given the choice between illegal or not at all, people often chose the illegal way. But if the choice is turned into either "free but illegal" or "cheap and legal", people often prefer the legal option. I'd gladly pay Google video to watch for example old episodes of NCIS, as I can't seem to find these offered on DVD anywhere. Why would Google or CBS not want to accept my money?
- posted by Tobold @ 12:55 PM Permanent Link