Gamers Bill of Rights Drafted

"Aims to provide gamers some basic rights with games developers."

Published: 1st September 2008 | Source: Edge - Brad Wardell Blog | Author: Stuart Boardman

Power to the People!

The Gamers Bill of Rights Stardock and Gas Powered Games have drafted a 'Gamers Bill of Rights', which they say games developers should be adhering to when creating games. They are looking for industry wide support of this bill, and they hope it will tackle issues such as confusing system requirements, over zealous DRM and unfinished released games.

Stardock’s CEO, Brad Wardell, elaborated in his blog on the Edge website:

This isn't something terribly new to gaming in general--consoles already have a similar standards system. Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo, certify console games and tell developers what they can and cannot do. But on the PC we don't have anything like that. Of course, we do have Games for Windows, but it's not quite the same as what we're doing here. (Actually, I'd love it if Games for Windows or the PC Gaming Alliance adopted these Rights.)

The Gamers Bill of Rights is as follows:

Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
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.
Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will adequately play on that computer.
Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their express consent.
Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
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.
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.

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