GigaOM asks: is this Radiohead experiment going to change how things work, or is it a symptom of things changing? It’s not a philosophical question: something’s going on, as it’s been incredibly successful and shown that it can be done. But the real question is: can this lesson be applied to video games?
In Rainbows, coupled with iTunes dropping DRM-free music down to $.99, are clear indicators that we the listeners are winning, and that DRMing music isn’t consumer friendly. It’s good for us, and, as Thom and company are showing, is good for the bands. Keep up the good work, boys. But we really don’t see it applying to video games. Not right now, at least. Since the games are platform specific, the portability problem isn’t an issue. That is, unless something new from Nintendo bridging its platforms comes across, but we’re not holding our breath.