Asian FMV Gamers 亚洲全动态真人互动影像游戏 玩家社区。A community of Asian FMV gamers.

亚洲 FMV 议题 1：🔒 在线验证 | Asian FMV Issue 1: 🔒 Online Verification

讨论 For discussion : https://steamcommunity.com/groups/AsianFMV/discussions/4/668348325619280646/

在线验证是指开发者在允许玩家进入游戏前，进行一次联网检查以确认购买是否合法。这被视为第三方DRM，因为Steam本身已经会验证正版购买；任何由开发者额外添加的验证系统，都属于第三方数字版权保护（DRM, Digital Rights Management）。

约有50%的中国FMV游戏需要在线验证。虽然对于一直联网的玩家来说，这似乎不是问题，甚至可能察觉不到，但当服务器延迟、暂时宕机，或有玩家无法连接时，就会出现问题。有时，验证系统可能因为检测到与上次登录不同的IP地址或电脑，而误判正版玩家为非法用户，从而阻止他们进入游戏——这种情况常在玩家更换电脑或网络几个月后发生。

遇到连接问题的玩家将无法启动游戏，只能申请退款。一些销量较低的游戏在服务器关闭后，也彻底无法再游玩。

虽然FMV游戏是单机游戏，原本可以离线游玩，但因为在线验证的存在，购买的游戏实际上变成了“租赁品”——一旦服务器关闭，就再也无法启动。

韩国和日本的FMV游戏则不需要在线验证，可完全离线游玩。它们的开发者还会对视频文件进行压缩，在不影响画质的情况下减小体积，使游戏更受欢迎，尤其受到喜欢节省存储空间的玩家青睐。

韩日开发者的做法，是让游戏更具购买吸引力。中国FMV开发者中，另有约50%对Steam平台更熟悉，也采取了相同的方式。

Steam玩家重视离线游玩、云存档、成就系统，以及多年后仍可继续游玩的特性。这些优点比盗版游戏更具吸引力，因为盗版下载或安装时存在病毒与恶意软件的风险。而且FMV游戏的价格通常相当于一顿快餐，购买正版显然更划算。Steam玩家也倾向于在平台上收藏喜欢的游戏，因为这些游戏保存在云端（Steam服务器上），不需要为了存放盗版而购买多个硬盘。

有一部分玩家只访问盗版网站下载游戏，他们通常不会逛Steam商店，也不了解Steam上新发售的游戏。与此同时，使用Steam平台的玩家通常不会接触盗版下载，也容易遇到病毒或恶意软件等问题。这是两种完全不同的群体：一种从不买游戏，另一种活跃于Steam平台。

我个人也不会去碰盗版游戏，因为我在Steam上的游戏已经多到玩不完。大多数游戏在发售几年后都会打折到几美元，根本没必要盗版。而且，平台玩家有自己的游戏档案，喜欢收集成就。

熟悉Steam平台的开发者明白，他们的顾客是Steam玩家。加入在线验证只会让玩家受影响，甚至打消购买欲望。而那些玩盗版的人从未买过、也不会去买游戏，他们永远不会成为开发者的顾客——他们甚至不知道或不关心Steam上有哪些新作。这就是为什么韩国和日本的开发者不担心盗版，而是更关注真正玩家的体验。

大多数Steam独立游戏都没有在线验证，但销量仍超过百万份。Steam玩家根本不在意盗版，因为独立游戏价格已经足够便宜。若一款游戏有在线验证，当服务器关闭后就无法再运行，这只会让玩家放弃购买。

GOG是一个提供无DRM游戏的平台，与Steam不同，GOG不需要账户验证或联网即可安装游戏。只需下载GOG安装包，就能在任何电脑上离线安装和游玩。一些热门作品，如《赛博朋克2077》、《博德之门3》，以及最近發佈在2025年9月的《空洞骑士：Silksong》，都在GOG上架。

那么，一款游戏在GOG上发行会影响其Steam销量吗？总体而言，不会。玩家通常会选择他们喜欢的平台来购买和游玩游戏。很多人喜欢把所有喜欢的游戏集中在同一个平台上，以便获得成就记录。有的人偏好Steam的庞大游戏库，有的人偏好GOG的无DRM机制，也有人喜欢Epic Games，因为他们已经在那上面领过许多免费游戏。部分玩家甚至会在不同平台重复购买同一款游戏。例如，我在Epic的每周赠送活动中领取过一些游戏，但仍会在Steam上购买一份，以添加到自己的游戏库并在Steam平台游玩。

盗版游戏与正版平台游戏的最大区别在于：盗版没有玩家档案与成就记录，每款游戏都必须存放在玩家自己的硬盘上；而正版游戏保存在平台服务器上，只有在需要时才会下载。

若游戏带有在线验证，将来可能会变得无法运行。这甚至比盗版更糟，因为它等同于“玩一次就失效”。

有趣的是，《五心同屋，Five Hearts Under One Roof》已于2025年10月30日正式登陆GOG。我们可以观察这是否会影响其Steam销量。不过这种情况不太可能发生——像《赛博朋克2077》和《博德之门3》这样价格更高、知名度更大的游戏都同时上架GOG，却并未影响Steam销量。此外，《母胎单身 Motesolo》和《禁止过分投入 Love Too Easily》也早已在GOG平台上线。

🔒💀 遊戲因為網上驗證（ DRM ）而死

最后，所有在正规平台发行的游戏，目标都是尽可能多地销售给更多玩家。然而，感兴趣的玩家数量可能并不足以覆盖开发成本。每款游戏通常会以标准定价起售，然后逐步通过更大幅度的折扣来吸引更多购买者。

在正规平台上的玩家，已经习惯于在该平台的环境中游玩游戏——就像游客更倾向于住在酒店，而不是廉价旅馆（盗版游戏）一样。

每位玩家的喜好都不同。有些人一年只玩几款游戏，而有些人喜欢尝试所有优秀的作品。玩得越多的玩家，越需要更多折扣来购买游戏，但他们也能花在每款游戏上的时间就越少。这样对于玩家和开发者来说，都是公平和平衡的。开发者当然不希望错过任何潜在顾客。

这也是为什么AAA大作也会进行高达90%以上的折扣促销。对于大型工作室来说，那些以九折甚至更低价格购买几乎所有游戏的玩家，与那些只买少数几款原价游戏的玩家，在总收入上差距并不大。这样的策略也鼓励玩家留在官方游戏平台，从而让盗版游戏变得没有必要。

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Online Verification means the developer performs an online check to confirm that the purchase is legitimate before allowing the player to play the game. This is considered third-party DRM because Steam already verifies legitimate purchases; any additional verification added by the developer is regarded as third-party DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Around 50% of Chinese FMV games require online verification. While this may not seem like a problem or even be noticed by players who are always connected to the internet, issues can arise when servers are slow, temporarily down, or when some players cannot connect. In some cases, the verification system may mistakenly block legitimate owners from accessing their games if it detects a different IP address and computer compared to the previous login, which can happen when players change their computer and network after a few months.

Players who experience connection issues are unable to play the game and may have to request a refund. There are also games with low sales whose servers have been shut down, making the game unplayable anymore.

Although FMV games are single-player and playable offline, the online verification can make a purchased game become like a rental, as the online servers will eventually be shut down.

FMV games from Korea and Japan do not require online verification and are fully playable offline. The developers also compress the video files to smaller sizes without affecting quality, making the games more appealing to players who prefer titles that take up less storage space.

The approach of Korean and Japanese developers is to make their games more attractive for purchase. The same applies to the remaining 50% of Chinese FMV game developers who are more familiar with the Steam platform.

Steam players value features such as offline play, cloud saves, achievements, and the ability to resume their favorite games even after years. These benefits are far more appealing than using pirated copies, which also carry risks of viruses and malware during download or installation. Additionally, the price of FMV games is comparable to a fast-food meal, making legitimate purchase a much better option. Also, Steam gamers prefer collecting their favorite games on the platform, as the games are stored in the cloud (Steam servers), rather than having to buy multiple hard drives to store pirated copies of every game.

There are players who only visit pirated game websites to download and play pirated games. However, these players usually do not visit the Steam store and are unaware of new game releases on Steam that are not pirated. Meanwhile, players on the Steam platform are generally unfamiliar with downloading pirated games and would likely encounter issues such as viruses or malware. These are two different groups of gamers: one that doesn’t buy any games at all, and another that plays on the Steam platform.
I also do not have to bother with pirated games, as I have more games on Steam than I have time to play. Most games on Steam are discounted to just a few dollars a few years after release, making pirated copies unnecessary. Also, gamers on official platforms have their game profiles and prefer to earn the achievements.

Developers who are familiar with the Steam platform know that their customers are Steam gamers. Implementing online verification only causes issues for their customers and may discourage them from buying the game. Those who usually play pirated games have never bought and have no intention to buy any games; they will never be customers of any developer. They don’t even know or care about new game releases on Steam. That’s why Korean and Japanese developers do not worry or bother about pirated copies of their games; instead, they focus more on their actual customers’ preferences.
Most indie games on Steam do not have online verification, yet those games have sold over a million copies. Players on Steam do not care about pirated games, as the prices of indie games are already low and affordable. A game with online verification means it will no longer run after the server is shut down, which turns players away from buying it.

GOG is a platform that offers DRM-free games, unlike Steam, which requires a Steam account and purchase verification. A GOG game installer can install a game on any computer without requiring an internet connection or account verification. Some popular titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Hollow Knight: Silksong (September 2025 release), are also available on GOG.

Would a game’s release on GOG affect its sales on Steam? Gamers generally prefer to buy and play games on the platform they like. Many gamers like having all their favorite games in one place and earning achievements on that platform. Some prefer Steam for its large library, others prefer GOG for DRM-free games, and some prefer Epic Games if they already have many titles there. Some players also have the same game on different platforms. For example, I have some games that I got from Epic Games’ weekly giveaways, but I also bought them on Steam to add to my game library and play on Steam platform.

The main difference between pirated games and games on official platforms is that pirated games have no gamer profiles and no achievement records, and each game requires the player’s own hard drive for storage, whereas official games are stored on the platform’s server and only downloaded when needed.

If a game has online verification, it may become unplayable in the future. This makes it worse than pirated copies, as it is almost like playing it only once and then losing access forever.

Interestingly, Five Hearts Under One Roof was just released on GOG on October 30, 2025. We will see whether its sales on Steam are affected by this release. It is unlikely, as much more expensive and popular games, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3, have been released on GOG without negatively impacting their Steam sales. Besides that, Motesolo and Love Too Easily are already available on the GOG platform.

🔒💀 Game Died Due to Online Verification (DRM)

Lastly, every game on an official platform tries to sell to as many customers as possible. However, there may not be enough interested buyers to cover the development cost. Each game usually starts at a regular price and gradually offers bigger and bigger discounts to attract more buyers. Gamers on official platforms are familiar with playing games in that platform environment—it’s like tourists who prefer to stay at a hotel rather than in a budget hostel (pirated copies).

Each gamer’s preference is different. Some players play only a few games a year, while others like to try every good game. The more games a player plays, the more discounts they need to buy them, and the less time they can spend on each one. It is fair and balanced for each player, and for developers, for sure they would not want to miss any potential customer. That’s why AAA titles are also discounted by over 90%. For big studios, the revenue from gamers who buy almost all their games at a 90% discount and from gamers who buy only a few games at full price ends up being roughly the same. This also encourages gamers to stay on official game platforms, making pirated games unnecessary.