One party uses Snapchat. The other party uses Snapchat. Therefore both parties have an agreement with a third party, and obligations to this third party may include non-disclosure unless otherwise specified, though I myself haven't read the Snapchat TOS because I lack a smartphone with a data plan.

But it doesn't know that you obtained the game and the decrypt key legitimately.

Yes. For example, the Ouya platform implements a similar policy to Steam and Google Play Licensing, and it actually refers to this data as a "receipt".

My focus on the exceptions was to highlight that the PC platform isn't locked down, even if individual games might happen to be. It's still possible for a team of amateurs or a startup to release a game on PC even if it doesn't qualify for a console license, and a DRM-free game at that.

Does split-screen multiplayer work?

Gamers already have to choose between the set of games for one console and the set of games for another console. How is Steam vs. GOG any different, other than that it's a lot cheaper to choose "both" for PC app stores than for console hardware? The problem with consoles is that if you choose a console over a PC, you're committing to DRM for all games because console operating systems won't even launch an executable that lacks the DRM.

Can all these computers run games, or are some of them stuck with an Intel GMA?

I have two questions for you: Are games on Steam so cheap that a householder with multiple children could buy three or four copies of a game for what a single copy of a console game costs?

Another cheap way is to buy or build a $400 AMD PC, put it next to the TV, and search for controller-friendly titles. Hairyfeet could explain in more detail.

Console gamers have been changing cartridges since the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972 changed games with jumper packs.

Burn a unique disc serial number in the burst cutting area, like GameCube and Wii discs. Connect to the Internet when a game is activated and once a month thereafter to renew the receipt, like Steam. But here's the big change: allow a game to be activated on any console if its receipt hasn't been renewed in 45 days. An unactivated game plays only the first episode, much like an unregistered copy of Doom.

Retailers don't get any cut of game sales for iPad or Android tablets unless they're made with an iTunes or Google Play gift card. Yet I see tablets in Walmart, Best Buy, and Staples.

Please don't let the fact that I'm trying to understand how to benefit from a local DNS blacklist escalate into accusations of sock puppetry that can only be compared to what "Twitter" meant before that microblog site took off.

I guess our disagreement hinges on what you're trying to imply through this phrase.

Is there any single game played by "most people", or even just more than 50% of PC gamers? The only video games I can think of that come even remotely close to having played by "most people" are Solitaire, Minesweeper, The Sims, and Tetris. True, there are huge hits such as Half-Life series, but what percent of all PC gamers have played, say, Half-Life 2? The direction in which I take this line of discussion depends on what fraction of the total audience a particular game needs before it's considered successful.

Or do you claim that someone is likely to browse through GOG and see absolutely no worthwhile games?

It's so that the game you bought to play can verify that you did in fact buy it to play.

How is that any different from the government being a third party in every sale of goods?

Why would a 2-player game with two controllers like Street Fighter IV need an Internet connection while a 1-player game doesn't?

If you happen not to have wired broadband in your home, I guess you can do that by occasionally tethering to a smartphone.

Steam has been reported to work offline for weeks at a time. If the Xbox One really can't stay in offline mode for more than 24 hours, it just makes the Steam Box that much more likely to succeed.

In that case, it wouldn't provide much of a benefit over what I already use: an extension that enforces a click-to-play policy on plug-ins. Such extensions go by names such as Flashblock.

Take a 10- to 15-year-old page and style it with body { margin: 0 auto; padding: 2em 0.5em; max-width: 32em } to keep line lengths sane. After this, you'll have a usable first attempt at a mobile version.

A 2-player game of Dr. Mario isn't incest; it's just playing doctor.

True, it's a debilitating and surprisingly widespread affliction. But who brought Windows 8 into the discussion?