I bought Settlers 7. Had a service interuption one day for 12 hours. Couldn't Play Settlers 7

I will never buy a Always on DRM game again. While I support their attempts to try and protect their property. I cannot support this method.

I wouldn't care too much, but The Witcher 2. will be an awesome game. Argh....

I don't understand the whole situation:

Despite his reluctant adoption of DRM, Comte lamented the futility of such attempts to curb piracy. "I'm convinced that whatever system you put in place you can be sure that two hours before putting it out it'll be cracked in Russia,"

That's it. So why the hell do they have to use this always on DRM? They are pissing off the paying customers again.

I'll blame them because it doesn't work. They aren't protecting a damn thing. They're just punishing the people who actually pay them.

It would come down to the individual contracts between the publisher and developer.  In any case, the list of companies and games I'm having to avoid due to DRM or suspect business practices gets another name added to the list.  They'll probably blame the lose of further sales on the shifting gravitatinal pull of the Moon causing changes in sales patterns due to the inferred impact of the Moon's gravitational pull on the human body's water content and thus altering behaviours during certain phases of the Moon.  It makes more sense.

How much of the actual decision is going to be in the developer's court and not the publisher's?

Last I heard, the publisher has final say and Atari isn't exactly the poster child for "good" DRM policy.