POTW: The high seas of piracy

PALGN Feature | Have anti-piracy measures gone too far?

It seems that more often that not, in the 2008 gaming environment, piracy is in the news. Be it the news of the latest sting against mega-pirates or complaints that the practice is killing gaming, it's everywhere. More recently, certain publishers have taken to all sorts of measures to prevent piracy, including the often-maligned digital rights management (DRM) of Spore, or Far Cry 2.

This week came the additional news that the new Nintendo DS model, the DSi, has nixed traditional methods of piracy and homebrew for the console. All points combined, we thought it timely to ask our valued readers the question: Have videogame publishers gone too far with anti-piracy measures?

Vote | View Results

Related Content

eGames 08: Big names coming to eGames '08
12 Sep, 2008 Gamers to get hands on top-name titles.

More Xbox news from CES 2008
07 Jan, 2008 Desperate Housewives on your 360?

PlayStation 3 units in production
20 Jul, 2006 Calm down everyone.

PagePrevious 12

48 Comments

The Genius

3 years ago

Sinthesys wrote

Although that being said, I know a lot of my friends wouldn't have even bought a DS if they couldn't easily boot roms on it, so they are at least making one sale they wouldn't have by making it homebrew accessable.

Good point.

Last week there was an article in the Sunday Herald about how even parents are turning to piracy of DS games due to their high price. Especially parents with more than one kid with DS.

But we legitimate buyers are being caught in the cross fire between the publishers and pirates.

I can understand where the devs publishers are coming from, but its really affecting us legitimate buyers the most.

rufati

3 years ago

nikack wrote

The installation of Homebrew is not itself illegal, but the creation is.

But wiki says:

Quote

Reverse engineering software or hardware systems which is done for the purposes of interoperability (for example, to support undocumented file formats or undocumented hardware peripherals), is mostly believed to be legal, though patent owners often contest this and attempt to stifle any reverse engineering of their products for any reason.

So I'm guessing that Homebrew applications would be considered 'undocumented file formats', making Homebrew legal.

Patent holders just don't like it when it happens xD.

Jarrod

3 years ago

rufati wrote

Patent holders just don't like it when it happens xD.

That's the impression I got. Even though the likes of Nintendo and Sony condemn it, it's not technically against the law to develop and run homebrew. But, while people can do it, there are no laws to protect them. The patent holder is within its right to stomp it out as they see fit, and offer no support.

Sin Ogaris

3 years ago

If it alters the code in any way, shape or form, it's illegal unless approved by the original manufacturer. It stems from the old "you don't own your software you're just paying for the privilege of using it" schtick. Basically any unofficial doctoring of a product is against the law, although most developers and the like say go nuts (especially game developers that offer up map editors and the like) however anything else, whether it be system files or business software is actually against the terms of use of a software product.

So if Homebrew affects internal system files in any way, yes, technically it is illegal as you're manipulating something you don't have the right to fool around with.

Mush Man

3 years ago

Edit (29/2/2011): Piracy discussion is stupid. This post was stupid. It is now removed.

magrat

3 years ago

Do I think DRM has gone to far? Not really, I've never had a game I purchased cause me issues as a result of DRM. That might well be just luck - I bought Bioshock on release day but didn't install it for a few days, by which time the whole authentication issue was past. The DRM in Steam has never prevented me from playing anything, on any of the three machines I've had my copies of Peggle and TF2 installed on. I do think what SonyBMG did in 2005 with their rootkits on CDâ€™s was definitely an example of DRM going too far though. (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html - a good read if you are interested in the murky underbelly of DRM)

Ultimately, I can't see how piracy in it's current form can be controlled, assuming it's reached a level where it is seriously impacting the future of gaming - I'm always cautious when piracy gets blamed when a game doesn't sell well - I tend to think it was more likely it was just a poor game. In any case prosecuting downloaders doesn't seem to work, and it's not even possible to identify them accurately anyway. There was an article on the BBC website recently talking about how torrent sites regularly add random IP addresses to list of downloaders to try and prevent groups such as the RIAA and in that particular case Atari from being able to prosecute by IP address identification. I just don't see how content providers can stop the unauthorised distribution of their material at the moment.

I think the future of DRM is in the fact that a CD or DVD won't be seen as proof of ownership, given that it just isn't possible anymore to verify the disc is an original copy. Physical media won't be what you buy to play the game anymore, they'll just be a distribution mechanism. Having the disc in the drive won't entitle you to play in the way it does now. What will is the fact that the server has recorded a unique serial number against your account. Buy your game at the shop, and what you are really buying is the serial number in the box. CD keys? Don't matter - you can give the discs to anyone, they have no value anymore. But the person who gets the discs can't play the game until they buy a serial number of their own - either from your local game store or more likely from platforms such as Steam, Xbox Live, PSN etc - all of which is essentially what happens now with MMOs and online-only games but I suspect it will be pushed right across the board. Offline play will not be possible until you have logged in and entered your serial number. I reckon this generation of consoles will be the last that allow you to go to a shop, buy a game, put it into your machine and play it through to completion . They'll probably put either a playable demo or a time limited version onto the disk to allow you to at least start playing (say a number of playing hours or a couple of calendar days after you first start the game) before you are required to register (to try and prevent release day authentication issues), and continue your game once you've authenticated.

The main problem I see with this as a consumer is what happens when the authentication servers aren't there - I suspect at some point somebody is going to develop the ultimate DRM authentication repository that will manage the rights of all types of digital media - music, games, whatever. Your account will hold a record of all your music purchases, your video, your games - that way content providers can come and go but the authentication method will continue. But I can see some benefits - I'd love to be to pay say $X a month to be able to download and play any game ever released (for a given value of X obviously). Another example, let's say new DVD's were sold under this new DRM world. You buy a DVD of a film, register it, and away you go. Then, when Sony brings out Blu-Ray (or the next bigger and better format that makes your pictures sharper, explosions louder, the acting better and the jokes funnier), maybe they could let you upgrade your copy to the new format for say $10 instead of having to buy a new copy for $30. Optimistic perhaps, but it would be a way of encouraging people to upgrade to newer formats.

Benza

3 years ago

Mush Man wrote

Stuff on communisim.

I don't think you understand what communisim is. It isn't getting stuff for free it's the idea that everyone is entitled to equel amounts of stuff regardless of there job etc. Theft can still exist in communisim. Stealing a game is still stealing a game, it's just everyone would have the same amount of money to buy games.

Jellyfish

3 years ago

rufati wrote

nikack wrote

The installation of Homebrew is not itself illegal, but the creation is.

But wiki says:

Quote

So I'm guessing that Homebrew applications would be considered 'undocumented file formats', making Homebrew legal.

Patent holders just don't like it when it happens xD.

Actually Homebrew is considered to be "applications never to be supported". Also wikipedia says believed, that is the same as, using Mush Man's example: I believe it is legal for me to own an assault rifle because I'm going to use it responsibly.

Sure reverse engineering will still go on along with piracy, hell pirates are getting even more ballsy. People in China are suing Microsoft because their pirated copy of Windows is telling them that it is pirated.

The Genius

3 years ago

I personally am disappointed that Mush Man didn't get any pluses for his post. It goes to show how unbalanced this site is.

I would say over 90% of people on this site are Left Wingers. Not a bad thing, but certainly means anyone with a slightly Conservative post doesn't get much credit for a good logical post.

Mush Man is right. Whether you like it or not, he hit the nail on the head. The poll shouldn't be about the measures being taken by the publishers, but why whether they are justified.

Don't get me wrong, DRM is annoying for me because I purchase my stuff legally. But ultimately my anger goes to the pirates who are responsible for this stuff being implemented.

Mush Man is also right on another issue, its a form of communism uploading something illegal on the net and allowing for people to download it. Try and spin it all you want but thats the way it is.

Ultimately it comes down to one major point. If people didn't buy games at all and accessed them illegally, devs and publishers would not make profit and so would close shop. So there would be any games to play. That's the bottom line.

I just wish more people here could appreciate people's differing views even if they go against our ideology. I really love this site and generally enjoy reading the post from the various people here. So many great posters. It would be nice to see more fairness and balance.

rufati

3 years ago

If Homebrew was illegal, wouldn't companies like Nintendo be more than entitled to sue and shutdown people responsible for things like the R4, M3, etc.. ? Because these flash carts have been around for so long (and been unopposed by Nintendo), I'm skeptical about the illegality of Homebrew.

That and there's the Sourceforge project 'devkitPro' who have put together a set of libraries that allow developers to code for the GameCube, PSP, and DS platforms.

It just seems like either homebrew is legal, or companies don't care.

But anyway, on-topic about piracy:
I don't believe piracy measures are justified anymore. Everyone can go on about how their entitled to protect their property, but in the end they can only go so far before it becomes cumbersome.

Do I want someone to break into my home? No, so I have locks on the doors and windows. But I don't change the locks every week, it just makes it harder for legitimate users of my home to get in. Whereas for the people who wanna break in, it's the same no matter how many times I change my locks.

Who benefits from me being obsessive over the protection of my home? Everyone *except* the people who use it legitimately.

If anything, companies should be embracing region-free consoles and/or games. The only way (in Australia at least) we can legally chip a console is to circumvent region protection. So make consoles region-free, and then take legal action against modchip manufacturers and stockists.

Long post. My apologies. /End rambling.

Benza

3 years ago

The Genius wrote

Mush Man is also right on another issue, its a form of communism uploading something illegal on the net and allowing for people to download it. Try and spin it all you want but thats the way it is.

A: Communisim in of itself isn't a bad thing.
B: No it isn't communisim, not even close.

Communisim is about the eradication of a class based society, so there is no wealthy or poor, no ruling class etc. How the **** does torrenting a game equate to communisim. It doesn't. Thats copyright infringment. Thats all it is. There is no political ideology behind it, and to suggest there is is just mornonic.

jaiel_kstyl

3 years ago

A bit off topic, but yeah. WTF does breaking the law have anything to do with communism?

If anything, the reason of IP piracy is very similar to how communism fails.

Piracy, they all know to some extent that it's wrong. But they can't really think of it as incriminating and feels that just 'me' getting it for free doesn't cause any problems.

In communism, everyone's supposed to be equal no matter who you are. It fails because frankly everyone is selfish and self centred to a degree at least, and what would be the point of putting the effort in to work hard when you get paid the same money as the lazy dude next to you?

Anyway, on topic, the actual question to this topic is not really right imo. There is no 'too far' in trying to combat piracy.

I mean, they might as well quit developing games and find another job if it means not getting cheated of their efforts.
I wonder who would be laughing then.

Benza

3 years ago

jaiel_kstyl wrote

I mean, they might as well quit developing games and find another job if it means not getting cheated of their efforts.
I wonder who would be laughing then.

We'd still get plenty of awesome games, there are a lot of people that develop some awesome games for the fun of developing games instead of profit. They wouldn't be huge budget block busters but they'd still be a heap of fun.

Sinthesys

3 years ago

The Genius wrote

Mostly because Australia is more of a social democracy. We have unified public health care, a comprehensive welfare system and we used to have/still do have many government run enterprises. Of course we are going to be more left than right.

The Genius wrote

Don't get me wrong, DRM is annoying for me because I purchase my stuff legally. But ultimately my anger goes to the pirates who are responsible for this stuff being implemented.

Whether piracy exists or not, it is solely the choice of the developer to put in place DRM. I know of plenty of games that do not use DRM and aren't magically going out of business, because bottom line is DRM doesn't work. No matter what intentions they have, it doesn't work, so it is unnecessary. End of story.

The Genius wrote

Mush Man is also right on another issue, its a form of communism uploading something illegal on the net and allowing for people to download it. Try and spin it all you want but thats the way it is.

As benza has already said, it isn't communism in any way and there are so many reasons why it isn't, its not worth listing them all, it better that you simply read up on what communism actually is before denouncing it. You talk about us lefties being unfair about conservatists, but then you make the most stupidly right wing move of labelling anything you think undermining capitalism as 'holy ****, its the reds!'.

The Genius wrote

Ultimately it comes down to one major point. If people didn't buy games at all and accessed them illegally, devs and publishers would not make profit and so would close shop. So there would be any games to play. That's the bottom line.

Well, its funny you say that, as everyone with an internet connection has access to pirated games, and yet devs are still making games, still making huge profits. Is it that, shock horror, piracy is hugely overblown in its effects and that the majority of pirates wouldn't be game purchasers given a lack of choice anyway? Face it, piracy isn't theft in the conventional sense, as there is no actual loss to the developer unless the pirate in question was actually going to buy the game he pirates, which is very, very hard to prove.

NakedFaerie

3 years ago

Instead of this crap DRM which leads to the games getting pirated and not brought because its so pathetic to punish the real buyers is the way it use to be done that I can see a real pirate stopper. Remember Day Of The Tentacle? In that game you had a bit like 10 mins in where you have to find the number from the manual and put that in to continue the game.
To me that is the best piracey prevention as you have to have the manual to play it which means if you downloaded it you dont have the manual and your SOL so you would have to either go rent it or buy it to play.
Thats what I would do to stop piracey. So instead of putting all that DRM crap into the game, put that money into making a better game and about 10-60 mins into the game put a question somewhere that would have to be answered from the manual to continue. I bet that game would'nt be pirated as much as any game with DRM.

I for one have downloaded Spore and I refuse to buy it as its got DRM in it. Remove DRM then I will think about it... Well I wont even think about it as I think its crap anyway and I've already uninstalled and deleted it so no loss there. I think that game is worth a rental and either you will like it or hate it. I for one hated it. Boring...

FarCry 2 is suppose to be the same as Spore, full of crap DRM so I didnt even bother with it on PC. I did go and buy it on PS3 so they did get my money as that is a great game but I might've got it on PC if it didnt have DRM so its their loss they put that crap in.

To the big devs, DONT PUT IN DRM AND YOU WILL SELL MORE. Its that easy but do you think they will listen to us? They dont gave a s*** about what we think so they will loose money till they listen to us as we are the ones with the money.

Thats my 2 cents.

Benza

3 years ago

NakedFaerie wrote

To me that is the best piracey prevention as you have to have the manual to play it which means if you downloaded it you dont have the manual and your SOL so you would have to either go rent it or buy it to play.
Thats what I would do to stop piracey. So instead of putting all that DRM crap into the game, put that money into making a better game and about 10-60 mins into the game put a question somewhere that would have to be answered from the manual to continue. I bet that game would'nt be pirated as much as any game with DRM.

Me: Hey Joe, whats the number at the bottom of page 5 in the maunal.
Joe: 67
Me: Thanks

Yep no way to circumvent that kind of copy protection is there

Basicly it's just an early form of a CD Key.

Sin Ogaris

3 years ago

What's really needed is the old fashioned codewheels, and not one codewheel that deciphers all but an individual wheel for each copy of the game. That'd be awesomeness.

Mush Man

3 years ago

Edit (29/2/2011): Piracy discussion is stupid. This post was stupid. It is now removed.

Sin Ogaris

3 years ago

I read all of that and pretty much agree with everything. You, my posting friend, are a genius.

My only issue is with the idea that contacting the developers will make a difference. So far... it hasn't. Although they have indeed taken steps to make the DRM more manageable (allowing more installs, etc) it doesn't seem like they are shying(sp?) away from the concept altogether and that's what gets people's goats. It is common knowledge that all law abiding game purchasers are against DRM implementation, many developers have discussed this, and it's also fairly common on official game forums (where the development team DO frequent) so the word is definitely getting out there. It's just not making a difference.

Ultimately the only real answer is to hit them in the hip pocket. By not purchasing DRM riddled content, that then kills the PC Gaming industry and everyone has to play games on their tv instead... not a good solution.

Sinthesys

3 years ago

Ok, your logic is severely broken.

Quote

Haha, this communism debate is fun. Of course communism is about equality, everyone being the same. So really, in a true communistic society, if one person gets a game, then everyone will for communism to work. Pirates are more communistic than others because they distribute and accept content that someone else already has to equal themselves with them. In basic terms: Person who owns game > Person who does not own game. Person who owns game = Person who owns game. Person who doesn't own game < Person who owns game. If you got a game and gave away a copy for free, that is a communistic act, because only one of you bought the game, the other one wanted it to be equal and they got it.

Piracy wouldn't be condoned in a Communist country, in fact its quite the opposite. You are completely confusing the ideals of the class struggle with the fundamentals of equality, they are not the same thing, not to mention your logic is based on a total oversimplification and a logical fallacy like: 'elephants are grey. That animal is also grey. Therefore, that animal is an elephant'.

More importantly, your concept that one who owns a game is considered to have an elevated class position in society is pretty stupid. The idea that something is a communist act through the illegal sharing of material 'cos they want to be equal' is **** stupid. At this point in time I'm not quite sure whether you're taking the piss or you actually believe this makes sense. Go read Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto, as you seem to lack any understanding of what communism is. Hell, go read it up on Wikipedia. Seriously, I'm not sure you know what communism is at all.

Quote

We should cast our eyes to the scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who created the third law of universal motion, which is simplified to "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". I see this applying to much more than just motion, but in actions in general. It co-operates with Einstein's law "Energy is never lost; it can only be transferred or transformed". Therefore, pirates pirating is affecting the world. Since there are many pirates that are pirating, a much larger effect is felt. Piracy is hurting the gaming world as it is hurting devs and pubs. If the gaming industry starts to collapse because of pirates, then all gamers, legit and pirates, won't have as many good games to play. Everyone loses, or rather "...everybody dies" (- Body of Lies).

Sigh. Trying to use physics principles of the third law of motion and the law of the conservation of energy to prove piracy affects everyone? Now I know you are taking the piss. Nobody could be that stupid, or actually believe that dropping a few 11th grade terms is going to garner any legitimacy to your ridiculous claims. Seriously, as I said before:

Quote

Your claims that piracy is some sort of pervasive force of 'energy and motion' that will crush the industry under its communist boot are disproven by the mere fact that DRM doesn't work and piracy is a readily available option right now. That's right, people can pirate software right now. Hey, I just looked out of my window, and the world isn't ending, gaming companies still exist, and yes, they are still making games and huge profits.

Quote

Again, DRM satisfies game developers and publishers because they believe it stops piracy. Whether that's the case is a different. You can't just say to someone, without evidence, that something that they believe works does not. They'll disagree, and they win because they have final say.

True, but there is plenty of evidence out there in the form of any torrenting website and the amount of leachers/seeders present.

Quote

Simthesys, there is no evidence to suggest that we were complaining about capitalism being undermined, nor eluding toward it, so your comment is antagonistic and invalid. Have a nice day.

And claiming piracy=communism isn't? Don't give my any of your passive aggressive hypocrisy. Capitalism is the antithesis of communism, so by claiming piracy is the upholding of one, you are also claiming it is undermining the other. Remember, you were the one who brought political ideals into the debate (a debate in which they have no place, mind you), so don't get your feathers in a ruffle when someone calls you out on it.

Quote

I think the problem is is that pirates are ignorant, thinking that piracy is a "victimless crime", or perhaps, is "victimless". Since the pirates are more issolated from the effects of their crimes, it's easier for them to commit them. Again, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

That doesn't make sense. You have said that the primary effects of piracy are that gaming companies loose money and go out of business/stop making games (fallacy) or that they keep beefing up DRM. These both directly affect piractes, who obviously do what they do to play games, meaning games take up a significant portion of their lives. I'm fairly sure these are the people who have their finger on the pulse of the gaming community and would definitely feel the effects of piracy.

Quote

I also think that a point we're missing is that the amount of us who won't buy a game because it has DRM is insignificant. If you really have a bone to pick with DRM and game devs and pubs for it, then rather than complaining on a forum where only fellow gamers are listening, contact them. It's the only way you'll get a real result. It's incredibly unrealistic to think that game devs and pubs browse forums such as these to gather feedback on their games, so you're not talking to people who can make a difference.

While I agree with you on the point of 'drm doesn't discourage legitimate purchase on a significant level', you keep throwing around this idea that sending a letter is going to make a difference. It's incredibly unrealistic to think that letters/emails from gamers are going anywhere but the bin. Hey, if they follow your logic, no one stops buying due to DRM, however it might discourage piracy to some extent, so it can't hurt to include DRM.

Ok, I just want to clear this up, so that its made clear the effects of piracy. I'm not sure about the actual contextual effects or the extent of them, so please, anyone:

Name one gaming company that has shut down as a direct result of piracy.

If you can't name one, I believe I've made my point abundantly clear. If you can name one or more, I guess I have to re-evaluate my stance on the effects of piracy, however I'd be fairly sceptical about the sources of said information and how they came to that conclusion, as I've said it before: its almost impossible to prove that a pirate was going to buy the game if they couldn't pirate it. And since piracy affects potential sales and not loss of actual product, it is integral that this link to whether or not the pirate would buy the game is made.

Of course, this is getting a little off track from DRM, but ultimately, DRM is contingent on 2 facts: 1. piracy damages the industry significantly enough to invest in DRM and 2. That DRM stops piracy.

Lord Haart

3 years ago

If it fails to actually stop pirates (or, like DRM, actually encourages it), then yes it's too far.

If it works, like Steam, then supply and demand dictate that companies will have to find a level of anti-piracy measures which do not overly affect consumers, so I'm not too worried. If a game is no longer fun because it takes too long to install, I'll just develop my own game.

Benza

3 years ago

Mush Man wrote

Yes, I think people are reading the question for the poll incorrectly and are instead only reading what they want to read. And I'm not even sure whether the people here are honest when they say then don't want these anti-piracy methods 'cause it makes life harder for the legitimate buyer. Perhaps there are some pirates who only want to pirate games and they're so opposed to it because it might mean that their free ride is over? Please note{/b] that if you are a legitimate buyer, that I am not calling you a pirate for disliking anti-piracy methods.

God seriously, half the stuff you're writing doesn't make any sense.
Are you actully reading the posts of other people?

The DRM methods everyones complaining about [b]don't make it harder for the regular person to pirate games. Thats one of the main problems everyone has. Spore, Crysis, etc they were cracked and on torrent sites either the day of release or before the game was actully released.

Quote

If game developers and publishers want to crack down on piracy more than they are now, they're gonna need to act smarter, no doubt. However, they seem content with the methods that are in place now, so if you're getting trouble from the anti-piracy methods when you're a legitimate gamer, contact the company. I've already said this.

Do you seriously think that the game companies are oblivious to this?
When every single game news site reports that everyone is pissed off about there DRM, when sites like Amazon get bombarded with hundreds upon hundreds of 1 star reviews complaining about the DRM what do you think the people at EA don't have an internet connection?

Quote

lol I don't know anything about Communisim

Sinth mostly coverd this, no it's not communisim. Communisim is about equality in a class based system and the destruction of the rich/poor heirachy. Not everyone having the exact same thing.

Quote

Ok firstly, Isaac Newton studied physics, not economics, his laws have absolutly jack **** to do with the state of piracy effecting game development. Stop pulling stuff out of you're arse. And as usual, actual facts kind of dissprove you're point. The game industry has been growing, massivley. It's now worth more then hollywood. Any effects piracy is actully having on the industry is mostly negligible. The only companies that would be effected by it are the really small indie game devs, the thing is try finding one of there games for download. You usualy can't. I can find like 12 torrents for a big name game like Spore or something but can't find jack for Braid or some smaller games.

Quote

It's not that companies don't care about homebrew, they just haven't been in the position to combat it. Didn't you read that the DS-i will prevent the current flash carts? And it's a pretty hard to homebrew for the consoles (excluding Wii, but Nintendo are still fighting homebrew there). Realistically speaking, the compainies that create the consoles control the quality of the content released on them, as well as only allow developers who have got the "OK" and fee paid. People who have not paid that fee nor has their product not be submitted for testing and quality aren't paying those fees are providing gamers free content that would have otherwise had to conform with the rules. Because they broke those rules, the parent company receives less revenue. So of course the companies are aganist homebrew.

Again prove companies are against homebrew. Most of the efforts to stop homebrew stem from them hacking the systems to run pirated games, prove to me nintendo is activley trying to stop me playing Tetris for free on my Wii.

Quote

Again, I don't beleive game developers are that naieve. Do you seriously think EA is oblivious to the fact that there games sporting Securerom were cracked on available online for free the day of release?

Quote

Again, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Again, Issac Newton was a physicist, not an ecconomist.

Quote

Many game Devs do, hell I was reading an interview with Peter Moleneux yesterday were he said that due to the internet his relationship with the media is far more exciting because he can see the reaction to what he's said almost instantly on various forums. The thing you have to remember is that game devs are gamers. Why wouldn't they go on forums? Hell there are probbably game devs from some of the various Aussie studios on this forum, I know there are guys from Pandemic etc on Australian Gamers.

Skiller

3 years ago

Could people please stop lumping the developers with the publishers? I'm a dev and ALL the devs I know and ALL the devs they know don't like DRM, if we had our way the worst DRM would be a unique CD-Key with no online activation and maybe a very basic disc check. It's the publishers that push DRM, and even there I'd wager that it's only the bigwigs that have never played games that want DRM.

Jellyfish

3 years ago

Lord Haart wrote

Hello oxymoron. If I played the games that are like the ones exclusive to Steam, I'd be more likely to pirate them than if they were available with strict DRM like the one in SPORE. Unfortunately Team Fortress 2 requires Steam to be remotely useful so I have to put up with it and the constant crashing, memory hogging and nag screens just so I make Mitch, Samiboi and Puddingfork go splat occasionally.

PagePrevious 12

View as forum topic

Add Comment