Not content with making Prince of Persia too easy for players, Ubisoft have decided to make it too easy for pirates as well!

Read More »

I sometimes feel like discussions on game piracy ought to be shelved alongside scintillating 1960s publications from the Rand Corporation like Counterinsurgency in Manchuria, except the piracy discussions are considerably more engaging.

Read More »

Never thought "in-game DRM deauthorization" would be touted as a huge feature in a patch, but it's one of two options PC users now can take advantage of in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.

Read More »

I'll say this for Rockstar - they do like a controversy. Usually, though, they go in for cool controversies like sexy mini games or the sensationalised depiction of car crime and bullying.

Read More »

Two people filed suit in federal court against Electronic Arts back in October, alleging the SecuROM digital rights management installed on their machines by a trial version of Spore Creature Creator, and a full version of the Sims, constitutes unlawful and deceptive business practices.

Read More »

With game publishers getting blasted over strict digital rights management solutions in their PC titles left and right these days, Ascaron and cdv Software Entertainment USA are taking a rather different approach. Rather than limit the number of times you can install the game on various machines, you'll be able to install Sacred 2: Fallen Angel on as many systems as you'd like as a sort of "Try Before You Buy" feature. Purchasers of retail or digital copies of the game can pass it around to friends, which lets them play the full version of the game for one calendar day before requiring they buy the title.

"We feel that consumers should have a right to choose, and this innovative system offers the perfect purchasing option for gamers," said Heiko tom Felde, Managing Director of ASCARON. "It's a great system for family and friends, allowing everyone the opportunity to try out the game and play together, then making a purchase decision."

Read More »

Oh dear. This is pretty much the exact opposite of a slam dunk.

Read More »

Will Wright attended the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards ceremony at the Hearst Tower in New York City last night where he saw Spore pick up an award for Setting Benchmarks in Design, Creativity and Engineering. I caught up with him afterward for a bit to find out his take on the whole DRM situation. EA's John Riccitiello said a few days prior that he isn't a fan of DRM, but something had to be done to stop those pirates. I asked Wright how involved he was in the decision process to include DRM for Spore or if it was mostly EA's doing.

Read More »

EA boss John Riccitiello totally hates DRM, but the company uses SecuROM DRM for Spore to fight piracy. Publisher Ubisoft is also using DRM for shooter Far Cry 2, but slightly different DRM. According to the game's official forum:

Read More »

Rob Pardo, executive vice president of game design at Blizzard says that the company has "no particular plans" to institute software verification checks for Diablo III to prevent piracy. Pardo tells Wired's Game|Life blog that its solution is "more similar to Steam than EA," good news for Diablo fans who don't want a steaming pile of anti-piracy debacle a la Mass Effect on their hands.

Read More »