Just Cause Creator: “DRM Doesn’t Stop Piracy”

24 responses to “Just Cause Creator: “DRM Doesn’t Stop Piracy””

1. 

   Braaains

   March 28, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   I agree on the issue of DRM penalizing legitimate consumers. The stuff still gets broken eventually and then the pirates end up with an experience that is actually superior to that which the paying customers are getting. There’s something not quite right there.

   It’s similar to those irritating anti-piracy messages you get on the front of DVDs that often can’t be skipped over or fast-forwarded through. If I’d just downloaded the movie off a torrent, I wouldn’t get that message. So why on earth do movie studios think it helps anybody to force an anti-piracy message on people who obviously DIDN’T pirate the movie?!?!

   The worst case I’ve seen was with the DVD of Charlie Wilson’s War. Great movie, but I can’t actually watch it because EVERY TIME I put in the disc I have to sit through a 5 minute commercial with Gwyneth Paltrow telling me how bad the AIDS situation is in Africa. It can’t be skipped over, can’t be fast forwarded through, it’s just there like a big “F*** YOU FOR BUYING THIS MOVIE”. If I’d just pirated it (which I actually DID end up doing after realizing I’d never get to watch the movie without sitting through Gwyneth Paltrow Presents AIDS Is Bad every time otherwise) I never would have had to sit through it. At least make the damn thing skippable or fast forwardable.

   Reply
   1. 

      Trjn

      March 28, 2011 at 3:29 pm

      I believe most of those can be skipped by stopping and starting the disc several times, after three or four goes, you end up at the main disc menu.

      Works all of the time, 60% of the time.

      Reply
      1. 

         Braaains

         March 28, 2011 at 4:35 pm

         In the case of the Charlie Wilson’s War DVD, I seem to recall the Gwyneth Paltrow AIDS ad was actually PART of the main menu. I.e. if you pressed the menu button after the movie had started, it’d actually make you sit through the damn ad again before taking you to the menu.

         It is truly Satan’s DVD. I always knew he’d be a Tom Hanks fan.

         Reply
   2. 

      Tech Knight

      March 28, 2011 at 3:38 pm

      Agreed on all counts as usual, always love reading your comments, you know your stuff. 🙂

      I remember a DVD sometimes having more movie ads/Bluray ads/HD DVD ads than any cinema I’ve even been in. As soon as one long ad about HD DVDs finally finishes, you breathe in to let out a sigh of relief then it hits you with another ad for a different movie! A big “FUUUUUUUUUU!” moment there for me lol. Granted it allowed me to skip those, but I was hitting skip for about five minutes before it actually reached the main menu. Very annoying

      Reply
      1. 

         djmcbell

         March 29, 2011 at 5:42 pm

         Probably not as bad as when I saw one of the Harry Potter films at the cinema – 45 minutes of adverts! Then trailers!

         DVDs can be annoying with the amount of anti-piracy adverts and stuff before them. I think it was watching The Shield, and you’d have the anti-piracy crap when going into the menu, and then have to wait through it again before the episode began.

         Back on topic, if developers are beginning to suspect DRM doesn’t actually stop piracy, or indeed hinder it in any form, wouldn’t a good idea be to stop using it on a few games and see what happens with regards to sales? Lots of people do say they steer clear of certain PC titles because of these measures.

         Reply
   3. 

      Glenn

      March 28, 2011 at 3:53 pm

      Part of the reason why these clips are on the front of DVD’s was to discourage those people 5-10 years ago that would burn DVD’s/sell illegal DVD’s, back in a time where not everyone had the capacity to download movies, as the current course of piracy appears to be.

      They do piss me off royally though, with the amount of money I put out every year on DVD/Blu-rays… I expect to be able to skip your god damn anti-piracy messages, I own your product.

      Reply
   4. 

      FatShady MBA

      March 29, 2011 at 8:05 am

      I watched that movie recently. It was a pirated version so the quality was great and the movie started instantly.

      Really not justifying my personal decisions but when I hear you all talking about it I wanted to highlight your point. I did the wrong thing but had a better experience. I’d never considered that argument.

      Btw I do purchase DVDs games music etc especially if it’s indie stuff!!!

      Reply
2. 

   f4cti0n

   March 28, 2011 at 3:16 pm

   Sounds just like every reasonable pc gamer I’ve spoken to.

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3. 

   lamboman007

   March 28, 2011 at 3:19 pm

   YES! A game dev with his head screwed on straight!

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4. 

   pfernando27

   March 28, 2011 at 3:21 pm

   ima buy this game now

   Reply
5. 

   Awnshegh

   March 28, 2011 at 3:26 pm

   I don’t think DRM is the problem – content creaters need to protect their property. I think the problem is how DRM is currently being implemented. Right now it’s penalising the purchasing consumer and not the pirate. It’s just one of the reasons why 90% of my gaming is now done on console.

   Reply
   1. 

      Glenn

      March 28, 2011 at 3:47 pm

      Resorting to console play doesn’t even work anymore, when I fired up Dead Space 2, I was told I had to enter a product key to get full access to online play. I think this is just EA being the usual bunch of whiny buttholes they were when it comes to DRM.

      I really do agree though, now that I work for a software company I no longer pirate software/games… This is partly because I have a job now and can actually afford the products I want. Those that pirate are having the better experience than those of us that get kicked off our game because our internet hiccuped.

      Reply
      1. 

         Stuart Hodge

         March 28, 2011 at 4:24 pm

         Pretty sure that’s not to stop piracy, but rather to kill the second-hand market. EA did similar with ME2 on PS3

         Reply
   2. 

      Richard

      March 28, 2011 at 4:00 pm

      That’s totally right.

      Steam is essentially DRM, but I’d still rather buy a game on Steam than as an unsecured binary because I know that Steam will fulfill its agreement of ‘digital rights management’ by providing me with a downloadable copy wherever I can log in.

      Reply
      1. 

         Alinos

         March 28, 2011 at 6:05 pm

         yup steam is acceptable DRM, but it doesn’t rely on an internet connection or communication with a server to work. It’s perfectly reasonable to download and switch your account to offline mode and play for the rest of your life.

         My only issue with Steam is when some companies decide they will only install Via Steam. but then instead of using it’s features decide to make you install some 3rd party BS on top of it. I’m primarily looking at DoW II and Bioshock 2 here, with there stupid GFWL

         Reply
6. 

   Schwolop

   March 28, 2011 at 3:37 pm

   The funny thing is that I read the headline as “DLC doesn’t stop piracy” and was thinking I should read the article because I agreed about that too.

   Reply
7. 

   Tech Knight

   March 28, 2011 at 3:48 pm

   I think the devs should make you register your game online and only need to go online once to validate your copy BEFORE installing the game itself. So then it doesn’t need to be online at all anymore because you already proved your copy is legitimate, making it continue the installation procedure.

   Further on from that, on the developer’s site, they have certain hidden key files needed in order for your game to run properly, so when you register your game successfully on their site, your installation program will download those files to progress further, while those trying to get a no CD-key install, it won’t work since this download is coming from the very dev’s site itself.

   But then again if it were that easy it would’ve been implemented already, I’m sure that could easily be exploited another way. Feel free to point out whats wrong with it so I can learn lol 🙂

   Reply
   1. 

      poedgirl

      March 28, 2011 at 4:44 pm

      Include said files as a crack for the game. Extremely simple to get around.

      If it’s embedded in the installer, make a custom installer.

      Essentially, pretty much all DRM can be circumvented. People come up with new “uncrackable” methods that are easily cracked by people with enough knowledge. DRM is useless.

      Reply
   2. 

      PiratePete

      March 28, 2011 at 5:40 pm

      The big issue is again you would be taking away from the customer. These days game companies come and go every few years and if your game requires online activation nobody will be able to play it in a few years should your servers be taken down or decommissioned.

      And again it will just be cracked so it will be a waste of time.

      The worst one I have seen is Assassins Creed 2 and even that was cracked in a month.

      I dont see what was wrong with just having a CD-Key and nothing else like in the days of Warcraft 3/Call of Duty 2

      Reply
8. 

   Ollycity

   March 28, 2011 at 7:17 pm

   Whatever he’s selling, I’m buying.

   Reply
9. 

   JTJ

   March 29, 2011 at 12:23 pm

   What happened to the good old days in the early 90s where the DRM was a code wheel or a “what is the 3rd word on Page 5, Chapter 2?”
   Those were the best 🙂

   I also hate how I buy a retail game, then have to use Steam to activate/register it before I can play it. Now its locked to my account and if someone else wants to play it they have to log into Steam with my credentials. Annoying.

   Reply
   1. 

      Chris Lynn

      March 29, 2011 at 8:48 pm

      Ah, the spin wheels.. you’ve made me feel old but remembering those games makes me not care.

      Reply
10. 

    StudiodeKadent

    March 29, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    DRM is a complicated subject to discuss, since both sides have legitimate claims.

    On one side, legit consumers feel they are being treated like criminals and in many cases having their overall experiences diminished by DRM procedures.

    On the other side, developers do have a right to protect their products.

    That said, I think an online authentication procedure, like the first BioShock, is a reasonable level of DRM. So are CD keys.

    However, post-installation, DRM should not intrude on the customer.

    Limits on installations? Bad. Permanent online connection? Bad.

    Reply
11. 

    adam smolkowicz

    March 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    Totally agree with this article

    Reply