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    By: yAak This person is cool! x Show Full Post
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    Piracy/DRM crap:

    You know, I'm wondering how much of this piracy EA and other publishers try and prevent has anything to do with torrent sites and cracked exes. I mean, everyone generally assumes that DRM is attempting to prevent a glut of torrent downloads, even then I think a good % of the piraters would never buy half the games they steal even if piracy became impossible. Time and time again, no DRM actually prevents it and I would think that publishers are aware of this.

    So, maybe the DRM is largely there to prevent casual pirating by people who hardly even know what a torrent is, but pass their copy of Spore around to friends and family? Draconic install-count/machine-spec limitations would go a long way to halt that kind of piracy.

    I'm mostly thinking aloud here and have no factual knowledge to back up my speculations. What do you all think? I was going to post this in the EA DRM article but FP threads rarely have real discussion...
    Oct 14, 2008 4:26pm PDT
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    Piracy/DRM crap: You know, I'm wondering how much of this piracy EA and other publishers try and pre... : yAakThis person is cool!

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    • DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNAR! : zanzares
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      i don't know. i wouldn't have thought "casual piracy" would be nearly as big a problem as torrents/web pi... : erotic sock
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        That is what they want to curb. Borrowing, 2nd hand sales etc... : zanzares
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          if so, wouldn't that be far MORE of an issue for consoles? trading/borrowing games on a console is far ea... : erotic sock
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            they really hate that. i wonder what companies like gamefly do to appease them (i assume some sort of ro... : smackncaThis person is cool!
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              How would they be prevented from existing, exactly? : adpalumbo
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                big game companies could target them and sue the crap out of them after figuring some way to list it as a... : smackncaThis person is cool!
                • There's no established grounds for it. It would have broad implications across all media and wouldn't be... : adpalumbo
            • i think that stuff works like blockbuster works. : dahanese
          • hmm yeah, good point. especially games with no multiplayer component : yAakThis person is cool!
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            Well yes, it obviously is, and it seems like developers (or publishers, really) are working long and hard... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
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              i just don't hear anyone complaining about this in the "piracy is killing pc gaming" arguments. : erotic sock
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                There's been some pretty big discussions about it here before, with GeorgeB and others talking about rent... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
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                  Imagine if libraries had video games. What would happen then. You dont see the book market complaining ab... : zanzares
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                    This is true...but books are (most of the "popular" market anyway) written by one or two people for (I as... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
                    • Gamefly is almost as good as nothing. you can get 4-6 games done in a month depending on how fast you pla... : zanzares
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            Borrowing a game should be fully allowed, though. : EvilDolemiteThis person is cool!
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              Right, but with PC titles, you need DRM (online checks, disk checks) to make sure that only one copy is b... : deveus1This person is cool!
              • That doesn't address one-time experience single player games. Multi-player games aren't the issue, really... : aldraek
          • this is the heart of the issue.. and it won't stop until they can charge you every time you look at a scr... : aldraek
          • They are starting to release games with "bonus packs" that are serial numbers. For example, if you get G... : TreMetalThis person is cool!
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        torrents and web piracy are part of what i call casual piracy these days. most PC games aren't easily pas... : dahanese
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          "most PC games aren't easily passed among friends anymore." Well, that's thanks to DRM, right? : yAakThis person is cool!
          • yep. and that's been going on for years. i mean, i got Civ1 originally from my best friend, and she kept ... : dahanese
    • BINGO : deveus1This person is cool!
    • It is but the thing is, these really advanced measures seem WAY over kill to stop the casual copying. I ... : smackncaThis person is cool!
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      one of the things gamers hate THE MOST about DRM (other than what SeucROM installs on your system) is the... : dahanese
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        can't the publisher use strong encryption and tracing for pre-release copies (for reviewers and trade sho... : the archvileThis person is cool!
        • there are different ways to protect pre-release copies (review copies) and that is done. those aren't wha... : dahanese
        • In the case of Spore, I'd wager it was a copy sold in the territories that got it early (like AUS or EU) ... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
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      Don't copy that floppy : NighteyesThis person is cool!
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        I was copying C64 floppies like a fiend when I was 5 years old. I thought that was how you were supposed ... : zanzares
        • I don't think I've ever met anyone else who had a C64, in real life. : WildDanimal
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      Casual piracy is the #1 problem because those are usually potential buyers. : TopazThis person is cool!
      • But how often do people even try to do that anymore? All the people I ever knew who did that have long... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
    • yeah this really is rocket science, even MS has internet activation figured out : DownforceThis person is cool!
    • I seem to remember stuff about Starcraft having a bunch of fluff on the disc to prevent it from fitting o... : MercFox1
    • they want to kill the re-sale market. : skryte