Netflix - a new DRM Fail

Check the date of this post.  LOL
I was trying to punch up some "Doctor Who" while I exercise today (08 Jan 2014).

I guess it's no longer alright to have your computer set to the correct date.

DRM sucks. Just sayin'...

EDIT: https://support.netflix.com/en/node/208
The fix... Looks like a Silverlight file called mspr.hds somehow got corrupt.  All I had to do was delete it from:
%ProgramData%\Microsoft\PlayReady
... and I'm back in business.

(Did I mention DRM sucks?  Necessary evil for streaming content, I know, but still...)

Will a Games for Windows Live shut down take its toll?

I'm a little behind on this news, but Microsoft announced in August that, in process of them switching everything to Xbox branding, they will be closing the Games for Windows Marketplace. At the time of that announcement, they said Games for Windows Live would continue to function. However, also in August, they briefly displayed a support message on the Age of Empires Online page:

Games for Windows Live will be discontinued on July 1, 2014. Although it is available through Steam, Age of Empires Online requires features of the Games for Windows Live service. You can continue to enjoy all the features of Age of Empires Online as the service will remain 100% operational until July 1, 2014 when the server will shut down.

Now, I hadn't heard anything about GFWL shutting down until today, when a friend pointed me to this Kotaku article about Bioshock 2 being updated by Digital Extremes (who originally handled the multiplayer aspect of the game) which, in addition to other changes, removed GFWL from the game. A player's Bioshock 2 GFWL key can also now be activated in Steam, and all players now own the DLC, including the single player expansion, Minerva's Den.

So, it's great to see a developer taking the time to update a slightly older game to remove the dying GFWL, while also adding better support for controllers, and giving all players more content. However, that brought to mind other games which also use Games for Windows Live. What will happen to those games if/when GFWL does shut down?

As noted on ghacks.net, developers who do not update their games may be locking users out of minor features (leaderboards, achievements, matchmaking, etc.) or, in the case of games that use GFWL to manage save games, the players will be locked out of their saved games. Other games, like Fallout 3, would lock players out of any paid DLC, as it uses GFWL for authentification. With Fallout 3, modders have taken steps to bypass GFWL because of the issues players were having with it.

I hope that more developers will take the effort to update games when the authentification servers/services are going offline. I hope they will update games to not use GFWL, especially in the case that Microsoft does terminate its service July 1, 2014. Fortunately, if the data from PCGamingWiki is accurate, some developers are listening.

One last note (personal wish), I REALLY hope that if Steam ever does shut down, they find some way to make our games accessible. I've heard many claim that Valve has promised that would happen, but I've never seen an official source.

Wins in the War Against DRM - Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox One

After unveiling the Xbox One in May, Microsoft announced some lame DRM policies that are like unto the ones that have driven PC gamers nuts for quite some time now..

Sony answered at E3 by announcing they will NOT require a constant internet connection or periodic authentication and does NOT restrict used games.

IGN annoucned today that Microsoft reversed their Xbox One DRM policies.

Did Sony's announcement have anything to do with today's announcement?  Probably so, but it doesn't matter... as long as they're listening to the industry and the consumers.

I have yet to see hard data that proves that DRM has ever worked for a company by turning a new profit... the games still get pirated (I think the crackers and hackers out there find it an even more fun challenge to break the DRM.)  The paying customers are always the ones hurt by it, and it's a waste of the game company's hard-earned money to write the crappy DRM software, then support and maintain it, then support and maintain the countless paying customers that can't play their game because they can't get past the DRM.

But oh yeah, the pirates still play for free and still steal your games.  Since you can't get around it, don't punish the paying customers; because they'll stop paying.  Pirates who want to steal your games have no intention to pay for your game.  If they did, they would.. And even if you figured out the ultimate system to stop them from stealing it; they will just move on to something else they can play without paying for... they're not going to magically change their mind and go pay for your game.

So, I'm glad Sony and Microsoft are "getting it" -- and I REALLY REALLY hope PC game producers/publishers will start "getting it" too.  Drop the failing mindset that DRM works and direct your resources to making great quality content worth buying.

Kudos to Sony and Microsoft for keeping some fun in gaming.

NOTE: I'm not an advocate of piracy... in fact, those who know me realize it's quite the opposite.  However, I've worked for companies where I've had to build DRM and maintain it, and most of the defects in our products are either because of it, or directly tied to it.  Not being required to develop it or maintain it frees precious developer resources to focusing on adding quality content to your games which will keep the paying clientele coming back for more.

Reason to Love Ubisoft Again! DRM Getting Toned Back Down

I've had somewhat of a Jekyll/Hyde relationship with Ubisoft for a few years now.  I love them because there is a division within that is really focused on making gamers' experience awesome for LAN events, tournaments, etc. (you'll find many articles here about their support for our GEEX TrackMania tournaments in the past couple of years; and my next post will feature an incredible thing the Ubisoft/Nadeo crew did for me last weekend.)

However, you will also find many articles discussing my disgust and disappointment about their Online Services Platform always-on DRM.

I'm pleased to announce that I hopefully can abandon the DRM hate and just return to love for Ubisoft after a fantastic announcement on the "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" website was made yesterday morning.  The website  announced that Ubisoft is "scrapping always-on DRM for PC games."

"Rock, Paper, Shotgun" published a full interview 2 hours later where they spoke with Stephanie Perotti, Ubisoft's Worldwide Director for Online Games and Michael Burk, Ubisoft's Communications Manager.

According to Perotti: "We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time online activation when you first install the game, and from then you are free to play the game offline."

I will test this very soon, as I boycotted several games that I'd wanted to purchase, but was unwilling to put up with their always-on DRM... titles like "Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands" and the "HAWX" series.  I was awarded a copy of Forgotten Sands at the end of last year, but haven't installed it because of said boycott.  I'm excited to see if what they said is true, because I'd really like to play the game.

However,  it was unclear to me in the article (someone please comment if you can confirm) if older games would have it removed, or if the DRM decision was only being applied to releases from that June date forward.  I hope it will be removed for these other games I've wanted to play.

Regardless, this is a huge step in regaining faith in Ubisoft for PC gamers, as well as faith that other publishers in the industry will follow suit.  Those of us that have been voting with our wallets now need to do the same and support this move.  I hope I will find out I can go back and buy the games I missed because they chose to remove the DRM from them as well; and look forward to future titles from Ubisoft that will allow me to play my games whenever, however and wherever I like.  Let's hope it keeps for a very long time!

Thanks, Ubisoft!  Here's to a bright future.

Good news for Steam lovers and DRM haters

The Big List of 3rd Party DRM on Steam

I found this today while looking up some information about the Steam versions of Thief Gold and Thief II: The Metal Age.  I want to send a shout out and a huge thank you to those that maintain and contribute to this list.  It will greatly assist those of us who despise and oppose DRM in making well-educated purchases (or in many cases, deciding against purchasing.)

For the record, which I expected, there was no DRM for these two games on the Steam version either.  Someone had posted a forum thread requesting Steam remove it, but was corrected by other players.

I hope you find this useful.  I know I will.  Especially in the rare cases when Steam omits the DRM information from the game's page.

And, as always, you can always purchase Thief Gold on GOG.com as well as Thief II on GOG.com and be guaranteed DRM-free.

Valve and DRM - They "get it" and that's why they're winning.

Kotaku posted an article today with selections from an interview with Gabe Newell (Valve) discussing piracy and Valve's plans for the future. I'll include a few quotes, then link to the article below.

" 'We're a broken record on this,' Newell told me, 'This belief that you increase your monetization by making your game worth less through aggressive digital rights management is totally backwards . It's a service issue, not a technology issue. Piracy is just not an issue for us.' "

"But when Valve looked into what was going on there [Russia] they saw that the pirates were doing a better job of localizing games then the publishers were."

" 'They best way to fight piracy is to create a service that people need,' he said. 'I think (publishers with strict DRM) will sell less of their products and create more problems.' "

" 'Customers want to know everything is going to be there for them no matter what: Their saved games and configurations will be there. They don't want any uncertainty.' "

http://kotaku.com/5835328/why-portals-publishers-dont-fear-piracy-competition

Thank you, Gabe Newell & Valve, for understanding your customers.

Ubisoft lied about From Dust DRM

So, more reason to despise Ubisoft. Ubisoft originally stated that "From Dust" would require a one-time activation with your game/cd-key.

One of the original posts:

"We are aware of some confusion over the inclusion of DRM in the release of From Dust on PC.
To prevent any on-going confusion we would like to clarify From Dust PC will release with DRM requiring a one-time only online activation. After which you will be able to play the game offline.
We hope this clears any outstanding confusion on the matter
With thanks"

However, now that the game has been released, people have found that is not the case, and an internet connection is required EVERY time you run the game. In addition, the game is capped at 30 fps, and no cutscreens can be skipped. Apparently, after it does this DRM check with Ubisoft's servers, you can disconnect or lose connection and not get booted from the game. This is only a slight improvement over their "always on" DRM they'd used in prior games. After complaints started rolling in, Ubisoft went back posted a new one that says,

"Due to the recent confusion over the type of DRM used in From Dust:
Please find the following detailed explanation of the type of DRM used.
'From Dust' requires an internet connection when you start the game.
Make sure you are connected to the internet when you attempt to start the game.
After you have signed in and the game is running, you no longer need the internet connection for that session and can disconnect and play offline you so wish."

Due to user complaints, Ubisoft did remove the "always online" component of the new Driver: San Francisco, however all reports are that this game will use a similar system where a connection is required at every game boot. At least with Driver we know ahead of time, and they didn't flat-out lie like they did with From Dust.

Ubisoft Returning to More Acceptable DRM?

As many of you know, I started boycotting Prince of Persia: Epilogue DLC because the game was released on several platforms, but the story-continuing DLC was only released on two platforms... leaving the rest of us hanging.

Later I extended the boycott to Ubisoft's games due to their release of the "Online Services Platform" (OSP) DRM that all future games (including TrackMania 2) were slated to be released with.  This DRM required that the user be on a persistent internet connection in order to play the game.  If the connection was disrupted for whatever reason, the game would drop out to the main menu, regardless of your progress.  Needless to say, it was the frustration of many paying customers.

The pirates didn't care, because they cracked the stuff within 24 hours and were playing their game without a required connection.

I was ecstatic to start hearing rumors a few months back that Ubisoft is returning to a softer/gentler familiar DRM where one will only be required to be online for a one-time activation at install time.  This certainly feels like a step in the right direction, if it's really true.

I've been trying to track down official statements about this, and unfortunately haven't been able to find any.  However, I have found several articles on the internet that lead me to believe it's really going to happen.

Below are links to some of them:
PC Gamer - "Constant net connection no longer required for Ubisoft games."
VG24/7 - "Ubisoft removes constant connection requirement from controversial DRM"
Rock, Paper Shotgun - "Good: Brotherhood will be 'Playable Offline'"

I've also been doing my own investigation into TrackMania 2 Canyon, and it's sounding like it won't be released under the OSP.

Thus my boycott will be lifted.  I will be pre-ordering TrackMania 2 Canyon (a few copies so I can play with my kids on my LAN and online.)  I'm hoping Ubisoft will also remove the OSP from other games that have been already released under it, as there were several I wanted to play, like HAWX, and Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands.

If I can find official word, I'll be sure to post it here... for now I'll just offer thanks to Ubisoft if this is true.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I think many of Ubisoft's games are fantastic, and I'm more than happy to pay to enjoy these awesome games, as long as they don't punish those of us that are willing to support them!

Command & Conquer 4 - Persistent Internet Connection Required

Just when we thought one of the big publishers was finally listening to their customers...

Well, PC Gamers, put another nail in the Publishers-think-you're-idiots-and-will-believe-their-bullcrap-spin-on-persistent-internet-connection-DRM coffin.  "Oh you'll sooooooooo love the things we're doing with OUR game that you won't care about the SMALL inconvenience of being forced to have a persistent connection to play."

Blah blah blah, we've heard it all before from Blizzard and Ubisoft, and now EA has officially rejoined the DRM freaks ranks again with their C&C4 title released today.

I love the spin they're trying to put on it this time as well... in a quote from an Ars Technica article:
"... as a nice side effect, since C&C4 requires players to be online all the time in order to prevent cheating, we'll be shipping without any form of DRM."

Sure enough, Steam lists it without notice of DRM in the right-column where they usually mention it.  My question is, where on Earth does anyone get off passing off a required persistent internet connection as NOT being a form of DRM?

I'm starting to lose my faith in gamers, since we are responsible for this madness continuing and persistently getting worse in our lives.  Until we put an end to it by stopping the consumption of said defiled games, we will continue to see a decrease in our liberty to use purchased content as we please.  Freak, it won't be long before these software companies start telling you when you can use your computer for non-gaming related activities.

If we don't take a stand together and do it now... this will be our lot in life for the rest of our gaming lives.  And don't give me your "I don't care about being forced to have an internet connection all the time... My computer is always connected, so I'm good..." crap either.  It's a principle people.  The principle of losing your liberty.

The principal of giving up your freedom to use something you purchased because you "have to have the game" or you don't feel like a hard-core gamer.  I've got news for you folks... having the game first doesn't make you any more of a hard-core gamer than the next guy... I promise you'll live for a few more weeks while we all put our foot (and our wallet) down and let these companies know we're not going to take their crap anymore.

And if you really can't pull yourself away enough to stand up for what is right... then go enjoy your game as a slave to the man... and I'll just finish my career as a gamer with what little time I have left with the games that I have freedom to play how/when/where I want.

It's too bad... there are a lot of good creative developers and game creators out there.  It's a shame these greedy publishers are ruining it for all of us.

So, to the pirates and hackers/crackers out there... Enjoy your short challenge of beating the system this time, and enjoy your stolen copies of the game; whilst the rest of us suffer for our honesty/integrity... I'll be waiting for the articles soon where people who did buy the game don't get to play because the EA servers are down, just like the Ubisoft ones after Assassin's Creed 2 release.

[sarcasm]Good Game[/sarcasm]

Ubisoft's DRM fails again

Well, I hate to overshadow the amazing work Valve has done with the Portal 2 ARG and announcement (wtg Valve!), especially with a new post about DRM, but here goes.

Ubisoft's DRM servers have been down for Europe today. That's right, people in Europe have been unable to play Ubisoft's recently released games because Ubisoft's servers aren't working. According to reports from the escapist, at about 8am GMT (1 am MST) customers began posting in the Assassin's Creed 2 forums that they were unable to play their games because they couldn't access the authentification servers. As of 11:30am MST the issue still hadn't been resolved, and there was a post from an Ubisoft employee.

From the escapist:

"I don't have any clear information on what the issue is ... but clearly the extended downtime and lengthy login issues are unacceptable, particularly as I've been told these servers are constantly monitored," said 'Ubi.Vigil', adding, "I'll do what I can to get more information on what the issue is here first thing tomorrow and push for a resolution and assurance this won't happen in the future."

This is one of the things MANY potential customers, as well as blogs/reviewers/tech sites were worried about. There are so many potential issues with this DRM. If Ubisoft's servers don't work right (even though Ubisoft was so excited about how great their servers were going to be) you don't have access to your game - even a single player one. If your connection is flaky, you could lose your access to your game. If their servers are shut down, they have promised they'd like to release a patch to remove the authentication. But what if they don't have the resources at the time to devote to it? Or what if they just decide it isn't worth their time? I mean, EA didn't plan on taking so many of it's games offline 2-3 years after they were released, did they?

I hope that Ubisoft will see reason. I hope.

Ubisoft's "Online Services Platform" Cracked in Under 24-Hours

While following the rant thread I created on the TrackMania forums, someone posted this gem of an article from InfoAddict today about how Ubisoft's new DRM was cracked in under 24 hours!!!

Most game publishers have been changing the video game scene's focus as of late from the actual game's content, to the "bonus game" on-top-of-the-real-game called DRM.  This "bonus game" is intended to promote hacking/cracking of the game, giving pirates/crackers the challenge of seeing if they can hack this new one faster than the last one.  And they're very good at it, good enough that it seems to be pleasing the publishers enough to continue dumping countless resources into providing said "bonus games" with all major releases of their new games.  It's not about the real game's content anymore, it's about the pirates...  And they continue to win.

When will enough be enough?  When will companies finally realize that if they re-channeled the DRM resources (development time, licensing money, etc.) to the actual content of the real game, they may be able to make a higher quality game at a fraction of the cost and time taken to release said game?!

Imagine that... they might actually be able to lower the price of the game some, which would make it even more alluring for customers that actually pay for their products and not leave them high and dry with games that don't work, while the pirates who never plan on paying enjoy their game problem free, because there aren't any draconian DRM systems in place anymore that hamper their experience (and sometimes violate their computers.)

Will we see another class action lawsuit against Ubisoft this time around, like we did with Starforce back in the day?  Couple those costs with the costs it takes to implement the crap to begin with... and add the costs to support the paying customers riddled with problems after it's released, and I'm thinking net loss for everyone, publishers, developers and paying customers alike.

Wake up people, and STOP THE MADNESS!

Go read the InfoAddict article, and pay close attention to LordCancer's comment at 03 03, 2010 04:03 that brings up a Gun Control analogy.  Bob Barker's comment at 03 03, 2010 06:45 is good as well...

I'm still hopeful that Ubisoft will pull-their-heads-out before the release of TrackMania 2 and rid themselves and we gamers of this garbage. 

Alas, my hopes have been semi-shot-down some, thanks to a Voodoo Extreme article entitled "Ubisoft: More Sequels, More Often" that states: "TrackMania 2 for PC will feature innovative content purchasing options."  They'd better be talking about the existing copper system from TrackMania United Forever, because if they're talking about real money for content, the TM community will be angered.

Anyway, all who know me know I'm the last to advocate piracy and cracking, but I'm glad this happened, in hopes that these companies will wake up and realize they're only hurting their paying customers... Oh, and keeping one gaming community alive and thriving... those that relish the challenge of a new DRM system to break.

TrackMania 2 to be Doomed by Ubisoft's "Online Services Platform"?!?!

Ubisoft is quickly becoming the bane of my existence. I hate to say it, but they are.

It's too bad really, because they have some fantastic games that I've really enjoyed playing. But as most of you know, I've been boycotting them for about a year now over their stupid decision to start releasing continuing content DLC to exclusive platforms.

Today I find out they are releasing an "online services platform", a seemingly Steam wannabe which they spin as sounding good in the fact that your personal saved games will now be saved "in the cloud" so you can install and play your same games on multiple machines. All future Ubisoft games will be distributed to PC through this mechanism.

Unfortunately, they also decided they need to continually penalize paying customers by requiring us to be connected to the internet constantly in order to play the games we pay for...

Gone are the days of deciding how and when you can play a game that you purchase... but don't worry, the gods of Ubisoft will dictate that for you. Epic Fail.

I'm most upset about this because it will affect the game I'm anticipating most right now... TrackMania 2.

See the discussion I started on the TrackMania Forum and feel free to sound-off here and/or there... Then start speaking with your wallet, and cease buying Ubisoft games until they stop the madness and quit penalizing us for supporting their efforts. Send the message loud and clear that we'll support them when they return to letting us play our purchased games when/how we like... not on their terms.

Calling All Gamers (especially console gamers)! Join the Prince of Persia: Epilogue DLC for PC Revolution!

Attention ALL Gamers (especially console gamers!!!)

We need your help. We have seen your support in our frustration at Ubisoft's heinous call to exclude PC Gamers from finding out what happens next with the Prince and Elika. We all know it is unfair to release the game on three platforms, but restrict the release of story-critical content to a portion of those platforms.

We are sending Ubisoft an ultimatum and need your help to make it succeed. We hope it won't come to this.

If Ubisoft will release an announcement before 26 February 2009 stating that Prince of Persia: Epilogue DLC will be available for PC (even if the PC version comes AFTER the consoles' release) then all will be well...

... if not ...

We ask that all gamers boycott Prince of Persia: Epilogue until Ubisoft makes it available for all of the game's platforms.

I know, this will be a difficult task. We all are dying to see what happens next. But please, don't let Ubisoft leave the PC Gamers hanging... help us make a concerted effort to let them know we want Epilogue distributed to all platforms.

We can't make this happen without everyone's commitment and support.

We appreciate all who are doing our best to help make this happen.

Remember, we don't hate the creative talent that brought us such a masterpiece of a game. In fact we applaud it. We thank Ubisoft Montreal developers, level designers and all other creative talent involved. We also thank Ubisoft for making such a bold move as to release Prince of Persia PC DVD with NO DRM!!!

What we don't understand is, why Ubisoft would make such a bold move which gained much favor in the eyes of the dedicated PC Gamer fans of the Prince of Persia series (among other gamers who also expressed their gratitude.) We are displeased by the actions of those in power to make business decisions that affect us with the mere explanation of: "business reasons." Why on Earth would Ubisoft make such a bold move with the no-DRM release; only to turn around and make an equally large move in the opposite direction?

Some of the developers have admitted they don't understand the reasoning behind it, and wish the DLC to go out to all their devoted fans. We don't want to hurt them; in fact, we want to reward them for their efforts. But we want to reward them by purchasing the Epilogue on the gaming platform of our choice.

So, please, Ubisoft, if you're listening... change your minds before we take drastic measures. We'd rather this be settled nicely. But if our hand is forced and we get our support, prepare to see repercussions like unto the EA boycott that led to the games we craved being moved to the Steam platform the way we want them.

Gamers of all platforms... unite to make gaming history and help prevent atrocities like this from ever happening again.

(Please come discuss your feelings about this matter on the Ubisoft forum thread; then pass the word on to your other gaming friends to help rally support for the cause! We can turn this thing around, but only with everyone's help.)

Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy! - Prince of Persia Downloadable Content Coming at End of February

Gamespot announced today that Ubisoft will be unleashing more time for me to spend with the Prince and Elika come 26 February 2009; as they offer 3 hours more gameplay with downloadable content.

This news couldn't have come at a better time. I finished Prince of Persia today and was sad to see it end. I was completely immersed in the game and have loved every moment of it. I didn't know if it could beat Sands of Time for me, but it did.

Now I'll have to hurry and finish Mirror's Edge before the 26th so I can get back to more Corruption Cleansing and gathering of the Light Seeds. Out of the 1001 I collected, the last one was the most sweet. I can't wait to see what's in store next.

If you haven't purchased your copy yet, get to your favorite merchant immediately and purchase the boxed PC DVD version, and help support the War on DRM! With the game's stunning visuals, fun game mechanics and witty dialogue, you won't go wrong.

Gamers Find SecuROM Installed with Red Alert 3 Purchased Through Steam

We all got excited when we found out that EA was going to offer their games on Steam with the hope of lacking the third-party SecuROM DRM that we honest paying gamers have so come to loathe.

We rejoiced more when we actually bought some games on Steam (myself getting Mirror's Edge for my first SecuROM-free purchase).

In my entry about EA offering their games on Steam, I thought I'd confirmed that the EA games wouldn't have SecuROM (or would at least that Steam would list it if it had it) by finding the GTA IV page on Steam's store and finding that it listed SecuROM and its terms; where Spore's page on Steam didn't mention any third-party DRM.

Spore, like Mirror's Edge, has been confirmed DRM-free; and thus most fans that have been excited about EA's move to Steam started assuming that any EA game on Steam that DOESN'T list third-party DRM must be DRM-free (aside from Steam's own DRM; which the majority of us don't mind or we wouldn't buy games through it.)

Well, some purchased Red Alert 3 through Steam and got SecuROM with it. It seemed to be inactive until some of said gamers tried to launch it while also running Microsoft/SysInternals' Process Explorer, a popular tool that is like Windows' "Task Manager" on steroids. Being a developer myself, I use this program frequently, and it rocks... highly recommended if you're not fully satisfied with the limited information Windows' "Task Manager" provides. But I digress...

Go to the Steam forums to read the entire thread (well, at least until the ridiculous flame-war takes over the thread.) Two gamers confirmed it and made sure to test with systems that had were already SecuROM-free/had been cleansed of SecuROM prior to the Red Alert 3 install.

Both ended up with SecuROM after and neither could run the game if Process Explorer was running.

I love Steam, by-the-way... and I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt (since the Steam thread only started on 16 January.) For all we know, Steam thought it was SecuROM free as well. I hope they'll rectify it by updating their store page for Red Alert 3; or, better yet, put the pressure on EA to get it removed from the game. I have faith that Steam will handle this responsibly... Time will tell. If you're one of the poor unfortunate souls that are affected by this, please comment here and tell us about how your sitch played out.

Now the flame-wars can continue all over cyber-space and elsewhere all they want, but I'll repeat the resounding theme of why this whole DRM mess has exploded out-of-control and needs to be rectified permanently:

No software distributor has the right to install any third-party software on a customer's machine that does not have to do with the product's functionality that the customer purchased, without:
1. Informing the customer that said third-party software will be installed (and when I say "inform" I mean spelling out exactly what said third-party software will be doing, why it's necessary and what, if any, known side-effects it may cause to their system.
2. Allowing the customer to authorize installation of said third-party software.

The fact of the matter is, this SecuROM was installed without said consumers knowing it was going to be; and that is wrong. That is what is referred to as spyware/malware and I have to assume (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) that such activity isn't legal. It doesn't provide functionality to the software the consumer purchased; rather it supposedly provides "protection" to the distributor for their property.

Protection. Pfffft.

We all know that the criminal pirates crack that crap within a week or so (if not earlier) to a given software release, and those that don't wish to pay for it are already stealing it regardless... so all that happens is the honest paying customers are left holding the bag.

Holding a bag they don't deserve, nor asked for... but have put up with for years, since taking time to write one's own DRM or even to integrate one's software with a third-party DRM takes a lot of time and resources to make happen (trust me, I know ... I'm integrating with some for an enterprise product at work right now and it's very frustrating. But our customers know when their licensing is explained to them what will be happening.) The point is, that cost isn't eaten by the developer/publisher... it's passed on to the paying customers which kicks the cost up a few notches.

So we've dealt with this for years, paying for criminal behavior that we haven't exhibited; and lived with it because we still love the games and want to support the game makers.

But enough is enough when we can't go buy a game without it jacking up other parts of our system; and Google around, there are plenty of reports of hardware and software getting messed up by different implementations of DRM.

People draw analogies left-and-right for and against DRM... one in the Steam thread mentioned metal-detectors in courthouses and cops on the side of the road making sure he's not drunk. These obviously are not fair comparisons, because the metal-detector doesn't hamper the courthouse's functionality or your ability to use its features or other non-related aspects of the courthouse; nor does the police officer stop your car from working after doing his tests.

The bottom line is: Paying customers are sick and tired of holding the bag... and now we're taking it from multiple angles, since we get to pay to have our systems tampered without knowledge of it and with said software makers taking access liberties that don't seem legal to take.

So who wins in this current envrionment?! Only the pirates...

So again, stop the madness... If you're a developer/publisher that really still feels you have to go to all this extra effort and work just to make your honest paying clients suffer (since the pirates still end up with their copies anyway.) then by-all-means, go ahead... but you'd better make dang sure you let them know what they're getting when they license your product!!!

If not, you'll continue to feel it in the wallet, as EA has been... because those that want to pay you for a good game, are done paying you to break their systems and live in fear that the next game they purchase will be installing software they don't want/need on their system that has nothing to do with the game itself.

Oh, and for the record, I've bought several DRMed videos and music from online stores in my day, and never once has any of them ever done naughty things to non-related hardware/software in the device(s) I use them in.

I'll draw my own counter-analogy to the ones from the Steam thread. I don't remember using a copy-protected DVD movie or music CD with the extra copy protection that has made my fridge stop working, my toilet stop flushing, or my surround-sound system stop producing sound. Nor will it ever.

One last point to address that I don't think I have in other DRM rants. There is the issue of game publishers wanting to product resell of their games because they think they deserve a piece of the action if that's done... and some have rumored that this may be another reason why the over-the-top DRM has appeared in newer games.

I've got news for those companies that are that greedy... No one else in the world in any other industry gets a chunk of the revenue when their products are resold. You don't see auto-makers whining when a car is resold time and time again over its lifetime, for example. Get over yourselves and move on.

DRM - It's gotta go... Keep your paying customers happy and they'll keep paying you. Piss them off like you're doing with these way-overboard and too costly DRM schemes and you can kiss the paying customers goodbye.

I'll stop... for now... but be warned Red Alert 3 fans... If you were waiting to purchase from Steam so you could get it sans-SecuROM; you'd better wait til you get POSITIVE confirmation from Steam that it's truly gone.

In the famous words of the classic video game "Smash TV":
"Good luck!!! Yooooou'll NEED it!"

Mirror's Edge FINALLY Available on Steam (and WITHOUT DRM!)

At least they didn't wait until the END of January.

I'm downloading my Steam-purchased copy of Mirror's Edge right now and will be trying it out today. I've been dying to play this since I found EA was releasing their games on Steam without the SecuROM that we all loathe so much.

I just wanted to make everyone aware as soon as possible so you could also go get it if you're interested. I'll review it later (if I can take myself away from it and Prince of Persia long enough to blog about it...) :)

For now, enjoy!

Prince of Persia: Reviewed (and confirmed Non-DRM for all Retail DVDs!!!)

Three words. Fan-freaking-tastic.



Prince of Persia (the fourth in the new series that started with Sands Of Time) is everything I was hoping for and more.

First off, lemme get the DRM crap out-of-the-way; because we all know how much we loathe being plagued by it as paying customers.

I bought my copy of the game from NothingButSoftware.com and ended up receiving a Canadian print DVD (had English and French manuals and a "T" rating that said Adolescent instead of Teen.)

I was nervous at first, because something in-the-back-of-my-head remembered only USA DVDs being non-DRM. I'm not sure what my damage was, because I couldn't find any information to back that up. I did read about others getting the DVDs (all of which have copy protection warnings on them) but have reported installing and playing without being connected to the internet.

One friend bought from GoGamer.com and received a CD from Australia or somewhere off this continent. His also installed and played fine with no internet connection.

So I gave mine a go, and sure enough... no DRM on mine either! It's SOOOOOO nice to be able to just launch the game and not be required to have the DVD in.

After installing, I saw a pop-up for a split second that made me think the DRM was really there, but it turns out it's an auto-patch app to make sure your game is up-to-date before playing. Some might argue this is a form of DRM because it's attempting to "phone-home", but again, the game will play without a network connection, so the auto-patcher times out and moves on. No big.

What IS big is the fact that the game is truly non-DRM AND a wonderful experience in one.

I'm not even 1/4 the way through yet, and I'm just craving more and more each time I sit down with it. I don't want to stop playing; I just want to find out what cool moves/powers we'll have next... what kind of crazy level design the next challenge has and to see Elika's and the Prince's chemistry build.

The banter between the two is enough fun to have players sit and continue pressing "T" (talk) until they're recycling dialogue. Some information is pertinent and some is just fun chat with each character giving the other attitude.

The artwork is classic gorgeous Prince of Persia, with some sweet, fluid cell-shader rendering of the characters and enemies. The cinematics use the same engine and are smoothly integrated with the gameplay to make a seamless experience.

The premise of the game is to take the Prince and Elika through corrupted lands to reach the "Fertile Grounds", fight a mini-boss, have Elika heal the grounds; then commence in the 2nd phase of gathering Light Seeds.

Gathering enough Light Seeds will grant new powers and open new areas, in your quest to keep the dark god Ahriman from escaping his prison and ending civilization as we know it.

I highly recommend Prince of Persia; not only because it's an incredible game, but because we can really send the word out that we want to stop the DRM madness.

I like the game enough I may buy another copy in the near future.

Kudos Ubisoft Montreal! You all did it right on this one! I'll be replaying this like I do Sands of Time.

See more HD screenshots of Prince of Persia (1920x1200 @ 2xAA) Each screenshot is approximately 6.6MB

EA Offers Newest Games on Steam (WITHOUT SecuROM; pending confirmation)

Thundr saw the following announcement 20 December 2008 after we all finished playing TrackMania United Forever for FNG:



This of course came as a pleasant surprise, as long as we know the games come without the SecuROM that has caused many in the gaming community to boycott EA by not purchasing their games. Ars Technica published an article about it that stated: "The product pages for each game reveal that all traces of the much-loathed SecuROM have been eradicated."


This puzzled me, as I saw nothing on the product pages that indicate anything for/against SecuROM being eradicated. After further investigation, which is why I'm so late posting about this, I found a game on Steam's product pages that DOES mention third-party DRM... Grand Theft Auto IV.

Notice the "3rd-party DRM:" section in the information just above the rating, that mentions SecuROM and Unlimited machine activations.


Looking at the Spore product page on Steam, we see that it lacks a section like that. I'm assuming this is what Ars Technica meant by showing that "... the much-loathed SecuROM have been eradicated."

It has yet to be confirmed that this is true and not just an oversight by Steam to mention it on the product pages yet... but I looked at several EA product pages on Steam, including Mirror's Edge; which will be my first EA purchase on Steam if the DRM is truly gone. None of the pages included information mentioning 3rd-party DRM like the GTA-4 page did.

I trust EA did the right thing here. I sure hope none of us are disappointed.

Please comment here if you've downloaded any of the EA games on Steam and can confirm that they are, in fact, without the nasty SecuROM we all hate so passionately.

Kudos to EA if they've truly seen the light. Myself and several others I know will go back to purchasing multiple EA offerings on Steam to get sans-DRM licenses that we won't have to worry if we'll be able to play or not.

Game on!

The War Against DRM - How the Prince of Persia is Fighting For Right

Digital Rights Management - In the software development community, it started as a way to slow down pirates in hopes that it would frustrate them and turn them into paying customers.

Like radar jammers and radar detectors, however, the DRM game is just another game of leap-frog. A DRM developer comes up with a newer, shinier, fancy-pants version that will "sure-fire show those blasted pirates this time!!!"; only to be disappointed when within days they've already cracked through and had their way with it.

So the game developers spend who knows how much in time and resources either developing their own or integrating with a licensed one; in hopes that this is the time that no one will pirate their game.

The problem is, there seems to be a misguided notion that DRM acts like locks on a car-door... keeping the honest, honest. I certainly don't believe this is the case. The pirates are already pirates; and most of them are likely to always remain pirates... until their conscience kicks in and they decide to turn around. Likewise, paying customers believe in the game developers and want to reward them for providing them with kick-butt entertainment.

That is, until it gets so freaking hard to install/play a game that it's not worth their hard earned money anymore.

See, it was one thing to start implementing CD-keys and disc authorization... those posed some annoying traits, but were manageable and easy to get passed. But when today, we see things like "You can only install 3 times before you have go on a wild-goose-chase to try to find someone from our support so we can play judge and jury to decide if you're worthy of more activations... and, oh, by the way, did I mention that if you're not connected to the internet, you can't play?!" I'm seeing it drive those who were happy to be paying customers running to the pirates to get a working version of the game that is much more worth their time because they can get it to work on their machines without the mayhem that is today's DRM.

The industry has seen a shift... but I think in the wrong direction than what their goal was.
See, paying gamers, when starting to have enough with the DRM bull would go purchase the game, install, then immediately go find a no-CD crack somewhere on the web so they could enjoy their game without having to find their CD. But they felt justified because they still paid their money.

Now that the DRM is getting harder for the paying customer to deal with... I dare say some of them are frustrated enough to just not even bother paying anymore and just go download it free anyway since they know they won't have the same hassle and can still play the game.

All the while the true-blue pirates have been doing the same thing they always do... no difference there... just now the paying customers are defecting; instead of the desired result of pirates converting to paying customers.

Now, the ones that really do desire to remain honest in their licensing of games have had enough. Many of us are boycotting the big companies that insist that this mega-restrictive and sometimes system-hijacking is necessary to stall the pirates... when really all it's doing is hurting the paying customers.

Why do these companies think that just because something may be easy to copy, that the paying customer is going to all-of-the-sudden lose their conscience and go get their game for free, just because it's easier to get free now? They need to realize the pirates ALWAYS provide the free version, but we, the paying customers, WANT to support the developers!!

But not when they make it so hard/irritating to try to get past the DRM to play the game that it's not worth the time/money we're spending on it.

Enter Spore from Electronic Arts (EA.)

Click to enlarge

This is a game I was looking forward to. That is, until I was looking to order off Amazon and saw the following list of discussions going on about it's new DRM; the newest version of SecuROM. When I heard about a limit of 3 activations, a requirement to be connected to the internet for forced "phone homes" and what not... all sorts of red-flags went off in my head. What if I'm on an airplane with my laptop? What if I'm at a mechanic, waiting for my car to get fixed and have no internet connection?! I can't play my game?! You've got to be kidding me!

There are other scenarios that make this extremely frustrating too, like having a gaming desktop and gaming laptop that one gamer decides to take the game on the road with some synced saved gameage ... but now can't because of the restrictiveness. It also goes without saying the number of complaints that have come from games like this where the DRM jacks up the system some so other functionality doesn't work quite right anymore either (but their system worked fine before installing said game.)

Ok, so some it is somewhat speculation since it needs to be solidly proven to be concrete evidence, but you get my point. The trend has proven to NOT deter the pirates, but has seriously hampered the honest gamer from having full enjoyment of the game they paid to play without countless extra hurdles to jump through that the pirates don't have to deal with since they've hacked past the DRM folly.

A very nicely written article about Piracy and PC gaming was written at the StarDock "Sins of a Solar Empire" forums.

I'd like to interject here that GameSpy released their picks for the 2008 PC Games of the Year today. Spore was #10 (congrats on still landing there even though EA is much hated by the DRM-frustrated) right now... However, Spore was beaten by both of StarDock's major players that are BOTH non-DRM.... Sins of a Solar Empire came in at #9 and Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor came in at #7. Fallout 3 came in #1, and it doesn't install any DRM. It uses SecuROM for disc checking... but it's all on the disc, it doesn't get installed on your computer.

Both have had killer sales... why?! Because honest gamers LIKE to play their game... not spending their time trying to get past DRM so they CAN play the game. Good games will make money because the honest will continue to pay for them... We don't rush to go pirate a game becuase we find out the developer made it easy to copy...

I not only buy one license for the games I really like, I buy a few licenses so I can play with my kids on our LAN. I know other gamers that do the same.

EA, sad to say, has lost out on quite a bit of money from me lately... because of my boycott, I've been deprived of the joy of playing Mirror's Edge, Red Alert 3, Need for Speed: Undercover and Spore. And EA has lost out on all the money I would've spent on those games (including multiple licenses for the likes of Need for Speed and Red Alert 3)

It's too bad because I'm VERY interested in Mirror's Edge... but I want to play it on PC because my PC's waste the consoles; but I'm sick of being the one to suffer the DRM plague because the publishers feel the need to punish the paying for the sins of the pirates that continue still to get away with (and now provide an easier-to-get-working copy of their games) it, regardless.

The bottom line is... the paying consumer is the only one that gets hurt from this. The pirates have, and always will, relish in the challenge of cracking the latest DRM... I don't even think some of those that crack the DRMs even play the games... I think they just conquer the challenge and move on to the next.

It's funny. because the game industry isn't oblivious... the reactions vary as you look around... PCGamer now provides a DRM Alert in all of their reviews, so you're not caught with your pants down. (Thanks PCGamer!)

And of course there are rebuttles from the game companies that usually claim the whiners are the pirates... but I don't understand how they even go there, since the pirates don't feel the pain of the DRM, remember? They get CRACKED copies!!! Anyway, they're either ranting about the whiny customers, ranting about how they won't back down because they have to protect their assets... or they have to make posts defending their position of why they used their DRM and how it's not as bad as the next guy's... (see Bethesda's post about the before-mentioned Fallout 3 and the SecuROM for disc check only)

xkcd put out a hilarious comic about DRM in general, but it totally applies to my feelings about PC gaming and DRM. It's my perception of what this hell-bent attitude that DRM must be more encroaching because it gives some CEO a warm fuzzy that it's protecting their assets. I'll say it again... you're only hurting the paying customers.

Here's another joy of EA's new DRM for those that took the chance on purchasing Red Alert 3. Bless your hearts. At least the workaround will work in no more than 36 attempts... hope yours is at the left-end of the spectrum... Out-of-control.

So... why have I been so long-winded; and how the freak does this all tie in to the Prince of Persia?!

Simply this... my friend Joe sent me a link to an Ars Technica article mentioning that the new Prince of Persia (retail box) contains NO DRM!!!!

The article is pretty funny, because it mentions reasons why Ubisoft may have made this move... and I've had discussions with others about it.

Some say it's because they had an "epic fail" on Assassin's Creed and their implementation of the DRM there (problems like unto the Spore and Red Alert 3 frustrations, if I understand correctly.) Some say it's a "challenge to the community" to see if the honest will run pirate the game "just because they can."

Well, I'm fed up with that B.S. attitude. If that's how these companies really feel, they might as well close up shop now... because if you're going to insult your paying customers by basically telling them they're a bunch of dishonest buttholes, how much loyalty can they expect?

I'm hoping this is Ubisoft's way of saying "We're a big publisher and we want to show some faith in the community and PROVE there are good honest people out there and we can stop this DRM madness and still make money."

StarDock has already proved it with their 2 top games of 2008... Sins of a Solar Empire has already sold well over 500,000 units. If the honest want the game, they'll pay for it.

This is our chance now to prove that no DRM CAN make them money. I was tempted to buy the entire Prince of Persia pack on Steam because they offer all for games for only $15 more than the new game as a stand-alone.

But I'm willing to buy the retail box version (heck maybe even 2 or 3 and give them as gifts) so I can show that I support the non-DRM revolution. I think we'd all be wise to do the same.

And not only support Prince of Persia, but Stardock and their games! There are good game makers out there that deserve to be paid for doing good things... and this display of trust by both Ubisoft and Stardock are well deserving of proving that they can be profitable without killing the paying customer.

Now, that all said... I'm going to say that, realistically, I'm not seeing Ubisoft completely ripping DRM completely if Prince of Persia kicks butt in sales... But I'm hoping they'll at least tone it back down to just CD-keys and what not ... things that are bearable on not system-intrusive.

No game is worth having my system scanned for specific hardware and all that other BS that these guys think they need to do nowadays. Ease up!

Down with the DRM! Go Prince of Persia!

---------------

For the record, I am a software developer... so I understand the perspective these game developers are coming from... But I also understand the perspective of a customer who doesn't want a game getting intimate with my computer and making itself such a hemorrhoid to work with that it's not worth messing with...

I advocate legitimate licensing and I pay for licenses for the games I play; and will continue to do so for the game publishers that will make it easy for me to play their game.

When publishers like EA will realize this and go back to easy-to-use software, I'll start buying their games again... not a second before. I hope you other legitimate paying customers will join me in boycotting all publishers that continue this madness until we send the message loud and proud that we're not going to put up with it anymore. (This goes for boycotting the console versions too... buying those doesn't help the cause.)