Comments on: Big Daddy Is Watching You: Bioshock 2 DRM

By: Frye

Frye — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:45:29 +0000

One or two people above mentioned it : Pirates get a better product.

BUT, you can crack software you bought to at least get the same.

I crack most of my software, just to get rid of the dvd check.

It can be a little frustrating right after a patch has come out, but I have gotten used to not being able to play certain games right away. Also I have been (wrongly?) banned from multiplayer games on occasion, despite having a proper key, but fair enuf, my client could have been a cheat. Some games I didnt dare crack because of the multiplayer bit.

But this is rare and far between. I can proudly say that NONE of my 19 currently installed games require a DVD or Tages or Securom. All my multiplayer games I buy on Steam.

On occasion I downloaded the very same DVD that I just bought hours earlier from a torrent because it has a crack in a subdirectory that i had difficulty finding

They make it very hard to set the right example for my household. And the crazy thing is, that I’m committing a crime. LOL!

By: AbyssUK

AbyssUK — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:28:43 +0000

So will there me a multiplayer demo I can play without GFWL so I can at least see if its worth the hassle? Also what about LAN support ?

By: Azradesh

Azradesh — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:30:17 +0000

I can’t argue with that Alaric. :P

Did you know that you’re quite possiblely a criminal on multiple occasions with out even been aware of it? :D

By: Alaric

Alaric — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:31:29 +0000

@Azradesh

Very well. You’ve convinced me. (Not really, but I’ll just spare myself the annoyance.) I will no longer refer to people who steal software as thieves, even though I see them as such. From now on I will call them criminals instead.

I hope every criminal who reads this will a) enjoy this tremendous, overreaching victory and b) duly appreciate your hard work and dedication in standing up for their good name.

By: malkav11

malkav11 — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:39:18 +0000

No, I’m afraid the DRM problem is entirely the fault of the companies who use DRM. The pirates are not holding guns to their head and forcing them to do anything. It’s an understandable reaction, certainly. But it’s always been their decision.

By: Azradesh

Azradesh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:31:39 +0000

Alaric this is not a matter of semantics, it is a matter of fact. Copyright infringement is not and never will be theft, this is not an opinion Alaric, this is fact.

Copyright infringement is legally wrong = Fact
Theft is legally wrong = Fact
Copyright infringement in not theft = Fact
Copyright infringement is morally wrong = Opinion

You can debate that last line and that last line only, but all the wrongness in the world and Copyright infringement is STILL not theft. You can not simply alter reality to suit your opinions.

Final eg: You have a car, I want it. Either I…
a) break into it and drive off with your car, I now have a car and you do not. This is theft.

or I

b) use my amazing and awesome Star Trek replicator to make an exact copy of your car, now we both have the same car. This is copyright infringement

The rights and wrongs of doing the latter is not something I am discussing.

By: suibhne

suibhne — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:55:05 +0000

Well, at least that’s another game I won’t need to consider buying. Thanks, 2K!

By: subedii

subedii — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:52:58 +0000

I was referring specifically to the UK retail charts. Which realistically, are still bigger sellers than DD at this point.

By: Lilliput King

Lilliput King — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:55:01 +0000

That’s probably not quite fair, though.

Considering MW2 has to be activated on steam, no matter where it originated. So it’s a collection of every digital and physical purchase, anywhere.

I don’t think that actually happens often, and is certainly not common practice when compiling the normal sales charts.

By: Alaric

Alaric — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:49:24 +0000

Oh, I’m not defending DRM, far from it!

In fact I have as much venom for these “protection” schemes as I have for thieves. I’ve passed on quite a few games in the past due to DRM, and unless 2K drastically change their ways, I will certainly ignore Bioshock 2 as well.

Also, I never claimed that DRM works. Of course it doesn’t. And I don’t understand why publishers can’t realize it. Perhaps they feel that an action that is doomed to fail is better than inaction. Who knows.

Still, stupid or not, they make games. And criminals obtain these games illegally. Which is what causes the problem in the first place. So while we all rally together against DRM, (which we should,) let us also not forget that the people who created this problem for us were the criminals not the publishers.

By: Hmm

Hmm — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:05:58 +0000

Alaric, your definition is correct. I am, however, using my own definition of the word “correct”.

Regardless, they’re not protecting anything, because it has never worked. Therefore one can only assume it’s inclusion is to annoy people who bought it. It’s like if they knew thieves were the only ones who wore heat-proof gloves, then heat every retail box up to 200 degrees to try and catch them out, who’s the one that gets hurt? (That’s quite an odd analogy, I know). Is it rational or sensible for them to take ineffective measures that punish the normal customer because of “a few criminals”?

By: Alaric

Alaric — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:29:27 +0000

@CMaster

One can glorify it and call it piracy.
One can read from the law books and call it copyright infringement.
One can contemn it and call it theft.

We are arguing semantics at this point. When an action takes place, which causes someone to unlawfully obtain something that they did not pay for, the problem does not lie in whether I, Alaric, call it theft or not. The problem is that it created the need for the owners to protect what is theirs, as as such made possible a market for all sorts of ridiculous DRM schemes that are criminal in and of themselves.

The point is, if a few criminals didn’t steal (I’ll just stick to my definition if you don’t mind) we would not all be treated like criminals, be in this mess, or argue over proper designations.