GDC: DRM a "waste of time" - 2D Boy Comments by Robert Purchese

DRM does prevent someone lending a friend a copy of their game to install on their PC though, which is presumably the reason publishers invest so much in copy-protection. If they can make it less easy for people to get hold of the game illegally this way then the DRM is a success and they'll continue using it.

Ever hear of this thing called the INTERNET? As soon as a cracked copy is on this INTERNET, the friend DOES NOT NEED that copy! They and millions of others can download it from INTERNET without needing the physical copy! In effect, once a game is out in the open on this INTERNET the DRM is nullified because downloading it from the internet is not more complicated than installing from the physical disc, especially taking all the hooplas involved regarding activation keys, physical disc features that leads to install failures from some drives - in some cases even ruining the drive firmware unless that was just a rumour - et cetera.

Anyway: Companies continue to use DRM because they drink the DRM manufacturer snake oil.

UncleLou
24-Mar-09 13:35:17

"What I don't understand is why at least big publishers don't try to plug the holes that obviously exist in the pre-release chain. Why is nearly every game online weeks before the launch? Is it really impossible to prevent that more effectively? Is it bored workers in China in some random DVD factory, or people closer to the whole thing? "

A few years ago I was working for a games company and one of the teams released a "hand held console" game. As we were all interested at what stage the cracked version would appear on the net, we monitored all the warez sites of the time, along with where in distribution chain the game was. About a day (or 2) after the game arrived at the manufacturing plant of the platform holder, bang! All over the warez sites.

Names removed to protect the innocent. i.e. me! ;)