Alpha Protocol uses Uniloc DRM

By Robert Purchese Published 14 April, 2010

SEGA explains PC approach.

SEGA has told Eurogamer that spy role-playing game Alpha Protocol will use Uniloc DRM on PC.

Uniloc came under fire in November 2008 when Football Manager 2009 owners had trouble authenticating games online. SEGA said that was due to high demand and a small key-printing hiccup.

Actual solid details on how Uniloc tools work are hard to find on the company's website. However, we're promised a "polite" and "unobtrusive" DRM solution that will run "without compromising [your] experience".

Alpha Protocol, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, will be released on 28th May. Eurogamer played the game in March; our hands-on impressions contain our thoughts.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (48) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • cianchristopher #1 2 years ago

    This kind of shit is getting out of hand...

    Bertie, can you politely tell them to fuck off, please?

    Seeing as it's SEGA, I thought it'd be Steamworks.... Why bother with additional DRM, then?

    Anyone remember Battelefield Bad Company 2 launching with SecuRom on Steam? They backtracked on that pretty sharpish! Cos no-one likes that crap on their PC! No one!

  • EthanWoods #2 2 years ago

    "However, we're promised a "polite" and "unobtrusive" DRM solution that will run "without compromising [your] experience"."

    That line means nothing - even Ubisoft have tried to use it.

  • Eraysor #3 2 years ago

    Spy game with DRM that spies on its users. You could say it makes the game more immersive!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #4 2 years ago

    Anyone remember Battelefield Bad Company 2 launching with SecuRom on Steam? They backtracked on that pretty sharpish! Cos no-one likes that crap on their PC! No one!

    That had more to do with the fact that Steam already has DRM in place. (and I quite like Steam's DRM, never had problems with it. Would take it over any other kind of DRM anytime)
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 12:06

  • jellyhead #5 2 years ago

    Does UniLock have an offline mode?

  • Murton #6 2 years ago

    I was planning to get this on the PS3 anyway as I prefer the setup I have going with my console to my PC. This DRM just reinforces that decision.

    It's a shame really as this is one of the few titles where I'd be tempted to "double dip" and grab both versions, oh well.

  • VicViper #7 2 years ago

    So PC = DRM, brillant, they'll be queuing in front of the shops, or pre-loading in Steam or whatever.

    No DRM + Legitimate buyer = happy player
    Rubbish/draconion DRM + Legitimate buyer = Annoyed buyer or No Sale

    Pirates unaffected in either case, sigh...

  • jellyhead #8 2 years ago

    I'll wait until after launch and read some reviews and forum impressions before purchasing after hearing this.

  • cianchristopher #9 2 years ago

    Bertie can you check with SEGA if the game uses Steamworks or not?

    If not, is it only the retail copies that'll have the Uniloc DRM? Or would Steam version also include it?

    [link url= http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=150248
    ]http://co mmunity.sigames.com/showthread....[/link]

    See the first post on this thread re: Football Manager 2010 on Steam! It got rid of 2009's Uniloc, even though othe versions of FM2010 had it (e.g. D2D, GamersGate, Impulse, etc.)

    I'm not overly concerned with any other version but the Steam one, seeing as how SEGA seem to have a close relationship with them.

  • thesombrerokid #10 2 years ago

    when ubisoft we're trying to sell us their shit they didn't preface it with "this will render your game inoperable for the first week and after that intermittently" either.

  • Machetazo #11 2 years ago

    Simple calculation: DRM = ineffective beta nagware.

  • bad09 #12 2 years ago

    Something wrong with Steamworks SEGA? I quite like you using that TBH (love those retail unlocks!).

    This is getting out of hand it's not like any DRM actually does anything to stop piracy, just concentrate on stopping alienating everyone who pays with this constant DRM lark. DRM is affecting my buying since back on PC last August and I know I'm not alone there, surely the chase for make believe sales is not worth actually losing REAL custom?

    Still as long as it's not like the Ubisoft crap I'll be OK, speaking of those scum buckets guess who's game is on torrents already....and not on PC but for a certain console. Hmmm.....

  • JayG #13 2 years ago

    Typical, this was a game i was going to get. Why has no one learnt anything from Bioware and the Witcher. Ass Creed 2 was another game I was going to buy. Least they are saving me money that i can spend on beer and whores.

  • GamesConnoisseur #14 2 years ago

    So the DRM saga continues.....

    However wouldnt the lost sales of PC versions merely lessen the viability of the platform on top of the piracy, that would makes consoles platforms much more attractive to the publishers?

    I had said previously, but I think the future for PC gaming is perhaps more safer with online purchase/drm system like Steam and abandoning the optical retails as a no hoper. That would reverse the above supposition.

    Unless actually over the counter releases are still that profitable?

  • sneetch #15 2 years ago

    @jellyhead
    Does UniLock have an offline mode?

    Does anyone know? I'm really looking forward to Alpha Protocol (amongst other things, it's my Splinter Cell "replacement";) but if it doesn't then I'll just skip this too. If it does have an offline mode then that's fine, I'll even jump through hoops to activate it if required.


    @cianchristopher

    There's no mention of this third party DRM on the Steam page... yet... they might just not have been informed yet but we can hope. Depending on the details of this DRM I'd probably be willing to buy it on Steam to avoid it, the same goes with Ubisoft's games: if they produce a copy on Steam that doesn't require constantly being online I'd buy them there and damn the increased cost.

    [link url=http://store .steampowered.com/app/34010/
    ]http://store .steampowered.com/app/34010/
    [/link]

    @bad09

    Yeah, in their rush to lock down the PC they seemed to forget that console torrents aren't exactly rare. :)

  • the_mtfr #16 2 years ago

    I had Apha Protocol on pre-order for about half a year. Then I cancelled the pre-order when they released their gameplay clip about 2 months ago, it looks very primitive and I was so disappointed. The level design looks like from Quake 2 era, uninspired and just damn small. Animations are shit etc. I don't trust blindly any more that it'll be great, I'll wait for the reviews.

    Oh yeah and if there's anything else than a cd-key I have to type when I install the game, I won't fucking buy it. If Tropico 3 could do it like that anybody should too.
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 12:54

  • bad09 #17 2 years ago

    @ GamesConnoisseur

    I read an article stating retail still acounts for 20% in N. America and Europe. Still a big chunk to off it for now, but then some predict it will be gone a couple of years. Hell round my way it already has gone!

  • sneetch #18 2 years ago

    @GamesConnoisseur
    However wouldnt the lost sales of PC versions merely lessen the viability of the platform on top of the piracy, that would makes consoles platforms much more attractive to the publishers?

    Yes. However the publishers will be aware that it's the DRM that's hurting their sales; for one thing they have people watching the community and they simply have to look at the market to realise that other companies with less obtrusive DRM are doing better with their titles. Obviously it's a bit more complex than just lost sales due to DRM but if, as an extreme example, your big title last year without "bad-DRM [tm]" were to sell twice as much as your big title this year with "bad-DRM [tm]" and the PC market is the same size or larger than it was then then you can be sure "bad-DRM [tm]" was a significant factor.

    Take Ubisoft for example, they know that their on-line DRM is hurting them at the moment, hence their recent PR piece about how the DRM is here to stay but will evolve and improve. Whether they expected people to react quite the way they did is another discussion but their own failure to provide a fully functioning and reliable service is hurting them and will continue to do so. If, for example, their sales of Conviction on the PC are down on their expectations then they'll look at the various factors that contributed to those lost sales (including DRM) and will react accordingly either post release or for future versions of their DRM. Whether or not they will decide to drop the PC version of future games is of course up to them, but it's obviously still a significant market or they wouldn't even be bothering at the moment.

  • FuzzyDuck #19 2 years ago

    Wow, i have to admit that i'm a console gamer and infrequently play on a mate's PC, but if i was a PC gamer this is the sort of stuff that would drive me to a console (when will online authentications start happening with them too, hmm?).

    There's enough variables already present that can prevent a smooth ride but the publisher placing crazy restrictions on the game's operating environment? No thanks.

    As already stated, 'there be pirates regardless, yar'.
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 13:50

  • GamesConnoisseur #20 2 years ago

    20 percent of sales is a lot but that is a lot down from the higher percentage it enjoyed a mere good few years ago and yes it would be on a downward trend.

    Agreed that the bad DRM is the issue and that its hurting sales more than drm free, but then that questions why UBI or certain publishers still attempts their version of DRM instead of choosing what is popular ie Steamworks? The extra costs that Valve charges for the services cancels out the benefits much?

    I only raise this as Ubi are a business as does Sega, they would have been informed of the options and yet they still ploughs ahead with their approaches.

    See what happens.
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 15:00

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #21 2 years ago

    Bertie can you check with SEGA if the game uses Steamworks or not?

    I'll check it out.

    Bertie, can you politely tell them to fuck off, please?

    I might not do this one :)

  • ISeeEverything #22 2 years ago

    DRM - Divert & Repel Money

  • cianchristopher #23 2 years ago

    Thanks!

    Just to clarify if the Steam version will also have Uniloc (as SEGA have set the precedent now by having Uniloc in some versions of FM2010 but not the Steam version)...

    I think we all agree that 3rd party DRM on top of Steam DRM is idiotic!
    Edited by 2 at 14/04/10 @ 14:51

  • mkreku #24 2 years ago

    I already skipped Assassin's Creed 2 because of DRM. I don't think I have it in me to skip another game I'm longing for because of DRM.. :(

  • Machiavellian #25 2 years ago

    No DRM + Legitimate buyer = happy player
    The problem is legitimate buyer is becoming more and more an endangered species on the PC platform.
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 21:05

  • sneetch #26 2 years ago

    @Machiavellian
    No DRM + Legitimate buyer = happy player
    The problem is legitimate buyer is become more and more an endangered species on the PC platform.

    Simply not true, game sales on PC are still growing. Up 3% in 2009 as a matter of fact, that may not sound like a lot but it's 3% of $13.1 billion ($393,000,000) and is the yearly growth during a recession.

    http://pc .ign.com/articles/107/1076254p1...

  • davisorle #27 2 years ago

    @mkreku

    Assassin's Creed 2 was finally pirated and working fully. I dont care about Assassin's Creed 2 at all anymore but glad to see this. Simply cause it means that UBI will rather drop this fucking DRM method knowing they have unpleased gamers that pay with issues and bad servers and log in for something that has already been broken, like this damn DRM. They can't be this stupid to keep this thing up now that its broken.

    It's weird that nothing has been said about it yet on this website. AC 2 has been fully broken for over a week now.

  • Machiavellian #28 2 years ago

    @sneetch
    Reading that report it would appear that the growth is not within the US and Europe but Asia. Here is a blurb that is very interesting

    "The most notable trend in recent years has been the movement to digital distribution and payment for subscriptions, and the growing popularity with consumers of online games as a service," said Randy Stude, PCGA president and Intel director. "In 2009 we saw North America and Europe experience a rapid uptake in purchasing virtual items. This model is what drove growth in Asia and we think it is just starting to come to Western markets."

    So online gaming is where the growth is. Games that are free but allow you to purchase virtual items is where the money is going. Another blurb from that report hits home why we continue to see so much DRM in retail PC games.

    However, the biggest downturn was in retail boxed sales of PC games, which now accounts for less than 20% of total revenue. Nevertheless, the downturn in established markets was largely offset by the growth of digital distribution. Most countries in North America and Europe saw revenue declines in 2009 of only 10-15% from record highs in 2008

    So yes there is growth in the PC market but not for retail games.

  • Machiavellian #29 2 years ago

    @davisorle said
    Assassin's Creed 2 was finally pirated and working fully. I dont care about Assassin's Creed 2 at all anymore but glad to see this. Simply cause it means that UBI will rather drop this fucking DRM method knowing they have unpleased gamers that pay with issues and bad servers and log in for something that has already been broken, like this damn DRM. They can't be this stupid to keep this thing up now that its broken.

    I do not know why you support this. Its like the war on drugs. Just because one side gets a win doesn't mean the other side will stop. Instead the violence will just increase. Once UBI fully implement their cloud system, its going to be impossible to break their DRM because the game will not be complete. You will have to log into their servers in order for the complete game to be streamed to your PC.

  • ObiChrisKenobi #30 2 years ago

    With Football Manager it did have the tendency to lock out the save feature and holiday mode if it lost contact with the server. Also you couldn't sign players, or get a job if sacked. Extreme cases it would crash the game with a memory leak on the 25 July.

    So chances are it'll be tailored to null some of Alpha Protocol's features.

  • actionfitz #31 2 years ago

    "SEGA has told Eurogamer that spy role-playing game Alpha Protocol will use Uniloc DRM on PC, and so doesn't want any money from Actionfitz".

    Fixed.

  • sneetch #32 2 years ago

    @Machiavellian
    Reading that report it would appear that the growth is not within the US and Europe but Asia. Here is a blurb that is very interesting

    Growth is growth. Asia is on the rise at the moment but it's not to say that the US and Europe are dying (although the recession has had more of an impact here than I'd first realised, it'll be interesting to see this years figures as we slowly climb out of the recession).

    So online gaming is where the growth is. Games that are free but allow you to purchase virtual items is where the money is going.

    No, they say that a notable trend has been growth in "digital distribution and payment for subscriptions" as well as "virtual items". So subscription based games like some MMOs and a switch to digital distribution services like Steam or Direct2Drive, but not necessarily free-to-play games. I've personally bought items for WoW, for example (hey, I'm not proud of it, ok ;) ).

    Another blurb from that report hits home why we continue to see so much DRM in retail PC games.

    ... Quote ...

    So yes there is growth in the PC market but not for retail games.

    Again, they say there's a growth in digital distribution and a drop in retail sales. So its a growth in services like Steam and less sales in GAME or Gamestop, for example. This is better for the games industry but not the retail industry.

    This is largely separate from the DRM issue though as DRM typically exists in both the digital download and retail versions of the game.

    Edit: that's a bit long-winded so I'll just say that my point is that the PC industry as a whole is growing and that your original point that the "legitimate buyer is become more and more an endangered species on the PC platform" is not the case.

    Edit 2: Cut out the quotes from the article to cut down on the length of this post.
    Edited by 2 at 14/04/10 @ 17:00

  • linksdad #33 2 years ago

    Why do companies keep anouncing that the pirate version of their game is going to be better than the legit version these days?

  • dingo75 #34 2 years ago

    It's weird that nothing has been said about it yet on this website. AC 2 has been fully broken for over a week now.

    The best bit is that the main guy that developed the emulated offline server is someone that bought the game but couldn't use it due to an unstable connection in his East European country.
    Well played Ubi you got owned by one of your customers.

    And Alpha Protocol will be a 20 EUR buy when zavi or thehut will have it reduced.
    More money Sega? Keep this shit out of your games!

  • Skurmedel #35 2 years ago

    Now you can get a read on who's using your games and how, locking out hackers, crackers and pirates without compromising the integrity and quality of your legal users' gaming experience. Only SoftAnchor gives you insight into the type of hardware and game-play preferences of your user base while providing you with the tools you need to maximize revenue and customer experience at every phase of the product life-cycle.

    From the Uniloc homepage.

    This sounds like they are actually sending data on how you play the game as well, we know Valve does it and doesn't exactly keep it a secret but Sega could at least inform us if they do too. I'm not overly sensitive to that kind of stuff but some are and furthermore it is not good for people on bandwidth limits.
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 17:38

  • Machiavellian #36 2 years ago

    @sneetch
    From the report it clearly shows that the PC growth is in MMO, Services, virtual items, things that cannot be easily pirated.
    PC retail and digital distribution of the same games are just balancing each other out but you do not see any growth between the two. In other words one is declining as the other is growing but it doesn't appear that one is outstripping the other. If this was the case then digital distribution would be totally outselling retail box games and the two would show a combined growth for the industry.
    Edited by 1 at 14/04/10 @ 21:05

  • webcider #37 2 years ago

    Seems to me Pirate crackers have to save the day yet again..

    when will they learn ?

  • ChaK #38 2 years ago

    Just shut up already.

    yes they use DRM, but as long as it's not like ubisoft's crappy-drm I'm fine. Come on, people keep whining, but did anyone actually had trouble?

    i'm playing DRM'ed games since as long as their existance, and never experienced any problem.

    What's with all the crying, it's normal they try to protect their product, and if it's quiet as they say I'm fine with that.

    I want to play that game and it's not a little spy checking my disk that will make me pirate it or whatever.

    Grow up a little bit will ya.


  • Skurmedel #39 2 years ago

    Go post the same thing on the Assassin's Creed 2 forums and we'll see what response you get.

  • bad09 #40 2 years ago

    "I want to play that game and it's not a little spy checking my disk that will make me pirate it or whatever. "

    Actually looking at their website Uniloc does a lot more than check a disc, it says the DRM will relay information back regarding how you play the games, on what hardware etc. It can also be used for marketing and selling DLC.

  • Salaminizer #41 2 years ago

    I don't know about "Uniloc", and while I know there are DRM systems that aren't really intrusive, it's tough to believe any word coming from game companies, or even the vendor themselves. saying it's "polite" and "unobtrusive" does nothing to gain the trust from customers.

    with Steam you know exactly what's going on, it's more like a full DRM system than a background DLL installed without your knowledge.

  • webcider #42 2 years ago

    "From the Uniloc homepage.

    This sounds like they are actually sending data on how you play the game as well, we know Valve does it and doesn't exactly keep it a secret but Sega could at least inform us if they do too. I'm not overly sensitive to that kind of stuff but some are and furthermore it is not good for people on bandwidth limits."

    This sounds more like a nasty spyware >_>...

  • Alestes #43 2 years ago

    So instead of buying the game for full price at launch, I guess I will buy the game cheap whenever I get a PS3. Smart SEGA, smart.

  • ChaK #44 2 years ago

    @Skurmedel : I said "unlike ubicrap's DRM".

    I'm absolutly against permanent connection to play solo game, but that I'm ok.

    They send info about how I play? well I don't care that much, should I? steam checks my hardware, and It's not like I have something to hide. As long as it's not intrusive or stop me to play it's alright

  • Macdory #45 2 years ago

    The main problem I have with all DRM that relies on talking to a seperate server to allow me to install/play is what happens when the company goes bust, or they choose to close down their servers .... you are left with a coaster!

    When I buy a phisical disk, I expect to be able to install it for many a year to come - shit, I recently reinstalled Diablo 1 and 2 on my PC.

    Unless they patch out their DRM as they go bust or close down servers, I will not be able to do this with the current crop of infested games, and the chances of them doing this is virtually nill!

    Basically, anything that stops me playing a game I have bought is just wrong - especially when the pirated version doesn't have this problem.

    Ubi are probably incentivising a lot of people, who wouldn't have otherwise, to seek out cracks and fixes to play the game they legitamately purchased due to the piss poor service Ubi offer through their DRM. These same people may just realise how easy it is to get pirated games running, and thus a newly converted pirate is born by the people supposedly trying to prevent it. Kind of perverse isn't it?

    The basic rule of thumb has to be - will this DRM gain me more customers or less - if the answer is less then it's the wrong solution.

  • Alestes #46 2 years ago

    @Macdory, I totally agree. The main thing I have against DRM is that it's not future proof. It's not uncommon for me to play ~20 year old games, I installed and played Dune from 1992 quite recently. Both the publisher and the developer of Dune are now dead, lets play with the idea that Dune had some kind of DRM protection that required me to activate it, and now the server would be gone since the companies doesn't exist, how would I then be able to play it today? I wouldn't, and that's very wrong.

    Nothing justifies an online activation DRM on a single player game. Nothing. And that includes the retail version of Half-Life 2 and the popular Steam service.

  • bad09 #47 2 years ago

    @ Alestes

    In the case of a company going under and you can't get your game to work just torrent the game. I happily buy most DRM riddled games (Though I do avoid TAGES, Starforce and Ubi games) knowing I can get a DRM free version IF these companies go under and I can't access my game.

    Mind you now our government has voted itself the power to block sites (god are in Britain or China?) with the DEB I might be more cautious about my spend on DRM riddled games....

  • Alestes #48 2 years ago

    @bad09, commiting illegal acts is not an option.