Piracy Drives New Tomb Raider Title to Steam DRM

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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Piracy Drives New Tomb Raider Title to Steam DRM


Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is coming to Steam not only because of sales potential, but because of piracy.

Crystal Dynamics wants gamers to enjoy the upcoming Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98922-New-Lara-Croft-Title-is-Not-Tomb-Raider], but it wants them to pay for the privilege and rightfully so. Due to the rampant piracy that goes on in the PC videogame market, the company feels that Steam is the only way to go for the game's PC release.

Global brand manager for Crystal Dynamics Karl Stewart told CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=247398] that Guardian of Light will definitely use Steam in the U.S. "We've gone down the road of implementing Steam DRM where we've committed to the U.S. being an exclusive and we're going to make a decision as to whether or not we'll use different distribution channels," he said.

Pirates will pirate anything pirates can get their pirate hands on, even Mary Kate & Ashley: Sweet 16 Licensed to Drive, where players help the Olsen twins get driver's licenses so they can go cruising in their new cars, something that nobody should ever want to do without being high on tar fumes. If they would pirate that, any game starring the popular Lara Croft and her even more popular boobs is sure to take a hit, says Stewart.

"Tomb Raider's got a huge following, when you look at Tomb Raider games in the past and how many times they've been pirated. I go on some BitTorrent sites and within the first 48 hours there's like four hundred thousand downloads, it's crazy."

Guardian of Light might have even more trouble due to its nature completely changing from what fans have known of Tomb Raider in the past. "The biggest fear we have is that people are going to be inquisitive and are going to download it," Stewart admitted. Guardian of Light is not the typical third-person adventure that Lara Croft has been known for, but an isometric single player or co-op combat and puzzle-based action game where players will take on dinosaurs while trying to figure out how to hit frustratingly out-of-reach switches.

I'm a sweet young boy, so I wouldn't know about things like this, but haven't people cracked Steam before? Does Steam's DRM really have an effect when it comes to PC game piracy? Still, Stewart's comments highlight why Ubisoft has a real stick up its butt [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98452-Ubisoft-Clarifies-New-Online-DRM-Scheme] about PC DRM. That's just a little joke Ubisoft, I love you.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=247398]


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xHipaboo420x

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Apr 22, 2009
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I'd probably end up buying it through Steam anyway so, as a consumer, this doesn't really bother me.
 

Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
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Tom Goldman said:
Pirates will pirate anything pirates can get their pirate hands on, even Mary Kate & Ashley: Sweet 16 Licensed to Drive, where players help the Olsen twins get driver's licenses so they can go cruising in their new cars, something that nobody should ever want to do without being high on tar fumes.
I must own that game. Screw everything else! I must play this!
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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"I'm a sweet young boy, so I wouldn't know about things like this, but haven't people cracked Steam before? Does Steam's DRM really have an effect when it comes to PC game piracy?"

Yes, but if you're going to use DRM Steam's the best way to do it - it'll piss off far less people so you'll wind up with the sales from people who (supposedly) only pirate because they hate stuff like Ubi's DRM and GfWL.

Valve may or may not be able to track accounts using pirated copies too, although I'm not sure.
 

wordsmith

TF2 Group Admin
May 1, 2008
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Onyx Oblivion said:
Tom Goldman said:
Pirates will pirate anything pirates can get their pirate hands on, even Mary Kate & Ashley: Sweet 16 Licensed to Drive, where players help the Olsen twins get driver's licenses so they can go cruising in their new cars, something that nobody should ever want to do without being high on tar fumes.
I must own that game. Screw everything else! I must play this!
If you find a copy, message me, I totally want in on that :D
 

Bretty

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Jul 15, 2008
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The guy is crazy if he thinks peeps cant download steam based DRM games.
 

Terramax

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Jan 11, 2008
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I thought it was being released on Steam more because the game is only a few hours long and isn't worth releasing as an actual full game?
 

Ubermetalhed

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Sep 15, 2009
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TR fanboy here. Crystal Dynamics should be offering this game for free, the amount of damage they've done to the franchise since they got hold of it is enfuriating.

The tombraider series ain't worth the money nowadays and i'm sure the newest game won't be an exception to that.
 

Kiithid

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Aug 12, 2009
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What kept me thinking here is, if developers thinks Steam is the only DRM that can be used effectively, what would happen if the other developers jump on the Steam-happy wagon?

Imo they should worry more about making the game somewhat decent rather than losing less sales, a good game may turn a pirate into a legit customer.
 

Johnnyallstar

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Feb 22, 2009
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I'm surprised more companies haven't either used steam nearly exclusively for PC gaming, or formed their own digital network similar to it.
 

hieiwrath

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Mar 20, 2009
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The previous lara game I wouldnt play for free, only if they paid me, and now they are throwing the blame on the pirates.
And what is the problem with Mary Kate & Ashley: Sweet 16 Licensed to Drive.
It is one of the best game of that area.
I dont think they will release a demo because people will see how bad it is and wont buy it.
 

sunami88

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Jun 23, 2008
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Steam's DRM does make a difference. It's not so much that the game is impossible to pirate, as it's almost impossible to strip the DRM properly.

I uuhhh, have a friend, yeah that's it, who tried to pirate Half Life 2 back in the day. It was such a pain in the ass that I- I mean he- HE just ended up buying the game and applauding Valve's efforts.

Like, even if you got the game to launch it would be full of white textures. Or just randomly crash for no reason whatsoever. I assume progress has been made since then, but even other games I've heard of that have Steamworks just don't work properly when you try and pirate them.

Fortunately I have no interested in another Tomb Raider game, so I am largely unaffected by this news.
 

samsonguy920

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Mar 24, 2009
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Anything made by man, can be broken by another man. No DRM is ever going to be 100%. Ubisoft's own totalitarian DRM has been broken. What makes sense with going through Steam only is they are going to sell it through Steam anyway, and Steam's DRM is decent without being overbearing. Plus this Lara Croft is more going to sell as a casual game anyway, considering its mechanic. As in they best price it appropriately. I gotta admit the closeups of Lara make her rather sexier than in the past. To me, anyway.
I read through this interview thinking the best way this game will get pirated, will be from the inside. As a lot of games get leaked anyway. Quit shaking the finger at "rampant piracy" when you can't or won't even control your own people.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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Well at least when it cones to steam we know DRM there didn't suck
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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RedMenace said:
Woodsey said:
"I'm a sweet young boy, so I wouldn't know about things like this, but haven't people cracked Steam before? Does Steam's DRM really have an effect when it comes to PC game piracy?"

Yes, but if you're going to use DRM Steam's the best way to do it - it'll piss off far less people so you'll wind up with the sales from people who (supposedly) only pirate because they hate stuff like Ubi's DRM and GfWL.

Valve may or may not be able to track accounts using pirated copies too, although I'm not sure.
No, Steam does not provide 100% protection from piracy. I saw a few games on torrent sites with the "Steam enabled" or something along those lines. It just that not many people pirate Valve games because Valve games are proven to not disappoint and be worthy of your 50-60 USD.

O: Hmmmm... TR... I have mixed feelings about the franchise. I love platforming, but the last few games flopped in that department. I'll wait for people to upload game footage on YouTube before I'll decide whether to buy it or not.
Why have you quoted me?
 

FinalDream

[Insert Witty Remark Here]
Apr 6, 2010
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As a huge Tomb Raider fan I have to say that looks freaking amazing! Frankly Crystal Dynamics did the best they could, but it still felt wrong at times and at least they kept the franchise alive. I thought this spin off was an interesting direction, maybe enough to save the franchise?
 
Apr 28, 2008
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I've heard many times that Steam is relatively easy to crack. Its just the online features won't work correctly.

I don't know for sure though, since I would never pirate anything from the company that brought my Half Life, Portal, and Team Fortress 2