Atari Founder: PC Piracy About to be Eradicated

[The Rogue Wolf]

What copy protection makes a game unplayable for a legitimate user?

People keep using this excuse but I have never ran into a game I could'nt play due to any copy protection.

http://www.glop.org/starforce/

I'm glad that you've never run into a problem (that you're aware of), but plenty of others have. And please don't expect me to believe that EVERY person claiming to have a problem with DRM is secretly a pirate trying to circumvent it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Dejawesp:
What copy protection makes a game unplayable for a legitimate user?

People keep using this excuse but I have never ran into a game I could'nt play due to any copy protection.

Let's see : Azure Bonds Language Protection, Rocket Ranger's Fuel Projection, Jet Set Willy's Mosaic, Blizzards Malaware, Battlenet's Spy Programs, The Infamous Dongle, Continual Disk Checking Systems, Microprose's recognition of blurry shapes, Aliens recognition system, The Eidolon's pitch protection for loading.

Oh, and the Penny Arcade game where you can't get at the EULA (V1.0).

 

[Dejawesp]

I think you just don't understand the meaning of those words. Not to pick on you at all, but I think there's a language problem here.

So that's what? 4 hours from adding my location in the profile before some monoglot yank tries to use it against me in an argument. Condescending. You mind aswell have started it off with "No offense" just to really make yourself seem like a douchebag.

To anyone defending the corporations with the argument that they are losing significant amounts of money: That's garbage. I will admit that money is lost when a game is pirated, but the profit margins in the gaming industry are ridiculous. And profit means after everyone got their checks and the electric bill's been paid.

You do not get to decide at what sum it becomes okay to steal from a company no more than a homeless person get's to decide when it's okay to steal from you.

I also find it ironic that you make this point immediately after saying that the contents of the manual aren't legally binding.

Stop abusing the word "irony" It's not another version of "lol" It has a meaning and you don't grasp it.

 

[T3h Camp3r T3rr0r1st]

to quote that guy in maintenance in Bioshock "Just 'couse Ryan makes it hack proof don't mean we won't hack it!"

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

Next person to double post in this thread gets a year long ban.

 

[Arbre]

Dejawesp:
What copy protection makes a game unplayable for a legitimate user?

People keep using this excuse but I have never ran into a game I could'nt play due to any copy protection.

Let's see : Azure Bonds Language Protection, Rocket Ranger's Fuel Projection, Jet Set Willy's Mosaic, Blizzards Malaware, Battlenet's Spy Programs, The Infamous Dongle, Continual Disk Checking Systems, Microprose's recognition of blurry shapes, Aliens recognition system, The Eidolon's pitch protection for loading.

Oh, and the Penny Arcade game where you can't get at the EULA (V1.0).

Where did you get that list from?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Playing them. I find first hand information to be the most reliable.

 

[oranger]

The urge to weigh in is getting too strong...lol
Here's what I think: It's a question of property. I own the disc(s) that I just bought. I gave no agreement, verbal or otherwise at purchasing, save on a "cash for the product" basis, with no implication of agreement beyond that.
That product is now mine, to lie to, to copy, to alter,to give away, to resell.
The only part of it that does not belong to me is the actual business of the product, and by that I mean that I cannot resell it and claim that I am its creator.
"Piracy" only exists when it infringes upon proprietary laws.
Last time I checked, I did not rent the product, and neither did the person who gave me the copy, which is a reasonable assumption based on my own options and information.

This new chip is reasonable, but it is also reasonable that it will be circumvented easily.
As for its mass market appeal...well, we all know what will happen to a product that creates a standalone tier in the relatively open tech field.
To survive, it will need backwards compatibility, or compatibility with non-chip friendly games. Or make me coffee every morning.

 

[Bridgetbracer]

Dejawesp are you an objectivist?

 

[Shinsquall]

I highly doubt this chip will make a difference in the long run.
1. Either a software or a hardware add-on will render the chip useless, AND it will be invented at some point *even if it takes years*
2. The chip will cause some major compatibility issues
3. One could simply buy from another manufacturer or search for a non-chip motherboard *it's not like we have to change a motherboard as often as RAM or Graphic cards for instance*
4. This will simply encourage console piracy, where everything is playable with the addition of a mod chip on the motherboard *ironic, isn't it?*

 

[Island Dog]

Wow, this is quite a thread to keep up with.

However, I wanted to drop my thoughts in as well although I need to do more reading on this "chip".

Piracy, no matter what spin or other name someone puts to it is still stealing. You are taking and using a service/product that you did not pay for. Trying to make excuses or legitimize piracy is quite ridiculous.

Copyright is not considered DRM, and anyone who has a copyright has and should ensure that their work, whatever it may be, the right to take action against people who are illegally using that work.

Piracy has become a scapegoat for some companies, which is used as an excuse for poor selling games. Never mind the fact that some of these games require a "more than modest" system for any type of real gameplay, and many other factors we could spend hours talking about.

Games like Sins of a Solar Empire, Galactic Civilizations, etc. are perfect examples of the success of PC gaming without having to resort to very restrictive DRM measures.

I've only heard one remotely reasonable compromise: Find out why piracy exists, and take steps to solve those problems.

That's a broad question. In my opinion piracy exists for several reasons. Some of them are the simple entitlement attitude that people have, another is people who just refuse to pay for anything when they can get it for "free". I'm really not sure what one can do to eliminate piracy when the problem is this deep.

 

[Bridgetbracer]

Dejawesp are you an objectivist?

No, I think he's swedish.

asdfasd smart ass the reason i'm asking is that his arguments remind me alot of the objectivist way of viewing things. For any of you who don't know what an Objectivist is, Andrew Ryan from Bioshock is a classic example.

Dejawesp just has these incredibly narrow way of viewing things, he makes it literally sound like software pirates are people who cause small children to go hungry at night. Its absurd and i want to know if there is a reason behind this absurd stance.

DRM in the music industry has overstepped its bounds too, i forget what company it was, but if you ever stuck your CD into a computer, when it started playing it would install the equivilant of bad spyware onto your computer, and for anyone to defend the piss-awful ways that companies are shoving very badly made DRM onto us is an idiot, you don't punish the law abiders in a completely failed attempt to stop pirating, when these days its getting to the point that the cracked copies are more reliable than what you buy in stores.

I'm buying Mass Effect PC from a place i have a chance to get my money back for it in case the DRM on it turns out to be a piece of shit, and might end up pirating. I really don't want to, Mass Effect is an awesome game, but i will not support companies that produce 50 dollar products that won't work on my year-old fairly top-line Vista computer.

 

[Dejawesp]

asdfasd smart ass the reason i'm asking is that his arguments remind me alot of the objectivist way of viewing things. For any of you who don't know what an Objectivist is, Andrew Ryan from Bioshock is a classic example.

Dejawesp just has these incredibly narrow way of viewing things, he makes it literally sound like software pirates are people who cause small children to go hungry at night. Its absurd and i want to know if there is a reason behind this absurd stance.

It works down to this: Pirate all you want. I wont be offended. But dont you dare pretend that it is anything but illegal and immoral.

 

[Heatseeker]

How about this?
I'll stop pirating when Australian distributors stop being cheesy dicks by releasing games MONTHS after their release in the US (still waiting on Rock Band over here and that came out when like November of 2007 in the US) at twice the price!!!
Actually I'd like to see a system wherein my money goes straight to the developers who are busting their arses making awesome games that we can all enjoy and not to companies who have been involved in rather shady business practices (*cough* EA *cough*). I know it's unrealistic but with the advent of digital distribution surely there's a way.
On that note Steam seems to have it right, their prices are quite reasonable with great package deals, I've bought more games from Steam this year than in stores. I'd really like to see a shift in that general direction but that idea probably wont be very popular idea here in Aus due to our lack of Nationwide broadband.

 

[oranger]

sigh...progressing where? technologically? socially? biologically? and which should take precedence? the term "progress" is huge, very generalized.
Whats right for society usually may not be right for the individual, including the individual artists who's work is being copied.
Also, since people keep comparing "Piracy" to stealing, or other crimes, how about this comparison: Is it immoral to buy a painting from a store, take pictures of it, and give those pictures away on the sidewalk, along with the painters name? The pictures do exactly what the painting does.
By any legal definition, you are not committing a crime, and neither are you stealing from the artist because you own the painting you already bought.

 

[Nugoo]

Stop abusing the word "irony" It's not another version of "lol" It has a meaning and you don't grasp it.

All right. Not ironic, hypocritical.

 

[Dejawesp]

sigh...progressing where? technologically? socially? biologically? and which should take precedence? the term "progress" is huge, very generalized.
Whats right for society usually may not be right for the individual, including the individual artists who's work is being copied.
Also, since people keep comparing "Piracy" to stealing, or other crimes, how about this comparison: Is it immoral to buy a painting from a store, take pictures of it, and give those pictures away on the sidewalk, along with the painters name? The pictures do exactly what the painting does.
By any legal definition, you are not committing a crime, and neither are you stealing from the artist because you own the painting you already bought.

This would make sense except that when you buy a game you dont buy the rights to the entire franchise. You buy a liscence to use the game. You could buy the franchise but depending on the game it would cost several millions and then you would be free to hand in out for free

All right. Not ironic, hypocritical.

Do feel free to elaborate or even back up your statement.