Sony Files Patent for "Eroding" Game Demo Technology

[TechNoFear]

Some of this patent may cross UBIs new online DRM.

Claim 16 is for a system to that requests permission for the player to continue playing the game. The patent also covers disabling game events.

I also see similarities to Code Masters old 'scratch' DRM that degraded game performance (ie made racing cars harder to steer and slower, guns less accurate).

From what I understand of the patent, it doesn't work as a function of time. It's based on the number of times you've done action X.

I suggest you take a glance at the patent (linked in OP) as you are mistaken. The patent covers time since download, game time as well as repeats (and all combos).

I point you to claims 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 17, 18, 19, 20 etc.

 

[AceDiamond]

What? This isn't a new idea. That's exactly how Inner Space did it, and I was playing that game almost 15 years ago!

Actually come to think of it, you're right. I'm surprised someone else here has played Inner Space. Only difference was that Inner Space didn't do it in a matter of hours, more like over a month. Plus it wasn't exactly hard to trick the system through reinstalls.

 

[NeutralDrow]

What? This isn't a new idea. That's exactly how Inner Space did it, and I was playing that game almost 15 years ago!

Actually come to think of it, you're right. I'm surprised someone else here has played Inner Space. Only difference was that Inner Space didn't do it in a matter of hours, more like over a month. Plus it wasn't exactly hard to trick the system through reinstalls.

Huh. Reinstalls never worked for me, for some reason. Whenever I tried, it always stuck me with that transformer ship anyway. If I wanted to play my own creation, I had to go into the ship builder, make something, and hope I ran into it in-game so I could body switch...and that still didn't bring back the inner demon.

...I kinda miss that game. I wonder if it counts as abandonware these days, or if I have to pirate it.