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Reader Comments (77)

Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:35PM The Bodyguard said

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I hate having to register games. But oh well. Nothing too harsh
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 12:00AM leemahi said

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ok so whats the solution then to slow down piracy and have something less invasive as securom?
im all for companies making money so something like this is needed, but how?
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Posted: Dec 1st 2008 12:04AM JustEric said

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You don't honestly believe that things like registrations and SecuROM thwart piracy, do you? How much ocean-front property in Nevada do you own?
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:40PM jefwif said

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HAH! i already HAVE secuROM because i installed spore! take that EA!

...

waait...
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:41PM (Unverified) said

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Why the hell can't they remove the Securom from the Steam version which has its own mofoingly good antipiracy system?
The game was crap on 360 anyways so I'll just skip out on this but I'll be thuper awthome and blame it on Securom.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:46PM (Unverified) said

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"Obviously, these rules are different for those who acquire the game via digital distribution, as retail services such as Steam have their own install limits and anti-piracy measures. We suggest checking out the aforementioned IGN interview if you're currently suffering from a DRM-related panic attack."
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 12:25AM iHavePants said

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"All versions of the game will use SecuROM functionality. Steam will requires an extra layer of code to purchase and buy the game via Steam"
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:47PM (Unverified) said

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That's one game I wouldn't pirate even if it had half an install limit and an anal dna check every three days.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:26PM Hyams said

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Gotta love those anal DNA checks, eh?
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:30PM (Unverified) said

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I knew there was a joke in there somewhere
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:52PM zuburi said

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Where is it?
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 12:07AM jhowlett said

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bend over
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:53PM iHavePants said

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If you get it on Steam you need your Steam account, Games for Windows Live account, Rockstar Social Club account... and Securom.

One would thing they might have thought this might annoy some people.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:55PM (Unverified) said

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Where on earth did you hear that? If you buy through Steam, all you need is a Steam account. =/
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:58PM iHavePants said

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Yeh, no you don't. From the interview.

"Is this game going to be available on Steam? And if you are using SecuROM on the retail version, will it also be a part of the any version distributed digitally? Either via Steam or other?

Rockstar: All versions of the game will use SecuROM functionality. Steam will requires an extra layer of code to purchase and buy the game via Steam"

You need Games for Windows Live and Rockstar Social Club for multiplayer.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 11:17PM iHavePants said

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I've still pre-ordered it though, while these are definitely issues and unnecessary, it won't detract much from the game for me. Unless it's terribly implemented.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:53PM (Unverified) said

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Pre-ordered through Steam a while back.

Fuck you EA. Fuck you and your malware.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 6:56PM iHavePants said

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EA?
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:01PM (Unverified) said

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Er.. Force of habit.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:50PM monkeyssuck said

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Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Oh well, I can put up with it. Unless it blocks me from running DAEMON tools, I'll be ok. Spore didn't block it, so here's hoping it doesn't stop it again.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:13PM BananaBoat said

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This is getting sort of hopeless. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of people that will never understand why Securom is bad and should be kept off of your computer at all costs. Only when it comes time to burn a CD full of the kids pictures to send to Grandma will it become apparent that something has gone wrong, but the person behind the computer will never suspect a video game, and will go out and buy a new burner instead (or take it to geek squad for "fixing")

For the millionth time; It's not only the install limit that is a problem. Securom actively scanning your computer, and KILLING HARDWARE YOU PAYED FOR, is the problem. There is no better way to put it, and if that isn't enough, nothing is.



(Small disclaimer: It doesn't wreck all brands of DVD burner, or all image mounting programs, all of the time. Each implementation of Securom is different, and you may luck out and have no negative side effects. It doesn't matter though, this is still a draconian scheme that treats paying customers as criminals, while the actual criminals apply one crack and play the game for free without limit.)
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:18PM Haggard said

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The install limit actually is one of my problems. As a man who seems to break his hard drive every month, I'm in favour of unlimited installs ^^
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:35PM BananaBoat said

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Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a huge problem and it signifies the start of an era where developers (and hardware manufacturers) hope to either rent you a game that you can't sell used, or sell you hardware that you can't sell used (with things like only being able to download the Wii Speak channel 3 times.)

It's just not the only problem with Securom.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:01PM fischju said

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Legally, you never own this software just a license to use it. That's the big problem, and it's one with the US copyrigth system. Publishers just exploit it.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:58PM zuburi said

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It fucked up my DVD burner and I'm waiting for a new one to arrive in the mail. All of a sudden, it'd write a single small ring of data on a disc when I put it into the drive - without me running any burner programs. It'd make an instant coaster out of any blank disc I put in the drive.

And, as far as I know, there's still no reliable way to get it off of vista64.

I'm not against copy protection by any means, but I'm proof that SecuROM can ruin hardware.

(For those that are curious, I got it from the Spore Creature Creator.)
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 10:10PM fischju said

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zuburi: Flash the firmware with the latest (even if it's the firmware you already have) and reinstall Vista.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 11:32PM zuburi said

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Won't SecuROM still be on my system unless I totally format, though? Thanks for the info so far, it's much appreciated.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 11:39PM fischju said

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By reinstall I meant clean install, as in backup your files and format the drive. The best and easiest way to fix problems if you have an easy way to backup data.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 12:18AM BananaBoat said

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There is a way to get rid of securom without a format, but it is a fairly involved process. Someone told me that Securom has an official removal tool that is supposedly quicker than the old method, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Check Securom's website for the removal tool, or google for "Remove Securom Guide" if that tool doesn't actually exist. If there is no tool, a format might be faster.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 3:57AM zuburi said

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SecuROM's official "removal" tool doesn't get rid of it completely - at least on my system.

I'm tempted to write a letter to McAffee asking that they add this shit to their virus/malware db since, let's be honest, that's what it is.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 1:01PM MrIronic said

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Zuburi

So you're saying it actually takes over your dvd burner for any purpose and has code written in it to fuck up any disc you put in on purpose? That's pretty fucked up.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 10:00PM zuburi said

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That's what it did to mine! I'm pretty sure it wasn't *designed* to specifically do so, but I must have some sort of hardware/software configuration that really pissed it off.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:21PM (Unverified) said

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I Was actually going to warn you about this, but never got around to it because I'm a lazy bastard:

There is a web page in the in-game internet of GTAIV that pokes fun at torrents and other services that allow you to download pirated games.

Although you can't actually download anything, you can read a "FAQ" writen by the "webmaster" where he says something along the lines of:

"How could gamemakers put DRM on their games! How dare they want to make profit out of their product!"

Since it was obviously sarcastic I thought they were in favor of DRM, and it looks like my suspicion was right.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:50PM Haggard said

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Man, whoever put that in wasn't just an asshole.. He was a logically-flawed asshole.

As Banana said up there ^, the pirates bypass the DRM with a single crack, whilst the paying customers, the loyal users who want to support the company, are left with a hardware-failure inducing rent-a-game piece of crap. There is no fucking excuse for DRM.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:06PM (Unverified) said

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I found it!

Go into the internet cafe in GTAIV and write in the address bar:
www.sh*tster.de (replace the * with a i)

It should take you to a mock FAQ page, give it read.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:22PM Railgun said

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Pirates are still going to pirate it anyways, not like this game is really worth buying though.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:33PM fischju said

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If you don't like SecuROM, crack it.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 7:39PM Roto13 said

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It's still malware.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:00PM (Unverified) said

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I can't play SecuROM games, because I have DVD authoring software.

Why am I being punished? Sure, I won't pretend I haven't pirated a game before (although, in my defense, I don't pirate brand new games- mostly old games that I can't find in a store), but this is something totally unrelated! I use this for my freaking college work.

What's weird is that old versions of SecuROM, like the kind included in World in Conflict don't have this problem. They've only now started to turn SecuROM into some kind of invasive wankjob.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:03PM (Unverified) said

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The question no one seems to ask is the most important one: just how does this stupid thing supposedly fight piracy in the first place?

They've been asking us to give up expected conveniences and endure potential software conflicts in the name of reducing piracy for the industry and helping developers earn the money they deserve -- a deal that sounds good, and that I could accept.

But only the sacrifices are real!

When a valid solution to copy-protection woes is to copy it, someone has got to recognize the supreme irony. What in heaven's name are people allowing SecuROM to be installed on their computers for when it doesn't hold up its part of the bargain to slow or stop piracy, and instead does only collateral damage?
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:26PM (Unverified) said

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A lot of people have asked that question in the past, and I don't feel like writing another explanation. I'll just summarize by saying that it is meant to prevent casual copying, not hardcore pirating.

On another note, a large reason publishers put DRM on their discs is to appease their shareholders, which puts them in a moral quandary. If they do nothing, their shareholders will complain about the company not trying hard enough to curb piracy. If they do something, the "hardcore" gaming community will bitch and moan about DRM. So the companies are in a lose-lose situation in terms of good will. They generally seem to have a lot more to lose by not including DRM though.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 9:06PM Haggard said

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The solution? Sweet, glorious communism!
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 9:10PM (Unverified) said

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thats your solution for everything
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 3:15AM (Unverified) said

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I get the shareholders bit. Too bad they can't be taught to understand the situation and instead demand action of any kind, and are childishly satisfied with impotent malware that messes with only their legitimate customers.

The part I don't yet understand is the part about it curbing casual copying any more than a disk check. No-CD patches are out there for the all SecuROM games, and the only thing that could have made the buyer's friends download a pre-cracked ISO instead of installing from the buyer's disk and cracking later was the install limit, which is the one thing they're backing off of now.

I'm all for killing piracy, but they just need to go about killing piracy if they're going to make an attempt. I believe I have the best solution; one that tackles the demand and not the supply, as it were, I just don't have the clout. I guess I just mean that it's sad that I can come up with a course of action that actually targets pirates, but the ones in charge of this problem are not only clueless, but, bowing to pressure to act, shoot wildly into the dark, managing only to sting their supporters. It's madness.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 12:58PM (Unverified) said

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More DRM should be like Steam. Instead of attempting to punish pirates they reward legitimate customers with stuff like Friends and integrated server browsers.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:36PM CmpingSmktrd48 said

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Am I the only one that notices how all these corporate owned gaming blogs are trying to downplay and put some damagecontrol on this news..not to mention this news was posted on joystiq a day late.. I smell BS. Also, we need to get up and shout about this, if youve preordered GTA4 on steam or otherwise cancel it and fire up a msg to your distributor explaining why you dont like even semi-invasive DRM like securom in your games.
FFS people, CD checks were borderline WHY DO WE KEEP GIVING THEM MORE SLACK. PUT THE FUCKING FOOT DOWN.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 9:49AM Haggard said

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Well for starters, Joystiq is always late with news at the weekend because only Griffin is there to post it. Secondly, they're owned by AOL, who are owned by Time Warner and have no connection to Take-Two.
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Posted: Nov 30th 2008 10:02AM Blaggers said

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Exactly. It's one guy doing all the weekend news. Give him a break, it's not a corporate conspiracy.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 8:58PM PoisonedAl said

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Still won't get passed the fact that after I installed Spore, my PC now takes forever to shut down, if at all.
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Posted: Nov 29th 2008 9:46PM PoisonedAl said

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Oh, and remember kids, even uninstalling the game won't get shot of this shit. Here's how to do it:

http://www.reclaimyourgame.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=40

But be careful. Your tinkering with the bowls of Windows, and it's easy to beack something. However you have to dig deep you get rid of this tick of a program.

I REALLY hate this shit. They pull a load of nasty, bullshit moves that would shame a virus writer!
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