Borderlands PC DRM loyally guards street date; Pitchford unable to order stand-down
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Oct 23rd 2009 at 12:29PM } 
Big Download contacted Randy Pitchford, president of Borderlands development studio Gearbox Software, who said, "I don't know if something can be done to unlock copies for people that somehow get a copy before the street date ... I certainly can't do anything about it." Pitchford's sympathetic, of course -- which reminds him of, ugh, Valve's Half-Life 2 DRM -- but as a developer there's not much he can do once the game's been handed over to the publisher and surrounded by unflinching DRM.
"I know how that feels," Pitchford related. "I'm sorry it's happening to customers of Borderlands, and I wish there was something I could do about it."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Street Justice @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:31PM
That sucks, sounds like Pitchford thinks the same though thankfully.
Tiptup300 @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:30PM
I figured it out. DRM was made to boost console sales. Now it makes sense!
fuzzynyanko @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:34PM
Tiptup300: Well, Sony does own SecuRom
Will @ Oct 23rd 2009 3:37PM
For those who haven't been watching Bordelands for long, here's the explanation for the "boost console sales" theory:
The game was originally scheduled for a simultaneous release across all three platforms. But Gearbox pushed back the PC release to the 26th, claiming that they needed more time to optimize it.
Then the game comes out on 360 and PS3, and people are finding the PC release on shelves at retailers (which apparently can't keep track of multiple dates for a game...) along with the console versions. It went gold, discs were pressed, and it was sent to stores simultaneously (or at least within a few days). So naturally, people are questioning the claim that they needed time to optimize it.
I can't say for sure whether they pressed a buggy disc and plan on releasing a day 1 patch for PC, or if they're hoping to push console sales for people who have both options. But the console version sells at $60, and the PC version can be had for $33.75 each (Steam preorder 4 pack like L4D did), so there's *undoubtedly* more money to be made on console version sales.
IGLAW @ Oct 23rd 2009 5:50PM
Honestly, who cares? It's just a week to wait, hell it's 3 days now.
What a whiny lot.
Will @ Oct 23rd 2009 6:57PM
I dunno, I guess some people have free time on weekends? And not free time at midnight on Monday? If you're a high school student without any real obligations, then a Monday release wouldn't be an issue. But some of us have to do stuff with our lives, so arbitrary delays are irritating.
I'm certainly not among the vocal whiners, but I'd have loved to be playing this weekend. The people who are most pissed are probably those who walked into the store, said "Hey, this game looks cool," and then took it home to find that it won't install but they can't return it and get something else because of the "disc isn't damaged" policy that most stores have.
Hey @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:32PM
Thats bullshit.
RKN @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:32PM
What do I hate more, Bobby Kotick or DRM?
Captain Planet [Planeteer | Power of Captain Planet] @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:47PM
Glenn Beck?
Street Justice @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:11PM
Jack Thompson, Bobby Kotick, DRM, ESRB, Australia, Activision,Uwe Boll, Glenn Beck.
There's damn well too much hate in this industry.
LegendaryRedass @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:12PM
Bill Maher?
ratkillerx @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:23PM
obama?
Space @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:50PM
sorry street, Australia is awesome
LegendaryRedass @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:36PM
Sheeple?
BigD145 @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:55PM
I think DRM might be made from Glen Beck. It certainly has the same wacky insanity when it comes to linking consumers with pirates. That game you bought? Well, it knows if you're going to pirate any future games and will refuse to install itself if you're a liberal because we all know that liberals are commie teat sucking pirates that want to take over the world like some kind of oligarhy!!! *gasp* *deep breath*
Street Justice @ Oct 23rd 2009 6:14PM
@space
Sorry, i meant the bunch of noobs of a goverment you have in terms of censorship.
And australia is awesome, i plan on moving there after uni :)
ballistic3188 @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:33PM
simple you could use less intrusive DRM. that what you should have done about it. or maybe release the PC version at the same time as consoles
Courtney @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:40PM
It's being published by 2K though, and they are likely the ones controlling the type of DRM and the release dates for it. Gearbox may have been able to give input, but I doubt the final decision was theirs.
ballistic3188 @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:42PM
btw i find it funny that more people aren't boycotting this game because it has SecuRom on it. i remember the whole Ea and SecuRom fiasco and yet no one is even angry about it. except the can't play it till monday thing
waves @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:54PM
I don't think that the steam version uses SecureROM, so that's something. That said, if they don't unlock it by Sunday I'm probably going to skip buying it new and hit up the 3 for 2 sale and Best Buy instead. I was going to get it to play with my friend on the PC, but if 2K can't figure out how to deal with their customers I'll wait a while until I can get it used for cheap on the 360 and play couch co-op my local friend.
Boo 2K. Booooo.
Massmass @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:56PM
EA self-publishes, thus in more control. That's why.
Will @ Oct 23rd 2009 3:41PM
Anyone who hates SecuROM is getting the Steam version, which is still DRM, but it's a *much* more tolerable variant.
Street Justice @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:34PM
That sucks for anyone who bought what looks like a great game (I'm skint after Fifa10 and Uncharted 2 sadly), sounds like Pitchford thinks the same though, thankfully.
Street Justice @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:36PM
Arghh sorry, comment system fails and tried to tell me to do a confirmation email, but it wasn't in my inbox so re did the message, sorry for the double post
Legions of joystiq you are now free to downvote me (Heh, that rhymes).
dogmaticatheist @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:35PM
More evidence of why DRM is bad. It doesn't stifle piracy and it only inconveniences legal purchasers of software.
It's kind of like gun control. Criminals will always be able to get guns, while law abiding citizens will be the ones who suffer under the laws.
Mal F4cti0n @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:32PM
Ahhhhhh, but who really knows if these "consumers" acquired the game legally. They do in fact have the game before the street date. Maybe somebody robbed a truck or stole a box at Best Buy and sold them to people for $10 or $20 a pop.
Einhanderkiller @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:16PM
But the game didn't release yet.
waves @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:40PM
It's worth pointing out that if you go to the official borderlands site and click on 'buy now' it shows all three versions of the game and says "Available Now." The ads posted all over Kotaku yesterday also proclaimed that the game was "Available Now!" without mentioning any specific platform. This is in addition to the video that 2K Games posted to youtube on 10/20 that shows all three versions of the game as "Available Now!" The little robot even says so...
In light of all this, I certainly wouldn't blame any retailer who decided to put the game out for sale despite what official release date was supposed to be. After all, all the game's ads indicate that it is "Available Now!"
So if you are a consumer, you see the game ads saying it's available. You go to the store and see it on the shelves for sale. You buy it and take it home only to discover that you can't play it until Monday. Or Tuesday. Or the 30th. You'd probably be confused and angry, and I don't think it would be your fault, or even the fault of the retailer....
RKN @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:44PM
Right, the DRM alone pisses me off and then not informing us of this makes it even worse.
For instance, several of EA's games have Securom online activation such as Mass Effect, Crysis: Warhead and Burnout Paradise, where you have 5 activations before you have to call customer support. Also, if you change your OS, motherboard, etc. where I did change my OS and motherboard, an activation is used up. They never told me this on the fucking box, only that I have to be connected online to activate, that's it.
They give you a tool to deauthorize the game and get an activation back but I'm not going to do that for all my games before I change my motherboard, OS, etc. Their newer games like Sims 3 lack this shitty system, so why not release a patch to do the same for those games as well?
I will buy the game, BUT I will circumvent your motherfucking DRM, that is where I draw the line. I admit, I used to pirate PC games but now with a job, I do not. But I will not put up with any DRM, I will crack it to hell.
kal326 @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:41PM
@RKN
Its possible to kill SecurRom by patch. Gas Powered Games did it with Supreme Commander because of DRM issues and pissed off customers. Could be the fact that they are a smaller publisher and the consumer backlash was more of an issue for them given their size. 2k on the other hand could probably give two shits less if the PC customers of one game are made about the DRM on it.
RKN @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:40PM
DRM is the bane of all mankind.
mds @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:44PM
More specifically, it is the bane of all legitimate consumers and merely a minor inconvenience to pirates.
In the future, all men will be pirates, forced into it by some strange Harrison Bergeron effect. Conform and be punished. Rebel, and know freedom.
YOU TOOK OUR DISCS. BUT YOU'LL NEVER TAKE... OUR FREEDOM.
Kevlar @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:58PM
I wouldn't say "all mankind". That's kind of a generalization.
DRM certainly isn't a bane to DRM Producers.
Betcha didn't think of that, now did ya?
RKN @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:00PM
Kevlar, DRM producers are human?
Cornelius @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:26PM
There are some versions of DRM that I like. Steam's built-in DRM, for example, I can live with. Not all DRM punishes those who buy the game.
Activation DRM is outright evil. Rootkits are as well. Those are not only unnecessary, but cause bad PR and lost sales. I don't know why publishers still insist on using these schemes, especially for multiplayer games that use CD-keys, but it doesn't seem to affect piracy.
I have the funds to buy games. I have shelves full of them, and my ever-growing Steam account is approaching 200 titles. However, I'm not above resorting to piracy if a game contains SecuRom. And I'm sure there are thousands of PC gamers in the same boat.
Stevetrop @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:26PM
These this if nothing else fuel the fire of piracy. I known several friends who go to download games out of spite because of the DRM issues they had when they purchased the games.
Ryan @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:34PM
@mds
But if all men are pirates, who will the pirates get pirated copies from?
Women? Ooooooooooooh.
mr_snubby_nose @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:41PM
I can't say this game is good cause I haven't played it yet, but I won't be dropping off Team Fortress 2 any time!
Two Voices Blog Crazy
Professor Lario @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:43PM
The game is excellent.
ladykiller @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:44PM
the thing is, 2k lied to us - there obviously weren't any "optimizations" if they shipped it off to retailers "early". sure a patch may be in the works but why should that stop us pc gamers from playing it? why does a release date have to be protected so much if the console players got to play it early as well?
also in a gamespot interview it showed that the zombie island dlc had already been in the works prior to release (look for it early in the interview with randy and one of the targets is "zombie").
i'm hating the D word now - DRM, DLC.
send your frustrations here:
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47702&page=23
gearbox can't do anything, but 2k can. 2k pulled this shit off with bioshock too which left us with a disc lying around for a week till securom let us play. i bought a product that was shipped to me and i expect it to function,.securom treats us like criminals and it's ironic since now those thousands of discs waiting to be played are currently in the process of being cracked because of unecessary delays imposed by securom - pirates will be able to play sooner than honest customers.
2k and securom, you're a joke
Chad @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:03PM
Working on DLC before the game releases is just how things work. Dev's don't add content to a game up until the ship date. There is a 'Content Complete Date' normally several weeks before the Gold date in which no more content gets added to the game and only bug fixes happen. This does not take the entire team so the rest of them move on to the next project, in this case it would seem they moved on to DLC. Hence why they can get some content done before the game ships. I understand that everyone will always want more with their games, but I would rather get DLC a month after a game shipping then for the Devs to wait and see how the game does first. It shows commitment on the Devs part that they are risking their own money buy working on the DLC and they truly have faith in the product they created.
Moris @ Oct 24th 2009 5:06PM
@Chad: Couldn't agree with you more. Worded perfectly in my opinion :)
Jexter @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:45PM
Just because a few people/retailers "broke" the street date does not mean you should be able to play the game before 2K said you could.
If you got a copy of a hot new MMO early and tried to log into servers that were not available yet, would you still be bitching? How is it any different than buying and downloading something on Steam and having it "unlock" on the release date?
"Oh look at me, I beat the system, I got it before I was supposed too................wait, I have to wait for the actual published release date? THATS NOT FAIR, I BEAT THE SYSTEM!!!". Too funny, made my day. lol
Geist @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:01PM
What irritates me isn't the fact that the DRM prevents you from playing before the game's release date, it's that the publishers lied about delaying the PC version. Obviously it's shipped out to retails and ready for purchase, they clearly just wanted to delay it to raise console sales, which is a retarded move.
waves @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:07PM
OK, but every ad I've seen for Borderlands indicates that is "Available Now!" with no mention that the PC version isn't playable until next week.
If you go to the official Borderlands site ( http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/ ) and click 'buy now' it shows all 3 versions of the game as "Available Now!"
If you watch the Official youtube ad posted by 2KGames on 10/20 it shows all 3 versions of the game and says that it is "Available Now!" The little robot even says it. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1omVnfGVYw )
Previous TV ads have showed all three versions of the game and said "10.21.09!" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhKg64Wgr1Q )
So you when you say that we're trying to "play the game before 2K said you could" I have to disagree with you. If you are like most people and don't study release date lists, you'd be under the impression that 2K said you could play the game "now."
genem30 @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:12PM
Store broke the release date on the console versions too and people got to play those early. This is a case of their PC customer base being treated like 2nd class (3rd class actually, since the PS3 version is barely working).
AirIntake @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:33PM
If you weren't informed at the time of purchase that you couldn't play the game until a certain date, then yes, I should be able to play the game I just legally purchased. It might even be illegal to not let me play the game.
edward_sparks @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:47PM
Sad thing is, when this is released by the pirates the street date most likely won't prohibit them from playing it. So while the people that payed cash wait while the pirates get to play.....
freaparn @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:00PM
Well, running a quick search on several torrent sites shows that while the 360 version is easily available, I'm not seeing anything flagged as a PC version, or at least nothing with plausible seeding rates. Looks like the pirates slipped up on this one particular release, although they do still have a couple days to get it out there.
Regardless, I suspect that has more to do with the street date limiting chances of them getting their hands on it, rather than DRM having any actual effect other than screwing over the legitimate purchasers, natch.
SnapperDragon @ Oct 23rd 2009 12:53PM
Sorry, we (gamers) are a joke. We keep buying this stuff. They will keep repeating this DRM stuff because the pubs have never been convinced otherwise, regardless of any damage control they do when DRM fails.
As consumers, we are paying extra per game to have DRM included. In the cost of the game, processing power on our PCs, and in time wasted when DRM goes wrong trying to fix it.
I play very few games on the PC anymore. I don't have time or the desire anymore to deal with this junk. Went with a couple of new hobbies, one indoor, one outdoor (guitar and paintball). Money better spent.