God, I hate DRM.

[Funk, E]

But the DRM doesn't DO anything. It doesn't deter pirates, since cracks are ubiquitous. All it manages to do is screw over the legit consumer.

[Pulsar_t]

Can anyone cite examples where it works though? The PS3 seems like an impenetrable fortress.

[Mozgus]

Could the fact that you and many others actually NEED 1TB (a thousand gb ffs) be the reason that companies think they need to do this? Sure it might not work correctly and it screws actual customers but there is obviously a reason that DRM is so commonly implemented in computer games.

What are you talking about? What does the size of my hard drive have to do with DRM? 3/4ths of the games I have installed right now are legally purchased.

[Citizin]

Could the fact that you and many others actually NEED 1TB (a thousand gb ffs) be the reason that companies think they need to do this? Sure it might not work correctly and it screws actual customers but there is obviously a reason that DRM is so commonly implemented in computer games.

What are you talking about? What does the size of my hard drive have to do with DRM? 3/4ths of the games I have installed right now are legally purchased.

It would take quite a few games to fill up that much space, and wouldn't pirated games take up more due to the lack of a disc?

[Funk, E]

Hard drives are used for more than pirated games.

[Pulsar_t]

Could the fact that you and many others actually NEED 1TB (a thousand gb ffs) be the reason that companies think they need to do this? Sure it might not work correctly and it screws actual customers but there is obviously a reason that DRM is so commonly implemented in computer games.

What are you talking about? What does the size of my hard drive have to do with DRM? 3/4ths of the games I have installed right now are legally purchased.

It would take quite a few games to fill up that much space, and wouldn't pirated games take up more due to the lack of a disc?

Edit - Just realised you were talking about ISOs

[J T]

Can anyone cite examples where it works though? The PS3 seems like an impenetrable fortress.

I can't cite examples, but I imagine that the DRM at least slows down the process of getting a crack out there, which means less chance of pirating the game at launch, which is when game companies accrue the bulk of their sales.

Nevertheless, the PAYING consumer shouldn't have to suffer so that you can protect your ass from pirates. If you are going to include some form of DRM, that's fine as long as it does not impact performance of the product or create unnecessary hassle for the user. Good DRM should be invisible. As it is now you have products that don't allow reinstall, that don't work, that require that a disc be with you at all times and unnecessarily spin in your drive, or that hog up processing resources that slow the game. It's just sloppy and the main thing that makes me want to pirate games these days is not to get them for free, but simply to avoid the DRM.

[Mozgus]

It would take quite a few games to fill up that much space, and wouldn't pirated games take up more due to the lack of a disc?

No, because I buy a lot of games on steam. I don't even know what you're getting at, saying pirated games take more space. Both types are installing the exact same sets of files.

Now get the fuck out of my thread with that presumptuous attitude. You know nothing about the contents of my hard drives.

[Mozgus]

I can't cite examples, but I imagine that the DRM at least slows down the process of getting a crack out there, which means less chance of pirating the game at launch, which is when game companies accrue the bulk of their sales.

Funny how most games get pirated days before launch, sometimes weeks. If not, they always get pirated on same-day or the very next. DRM isn't slowing down the pirates at all. Hell, the reason the games so often get leaked early is because there are pirates WORKING FOR the developers.

[Niode]

DRM has been a bitch in the Audio industry for years. Especially the subject of Dongles. Now, nearly every single piece of audio software requires a dongle with a few exceptions (thank you Apple you finally did the right thing and ditched the stupid dongles!). If you are lucky it will be compatible with an iLok (basically a multi dongle, you can register keys with it online and then you can use that ilok dongle on any system and your software will work) but most use their own dongle or some form of arbitrary DRM. A lot of professional companies will simply pay for the software and then download the crack. Purely because they are getting a simpler set up (don't have to fill every single USB crevice with a dongle) or don't have to faff around with activations or nag screens. Half the time the cracks use system resources better (Cubase runs about 10-20% faster with the dongle crack) or they just don't require an internet connection (most studio systems aren't connected to the internet because they don't need to be).

I've seen this happen in so many studios it's almost funny. There seems to be hundreds of professional studios who turn to the pirates to get hassle free software so that they can stay productive. Why bother spending so much on DRM software when even the paying customers are cracking it?