This Is SEGA's DRM Solution


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This Is SEGA's DRM Solution

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Nobody like DRM, AKA Digital Rights Management. Game companies, however, seem to think they need it. Japan-based game company SEGA has come up with its own in-house DRM solution and has explained what exactly it is.

The DRM solution will be included in SEGA's espionage-themed action role-playing game, Alpha Protocol. Here is a breakdown on what SEGA's solution is and how it works (via website GamePolitics):

? Alpha Protocol uses Uniloc: SoftAnchor.


? Uniloc: SoftAnchor requires an internet connection to activate, though you don't need to always be connected to play the game, and the web site offers a work-around if you don't have an internet connection on the PC you install it on. 


? The PC version of Alpha Protocol uses an internet based licensing system, where, after installation, the user is required to enter a product registration code (license key) in order to begin playing the game. 


? You do not have to have the disc in your drive to play the game. 


? The game does not user SteamWorks, and the Steam version of the game will use Uniloc DRM. 


? The game can be installed on up to 5 different computers at any one time using the license key the game comes with. 


? There is a limit to the number of computers you can use Alpha Protocol on at any one time, but Sega says that the company is not restricting the number of computers you can install the game on over the life of the product. 


? SEGA will provide a version of the game without DRM using a future patch that it expects to make available 18-24 months after the game's release.

More details here. Nice to see SEGA get out front and explain what its DRM does. Transparency!

Source: Kotaku

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All games that have DRM should have a "future patch" that removes it after two years... at that point they made their money from it and should stop hounding the people that already bought it...

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All games that have DRM should have a "future patch" that removes it after two years... at that point they made their money from it and should stop hounding the people that already bought it...

I'm glad though that they considered 5+ years down the road when their DRM enabled game/s will be an almost "retro" status and the license servers are no longer live.

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I'm glad though that they considered 5+ years down the road when their DRM enabled game/s will be an almost "retro" status and the license servers are no longer live.

Yup, Blizzard did this ages ago with SC:BW, originally you needed a CD Key and the CD to be in the drive but then 6months later it was removed in a patch and you no longer needed the CD in the drive. It wasnt bad DRM as it was ages ago but at least they patched out the annoying DRM later on.

Its what people fail to understand, DRM isnt intended never to be cracked, its main aim is to last a month but 2 weeks is good enough.. As thats when the bulk of sales is coming in and they dont want to see a 'free' option at release day or afew days after. However, in return to this DRM.. Developers should always be patching it out after its served its purpose.

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Epic did the same with UT2K3 / UT2k4 as well IIRC.

They did and it was the the best thing ever lol

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Id software and others have been known to remove Copy Protection down the line.

I remember how excited I got when a patch for Quake II removed the CD check. I had a cheap CD-ROM drive, so besides the annoying process of searching for and digging out a game disc, I'd have to wait for the drive to slowly access the disc (freezing the system), then listen to it shake the entire case.

Neverwinter Nights II removed its disc check recently it seems (well, in 2009). Trying to use No-CD patches didn't work well, as any update to the game would overwrite it.

One thing with Steam is that the DRM is usually pretty transparent. I just double-click a game and play. No CDs/DVDs to mess with.

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Id software and others have been known to remove Copy Protection down the line.

I remember how excited I got when a patch for Quake II removed the CD check. I had a cheap CD-ROM drive, so besides the annoying process of searching for and digging out a game disc, I'd have to wait for the drive to slowly access the disc (freezing the system), then listen to it shake the entire case.

Neverwinter Nights II removed its disc check recently it seems (well, in 2009). Trying to use No-CD patches didn't work well, as any update to the game would overwrite it.

One thing with Steam is that the DRM is usually pretty transparent. I just double-click a game and play. No CDs/DVDs to mess with.

I could be wrong but with Steam the DRM is not hidden as a device driver or some other crap too.

Again could be wrong but with Steam the DRM is the Steam client. fi you remove the steam client it removes the DRM associated with Steam games from your computer.

What i hate the most about DRM systems is when they are hidden and can't be removed from add/remove software. As long as the DRM is executed only when i start and play the game and as long as i can remove it from the add/remove software i don't mind them.

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Extra DRM with Steam = fail

This - I'm surpised no one else is complaining about this. The whole point of Steam is so you don't need a DRM solution - Steam is the DRM solution!

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This - I'm surpised no one else is complaining about this. The whole point of Steam is so you don't need a DRM solution - Steam is the DRM solution!

People do complain but it's not like it matters, they just get flamed to death or given excuses why extra DRM is "needed" on Steam. I've seen threads being closed expressing the discontent with extra DRM on Steam at the Valve forums, I think Valve is too afraid of stepping in at the cost of losing publishers from their library.

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Seems like not-so-horrible DRM that we've heard of in the past.

To be fair tho, I don't understand what thorough DRM is supposed to do. There's still going to be pirated versions the day it's released. I'm not saying don't use ANY DRM, but do they need such extreme measures most of the time?

edit: 2000 posts (again, somehow I had a few deleted and just reached it a second time lol)

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they idea is not to stop the piracy but to kill the used game market (aka legal users).

Not really, even if the used games market is hurting game developers a lot.

The majority of a game's sales happens in the first 1-2 weeks. If they can keep the games un pirated for this time, or even 1 month. then they have won. And games that aren't released cracked in this time period will have a much higher sales volume than games that do get pirated right away, or even worse, pre-release.

And this isn't because people buy the game because they can't "try" it first and find it awfull. it's because gamers are cheap ******* who don't want to pay, but they also want the game right away while it's hot.

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Im confused.... If you do not have a internet connection, there is a website with a work around...... how do i get to that website without a internet connection?

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