PS3 Piracy Threats Cause Phone-Home DRM [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

Stoobalou writes "The last time game developer Capcom tried to impose Internet-based copy protection on one of its games, it was forced to backtrack over a storm of complaints. In that instance Final Fight: Double Impact was hobbled with a piracy-busting scheme which phoned home every time the game was booted, but Capcom forgot to mention that little nugget of information to potential purchasers — an omission which eventually led to the DRM scheme being hastily withdrawn. The company has decided not to repeat the mistake with its latest release, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, by making it clear that the game won't work unless it gets a sign-off from the company's servers."http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgames.slashdot.org%2Fsto ry%2F11%2F02%2F04%2F0610241%2FPS3-Piracy-Threats-Cause-Phone-Home-DRM%3Ffrom%3Dfb) http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png (http://twitter.com/home?status=PS3+Piracy+Threats+Cause+Phone-Home+DRM%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fg8ANs0)

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[Flack]

This is a pretty interesting article -- here's a link to the source:

http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/2/3/ps3-piracy-threats-cause-phone-home-drm/

"The game's listing on the PlayStation Network (PSN) clearly states, "You must log-in to the PlayStation Network each time to play the game," which would be fair enough if the game boasted some kind of essential on-line element, but according to Joystiq that's not the case. "Rearmed 2's co-op is an adamantly offline-only affair, like its predecessor," states the gaming blog."

Basically, it's an offline game that requires you to log in to authenticate your copy. It's an interesting idea.

[WCP]

It's stuff like this that makes me want to start pirating games again. I mean, I can understand how companies want to protect their intellectual property etc, etc, but I just think shit like this is ridiculous. I have a PS3 that I sometimes need to move from one room to another, and I don't have a wired internet connection in each room, and I'm not using a wireless router. This would really suck for me, because sometimes I will take the PS3 and put it in the kids room for awhile, and they don't have an internet connection in there.

Little things like this really piss me off. I know it might not be totally rational for me to get so upset over things like this, but it's the little things that can really bother me sometimes.

[Sonicwolf]

Basically, it's an offline game that requires you to log in to authenticate your copy. It's an interesting idea.

It is a terrible idea. It just gives the creator of the game more dictatorial control over your purchase.

What happens in 10 years if the authentication no longer works because of server changes or company problems? So much for whichever game you wanted to play.

[megasdkirby]

What happens in 10 years if the authentication no longer works because of server changes or company problems? So much for whichever game you wanted to play.

The irony is that you can possibly play a pirated version of it anyway, like one of those hacked/pre-patched warez programs circling on the net.

This scheme might cause a little dilemma at first, but it's guaranteed that hackers will find a way to circumvent this issue.

[Berserker]

In that instance Final Fight: Double Impact was hobbled with a piracy-busting scheme which phoned home every time the game was booted, but Capcom forgot to mention that little nugget of information to potential purchasers. An omission which eventually led to the DRM scheme being hastily withdrawn. The company has decided not to repeat the mistake with its latest release, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, by making it clear that the game won't work unless it gets a sign-off from the company's servers.

Game industry logic is truly starting to rival recording industry logic.


"Acme Toy Company was met with some controversy when it was found that its previous release, Happy Fun Ball, exploded into molten shrapnel when used without phoning home to Acme Toy Company. The company has decided not to repeat the mistake with its latest release, Gleeful Joy Cube, by making it clear that the toy will explode into molten shrapnel when used without phoning home to Acme Toy Company."

To me that's basically what they're saying: That their common sense has become twisted to the point where they think that the problem isn't that Happy Fun Ball explodes into molten shrapnel, but rather that they didn't warn you it would. To their eyes that's the only "mistake" that needs correcting.

Perhaps at this point someone could attempt to make a convincing argument about how many people depend on Happy Fun Ball for a living, and how much money is lost each year from unauthorized usage. And how, while certainly unfortunate, exploding molten shrapnel is a necessary tool to combat this threat to quarterly gains. But beyond this type of rhetoric, the crippled functionality of the product itself always seems to state the base intention louder and clearer:

"We're willing to punish the people who give us money in an effort to thwart the ones who don't."

It's so blindingly inescapable that the company is left only two options: Either remove the functionality that punishes people who give you money, or attempt to bend your own view of reality until you construct a world where Happy Fun Ball exploding into molten shrapnel isn't a mistake.

I guess we know which way Acme Toy Company went.

[Gameguy]

Everything was properly disclosed with Happy Fun Ball, there's nothing wrong with it. Happy Fun Ball is awesome.


-Warning: Pregnant women, the elderly, and children under 10 should avoid prolonged exposure to Happy Fun Ball.

-Caution: Happy Fun Ball may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds.

-Happy Fun Ball contains a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at.

-Do not use Happy Fun Ball on concrete.

-Discontinue use of Happy Fun Ball if any of the following occurs:
itching
vertigo
dizziness
tingling in extremities
loss of balance or coordination
slurred speech
temporary blindness
profuse sweating
heart palpitations

-If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter and cover head.

-Happy Fun Ball may stick to certain types of skin.

-When not in use, Happy Fun Ball should be returned to its special container and kept under refrigeration. Failure to do so relieves the makers of Happy Fun Ball, Wacky Products Incorporated, and its parent company, Global Chemical Unlimited, of any and all liability.

-Ingredients of Happy Fun Ball include an unknown glowing substance which fell to Earth, presumably from outer space.

-Happy Fun Ball has been shipped to our troops in Saudi Arabia and is also being dropped by our warplanes on Iraq.

-Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

-Happy Fun Ball comes with a lifetime guarantee.

[Steve W]

Basically, it's an offline game that requires you to log in to authenticate your copy. It's an interesting idea.

That sounds like Phantasy Star Online for the Xbox. You were forced to access Xbox Live to play it, even if you were playing single-player. And now you can't play it at all.

[wingzrow]

so they implement DMR that makes me WANT to pirate the game? Ile never understand CAPCOM.

[MASTERWEEDO]

What happens if I dont have an internet connection for some reason? Hell my router only handles 4 wired systems at once and at the limit, also i cant make the wireless turn on.

[Flack]

One of the things I'm wondering is, I wonder if Capcom was advised by Sony to do this, or if they just came up with the idea on their own. I guess in the long run it doesn't really matter, but I feel like if Sony told them to do it, this could be a sign of things to come, whereas if it's just something Capcom decided to do, I would view it as more of an experiment. Either way, I am interesting in seeing how it goes over.

I'd like to see them release it twice, actually -- maybe a $5 copy with this phone home DRM scheme, and for $10 with no DRM, and see if that one sells better. I can't imagine that Capcom and/or Sony can't tell what firmware a person is really running, so the non-DRM release could actually give them some interesting stats.

If this goes over well, I think it moves a step closer to the PS4 requiring an Internet connection.

[Flack]

What happens if I dont have an internet connection for some reason? Hell my router only handles 4 wired systems at once and at the limit, also i cant make the wireless turn on.

You can't play the game.

If you take your PS3 to someone else's house and they don't have an Internet connection, you can't play the game.

If you take it to a hotel that doesn't have Internet, you can't play the game.

If your home Internet connection goes out, you can't play the game.

At some point in the future when they shut down their servers, you can't play the game.

[theclaw]

I'd say if they must do things like this, release a console platform whose very hardware architecture requires a permanent Internet connection for core functionality. That way gamers could just avoid it. =P

[Icarus Moonsight]

Darn, they almost got me. Guess I will be sitting out on the PS3 for sometime still. I don't like getting kicked in the balls, so I'm certainly not going to pay for it. I'll just 'pirate' a permanent and pleasurable reach around later instead. They created the incentive, I'm just following it.

[Leo_A]

What happens if I dont have an internet connection for some reason? Hell my router only handles 4 wired systems at once and at the limit, also i cant make the wireless turn on.

Considering you need the internet to be able to buy and download the game, I don't think they view this as much of a problem.

The real trouble for us is going to be years down the road when the servers are turned off. I won't be supporting any console downloads with such DRM.

[megasdkirby]

I will be honest: it's shit like this that makes me want to pirate games.

Forcing this down our throats is ludicrous. Now I need to test whether FF Double Impact actually runs while offline on my PS3.

This is why I like the Wii and it's pirates: even though you can purchase a game, when it's no longer around, one could simply download the WAD file, install, and play. I hope the same happens on the PS3.

[MASTERWEEDO]

Considering you need the internet to be able to buy and download the game, I don't think they view this as much of a problem.

The real trouble for us is going to be years down the road when the servers are turned off. I won't be supporting any console downloads with such DRM.

Its like Flack said, if you take your PS3 traveling, it will limit your games, but I noticed that alot of hotels try to override the signal from the ps3 to the tv,

[Polygon]

It's stuff like this that makes me want to start pirating games again. I mean, I can understand how companies want to protect their intellectual property etc, etc, but I just think shit like this is ridiculous. I have a PS3 that I sometimes need to move from one room to another, and I don't have a wired internet connection in each room, and I'm not using a wireless router. This would really suck for me, because sometimes I will take the PS3 and put it in the kids room for awhile, and they don't have an internet connection in there.

Little things like this really piss me off. I know it might not be totally rational for me to get so upset over things like this, but it's the little things that can really bother me sometimes.

I know the feeling and I don't think it's irrational. Small steps lead to big changes. The only difference is that it happened slowly over a period of time so that you didn't notice your rights be stripped away.

It pisses me off as I paid for a product for my own personal use to use as I see fit. DRM makes it so something isn't yours. It's only yours if they say it is. And that's not right. I've seen nothing but alienated customer as a result of DRM.


It is a terrible idea. It just gives the creator of the game more dictatorial control over your purchase.

What happens in 10 years if the authentication no longer works because of server changes or company problems? So much for whichever game you wanted to play.

That's one of my biggest fears with DRM and downloaded content. I fear that at one point it won't work anymore. Imagine if there was DRM in all the old games we love to play and they don't work anymore because the system used to authenticate no longer exists.

[TonyTheTiger]

That's one of my biggest fears with DRM and downloaded content. I fear that at one point it won't work anymore. Imagine if there was DRM in all the old games we love to play and they don't work anymore because the system used to authenticate no longer exists.

While I by no means support draconian DRM (if only from the practical standpoint that it encourages piracy more than it fights it), there will probably always be options once the inevitable happens.

This kind of situation is actually older than it seems. Capcom's old arcade cabs, particularly CPS-III boards and I think some CPS-2, had what amounted to a kill switch. In order to prevent people from dumping the games the board would outright die if tampered with. That alone doesn't sound like a big deal but the catch was that to implement this system the boards were kept alive by a battery. So if the battery died it would have the same effect and you'd have to pay Capcom to fix the board. I'm pretty sure people have found workarounds to that, bypassing the need to go through Capcom.

I think it's inevitable that the workarounds will always show up before the official support dies or shortly after.

[Kitsune Sniper]

While I by no means support draconian DRM (if only from the practical standpoint that it encourages piracy more than it fights it), there will probably always be options once the inevitable happens.

This kind of situation is actually older than it seems. Capcom's old arcade cabs, particularly CPS-III boards and I think some CPS-2, had what amounted to a kill switch. In order to prevent people from dumping the games the board would outright die if tampered with. That alone doesn't sound like a big deal but the catch was that to implement this system the boards were kept alive by a battery. So if the battery died it would have the same effect and you'd have to pay Capcom to fix the board. I'm pretty sure people have found workarounds to that, bypassing the need to go through Capcom.

I think it's inevitable that the workarounds will always show up before the official support dies or shortly after.
They did. It took eight years for people to find a way around it, and fourteen years for someone to crack the CPS-2 encryption completely.

And of course now the games are very easy to pirate and region mod.

A lot of the people that are complaining about this are the same people that buy a copy of a game and then share it with four other players. So...

[Matt-El]

Divx was a rental service where you had discs you owned, but rented use of the discs you had. I see a similar pattern here. Capcom has invented a digital download version of Divx.