BioShock Soaked in DRM Fiasco

[randomizer]

Hey I don't know how the SecuRom thing works, but couldnt you export your registry keys for the game and when you install the game again if you have run out of activations, simply import those keys? I assume it activates the game via the registry, I doubt it would be as simple as editing a file within the game directory.

 

[ThePatriot]

For me DRM means "Don't Run Me"....
So, I will pass on buying this, btw fabulous, game....now that is sad..
For me and for 2K.
When will publishers learn that DRM or trusted computing or whatever you want to call it, will hurt your business.
A business model without DRM will rake up much more revenue.

 

[hfgraves]

SecuROM (which is owned by Sony), enough said. I will have to pass on this one.

Oyrrah

 

[Dogsnake]

First let me say I am a 60+ yr old gamer. Been around since pong was state of the art. This BS (BioShock) DRM is one of the worst marketing fiasco's since the other Sony root kit for your music CD's thing. Just read more in other forums on this sight. Seems AVG free version calls out the BS.exe as a Trojan and quarantines it. If your running Vista, the OS will not let you run it under any circumstances admin or not. Good luck to all. Oh yeah also seems some very good cracked versions are showing up on Usenet, with no INTERNET play and no SecuRom troubles. I do not support piracy and mention this as an example of why DRM is useless. Much like a lock on a glass door, keeps the neighbors out but is not much protection against a thief.

 

[_Morphine_]

Hell has no fury like a gamer scorned...

 

[Ananan]

I'm pretty sure the company that is distributing Crysis is studying this situation VERY carefully.

I think it will be interesting to see how they handle the release.

 

[rfunes]

Hi Folks,

The future that Microsoft, Sony, and other companies dream about is this:

Your computer will be a dumb terminal for content display.

You will not have programs, you will buy usage plans, connect to the online content provider, and use the software. Nothing will be on your computer, only the files you created.

You will pay MS and others like you pay for cell phones now, for usage plans. $5/month for Office, $10 month for EA games, $10/month for Photoshop, etc. You will buy combos too, like $15 for Office and MS Studios games.

Even the OS can be a remote content. Off course this will require that new types of computer (simpler) will become standard.

You will not need a video card, the graphics will be rendered on the remote machine, and you will only download to your monitor the resulting image.

Ah, and in your usage plans, you will pay also for the type of processing power you will buy from the remote machine, too. So you can buy, say, Bioshock IV for $10/month, medium-quality, and $15/month for high-quality graphics.

It won't happen now just because the Internet speed does not allows it, but wait for a much higher speed Internet, and you will start seeing it happen. At first, it will be marketed as a good thing for you, but in the end, the truth will become clear.

No piracy. Automatic version upgrade for all users. No Patches. No Support. Lower costs for companies.

CONTROL is the word of the future.

PS: I really hope I'm wrong.

 

[spongebob]

You will not need a video card, the graphics will be rendered on the remote machine, and you will only download to your monitor the resulting image.

This isn't even remotely feasible. Even if it were, it’d be far more economical for publishers to focus on the data and the pipe, and relying upon customers to provide the horsepower. Then publishers wouldn’t need mainframe class systems to render your content – cheaper for them, and hardware vendors can still make a buck.

As for the rest of what you say… The software rental model is the Holy Grail for publishers. No piracy is certainly a significant plus, but what they’re really after is a constant reliable revenue stream.

It’s still a ways off, but the big players certainly have this on their minds.

 

[killer_roach]

First let me say I am a 60+ yr old gamer. Been around since pong was state of the art. This BS (BioShock) DRM is one of the worst marketing fiasco's since the other Sony root kit for your music CD's thing. Just read more in other forums on this sight. Seems AVG free version calls out the BS.exe as a Trojan and quarantines it. If your running Vista, the OS will not let you run it under any circumstances admin or not. Good luck to all. Oh yeah also seems some very good cracked versions are showing up on Usenet, with no INTERNET play and no SecuRom troubles. I do not support piracy and mention this as an example of why DRM is useless. Much like a lock on a glass door, keeps the neighbors out but is not much protection against a thief.

Some clarifications:

1) I run AVG Free edition, and had it active when I installed Bioshock and then did an additional scan. Found nothing. Sounds like somebody had a false positive, but there is no trojan. Sent the file to VirusTotal, and got one "suspicious" (from WebWasher) and no positive infection results out of 32 different virus scanning programs. I would rest pretty safely in that knowledge.

2) I run Windows Vista Business... game runs just fine, even in DirectX 10 mode, everything maxed out at 1280x1024 with 16xAF. Vista doesn't mind the executable at all. If it wouldn't run in Vista, then you wouldn't see DirectX10 screenshots, videos, and benchmarks out there.

3) Have yet to hear of a proper cracked version... although I've heard that some cracks have worked on some machines. More likely than not the cracks are trojans, though... maybe that's what AVG was complaining about?

4) You don't need to be connected to the Internet when you play Bioshock; only when you install and uninstall it.

Hope that helps.

 

[tlmck]

Hi Folks,

The future that Microsoft, Sony, and other companies dream about is this:

Your computer will be a dumb terminal for content display.

You will not have programs, you will buy usage plans, connect to the online content provider, and use the software. Nothing will be on your computer, only the files you created.

You will pay MS and others like you pay for cell phones now, for usage plans. $5/month for Office, $10 month for EA games, $10/month for Photoshop, etc. You will buy combos too, like $15 for Office and MS Studios games.

Even the OS can be a remote content. Off course this will require that new types of computer (simpler) will become standard.

You will not need a video card, the graphics will be rendered on the remote machine, and you will only download to your monitor the resulting image.

Ah, and in your usage plans, you will pay also for the type of processing power you will buy from the remote machine, too. So you can buy, say, Bioshock IV for $10/month, medium-quality, and $15/month for high-quality graphics.

It won't happen now just because the Internet speed does not allows it, but wait for a much higher speed Internet, and you will start seeing it happen. At first, it will be marketed as a good thing for you, but in the end, the truth will become clear.

No piracy. Automatic version upgrade for all users. No Patches. No Support. Lower costs for companies.

CONTROL is the word of the future.

PS: I really hope I'm wrong.

To bad for these guys that myself and many others have already switched to Linux completely. At least a few of the upcoming games recognize this. Us lowly Linux gamers can rebuild/reinstall as many times as we want without ever asking anybody's permission(activate). It takes a while, but all games seem to run on Linux eventually, usually at a greatly reduced cost.

 

[Christopher1]

These companies are going to have to realize that DRM only hurts their customers, and wastes them money in the long run by having to help people get the stupid program running on their consoles when the DRM balks at something, like I had problems when I was trying to install a game on my machine recently and it balked because I had Daemon Tools on my system as well.
It bluntly shouldn't have balked, since Daemon Tools can be used as a piracy device or for people who store CD ISO's on DVD's, then toss the CD's for their old games.

 

[little_scrapper]

I give it a couple months then WHAM!!! Class action suit. They are gonna get soo screwed.

 

[little_scrapper]

I just finished reviewing all the posts in this forum and wanted to outline two main points:

1) I have had zero issues with activating and playing Bioshock. Not sure what all the fuss was regarding the DRM fiasco. My copy immediately activated on both the installs I conducted. I installed the same copy on two separate operating systems. I have a dual-boot system set-up; Windows XP Pro and Windows Vista Home Premium. There was a minor issue when attempting to activate it the first time on my WinXP install. All I did was select "Back" and then forward a couple times and the install activated. Weird, I know. But in the end I was able to install and activate the game with no problems noted by most of the other folks that I have read about in various forums.

2) Regardless of my personal experience with Bioshock, I still find it funny and frustrating at the same time that DRM continues to piss everybody off...lol. Yes, the whole DRM idea is flawed and doomed to failure each and every time it is "pushed" by a game developer. The only folks who suffer whenever DRM is invoked is the honest consumer. Dishonest hackers (or just plain disgruntled normal programmers) will always find a way to crack any encryption and/or virtual drive protection scheme out there.

In the end, DRM is something that is unfortunately not going to go away anytime soon. We will be doomed to experience the continuous "circle of death" of DRM --> Customer pissed off --> Hacker creates workaround -->new DRM developed and released --> Customer pissed off again --> Hacker creates another workaround --> etc.

I wonder if anyone here works for 2K or sony

 

[Mousemonkey]

I wonder if anyone here works for 2K or sony

So I'm not the only one getting that vibe then?

 

[little_scrapper]

So I'm not the only one getting that vibe then?

Nope! your not the only one getting that vibe. That vibe you get when you ..umm ..ahhem... are bent over and can feel someone is standing behind you will ill intentions.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Nope! your not the only one getting that vibe. That vibe you get when you ..umm ..ahhem... are bent over and can feel someone is standing behind you will ill intentions.

And a rather large pineapple coated in powdered glass.

 

[mpasternak]

as a Bioshok player...

I dont like DRM. But i understand the need to protect the software. DRM isn't the way to go in my opinion due to what we're seeing today.

However, Online registration (or telephone) isn't that bad. What is bad is forced restrictions on the installations. If i buy the game, i should be allowed to install it as many times as i want. I then should be able to give it to my friend when i'm done. Or uninstall and play on another computer.

2k goofed on that one.

I actually love the valve way. As long as you have steam installed you can install the game on a million computers. However you can only play it on one computer at a time.

I think it's safe to say that piracy of Hl2 and CS;S are pretty low in comparison

 

[llama_man]

Or go the GalCiv2 route - no DRM. The game still sold reasonably well. Maybe if you don't treat people like criminals, they won't behave like them. Just a thought.

 

[spongebob]

@ rfunes

CONTROL is the word of the future.

PS: I really hope I'm wrong.

When I was reading your post again this morning I remembered this – a very interesting read.

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

So no, you’re not wrong.



@ Ninjawithagun

The issues are not only technical in nature (for some) but ethical as well.

1) No up-front indications that the number of installs is limited.

2) Botched install management. Allowed install count was increased – a band-aid fix that doesn’t address point Band-aid or not, some (many) honest early-adopters got screwed.

3) No mention that 3rd party DRM software is installed with the product, either in the box or the License Agreement.

4) The product uninstall process, arguably by design, does not uninstall the DRM. If the product is gone, why does the DRM need to be there? I have to wonder – is there a reason why someone wants this on my system, other than to protect the product? Does it do something else aside from protecting the product?

5) The DRM employs rootkit-like techniques hide itself. Is intent to protect the product(s) it manages, or to protect the DRM software itself (from being detected or uninstalled)?

6) From what others have written, the DRM seems to take issue with certain applications installed on customer’s systems.

7) On a personal note, while I understand that Piracy is a problem, I pay for my software, and I HIGHLY resent being subject to such paranoid, aggressive, underhanded DRM. Apparently, as far as the publisher is concerned there are no honest customers… we’re all pirates.

Once a version of the product without this kind of malware becomes available I’ll be first in line to pick one up. Until then, no sale.

Go back and READ the end of your own post, because it’s spot on. It’s the CUSTOMER that gets pissed off. Not the HACKER. The HACKER takes it all as a challenge. It’s the CUSTOMER, the one who plays by the rules, who gets the bad experience, not the one who doesn’t care, the HACKER. If anything DRM may even be self perpetuating when it frustrates CUSTOMERS to the point that they become HACKERS.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I think it's safe to say that piracy of Hl2 and CS;S are pretty low in comparison

Oh how wrong that statement is.

 

[llama_man]

@Spongebob

Quite right. I was about to go and buy the game on the strength of the reviews, when I came across reports of the dodgy DRM. like you say, NO SALE.

If they release a patch removing the DRM, I'll buy the game, otherwise I'll just have to live without it.

It'll also make me think twice about ever purchasing a Sony product again.

 

[rfunes]

Guys,

Just remember something very important, if you say that online activation is not an issue:

Can you guarantee that in 10 years 2K games will still exist? In 5 years? In 2 years?

Now they are on the market, they have money, they have servers doing the online activation thing. But in the future?

I can still today play my "Prince of Persia" game, and I like it, because I payed for it long time ago.

Will you be playing Bioshock in 10 years? What happens if the online activation server goes down?

 

[boredatcanon]

I will just stick to console version.

 

[killer_roach]

The activation limit has already been changed; that's been confirmed.

Secondly, they have announced that they are removing the SecuROM protection at a later date.

Third, I'd be hesitant to brand anybody trying to say anything in defense of the system as somehow being employed by 2K or Sony. I've gotten that on a few forums now, and it doesn't change the fact that I'm not (to the contrary, I wish I were... maybe then I wouldn't have $40,000 in student loan debt and could afford more games).

Fourth, I think the reason most publishers "treat their customers like criminals" is because of the outcry from situations like this, where people threaten not to buy the games or pirate them on principle (not exactly proving to the publisher that they AREN'T criminals). I used to be one in this camp, and have realized it's not serving the right end.

 

[robwright]

The activation limit has already been changed; that's been confirmed.

Secondly, they have announced that they are removing the SecuROM protection at a later date.

Third, I'd be hesitant to brand anybody trying to say anything in defense of the system as somehow being employed by 2K or Sony. I've gotten that on a few forums now, and it doesn't change the fact that I'm not (to the contrary, I wish I were... maybe then I wouldn't have $40,000 in student loan debt and could afford more games).

Fourth, I think the reason most publishers "treat their customers like criminals" is because of the outcry from situations like this, where people threaten not to buy the games or pirate them on principle (not exactly proving to the publisher that they AREN'T criminals). I used to be one in this camp, and have realized it's not serving the right end.

Yes, that's correct; as I pointed out in the article, the installation limit has been upped from three to five machines.

Second, no they have not announced that. Not exactly. Aagain, as I stated in the article, Ken Levine told Joystiq that "There's nothing wacky going on there, at some point we'll move back from online activation. If people want to play BioShock ten years from now, they'll be able to play it. We have a commitment from 2K that that is going to happen and we'll hold them to that commitment and they're serious about it, we'll make that happen." At this point 2K has said nothing about removing DRM or SecuROM from the game. They may end up dumping the online activation but the game could still have some type of cumbersome DRM in it.

Third, I believe you.

Fourth, I totally agree with you. Protesting what's happening here with SecuROM and 2K by ripping a cracked version of BioShock is just stupid. You're only proving the point of companies like Sony, who want to put DRM on games like this. And you're only making it harder on honest PC gamers, which are the majority. So if you're ticked off -- and you should be -- then DON'T BUY the game and boycott 2K/Sony or play/rent the 360 version. But don't steal it, please. If you're upset that a company is treating you like a criminal rather than an honest customer, then don't respond by actually turning into a criminal. You'll only contribute to the demise of PC gaming.