All the reviews of Bioshock indicate that this is a game that my son and I would really enjoy. I eagerly awaited its release, and was planning to purchase a copy. The inclusion of SONY’s SecuROM DRM software is unbelievably ignorant and stupid. SONY is the same company that surreptitiously installed programs on our computers when we played their CD’s, that buggered up our operating systems and left us open to security exploits. Since that fiasco, I avoid any CD’s produced by SONY. I have no problem with requiring the disk to play the game, and understand why companies copy protect their software. However, limiting the number of times I can install and uninstall a program is unacceptable. I can play all my STEAM games and Guild Wars games on any computer on the planet, and don’t have to worry about my computer being raped by rootkit software. Bioshock will be installed on ZERO computers in my house. This will be due to GRM (Gamers Rights Management) software. Kram it, 2K games.
For the record and educational purposes: The crack for BioShock out there is working, but it is incomplete in most of the places available for download. You need a combination of "fake ISO/exe & dll crack/registry patch" to make it work. And no, I haven't done this, and I don't have a copy of the crack, I just saw the process. I can't even run BioShock in my computer. It is the curse of having an extremely low-end machine...
I have a Bioshock problem I haven't heard anybody else complain about. I've been running the retail version of the game on my homebuilt computer for about a week. It's been running fine until yesterday when I tried to open it using my desktop icon. The shortcut could not find the tatget file, "bioshock.exe". A search of my machind revealed the file was no longer on the machine. Does anybody have anything close to this?
triggersix
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- Aug 27, 2007
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Well, Rob, what exactly is the difference between not buying the game and 'pirating' it, and not buying it and 'boycotting' it? Do they know that you have boycotted them? The only difference here is a moral stand point. Why don't you grow up and start living in the real world where moral stand points make no difference unless you push your point home.
Perhaps if you were to suggest we all sign a petition or something during that video, we'd have something to go on, but as it is, you've just suggested we basically do nothing in the most pointless manner possible.
Even taking the game back after purchasing it and stating flat out that you are returning it due to ridiculous DRM issues would make a point. Simply not buying the game in the first place makes little difference. They just blame low sales on piracy and you are in exactly the same position. It's fine for you, you have a video feed and popular website to make your points public, but you're appealing to the masses. Tell them how to act pro actively instead of meekly accepting this injustice.
Perhaps if you were to suggest we all sign a petition or something during that video, we'd have something to go on, but as it is, you've just suggested we basically do nothing in the most pointless manner possible.
Even taking the game back after purchasing it and stating flat out that you are returning it due to ridiculous DRM issues would make a point. Simply not buying the game in the first place makes little difference. They just blame low sales on piracy and you are in exactly the same position. It's fine for you, you have a video feed and popular website to make your points public, but you're appealing to the masses. Tell them how to act pro actively instead of meekly accepting this injustice.
triggersix
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Boycotting will not make the slightest difference. In fact it will make things worse. There is no way for the developer to know you are not buying their product because you have taken a stand. They will just assume you are another pirate.
A better way would be to buy the game and then return it immediately asking for your money back due to DRM issues. Enough retailers get this slap in the face and there will be no option but for them to listen.
robwright
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- Feb 16, 2006
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What's the difference? You mean, besides breaking the law? Sir, all I'm contending is this: if you're upset that Sony and 2K are treating you like a criminal with unruly DRM, and then decide to protest their actions by exhibiting the same criminal behavior the DRM is supposed to prevent, then your argument is taking on a level of Joseph Heller-like absurdity.
And plus, 2K will know you have boycotted the game: http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/ and more specifically http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6628
Um...not sure how to respond to that slight.
That's actually a good idea. In fact, I just did a quick search on PetitionOnline.com, and while there are a few entries for BioShock, they're all about silly stuff like a Collector's Edition or making a PS3 version. So here's the link, Triggersix. You start the petition, I'll sign it and then mention it in the next video. http://www.petitiononline.com/
Again, you're not making sense here. Sure, 2K can always try to spin low sales numbers on piracy -- but we can always turn around and point to the forums and scores of posts and messages of angry gamers saying they are boycotting the game because of the DRM. So no, you're not in exactly the same position. It sounds like you want to have your cake (not buy the game to make a point) and eat it, too (crack it and play it for free). Fine. But I stick by my original argument: pirating the game to protest 2K's efforts to restrict piracy will only lead to more DRM in the future and therefore is a self-defeating effort. If you want to be pro-active about this DRM controversy, then I encourage you to start the petition, e-mail 2K and/or post on its forum, and, if you're up for it, pitch a guest column for THG on the evils of DRM.
Retrogame
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You know, there was a zinger back there people missed... Something insinuating that the people who use consoles are *too stupid* to be pirates.... 
:lol:
Does anyone remember the Dreamcast? "Back in the day" someone hacked it and its games so that joe average gamer could download an .iso and burn it to a CD-R and the console would run it, no modchip required. This was in spite of the fact that the system used proprietary disc technology (pre-dvd) and the games were about 1 GB so they hacked the games to compress the size. It was a helluva lot of work, but the pirates, CONSOLE PIRATES, made it as easy as nabbing an mp3 to steal ALL the games for the platform!
What does this have to do with Bioshock's DRM? What I just described is the doomsday scenario that these clowns and their "securom rootkit garbage" are trying (incompetently) to prevent.
In fact, copy protection issues date back to the first home games. Starflight (1986) had a code tied to its instruction manual; lose the book or fail to enter the code and an IN-GAME event (that happened with HHGTTG style humor and panache) ended your game. Back then you could with proof of purchase get a new manual from their customer service. And if your floppies wore out you could mail them in and get new ones.
It seems absurd but it's a true story. Copy protection is intertwined with and has changed the history of gaming.
Just as the games have evolved (from Galaga to Doom to Bioshock) and the platforms have too (from coin-op arcade to early PCs and consoles to today's multimedia multiplatform world) so too must copy protection.
If they resolve this DRM/ "rootkit" issue this was a NECESSARY if painful example that copy protection MUST evolve further, but will never go away. You need police to ensure public safety; you need copy protection or game companies lose and inevitably, gaming loses. You *do not* need a police state/dictatorship; you *do not* need DRM to mess with your OS. Support CHANGE
:lol: Does anyone remember the Dreamcast? "Back in the day" someone hacked it and its games so that joe average gamer could download an .iso and burn it to a CD-R and the console would run it, no modchip required. This was in spite of the fact that the system used proprietary disc technology (pre-dvd) and the games were about 1 GB so they hacked the games to compress the size. It was a helluva lot of work, but the pirates, CONSOLE PIRATES, made it as easy as nabbing an mp3 to steal ALL the games for the platform!
What does this have to do with Bioshock's DRM? What I just described is the doomsday scenario that these clowns and their "securom rootkit garbage" are trying (incompetently) to prevent.
In fact, copy protection issues date back to the first home games. Starflight (1986) had a code tied to its instruction manual; lose the book or fail to enter the code and an IN-GAME event (that happened with HHGTTG style humor and panache) ended your game. Back then you could with proof of purchase get a new manual from their customer service. And if your floppies wore out you could mail them in and get new ones.
It seems absurd but it's a true story. Copy protection is intertwined with and has changed the history of gaming.
Just as the games have evolved (from Galaga to Doom to Bioshock) and the platforms have too (from coin-op arcade to early PCs and consoles to today's multimedia multiplatform world) so too must copy protection.
If they resolve this DRM/ "rootkit" issue this was a NECESSARY if painful example that copy protection MUST evolve further, but will never go away. You need police to ensure public safety; you need copy protection or game companies lose and inevitably, gaming loses. You *do not* need a police state/dictatorship; you *do not* need DRM to mess with your OS. Support CHANGE
I'd like to address 3 subjects:
1. whether cracking is bad or not
2. has all drm been broken quickly
3. the price of games
1. Rob said don't crack the game, and I disagree with. I never buy a game until it's cracked. I simply refuse to be forced to leave a disc in my drive simply to play a game, and I'm a fairly casual gamer who generally plays one game at a time. Nevertheless, I use my drive for other things. For that matter, I should be able to burn a disk and play a game at the same time.
2. Some here have said that no copy protection has worked, I suggest you see how many Steinberg audio packages have been cracked in the last year or 2. They use a USB dongle that has thwarted the pirates for over a year or 2, so there's copy protection that works. Has the Direct TV's Smart card that came out in 2003 or 2004 been defeated? If not, then those must work.
I can't say that Steinberg's protection is unbreakable, but 1 or 2 years is impressive.....it's certainly longer than the life of a typical game. The only downside I can see to using that tech for games is that users have to buy the key. With Steinberg, one key will work with all Steinberg apps and demos, and it means you can move it to different machines, so long as you move the dongle too. Hard to care that much about a $20.00 dongle if you're buying super expensive software packages. However, even if such a key worked with every new game, selling a $20.00 dongle for 40 dollar games is a harder sell, especially for casual gamers.
Then again, if that means 2 years of no piracy, I could envision them giving the dongle away, or for a small fee (e.g. $5.00). If/when it's cracked, most games that are affected will be well past the point of being hot sellers.
3. Those who complain about games being to expensive, get over it. Games are NOT expensive.
The original Ultima cost $50-$60.00. Yes, there were less buyers, but it was coded by a single person in matter of months.
If you bought a game like Time Zone (a Roberta Williams Sierra Online game) you were out $100.00. Many war games I saw were in that price range as well.
For those to lazy to look up an inflation calculator, that's the equivalent of 214 2006 dollars.
Even Ultima VI was $50 or $60.
Games are CHEAP!. And unlike the 80's, you frequently can find a playable demo to try before you buy. $40 - $50.00 for a new release game (likely $20.00 if you can wait 6 months) is a bargain.
This sounds exactly liek the Music whiners, who said CD's were too expensive, but still complain even when prices are a buck a song (which is about what a single 30 years ago...much less if you adjust for inflation).
Concert tickets are expensive. Games are not.
1. whether cracking is bad or not
2. has all drm been broken quickly
3. the price of games
1. Rob said don't crack the game, and I disagree with. I never buy a game until it's cracked. I simply refuse to be forced to leave a disc in my drive simply to play a game, and I'm a fairly casual gamer who generally plays one game at a time. Nevertheless, I use my drive for other things. For that matter, I should be able to burn a disk and play a game at the same time.
2. Some here have said that no copy protection has worked, I suggest you see how many Steinberg audio packages have been cracked in the last year or 2. They use a USB dongle that has thwarted the pirates for over a year or 2, so there's copy protection that works. Has the Direct TV's Smart card that came out in 2003 or 2004 been defeated? If not, then those must work.
I can't say that Steinberg's protection is unbreakable, but 1 or 2 years is impressive.....it's certainly longer than the life of a typical game. The only downside I can see to using that tech for games is that users have to buy the key. With Steinberg, one key will work with all Steinberg apps and demos, and it means you can move it to different machines, so long as you move the dongle too. Hard to care that much about a $20.00 dongle if you're buying super expensive software packages. However, even if such a key worked with every new game, selling a $20.00 dongle for 40 dollar games is a harder sell, especially for casual gamers.
Then again, if that means 2 years of no piracy, I could envision them giving the dongle away, or for a small fee (e.g. $5.00). If/when it's cracked, most games that are affected will be well past the point of being hot sellers.
3. Those who complain about games being to expensive, get over it. Games are NOT expensive.
The original Ultima cost $50-$60.00. Yes, there were less buyers, but it was coded by a single person in matter of months.
If you bought a game like Time Zone (a Roberta Williams Sierra Online game) you were out $100.00. Many war games I saw were in that price range as well.
For those to lazy to look up an inflation calculator, that's the equivalent of 214 2006 dollars.
Even Ultima VI was $50 or $60.
Games are CHEAP!. And unlike the 80's, you frequently can find a playable demo to try before you buy. $40 - $50.00 for a new release game (likely $20.00 if you can wait 6 months) is a bargain.
This sounds exactly liek the Music whiners, who said CD's were too expensive, but still complain even when prices are a buck a song (which is about what a single 30 years ago...much less if you adjust for inflation).
Concert tickets are expensive. Games are not.
samir_nayanajaad
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- Feb 22, 2006
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Well I would just like to point out Oblivion, and FEAR. Both had little drm (just pop in the dvd to play for the most part) and they sold very well. Sure there are those that stole them but still were a very profitable games. I think this model set by Oblivion and FEAR should be followed.
I think Rob had a valid point when he says extreme drm is pushing people who other wise wouldn't steal a game in to people that do. I'd say it mostly has to do with the amount of hassle a person has to put up with. At the moment it seems to be less of a hassle to just download the game opposed to buying it legally.
With games getting to be larger and larger in size even with a fast internet connection it takes a while to download 4gb. I would rather just take a quick 15 min run to the store pick up a hard copy and be done with it, plus I don't have to buy a few 500gb or 1tb hdds just to keep my game collection. I would gladly pay to avoid being hassled, game developers need to just play on peoples laziness make it faster and easier to get the game from them for a fee as opposed to other sources for free.
I think Rob had a valid point when he says extreme drm is pushing people who other wise wouldn't steal a game in to people that do. I'd say it mostly has to do with the amount of hassle a person has to put up with. At the moment it seems to be less of a hassle to just download the game opposed to buying it legally.
With games getting to be larger and larger in size even with a fast internet connection it takes a while to download 4gb. I would rather just take a quick 15 min run to the store pick up a hard copy and be done with it, plus I don't have to buy a few 500gb or 1tb hdds just to keep my game collection. I would gladly pay to avoid being hassled, game developers need to just play on peoples laziness make it faster and easier to get the game from them for a fee as opposed to other sources for free.
Dupre is actually my personal property. It's a hammer I brought in to fix my broken cubicle. It occurred to me to sell the copy of Bioshock on Ebay , maybe for a charity auction.
"One copy of Bioshock, briskly hammered. Heavily scratched CD, but the install code is OK"
It hasn't occurred to me to sell Dupre. I named my hammer Dupre in reference to an old school video game, which one of the other readers might have already picked up on.
And on a related note unfortunately, I know EXACTLY how much the table costs now. Even so, I'm glad I'm not working at a cowardly video game site, that's so afraid to give a bad review, that nothing's worse than 6.5 out of 10, much less go with some "hammertime".
One thing I'd rather not have lost, is WHY I smashed Bioshock with the hammer.
Theres two type of games i will not buy.
1) Games that have DRM like bioshock
2) Games that have in-game streaming ad's like BF2142 and ET:QuakeWars
I don't see the point paying full price and still have to put up with that crap.
If they want to put streaming ad's in my games then it should be free or close to it.
1) Games that have DRM like bioshock
2) Games that have in-game streaming ad's like BF2142 and ET:QuakeWars
I don't see the point paying full price and still have to put up with that crap.
If they want to put streaming ad's in my games then it should be free or close to it.
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