Some of those that recently bought GSC Game World's S.TA.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and Egosoft's X3: Terran Conflict were temporarily unable to activate and play those games, due to reportedly resolved problems with the TAGES-run authentication servers.

Both games utilize TAGES DRM to enforce a 5-machine activation limit, and received a resurgence of attention as they were featured in the Steam Holiday Sale. The promotion saw 10-75% discounts on games sold via the PC digital distribution service.

Upon attempting to run either game, first-time players were told that they needed to activate their copy with a serial number. Some attempts were met with a network timeout error, while others, such as Shacker Stucky_101, report they that had no problems.

The issues began cropping up en masse between December 26 and 31... Read more

Now available from FileShack is the Spore PC De-Authorization Tool.

As the controversial DRM behind EA Maxis' popular simulation allows the game to be installed on up to five different computer, this tool removes a machine from the list, freeing up an authorization slot for another install on a different computer.

Launching a de-authorized install of Spore will prompt an attempt at re-authorization.

Windows Vista users are advised to turn off the UAC (User Account Control) in the User Account portion of the Control Panel before running the tool.

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell left no doubt about his company's stance on DRM in a recent email to a fan.

"As far as DRM goes, most DRM strategies are just dumb," said Newell in an email to gamer Paul Reisinger, which was then picked up by GamePolitics.

"The goal should be to create greater value for customers through service value (make it easy for me to play my games whenever and wherever I want to), not by decreasing the value of a product (maybe I'll be able to play my game and maybe I won't)," he added.

DRM, or digital rights management, has recently become a subject of intense controversy in the PC gaming field. High-profile games utilizing DRM to restrict overall installations, such as EA's Spore and Mass Effect, have been criticized by users and industry figures alike.

Valve requires its boxed games to be activated online initially, but allows for an unlimited amount of installations over a product's lifetime.

"We really really discourage other developers and publishers from using the broken DRM offerings, and in general there is a groundswell to abandon those approaches," concluded Newell.

The December 2-due PC release of Grand Theft Auto IV will utilize the oft-criticized SecuROM copy protection, publisher Rockstar has confirmed, though some controversial SecuROM features, such as install limits, will not be utilized.

"SecuROM is the most effective form of disc based copy protection and allows us to manage authenticity on a global level for Grand Theft Auto IV," IGN was told.

The game requires a one-time activation via an internet connection, and those with a physical copy will need to have the game disc in their DVD drive while they play.

However, the retail version will have no install limits, with Rockstar clarifying that the physical version "can be installed on an unlimited number of PCs by the retail disk owner." As for digital distribution, the company stated that "each digital download vendor has its own policy on the number of installations that are allowed."

The studio also noted, in an ominous tone, that "using a cracked copy of GTA IV PC will result in varying changes to the game experience," explaining that "these can range from comical to game-progress-halting changes."

More details addressing common SecuROM complains, including required software installations and re-authentication, can be found below... Read more

Randy Stude, the outspoken president of the PC Gaming Alliance, has arrived at some conclusions about game piracy after turning his attention to the issue in October.

"I don't think it's getting worse, as much as it's getting easier," said the consortium head to Ars Technica. He offered file-sharing trail-blazer Napster as an example to show that pirates strike all forms of media and are not unique to the games industry.

While Stude represents a collective of hardware makers and game publishers, he surprisingly took the side of enraged gamers who took to the Internet with complaints about Spore's DRM limitations. "I think gamers wanted to make their voices known; it was the equivalent of the Boston tea party," he remarked.

Stude asserted his understanding that PC gamers are a unique and diverse bunch, and as such don't do well with limitations. "[PC gamers] don't buy one machine, stick it in the corner, hook it up to the TV, and play it forever. We play on multitudes of machines, and we want the same rights an Xbox 360 purchaser has, to... Read more

Electronic Arts is the recipient of two additional lawsuits related to SecuROM DRM technology, this time in relation to Spore Creature Creator and The Sims 2 expansion pack Bon Voyage.

Richard Eldridge of Pennsylvania is suing the publisher over the undisclosed installation of SecuROM software on his computer after installing the demo version of Spore Creature Creator, reports GamePolitics. According to Eldridge's suit:

The inclusion of undisclosed, secretly installed DRM protection measures with a program that was freely distributed constitutes a major violation of computer owners' absolute right to control what does and what does not get loaded onto their computers, and how their computers shall be used...

Meanwhile, "avid Sims player" Dianna Cortez of Missouri cites EA for "immoral, unethical, oppressive [and] unscrupulous" conduct after including SecuROM in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, which allegedly caused a host of problems on Cortez's computer.

The suits follow the trail blazed by Melissa Thomas, who in September sparked a $5 million class action suit against EA for its use of SecuROM in Spore.

GamePolitics noted that the same law firm that represents Thomas is also representing the new plaintiffs, Eldridge and Cortez.

Owners of Ascaron's PC action-RPG Sacred 2--due in North America on November 11--will be able to share the full game with friends and family for one calendar day.

Copies purchased via retail and digital download will both sport the functionality, which allows recipients to access the full game in both LAN and single-player modes, but locks off online multiplayer component. After that one day, those players will be able to unlock the game through an online purchase.

Though the announcement was light on details, publisher cdv indicated that "subsequent installs" of the game will act as the demo version, suggesting that players will have the choice of registering their copy or activating the demo after installation.

"This innovative digital rights management solution raises the bar on how consumers can sample games before they buy them," explained cdv marketing director Mario Kroll.

"Rather than showcasing only a limited character or content selection, as most traditional demos do, gamers can share and enjoy the full game experience, trying out the features that most appeal to them, and getting a true sense of the full game."

PC Gaming Alliance president Randy Stude has decided to turn his industry consortium's attention toward piracy after months of DRM controversy and PC release delays getting attributed to gamers getting their fix by way of a digital five-finger discount.

"At some point next year, we expect to be able to quantify the potential impact of piracy on the industry," promised Stude to Gamasutra, echoing detractors in the piracy debate who warn that most piracy-related statistics available today are inaccurate.

Stude was pushed into the issue by his constituency--a collection of hardware makers, PC vendors and game publishers including Microsoft, Dell, Activision, and Epic Games. "There's a far more urgent imperative [game companies] want to see discussion and debate going on around, which is piracy," he said.

The Alliance president reiterated the most frequently mentioned solutions to the piracy problem, such as digital distribution and taking games online, but he also had a novel idea for what to do before the day that markets go entirely digital.

"Let's monetize every one of those pirates, and let's advertise the hell out of them," Stude asserted. "Serving, for example, six times the number of in-game ads on unauthenticated game versions would be a piracy deterrent that also provides revenues to the developer," wrote Gamasutra of Stude's idea.

Will Wright himself has finally spoken up on the downright ugly DRM controversy surrounding his latest creation, Spore (PC). Kotaku asked Wright for his thoughts and the designer came off as, in a single word, understanding:

It was something I probably should have tuned into more. It was a corporate decision to go with DRM on Spore. They had a plan and the parameters, but now we're allowing more authentications and working with players to de-authenticate which makes it more in line like an iTunes. I think one of the most valid concerns about it was you could only install it so many times. For most players it's not an issue, it's a pretty small percentage, but some people do like wiping their hard disk and installing it 20 times or they want to play it 10 years later.

When asked where to go from here, The Sims mastermind thinks that the dynamic of game commerce will eventually shift entirely online.

I think it's an interim solution to an interim problem. You have games like Battlefield Heroes coming out where the idea is... Read more

Diablo III "will definitely be out after StarCraft II," said Blizzard design VP Rob Pardo.

Pardo, in an extensive interview with Wired, also shed light on the company's plans for DRM and digital distribution. "Battle.net really is our most effective DRM," he said, adding, "That's really kinda been the thing that's always saved us from a lot of the PC piracy that I think hurts a lot of other single-player-only games."

Blizzard plans to similarly rely on its multiplayer match-making service to protect its interests with StarCraft II and Diablo III after their release. "No, there's no particular plans for that," said Pardo in response to a question about the games "phoning home" to check their authenticity with Blizzard servers each time before launching. "If you want to use an analogy--we take an approach that's more similar to Steam than EA, let's say," he explained.

As for Steam itself, Pardo stopped short of shooting down the idea of launching Blizzard products on the service, stating that Blizzard for now plans to stick with its own digital distribution service. "I think we're probably currently in the mindset that we're going to digitally distribute just on Battle.net. I don't know if our strategy will change in the future. I think it's something that we're just trying to get really good at doing ourselves for now," he said.

Based on the "amazing level of support from the publisher and developer community" that Stardock received from the initial Gamers Bill of Rights, CEO Brad Wardell has issued an interim edition in the latest Stardock Customer Report (3MB PDF here).

The revision addresses the need for more specific wording in order "to get to a place that most users and most publishers can agree on."

In addition, Wardell examined the common complaints regarding controversial DRM practices, breaking them down into legitimate, borderline, and illegitimate categories. He also noted that while Stardock will continue to release titles with no DRM, owners will need to download meaningful updates directly from Stardock.

The CEO further revealed that Stardock will soon add "IP protection services" to its digital distribution platform Impulse "so that publishers at least have an alternative to methods like SecureROM, Tages or Steamworks. As a practical matter, most game publishers who want to protect their IP have few options right now."

"There is no solution to the issue of protecting intellectual property (IP) that will satisfy all parties," explained Wardell. "There are customers who will accept nothing less than publishers acquiescing to a quasi-honor system for purchasing software. That doesn't work."

DRM Complaint Examination

Legitimate Complaints
• They don't want the copy protection to interfere with their enjoyment or use of the software or game.
• If a program wants to have a limited activation system, then it needs to provide a way to de-authorize other computers (ala iTunes)... Read more

Publisher Ubisoft has confirmed that the PC its open-world shooter Far Cry 2, which hits alongside the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions on October 21, will use a slightly different configuration of the SecuROM DRM technology found in Spore and Crysis Warhead.

Ubisoft forum manager bukowski113 posted the details on the game's official forum:

You have 5 activations on 3 separate PCs.

Uninstalling the game "refunds" an activation. This process is called "revoke", so as long as you complete proper uninstall you will be able to install the game an unlimited number of times on 3 systems.

You can upgrade your computer as many time as you want (using our revoke system)

Ubisoft is committed to the support of our games, and additional activations can be provided.

Ubisoft is committed to the long term support of our games: you'll always be able to play Far Cry 2.

Upon Spore's release, the game's DRM generated a fair amount of controversy, to the point where someone filed a class action lawsuit against publisher EA.

EA CEO John Ricitiello recently spoke out on the subject, admitting that while he doesn't personally like DRM, it is needed to fight piracy and is "something that 99.8 percent of users wouldn't notice."

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, speaking at the Dow Jones/Nielsen Media and Money Conference, acknowledged the game community controversies surrounding DRM and in-game advertising.

"I personally don't like DRM. It interrupts the user experience," confessed Riccitiello. "We would like to get around that. But there is this problem called piracy out there," he conceded, according to a report of the event on Yahoo!.

The CEO was referring to the controversial DRM measures in Maxis' Spore, which spawned a circus of Internet Rage for limiting users' installations of the PC edition as a means of fighting piracy.

"We're still working out the kinks," Riccitiello admitted... Read more

EA Games president Frank Gibeau promised to revamp and further loosen the controversial DRM requirements in recent releases Spore (PC) and Crysis Warhead (PC). His statement was not without a few backhanded comments in the direction of the very vocal anti-DRM community.

"We're extremely pleased with the reception Spore has received from critics and consumers but we're disappointed by the misunderstanding surrounding the use of DRM software," Gibeau wrote in the statement on MTV Multiplayer. He also announced that Spore would soon gain the ability to be authorized on five computers instead of three.

Gibeau reminded Multiplayer that the coming deactivation capability is still in the works. It was separately announced today that Crytek's EA-published Crysis Warhead would get the same deactivation program.

"We assumed that consumers understand piracy is a huge problem... Read more

EA Maxis' PC everything-sim Spore will soon get an update loosening one of its copy protection limits and allowing customers to de-activate existing installations of the game.

The game's three-installation limit has sparked full-blown Internet Rage for users' inability to de-activate installations in a method like Apple's iTunes. "Right now, with our solution, you can't. But there is a patch coming for that," EA representative Mariam Sughayer told MTV Multiplayer. No timeframe other than "near future" was given for the update.

EA also provided some numbers which it claims are a sample--not actual sales figures--backing up earlier claims that the three-install limit affected less than one percent of users. Sure enough, by EA's numbers, 0.9% of Mass Effect PC owners had tried to exceed the limit, while only 0.4% have managed to hit the same barrier with Spore. 83% of Spore owners had installed the game just once.

Spore's other DRM limitations, like restricting online accounts to one per copy, will stay in place.

Consumers upset over the anti-piracy measures imposed on Maxis' Spore by publisher Electronic Arts are now fighting back using the game's creature creator.

Several DRM-themed, anti-EA creatures were found in the Sporepedia by GameCulture. Many make reference to Spore's use of SecuROM technology, which limits users from installing the game more than three times before having to contact Electronic Arts for further installs.

Last week, the Spore product page on Amazon.com was flooded with hundreds of negative reviews of the game, nearly all citing the title's install-limiting DRM.

In response, Electronic Arts downplayed the controversy by stating that fewer than 25 percent of users will ever install the game on more than one machine, with less than 1 percent installing on more than three computers.

Chris Corry, producer of EALA's upcoming RTS sequel Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, made a post on the EA forums chiming in on the PC version's DRM--better known as copy protection. "The copy protection will be configured to be more lenient than we've supported in the past," he wrote.

"In the case of Red Alert 3 (and all PC titles coming out of EA), we will use SecuROM," added Corry, referring to a brand of DRM technology used in previous EA LA releases like Command & Conquer 3. With Red Alert 3, however, a few restrictions have been eased.

The game disc will not be required to launch the game, and up to five installations will be allowed. After five installations, up from three for the EA published Spore and PC version of Mass Effect, users will be required to contact EA customer service.

Corry also took the time to give his take on the sometimes... Read more

Executive producer Lucy Bradshaw described the copy protection built into EA Maxis' upcoming life-sim Spore (PC, Mac) as a necessary element of the PC gaming business, adding that the software will not burden legitimate users too heavily.

"[Spore has] copy protection, it is a necessary part of our biz," Bradshaw told Eurogamer. "But we've worked to make it something that does not punish the legit owners," Bradshaw said.

Publisher Electronic Arts made waves last May when the company revealed that Spore would require online validation every 10 days to function. The copy protection software was scaled back following consumer backlash.

"You need to authenticate once at the first install," Bradshaw explained. "This happens online. You can install on three separate computers and you do need to... Read more

As promised last month, Microsoft has released a new digital rights management tool allowing gamers to more easily consolidate licenses for downloaded content to a single console for online and offline play.

Performed entirely online, the license migration tool transfers licenses from old consoles on Microsoft's website, and allows users to easily redownload the licenses to a new Xbox 360.

Previously, licensing restrictions prevented redownloaded content and games from functioning on new consoles without an active Xbox Live connection. The license migration tool lifts this restriction when the licenses are transferred, allowing content to effectively function as it had on the original system on which it was purchased.

Update: While 2K Games has removed the install limit from the PC version of BioShock, other forms of copy protection are still present.

"Our other methods of copy protection remain," community manager Elizabeth Tobey elaborated. "You will still have to activate your copy, and you will still need to keep the disc in the drive. SecuROM has not been removed--just the activation limits on number of installs and number of computers you can install BioShock on simultaneously."

Tobey concluded with a promise that, "if we ever stop supporting BioShock [online activation servers], we will release a patch so that the game is still playable."

Original Story: Publisher 2K Games has disabled the installation limit built into the PC edition of 2K Boston and Australia's BioShock, lifting a restriction which allowed users only five simultaneous installations of the deep sea first-person shooter.

Last year, BioShock creator Ken Levine assured gamers that the DRM would be disabled when retail sales of the game were "no longer a factor."

"As promised, all activation restrictions, including install limits, have been removed from BioShock PC as of today. You don't have to patch or install anything for... Read more