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SecuROM joins PC Gaming Alliance

Published on 15th April 2009 by Joe Martin

Sony DADC, the organisation behind the SecuROM DRM, has joined up with the PC Gaming Alliance.

The PC Gaming Alliance may have just lost the largest publisher and PC developer in the industry, but they have at least found a replacement in good time. The bad news? That replacement is Sony DADC, the organisation responsible for the SecuROM copy-protection system.

Just yesterday Activision Blizzard announced that it had dropped out of the PCGA due to budget concerns, which is a strange excuse coming from the largest publisher and PC developer in the business. Today, the PC Gaming Alliance has responded by taking Sony DADC on as a replacement, according to GamePolitics.

Sony DADC's SecuROM DRM system has drawn almost universal loathing from the PC gaming community, who have vocally opposed the system and the way it limits user installs of games like BioShock and Spore. Despite this, the DRM solution has still proven popular with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two and Ubisoft.

While potentially a good sign and a possible hint that Sony DADC is looking to communicate more openly with developers and consumers, the move has been met with suspicion by many.

What's your opinion on the PC Gaming Alliance? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.

28 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

Paradigm Shifter 15th April 2009, 11:15

It's official.

The PCGA is even more of a joke than we thought it was... :)

Bauul 15th April 2009, 11:35

It's like Osama Bin Laden turning up at a Stop The War march. Complete joke.

Sleepstreamer 15th April 2009, 11:37

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

azrael- 15th April 2009, 11:40

Well, it's one way for Sony to make sure noone would want to buy PC games any longer. That, in turn, solves the problem of actually *making* games for the PC platform.

cjoyce1980 15th April 2009, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bauul
It's like Osama Bin Laden turning up at a Stop The War march. Complete joke.

that would be funny

sotu1 15th April 2009, 11:42

You do know it was Osama who stood in front of the tanks at Tienanmen Square right? Right?

DXR_13KE 15th April 2009, 12:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paradigm Shifter
It's official.

The PCGA is even more of a joke than we thought it was... :)

Tyrmot 15th April 2009, 12:11

The sweet irony...

V3ctor 15th April 2009, 12:12

I really can't imagine buying a game with DRM...

Steam is a method for having DRM, but not intrusive. By the way, I was going to buy Burnout Paradise the Ultimate Box thru Steam and saw that I have to register in EA, and this:

"INCLUDES SOFTWARE THAT COLLECTS DATA ONLINE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE INGAME ADVERTISING."

Isn't this Spyware? :) I remember when EA and other publishers were saying that they might advance with these kind of things and that it would help to bring the games prices down... I really don't see the difference...

UncertainGod 15th April 2009, 12:15

You have got to be kidding me, the major force in destroying the PC games industry joins the organisation dedicated to saving it.

Yemerich 15th April 2009, 12:24

Wolves in sheeps pelts..

bowman 15th April 2009, 12:49

Uh.

They are aware of the irony in this? Tell me they are? This is all some plot just to get a few people laughing?

Oh well. Time to bury this radioactive pile of ****.

[USRF]Obiwan 15th April 2009, 12:50

It would be more believable if they had joint the Menacing Cracking Alliance (MCA) or Razor1911 or The Union to name a view

VipersGratitude 15th April 2009, 13:18

Atleast now we know what Activision Blizzard's budgetary concern was:
Can't afford to be associated with SecuRom!

Venares 15th April 2009, 13:20

/FACEPALM

perplekks45 15th April 2009, 13:56

YAY! I love it! More funny moments when installing a game and then, heaven forbid, actually trying to play it. [/sarcasm]

What's next? Blizzard turns to console-only games?

mmorgue 15th April 2009, 14:11

I'm surprised that by now, these companies don't reliase that using such restrictive DRM tools only *enforces* the piracy of said games.

I'm not going to buy a game with something like SecuROM in it. I'd rather get a de-DRM'd one off the newsgroups and donate the cost of the game to the publisher via paypal or something.

DarkLord7854 15th April 2009, 14:53

But April fools was two weeks ago...

Mcmonopoly 15th April 2009, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yemerich
Wolves in sheeps pelts..

In this case, its more like Wolves in Wolves clothing..!! HA!

scarrmrcc 15th April 2009, 15:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3ctor
I really can't imagine buying a game with DRM...

Steam is a method for having DRM, but not intrusive. By the way, I was going to buy Burnout Paradise the Ultimate Box thru Steam and saw that I have to register in EA, and this:

"INCLUDES SOFTWARE THAT COLLECTS DATA ONLINE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE INGAME ADVERTISING."

Isn't this Spyware? :) I remember when EA and other publishers were saying that they might advance with these kind of things and that it would help to bring the games prices down... I really don't see the difference...

nope it is adware... not much better though.

perplekks45 15th April 2009, 17:48

I'd say it depends on what it does exactly. I remember that anti-cheat tool introduced by ESL ages ago that just scanned your hard drives and uploaded that information to the company behind that tool to make sure you don't have any cheat tools installed.
Was fun watching ESL almost being beaten to death. :)

And that's not adware for me by the way. ;)

n3mo 15th April 2009, 17:56

I have to say I'm overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for the idea here :) One of the dumbest things this year for sure.

bradders2125 15th April 2009, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkLord7854
But April fools was two weeks ago...

LordPyrinc 16th April 2009, 02:44

I hope that this move is the real reason why Blizzard cut it's ties with this "collective". DRM is not the way to go. Like others here, I also believe that DRM only pushes more people to pirate the games. It's going to be a biatch when these "authentication" servers are shut down by various companies and a legitimate game buyer can no longer install/play the game because there is no server to authenticate with.

MajestiX 16th April 2009, 08:09

hasn't blizzard got their own new system non xferrable cd key locked to your bnet account

impar 16th April 2009, 10:47

Greetings!

Ridiculous!

cyrilthefish 16th April 2009, 10:48

Best reply i've heard for this:
(from another forum)

Quote: