BioShock 2 DRM detailed in full
BioShock 2 will use SecuROM DRM, but only for disc checks on boxed copies of the game.
The bad news is that BioShock 2 will use SecuROM, the controversial DRM system that caused a furore with the original game and which was eventually removed.
The good news is that SecuROM is only used in the boxed copies of the game and only as part of a disc check, according to Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey, via VG247.
The bad news (again) though is that all versions of BioShock 2 also use Games for Windows Live, which means the game can only be activated 15 times. It seems that that's a limit within GFWL, not BioShock 2 specifically, as 2K say users will have to contact Microsoft if they use all those up.
"This is a number set by Microsoft. We went with this option because we wanted to go with non-SSA keys, because we felt that was better for you guys all around," said Elizabeth.
BioShock 2 is currently available for pre-purchase on Steam and you can check out our BioShock 2 preview for more info on the game. Then let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyAnd that would help how? You would still have the GFWL activation limit.
As much as people complain about its unreliability upon release of new games, Steamworks is an infinitely better DRM solution than either of these POS.
I hope that was meant as joke!
I dont see why games purchased through steam still need GFWL its a pain in the ass, Take GTA IV for instance, i have it on steam but to play it, i need to have steam,Rockstar social shite, and GFWL to run it.
Now im no genius but surely steam would be the only thing needed if the game was bought from it.
If we had cross platform multiplayer then having a pc game using GFWL would be a good thing imo but as it is its just another thing i dont need but am forced to use.
P.s. BitTech; Where are all the reviews of all the new hardware, Like the GF100, new motherboards and the like? Or are you all still in winter recession? Ah never mind i now know why. Ok you are great again ;)
That is... just awful.
Steam and online stores ALREADY prohibit second hand sales. I had dinner this week with a guy who used to work for Universal Studios and Vivendi and from his (business) perspective they absolutely love it.
It's nice that they don't detail how exactly you "contact Microsoft", like there's this one person in one of the largest companies in the world, waiting on the end of a phone or email.
Why do companies feel the need to go with Steam AND G4WL?? Just to have the ****ing Xbox integration. Surely the fact I have to fill my resources with ONE background application just to load it is enough.
http://www.bit-tech.net/blog/2010/01/18/nvidia-says-fermi-is-great-but-who-knows/
I do have boxed games that i only installed ones, and found out that the pirated version worked better and easier. one of the first things i do with a new game bought boxed is to put in a no cd crack.
one reason steam is great, no cd's
It's still bloody annoying, though. Isn't Steam enough DRM for these douchebags?
+1
I always try and get a nocd crack put on before i even try and boot the game.
These activation limits to me make it feel like your renting the games instead of owning them. Microsoft will probably find a way of extracting more money from you if you do install more than 15 times too !
This DRM stuff is ridiculous. It doesn't stop piracy and just pisses off the good people who actually buy the games!
then if i ever get the key ussed to many times ill just get a keygen for it becasue there is no way im ringing up microsoft to get a key for software i own myself and if i can't find one
there is allways oilly
if you look at it this way
they will have to have the comand in the game to only let you use a key so many times why not just bypass that part of the code in the exe of the game?
Is a car that self-destructs after 30,000 miles much better than one that self-destructs after 10,000 miles? Or would you just buy a car that doesn't self destruct?
It might take me a year or two, but i would probably hit the 15 install limit within that time, as i fiddle with my PC a lot a frequently end up re-installing after breaking something
I got very burned by the activation limit in spore (lost all my activations in the first day or two) so i'm not buying any more games with activation limits...
It's a real shame as i was really looking forward to this game too :(
However, the use of both GFWL and Steam, as already stated by most here, is rubbish. Unnecessary and bloating. It infuriates me no end when trying to play DoW2 and I can't connect though that load of tripe that is GFWL for an hour or more at a time.
They should take a leaf out of Impulse' book. They may have lots of pirates (but who doesn't), but they still make plenty of sales and customers are happy.
As for GFWL never had a problem with it though I really hate the way M$ makes you pay for thing's allway's a little more than it cost .
I seriously don't get it why I should have to put up with that GFWL crap if I already buy most Games on Steam anyway which has its own DRM.
It's like if the Game developer adds some protection, the publisher adds some protection and then the store as well. I know it may sound like a crazy idea, but can't they like talk to each other and just settle on one protection?
GFWL - Burn the witch!!!! ROFL
so this is unfair on one year i had to reinstall windows 5 times
Please note Bit-Tech, that the DRM was not removed in Bioshock itself, only the installation limit. All the problems of online activation still remain (most importantly the game dies when the activation servers shut down).
this is more or less the other problem with it
becasue ican't talk for other people but i still play games like moh:aa (medal of honor allied assault and call of duty 2)
these games are getting on to be 10 years old now correct me if i am wrong but i doubt even the best game now adays will stil have all there seervers running in a decades time
so what happens all the games we had no longer work and we have to buy more
frankly im descusted by it these people are actually promoting people to bypass these things in there games therefor actually promoting piracy in the long run
The GFWL thing isn't a deal breaker for me if I REALLY want the game (batman), but it is the biggest blight on PC gaming. Steam is more than adequate, stop layering DRM on top of my DRM with limited activations.
And yeah 15 limits is more than 99% of people will use, but that's not the point. It annoys me that a number exists, it should be unlimited. After buying Mass Effect again over steam just so I didn't have to worry about the limit on my disk, I'm just avoiding limited activation games forever.
No you wouldn't... there are ways to play gfwl games without actually logging in.
Consoles, by their nature, are closed platforms - choosing one to avoid DRM on the PC is rather like diving into the sea to avoid a rain shower. :(
To seriously analyze it, I can't think of any benefits for the buying customer, only hindrances. Reminds me of a saying at the Inq: "Piracy: The Better Choice (tm)".
Of course it's not, but if they do this then I can see myself buying the game out of respect for a publisher (if it's a good game), but only playing the game in the 'torrent download version', and saving all the hassles in the process.
To make matters worse: I think almost all games have been available as torrents in the past, no matter what kinds of DRM schemes they thought up; isn't it time to realise, that nothing they do will stop the uploaders, and they should instead spend their money and energy on figuring out ways to give more value to the people buying the games - instead of taking the value away like with the install limitations etc...
Here's a game i've installed over 20 times for sure: StarCraft, and I will be installing it more in the past. I will not except such limitations for a game I buy - I want to know, that after I buy a game, I can play it in 10 years if I want to...
Limits on whether support infrastructure will be around to play MY game ?
I hate these people, who do they think they are??
I dont hack or pirate anything ..... but I will now
The 360 version has been up for nearly a week, the PC version only in the past few hours.
However both are before release day, again making the DRM utterly pointless at stopping piracy.
But hey, look on the bright side 2k, your DRM stopped me buying the game i was 100% going to buy until i found out about your limited activations...
Enjoy your lost sales
15 activations should be more than anyone needs, especially if there is a revoke tool included.
So what we can take from that is games will be pirated regardless of having DRM. It therefore begs the question of why include the additional costs and inconvenience to legitimate customers when it does nothing to stop pirating?
Because for "legitimate" customers it probably doesn't cause much of a problem. I've never had any problems with Securom myself. I've had problems with Steam when my internet connection was down for over a week, but even then the games I bought through Steam with Securom included worked fine.
The current versions of securom can be hacked quite quickly now, which is why ever more draconian forms of DRM are on their way in the hope of stopping it completely. Sure, it'll end up hacked, but it may slow things down initially and maybe, just maybe, the publisher will get back some of the money spent on development. Before long I can see us having to be connected to the internet at all times to play a game, not just to activate it.
If piracy stopped tomorrow, there would be no need for DRM. While there are hackers willing to crack games and freeloaders willing to download them, there will be DRM annoying the people who pay for their games.
Its a bit like the police - they are there because people can't behave themselves, but occasionally, innocent people get stopped and questioned. If there was no crime there would be no need for police.
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/226/bioshock220100209140210.jpg
Found here:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1140623