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GTA IV jumps on SecuROM bandwagon
Graphics card upgrade triggers activation and SecuROM can’t be removed, but you can install the game as many times as you like
After the Hot Coffee fiasco follwing the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, not to mention all the media circus surrounding Bully (Canis Canem Edit), Rockstar has earned itself a name as a risk-taking, maverick developer. As such, it may come as a disappointment to some people to learn that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV will be loaded up with SecuROM 7 DRM.
In a Q&A session with IGN, Rockstar explained its reasoning, saying that ‘we invest a considerable amount of time and effort to release each title, and employ a large number of people in the process. Having copy protection allows us to protect the integrity or our titles and future investments… 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.’
On the plus side, Rockstar says you can install the game as many times as you want, and on any number of PCs. Plus, although you’ll need to activate the game online, you can achieve this with any Internet-connected PC, and not necessarily the PC on which the game is installed, which could be a bonus to anyone without an Internet connection. You can then play the single-player game without going online, although you’ll apparently need to reactivate the game if you upgrade major piece of hardware in your PC, such as the graphics card. You’ll also need Disc 1 from the game in your drive to play the game
On the downside, you won’t be able to remove SecuROM completely, and Rockstar states that ‘some traces will remain.’ However, the developer also says that it’s currently ‘working with SecuROM to post information on our support pages regarding how to remove these inactive traces of the program for users who wish to do so.’
Rockstar says that ‘vocal 'board posters' seem to be most down on the SecuROM feature that limits the number of installations,’ and adds that ‘we recognize that the installation limits have been a major issue, so we have not limited the number of installations for the retail disk version of GTA IV PC.’ However, the other controversial issue surrounding SecuROM is the inability to remove it and the UAService7.exe service that can prevent some other software from loading.
Any of you hoping to avoid SecuROM by downloading the game from Steam will also be in for a bit of disappointment, as Rockstar says that ‘all versions of the game will use SecuROM functionality,’ and this includes both the retail version and all the online versions.
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I think that DRM/SecuRom will kill off PC gaming, I for one will not be buying any more games in the future, which is a damn shame, because I was really looking forward to playing Deus Ex 3 when it comes out. You can bet your life that it will have it.
Comment by MattC47 at 9:20pm 4th December 2008
Was just about to order it when i ran into this Sh*t storm! I don't know much about SecureRom but if the publishers can give me a cast iron guarantee that it won't screw up my system, then i will buy it. My main worry is that i'll have to spend countless hours reconfiguring and messing about under the hood after uninstalling the game. I genuinely wanted to buy this, but i am genuinely put off by all the secureRom talk.
Comment by Bradshort at 11:04am 3rd December 2008
I wonder if DRM and all the controversy will kill off PC gaming ...
Comment by CSQuake at 10:02am 3rd December 2008
You can't compare PC games to plane seats IMO, compare them to films yes, Look at the millions of $ each film brings in, this is what video games producers want as MUCH money as possible and to be frank I don't blame them it is after all a buisness, However I do feel that they are being over jealous in protecting thier profits/making money To the point of being unfair to the consumer, Look at how we don't get a decent demo of most games anymore, no no they can save a few quid there, They are now trying to squeeze every last penny out of their products the point of being unfair to the consumer also I will not be dictated to what programs I run on MY PC, it is after all MY equipment, I think one of the main problems is they see thier main target audience to be children who simply MUST have that game whatever it comes with, now until they start listening to the very people they sell these games to and not thier shareholders I will not be buying thier products.
Comment by Atomic34 at 9:45am 3rd December 2008
Sorry fella I disagree about your idea of price reductions until you provide evidence of any industry reducing prices due to increased sales. Increased sales means increased profits. Check oil as a prime example of how your theory never rings true. CoD4 has possibly sold 10 mil units ... price reduction yet? NO! The world is full of examples, from airplane seats (no demand expensive, loads of demand cheap seats). Quite right that increased sales = increased profits, but only until the competition see's the success and steps in with alternative products, this is how market forces work and thus drive prices down. I remember whent he first Simcity came out, its was £40 in the late 80's. That was when not many people had PC so games were expensive, if you factor in inflation over that 20years you will find that computer games are much cheaper now (given an average 3% inflation model a £40 game would now cost in excess of £70). So increased demand with increased competition to fulfill that demand pushes down prices.
Comment by danto1 at 1:47pm 2nd December 2008
Sorry fella I disagree about your idea of price reductions until you provide evidence of any industry reducing prices due to increased sales. Increased sales means increased profits. Check oil as a prime example of how your theory never rings true. CoD4 has possibly sold 10 mil units ... price reduction yet? NO! The world is full of examples, from airplane seats (no demand expensive, loads of demand cheap seats). Quite right that increased sales = increased profits, but only until the competition see's the success and steps in with alternative products, this is how market forces work and thus drive prices down. I remember whent he first Simcity came out, its was £40 in the late 80's. That was when not many people had PC so games were expensive, if you factor in inflation over that 20years you will find that computer games are much cheaper now (given an average 3% inflation model a £40 game would now cost in excess of £70). So increased demand with increased competition to fulfill that demand pushes down prices.
Comment by danto1 at 1:47pm 2nd December 2008
Sorry fella I disagree about your idea of price reductions until you provide evidence of any industry reducing prices due to increased sales. Increased sales means increased profits. Check oil as a prime example of how your theory never rings true. CoD4 has possibly sold 10 mil units ... price reduction yet? NO! The world is full of examples, from airplane seats (no demand expensive, loads of demand cheap seats). Quite right that increased sales = increased profits, but only until the competition see's the success and steps in with alternative products, this is how market forces work and thus drive prices down. I remember whent he first Simcity came out, its was £40 in the late 80's. That was when not many people had PC so games were expensive, if you factor in inflation over that 20years you will find that computer games are much cheaper now (given an average 3% inflation model a £40 game would now cost in excess of £70). So increased demand with increased competition to fulfill that demand pushes down prices.
Comment by danto1 at 1:47pm 2nd December 2008
Sorry fella I disagree about your idea of price reductions until you provide evidence of any industry reducing prices due to increased sales. Increased sales means increased profits. Check oil as a prime example of how your theory never rings true. CoD4 has possibly sold 10 mil units ... price reduction yet? NO! The world is full of examples, from airplane seats (no demand expensive, loads of demand cheap seats). Quite right that increased sales = increased profits, but only until the competition see's the success and steps in with alternative products, this is how market forces work and thus drive prices down. I remember whent he first Simcity came out, its was £40 in the late 80's. That was when not many people had PC so games were expensive, if you factor in inflation over that 20years you will find that computer games are much cheaper now (given an average 3% inflation model a £40 game would now cost in excess of £70). So increased demand with increased competition to fulfill that demand pushes down prices.
Comment by danto1 at 1:47pm 2nd December 2008
The best way to drastically reduce piracy is to start arresting people.
Comment by Number631 at 1:21pm 2nd December 2008
Sorry fella I disagree about your idea of price reductions until you provide evidence of any industry reducing prices due to increased sales. Increased sales means increased profits. Check oil as a prime example of how your theory never rings true. CoD4 has possibly sold 10 mil units ... price reduction yet? NO!
Comment by CSQuake at 11:21am 2nd December 2008
If you want to play the game buy it, otherwise do not use systems like SecuRom as an excuse to break the law and pirate it. The more people who buy a product the lower unit production cost becomes which leads to lower retail prices, basic rule of economics.
Comment by danto1 at 10:40am 2nd December 2008
Straight Bollocks! Securom killed my XP & all the hypocritical emails in the WWW wont revive it. Worst part is - I had to cancel my GTA preorder that I've waited a bloomin YEAR for... >=( Will NOT compromise my system with that shite again.
Comment by machy at 3:21am 2nd December 2008
Another I will pirate, I do not buy games with securom. Final.
Comment by Atomic34 at 8:27am 2nd December 2008
Another I will pirate, I do not buy games with securom. Final.
Comment by Atomic34 at 8:27am 2nd December 2008
Straight Bollocks! Securom killed my XP & all the hypocritical emails in the WWW wont revive it. Worst part is - I had to cancel my GTA preorder that I've waited a bloomin YEAR for... >=( Will NOT compromise my system with that shite again.
Comment by machy at 3:21am 2nd December 2008
Supposedly already available online ... another win for the DRM corner. You held them back for a couple of hours ... must have been worth all that money.
Comment by akoli at 12:59am 2nd December 2008
Another title that I am boycotting. To all developers who are thinking of using secure rom. DONT DO IT! All my friends and myself will not longer buy any game using ANY form of secure rom. Rockstar you go on about how you touch the "sensitive" issues involving securerom and you couldn't be farther from the truth. At its core you are still limiting the user in how they can use a game that they paid for. You are treating paying customers as criminals while the criminals get off scotch free and enjoy a better gaming experience (DRM free). It is the same reason pirating music is so popular because I am not limited in any way shape or form in how I use MP3's that are free of DRM. A game using securerom limites me in that I have to activate. What if you go out of buisness? what if you decide to no longer support the game and I want to play it in 20 years? No I will not get involved in this BS. The only game I have bought recently is Fallout3 and I wasn't even waiting for it. The only reason I bought it is because Bethesda is making a stance and saying DRM is bad and not including it in Fallout3. They dont even have a CD-Key! I just installed the game and played hassle free. So they get my money. Not you. OH. And you say that pirated versions are going to have problems... well guess what. Now that youve said I bet the crackers already figured it out or maybe they already had it figured out before you said that. Quit trying to beat them. Your just encouraging them to crack it more and they always will. Stop treating yoru paying customers as criminals and stop ruining the PC gaming industry. I am getting really pissed off that developers are wrecking the industry and favoring consoles because of it. Complete BS.
Comment by Tkaya at 3:42pm 1st December 2008
Another title that I am boycotting. To all developers who are thinking of using secure rom. DONT DO IT! All my friends and myself will not longer buy any game using ANY form of secure rom. Rockstar you go on about how you touch the "sensitive" issues involving securerom and you couldn't be farther from the truth. At its core you are still limiting the user in how they can use a game that they paid for. You are treating paying customers as criminals while the criminals get off scotch free and enjoy a better gaming experience (DRM free). It is the same reason pirating music is so popular because I am not limited in any way shape or form in how I use MP3's that are free of DRM. A game using securerom limites me in that I have to activate. What if you go out of buisness? what if you decide to no longer support the game and I want to play it in 20 years? No I will not get involved in this BS. The only game I have bought recently is Fallout3 and I wasn't even waiting for it. The only reason I bought it is because Bethesda is making a stance and saying DRM is bad and not including it in Fallout3. They dont even have a CD-Key! I just installed the game and played hassle free. So they get my money. Not you. OH. And you say that pirated versions are going to have problems... well guess what. Now that youve said I bet the crackers already figured it out or maybe they already had it figured out before you said that. Quit trying to beat them. Your just encouraging them to crack it more and they always will. Stop treating yoru paying customers as criminals and stop ruining the PC gaming industry. I am getting really pissed off that developers are wrecking the industry and favoring consoles because of it. Complete BS.
Comment by Tkaya at 3:42pm 1st December 2008
Another title that I am boycotting. To all developers who are thinking of using secure rom. DONT DO IT! All my friends and myself will not longer buy any game using ANY form of secure rom. Rockstar you go on about how you touch the "sensitive" issues involving securerom and you couldn't be farther from the truth. At its core you are still limiting the user in how they can use a game that they paid for. You are treating paying customers as criminals while the criminals get off scotch free and enjoy a better gaming experience (DRM free). It is the same reason pirating music is so popular because I am not limited in any way shape or form in how I use MP3's that are free of DRM. A game using securerom limites me in that I have to activate. What if you go out of buisness? what if you decide to no longer support the game and I want to play it in 20 years? No I will not get involved in this BS. The only game I have bought recently is Fallout3 and I wasn't even waiting for it. The only reason I bought it is because Bethesda is making a stance and saying DRM is bad and not including it in Fallout3. They dont even have a CD-Key! I just installed the game and played hassle free. So they get my money. Not you. OH. And you say that pirated versions are going to have problems... well guess what. Now that youve said I bet the crackers already figured it out or maybe they already had it figured out before you said that. Quit trying to beat them. Your just encouraging them to crack it more and they always will. Stop treating yoru paying customers as criminals and stop ruining the PC gaming industry. I am getting really pissed off that developers are wrecking the industry and favoring consoles because of it. Complete BS.
Comment by Tkaya at 3:42pm 1st December 2008
no SecuROM 7 will even load on my pc so thay not be seeing any ££ from me, as i have to nocd it to make the game work why they need it on steam version is confusing
Comment by leexgx at 3:20pm 1st December 2008
no SecuROM 7 will even load on my pc so thay not be seeing any ££ from me, as i have to nocd it to make the game work why they need it on steam version is confusing
Comment by leexgx at 3:20pm 1st December 2008
i was just saying its more of a crime of opportunity for alot of people unless that have certain technical know how wouldnt go through torrents download get hacks download specific burning software to do it etc and all the other steps which most modern rips would require. but pretty much any1 knows how to put a disk in a DVD burner and press copy disk to give it away for 10 mins effort. its to stop those people who make up a large majority not the people with the time know how and determination to do it anyway the long way around. as a whole there are far more basic users who wouldn't even know there way around a torrent site or would be scared witless of viruses y anything they don't know etc than there are people who are very proficient like the readers of this site. we are a small % and most of the people who came to this site and commented here would have the knowledge to get hacked games if we wanted to but we aren't the majority by far. thats my point its to stop the crime of opportunity by the low level user masses.
Comment by anthem at 2:17pm 1st December 2008
Actually I was talking bollox then ... 1,000 gamers ... 10% market penetration ... pay 29.99 ea for a game = £29,990 ... 2,000 gamers ... 20% market penetration ... pay £6 ea = £12,000 ... So that didn't work out great. We're assuming a price reduction to improve sales ... The game co's want double their money £29,990 x 2 = £59,980 ... They would have to sell to 10 times more customers to make their money at 80% reduction ... £6 x 10,000 = £60,000. Would 10 times more people buy games if they were £6 instead of £29.99 ???
Comment by CSQuake at 1:43pm 1st December 2008
You hit the nail on the head there. An increase to 20% market penetration from 10% could probably be got from reducing prices to 80% of what they are now. Assuming that the price issue is one of the main motives that people have to getting illegal copies - I would guess it is - Call of Duty 4 £51 on Steam ... The reduction would show CoD4 £6 - Left4Dead £5.40 - Fallout 3 £5 ... Steam version of CoD4 £10.20. Don't know about you guys, but at those prices I would likely own 95% of all PC games ever released LoL ... in an ideal world eh
Comment by CSQuake at 1:23pm 1st December 2008
Wah!!! It's got protection!! Never buying a game from these people again!! Wahhhhh! Rattle, pram, out!!!
It still takes second place to the comments made during the Creative drivers incident which were something like..... Wah!! Creative not making nice drivers. I'm not buying Creative again and that'll hurt them hard!! Wahhhh!!!! I'll never use sound again!!!
:-)
Keep those posts coming!
Comment by cjagusz at 12:54pm 1st December 2008
Running along this story theme. It was recently said that around 90% of all game installs are illegal. Quite frankly a ridiculous amount. Lets turn this all on its head though. That means the software company is only getting 10% of the money they asked for. Now lets presume instead of paying however many millions of dollars they do into DRM they just drop the proce of the game. Based on the assumtion they are only getting 10% of their money. Why not drop the price to 10% of what it is. Do you really think people would pirate (for example Fallout3) if it was £4, not £40 and had no limits on what you could do with it. Yeah OK they will still get some copies of games floating aroung. But with no DRM and a price that low its probably easier to buy the game than frig around copying it. Yeah some people will still copy the game. But I bet the sales lost would counter the cost of the DRM implementation they are currently using. The end user gets a product at a price they like (and cant afford (I'm thinking students etc. here )) and the game developer gets the same return they had before.
Comment by reashlin at 12:50pm 1st December 2008
"Having copy protection allows us to protect the integrity or our titles and future investments…" No it doesn't. I will wager any amount of money that on the day of its release a cracked copy will be available for all to download. I think publishers need to realise that SecureROM is not stopping the pirates.
Comment by pveater at 12:40pm 1st December 2008
Those that do sell/give illegal games away, they remove the DRM first. We've already established that the DRM is usually removed within weekd or days or even hours, then distributed on torrent. So your whole argument about it being a prevention ... doesn't ring true.
Comment by CSQuake at 11:27am 1st December 2008
its like if you were walking down a street and saw a wallet with money in it on the ground most people would pick it up and take the money possibly handing in the wallet (money removed) to the police or calling the person if it had a phone number in it. now the DRM is to stop the target of oppotunity if it takes a substantial amount of effort the genrall person on the street woudltn copy it but if its 10 mins in a dvd burner they may well end up handing copys to there friends who might have bought it. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE WHO WONT BUY THE GAME BUT THIS WILL MAKE JOE PUBLIC MORE LIKELY TO BUY IT RATHER THAN COPY IT DUE TO THE EFFORT. thats the point you cant stop piracy you can just make it harder to do so the people with no technical skill or desire to do it anyway wont be tempted just to out of convenience.
Comment by anthem at 10:56am 1st December 2008
I'm upset because I don't want my OS fiddled with at such a low level. I have gone to great efforts to ensure my windows has nothing odd installed.. Especially things that leave crap behind that can't be uninstalled. I also have a clean sector zero on my HD. Did you know this thing will most likely modify your sector zero and secret boot locations on your HD? I didn't give it permission to do this. This also interferes with some of my back up software and a couple of other titles. What upsets me is that I have planned to buy this on Dec 2nd, but now I have to contend with all the what ifs about how my system may be permanently impacted. Sure the newbies aren't aware of the implications... But then they may not even be aware of spyware in their system. IF I BUY and pay for this game. I feel I should have the right to COMPLETELY 100% Uninstall it when ever I choose, and without it leaving anything behind. The only thing I could think of, was to buy a completely new hard drive, copy windows to it and install it there. Then switch to this drive just to play GTA4. Thus leaving my original drive untouched. But that will cost $$$. Unfortunately, that may not leave enough in the budget to buy that new graphics card I wanted. This is annoying Rockstar and give me 2nd thoughts!
Comment by moonbuggy at 10:07am 1st December 2008
I'm upset because I don't want my OS fiddled with at such a low level. I have gone to great efforts to ensure my windows has nothing odd installed.. Especially things that leave crap behind that can't be uninstalled. I also have a clean sector zero on my HD. Did you know this thing will most likely modify your sector zero and secret boot locations on your HD? I didn't give it permission to do this. This also interferes with some of my back up software and a couple of other titles. What upsets me is that I have planned to buy this on Dec 2nd, but now I have to contend with all the what ifs about how my system may be permanently impacted. Sure the newbies aren't aware of the implications... But then they may not even be aware of spyware in their system. IF I BUY and pay for this game. I feel I should have the right to COMPLETELY 100% Uninstall it when ever I choose, and without it leaving anything behind. The only thing I could think of, was to buy a completely new hard drive, copy windows to it and install it there. Then switch to this drive just to play GTA4. Thus leaving my original drive untouched. But that will cost $$$. Unfortunately, that may not leave enough in the budget to buy that new graphics card I wanted. This is annoying Rockstar and give me 2nd thoughts!
Comment by moonbuggy at 10:07am 1st December 2008
I'm upset because I don't want my OS fiddled with at such a low level. I have gone to great efforts to ensure my windows has nothing odd installed.. Especially things that leave crap behind that can't be uninstalled. I also have a clean sector zero on my HD. Did you know this thing will most likely modify your sector zero and secret boot locations on your HD? I didn't give it permission to do this. This also interferes with some of my back up software and a couple of other titles. What upsets me is that I have planned to buy this on Dec 2nd, but now I have to contend with all the what ifs about how my system may be permanently impacted. Sure the newbies aren't aware of the implications... But then they may not even be aware of spyware in their system. IF I BUY and pay for this game. I feel I should have the right to COMPLETELY 100% Uninstall it when ever I choose, and without it leaving anything behind. The only thing I could think of, was to buy a completely new hard drive, copy windows to it and install it there. Then switch to this drive just to play GTA4. Thus leaving my original drive untouched. But that will cost $$$. Unfortunately, that may not leave enough in the budget to buy that new graphics card I wanted. This is annoying Rockstar and give me 2nd thoughts!
Comment by moonbuggy at 10:07am 1st December 2008
So rockstar ... if your so confident in your DRM being cracked and the content of the game being changed... I suggest a wager ... I bet that less than one week after release (more likely even before release) this game will be hacked / cracked / ripped and DRM free with no changes to the game content and avilable for download... if proved correct a new Core i7 pc to be passed my way. I for one cant play it in its current form as my main gaming PC is not connected to the internet and have no need for it to be either... my crappy family friendly compaq business PC is more than sufficient for our browsing needs... but unless I can trasnfer my authentication from this to main PC (which I suppose would defeat the purpose of the DRM) then this game is not for me... might just reload Vice city as this is the best in series ... flashback radio ... Although GTA III mod I got that gave you real cars was pretty cool . Such is life .... the honest buyer is penalised for the bad people who dont purchase but freely download. The person who downloads has no intention of purchasing this game so technically your not losing a sale... not that the stuff should be available for download in the first place.. but what can you do .... death taxes and piracy will exist for eternity ...
Comment by akoli at 2:42am 1st December 2008
but i won't be buying it now. oh well.
Comment by mi1ez at 5:17pm 30th November 2008
Sell your DRM'd games on EBay - if you have good feedback people will "believe" you when you say it has 2 or 3 activations left. Who sells to shops anyway- they are leeches ! Secondly, I've never had a problem with Securom - and I have Alcohol and Daemon installed. Thirdly, they are giving unlimited PC's and activations - what's the problem with that....you can't moan really. Obviously they're wasting their time - and money with it - as the only people it bothers is those that buy it - it will be cracked within half-an-hour of release - it will never stop piracy...never.
Comment by GabethePilot at 1:29pm 30th November 2008
DRM game gets installed a number of times on gamers PC - gamer takes DRM game to second hand shop - shop says bugger off because there is no way to find out how many installs are left - second hand PC game market fails --- (this is the ideal-world part next) - publisher reduces game price to take into account the extra revenue stream created by lack of second hand game market and gamers still requiring cheap games - sales increase - DRM wins the day - honest gamers win with lower prices - End of story ... or is it ... reality is that DRM kills second hand game market - publishers fail to reduce prices (oil anyone?) - piracy increases - DRM fails. End of more likely story.
Comment by CSQuake at 2:03am 30th November 2008
I laugh at those talking about getting a cracked version when the article states that cracking it will change the content within the game. If you are going to risk that, why get it at all. It seems daft to risk a letter from a parasitic lawyer just to play a game that will actually be broken by the act of cracking it. I've not had a problem with Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2 etc and with no activation restrictions I don't expect to have a problem here either.
Comment by gavomatic57 at 5:35pm 29th November 2008
Why don't these companies realize that no matter how hard they try, or what lengths they go to accomodate these thieves it's never going to be enough...EVER!! It's like making a deal with the devil. You must compromise yourself to a great degree to gain favor with an individual who has your ultimate destruction as his primary goal from the outset! It's stupid!! Just listen to the litany of excuses as to why the game "still" can't/won't be purchased. The same thieves, same excuse, different excuses, over and over and over again. It doesn't stop. It won't stop. They'll still steal. They WANT to steal. Don't these companies realize that there is no honor among thieves?!! That saying exsits for a reason! Why try? Put the damn games on a console and leave them there. You'll never make your money back on the PC anyway! But I got a challenge! Steal this game! Yes steal it!! Show these dumbasses that you're smarter than they are, you're PC gamers damn it!!! Steal the game, pass it around. Steal it and send "them" a copy!! NOBODY BUY IT, EVERYBODY STEAL IT!!! MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF THIS GAME!! Anything less is well...weak! Then and only then, they'll get the picture.
Comment by Warrior24_7 at 3:50pm 29th November 2008
thats so true if its a mint game with bad bad drm buy it and then get the cracks i dont like drm my self not the checks and that its wen you only get 3 or 4 installs and thats it without ringing and beggin for another one cos i must reinstall 3-4 times a year but if you can deactvate and get them back i dont mind
Comment by damafia at 2:37pm 29th November 2008
Wise man once say "A lock does nothing more then keep an honest man honest". True enough in the case of DRM - Pirates and crackers make a point to bypass this kind of inane protection and do it with an efficiency that shames the DRM coders. It's not that they don't want to pay for a game jus that they don't want to pay to be limited. I agree with that motivation.
Comment by Godkyra at 1:15pm 29th November 2008
always someone that will get past this protection... its like nature... you cant stop it happening.. it just does. at least this one is a more relaxed version of it, and id be happy buying this game.
Comment by Lightning_Pete at 12:54pm 29th November 2008
Its the fact that securerom costs money to add to a game. Money that is inevitably covered by the people buying the game. This ramps up prices and keeps down game profits. If they just forgot about securing the games then they would still be pirated but the customers would have the benefit of a lower price. This would also entice more customers to buy the game. Its simple really.
Comment by ff_jason at 12:21pm 29th November 2008
I have a sneaking suspician, that the steam version, will either not really contain securom, or it will but it won't be operational.
Comment by Cerberus_xiii at 11:46am 29th November 2008
You fail to see my point. Punkbuster installs executables that act exactly as UAService does, allowing commands to be executed as an admin even if the game is run under a restricted account. Nearly every other copy protection scheme also forces you to not be running software like daemon tools as well. The simple solution is to close down the software before you run it. Or just buy it and crack it.
Comment by Gunrun at 11:33am 29th November 2008
Always favored the buy game and download a crack straight away option.. Everything works just sweet for the " Honest Gamer "
Comment by bishbosh at 8:25am 29th November 2008
i find it odd how games still dont come with a noCD option. every game i play, i download a crack that does that and the file itself is smaller than the default! havent they gotten the hint when gamers have always gone megagames.com for a crack since hexen?
Comment by thegreat0mi at 7:04am 29th November 2008
This same subject is raised every 2/3 weeks on this website. All the comments posted for this article have been mentioned every time previous. (DRM doesn't stop piracy; The game will be cracked before release anyway; I download the games from torrents and if i like them i buy them later on; I feel treated like a criminal; Death of PC gaming). Blah blah blah. At the end of these DRM articles CPC should just link to a previous one so we can just look at the comments made there. Im not trying to belittle this subject, but nothing new gets added except a game title.
Comment by smiffy at 3:15am 29th November 2008
I do not spend money on products that are designed to fail under certain conditions. Would you be happy to cross a bridge that you knew would self destruct if there was too much weight on it? What if there was a problem with the weight detection mechanism? >>>>>> Do proprietary software manufacturers not understand that many people are moving away from proprietary software completely because proprietary software is often nowhere near as good as it could have been? And that is usually the case because the manufacturer wants to be able to sell the same product again in a couple of years, with just a few changes and a lick of paint. >>>>>> If GTA4 came with no copy protection measures at all, including annoyances like having to have the disk in the drive to play it, then I would probably have bought a copy. But now, I won't even be pirating it, as they've said themselves its going to be crippled. That means that I will be spending my time and money on competing products.... well done Rockstar! >>>>>> It looks like this quality website doesn't even support paragraphs in comments, so apologies for the mess.
Comment by custompc at 3:35am 29th November 2008
What, a few people comment saying they are going to pirate the game over this, makes you think they are cheap skates? You already shown your stupidity here: "Anyone saying they're going to pirate it because of this is making excuses and trying to justify their lawbreaking. Either that or you better not install any program with punkbuster, or basically any form of CD protection because most of them are guilty of the stuff that is left over." To clarify Punkbuster is not a CD protection system. It is used for online gaming to detect game modifiers (be it software or modified content) that would give a player an advantage against overs online. DRM causes more hassle than its worth. (Should I really need to uninstall a program to play a game? f.e. what if windows media player refused to work after I install winamp or itunes?)
Comment by Gzero at 2:40am 29th November 2008
Those saying "I'm not going to buy it" and "its going to be cracked on launch day anyway" why not just buy it then crack it straight away? If you do this you CAN remove securom without it complaining, and in many countries this is perfectly legal to boot.
Comment by Gunrun at 2:17am 29th November 2008
its a bizzare fiasco, although i disagree with anything being placed on my system without consent, secuROM has made no difference to my day to day computing and gives game producers piece of mind. if people want to download copys of games they can, as hacks will always keep up with DRM but developers and publishers will only put money into gaming if they see a return, hence responsible gamers who want to seee better games will always pay money for the privilege!
Comment by suchthe_fool at 2:14am 29th November 2008
its a bizzare fiasco, although i disagree with anything being placed on my system without consent, secuROM has made no difference to my day to day computing and gives game producers piece of mind. if people want to download copys of games they can, as hacks will always keep up with DRM but developers and publishers will only put money into gaming if they see a return, hence responsible gamers who want to seee better games will always pay money for the privilege!
Comment by suchthe_fool at 2:14am 29th November 2008
its a bizzare fiasco, although i disagree with anything being placed on my system without consent, secuROM has made no difference to my day to day computing and gives game producers piece of mind. if people want to download copys of games they can, as hacks will always keep up with DRM but developers and publishers will only put money into gaming if they see a return, hence responsible gamers who want to seee better games will always pay money for the privilege!
Comment by suchthe_fool at 2:14am 29th November 2008
Hilarious. It'll be cracked immediately, like every other SecuROM game.
Comment by MetaCatastrophe at 1:29am 29th November 2008
Anyone saying they're going to pirate it because of this is making excuses and trying to justify their lawbreaking. Either that or you better not install any program with punkbuster, or basically any form of CD protection because most of them are guilty of the stuff that is left over.
Comment by Gunrun at 1:21am 29th November 2008
They did this s*** with Crysis Warhead. I block the Internet at home and only allow certain things through the firewall. I should NOT be having to connect my gaming PC to the Internet so that I can be 'authorized' to play a game that I bought. One more reason to give up PC gaming completely. I am fed up with this stupid Internet crap these days.
Comment by Anonymous at 1:10am 29th November 2008
If I had known about this a couple of days ago then I wouldn't have bought GTA:IV on Steam (or in any form whatsoever)
Comment by benb1337 at 1:08am 29th November 2008
Most bank jobs [robbery] are insiders help it might be the same with the software indus so why bother with all this secure crap it probabaldy encourages these noooobs anyway .jj7
Comment by kingjohn721 at 11:56pm 28th November 2008
SecuROM is stupid. I think that developers should have DRM, but only to stop people lending games and installing on multiple pc's. This will deter the majority of users. However, SecuROM is not going to stop the pirates at all. DarkC0der will just come along and crack this SecuROM release, just like he did with the last few major releases, (unless RELOADED beat him to it like last time ;) )
Comment by _Unknown_ at 11:18pm 28th November 2008
I can't see how secure ROM stops piracy at all. I have pirated loads of games with secure ROM before actually buying them legit (Namely Crysis Warhead amonst others). Secure ROM never stopped me playing these games early - luckily I liked them enough to buy them. How is this secure ROM any more effective than a simple key code?
Comment by CrimeBall at 10:34pm 28th November 2008
To Jinx26 : Just because you disagree with a company's software policy, it is not a licence to illegally download it. Stop using such excuses and be honest....you're going to download it because you can't be bothered paying for it, just like a lot of other losers will. The best way to show Rockstar your disgust would be to not play it at all.
Comment by F_A_F at 10:12pm 28th November 2008
I use Power ISO to mess about with disk images and changes details on disks I use. I'm not un-installing it for a game. So I'll get it cracked. I expect I'll find GTA 4 in a pressie from santa (read wife/kids).
Comment by mega_bite at 8:34pm 28th November 2008
when I first saw the title of the article, I thought 'not anohter developer'. However, when I read the article itself, I was pleased to see that whilst they are using SecuROM, they will not be limiting the number of installs- a major problem with the DRM. They are going to release a set of instructions- presumably on the Internet- on how to remove SecuROM completely, after you have uninstalled the game. The idea of only having to register online, and not necessarily from the same PC as the game is installed on, is a big step forward. It is always refreshing to know that the big developers are actually listening to their fans, and reading their own damn forums, unlike many of the other companies (EA for example). why however the Steam version will come with SecuROM I have no idea.
Comment by Floor24 at 8:00pm 28th November 2008
Downloading a cracked version thanks =] Because of SecuRom
Comment by PB94941 at 7:52pm 28th November 2008
Pick a game, any DRM enabled game. Now, pick a major torrent site. Search for the game title. Is it available for illegal download? Yes! (I'm not asking you to download it). Ok, now pick another DRM protected title and try again. Repeat ad nauseum.
Comment by Spreadie at 7:12pm 28th November 2008
"It may come as a disappointment to some people to learn that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV will be loaded up with SecuROM 7 DRM" I bet the pirated version doesnt have it.
Comment by PerpetualOmega2 at 6:24pm 28th November 2008
Oh well, I've already pre-ordered it form steam, and got GTA:VC free. £31, which was a mistake on my part as I thought it'd be £26, but then they add Tax(VAT). I still can't understand, if SecuRom is the best disc based copy protection, how the hell is it implemented on steam, where there is no disc.
Comment by Cerberus_xiii at 6:08pm 28th November 2008
Im sick of companies like rockstar thinking they will make more money by including drms in the game. What really bugs me is that securerom stops u from using demon tools and the like. So as rockstar were stupid enough to not make there own copy protection i wont be buying. Was thinking about buying this but to me a company telling me that i can only play the game with the cd in with securom that adds programs to my system that i dont want or need and stopping me from backing up my games (i back up all my games so i dont have to use the original cd). I guess ill try and find my enjoyment from somewhere else. What really annoys me though is that no copy protection is on the console versions why do companies think that just cause i use a pc i must be a pirate and console gamers aren't (i know more ppl who copy and are able to get free copies off the net for there 360's etc). Put it simply ROCKSTAR YOU CAN STICK UR SHITTY PC PORT WITH SHITTY SECUROM STRAIGHT UP UR OWN ASS. Also so let me get this right youve invested loads of time in the game made absolutely shitloads and now that it has finially come out for the pc u think that now u need copy protection. Well well done ROCKSTAR i wont be buying and im guessing alot of other ppl wont be either
Comment by nick101 at 5:57pm 28th November 2008
I thought we had debated Securom and decided the biggest threat to the games industry is in fact the 2nd hand game market - hence the limited installs combat'ing it. I don't think the industry will ever stop piracy and they know that. But taking all those lovely cheap copies out of Game and Gamestation ... now there is a good plan. I don't agree with Securom though. If I wanted to rent my games for the same price as buying them then I'd go to friggin Blockbusters!
Comment by CSQuake at 5:51pm 28th November 2008
Another game i wont be buying but downloading LOL only buy none securom gamez, got farcry 2 but sucked anyway