Why People Hate SecuROM
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Disclaimer: I’m not promoting piracy in any way, this article is about the aggressive use of SecuRom in games
Disclaimer: I’m not promoting piracy in any way, this article is about the aggressive use of SecuRom in games
We all know how piracy has several industries going batshit paranoid right now, in particular the music, movies, and video games’ industries. Part of their solution was the introduction of Digital Rights Management also known as DRM.SecuROM, an implementation of DRM, was designed by Sony DADC to prevent 1:1 copies of games impose install limits; access drives to verify authenticity etc.
So it’s just a copy protection program like many before it right?
Wrong
SecuROM is a far more aggressive version which uses tactics that cripple average users and only inspire the bootlegging community. SecuROM unacceptably performs much like malware.
SecuROM has come under intense fire in the gaming community by average users. Below are the games with SecuROM:
- Spore has the privilege of being one of the most hated video games on Amazon.com due to the SecuROM. It is also one of the most bootlegged games of all time, thanks again to SecuROM.
- Bioshock is believed to contain a rootkit, which is being installed on the users’ computer without their knowledge. Unfortunately this has been difficult to detect.
- Sims 2 has a unstable version of SecuROM which has caused anti-virus programs, DVD/Blu Ray players, and even the computer to cease functioning properly. People have had to reformat their computers due to the volatile nature of SecuROM.
- Mass Effect originally contained another dangerous form of SecuROM, which would access your CD/DVD/BR drive every 10 days, therefore degrading your drives performance over time. The community outcry caused them to remove this aspect but they kept the install limit to three times. Once the three times are up, the game is rendered inoperable. You will then have to plea your case to the Electronic Arts’ Overlords.
- Fallout 3 and Sacred: Fallen Angels have less severe implementations of it. The good news is: you can buy Fallout 3 on Steam, which doesn’t bundle the SecuROM protection.
It’s great for an industry to protect its investment, but SecuROM’s malware functions and tactics are unacceptable. Rootkits are dangerous tools that are more draconian than helpful to anyone.
What do you think?
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November 28th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
[...] not come as big surprise considering the game has a multiplayer component. For those who forgot, SecuROM is responsible for damaging people’s computers, installing rootkits, etc. They claim their [...]
January 7th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Simply put. Protection is garbage.
Every single game, ever, to my knowledge, has been cracked, bypassed, hacked etc when it comes to copy protection.
All these massively restrictive things do is piss of the people that actually buy the games. Take Spore for example. I bought spore, installed it, tried to authorise it, failed. Had to ring the company, which was an Australian number but they weren’t open in Australian times. Eventually got a hold of the company and they recommended either formatting my computer or dual booting XP (since I had Vista) as a work around, but to email and they’d look into it from their end. 5 days later I got an email stating ‘Looks fine what you crying about’. Another 5 days or so passed (after I replied) and they said ‘Oh sorry, we had to change something, you’re good to go now’.
And, don’t even get me started on GTA4, which when you EVENTUALLY get it up and running, is buggy as hell anyhow.
They’re killing their customers. Between Australia not having a R18+ rating (so a lot of games are banned / modified, encouraging piracy) and these over zealous restrictions it’s getting crazy.
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One last thing.
If I buy a book. I can read it. I can lend it to a friend. I can read it again however many times I want. I can read it where I want. When I want.
If I buy a DVD I can do the same.
Why, than, are some games we pay $100 for limited to 2 installs and it’s account based? If I was a father with 3 kids I don’t want to pay $300 for the same damn game 3 times!
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How to fix piracy? Simple. Give online components. If a game has an online component, not necessarily required, but just as an extra, that requires you to log in, people will buy it. Battlefield, Half Life, MMOs, etc.
You don’t need any anti-piracy. Reduce the cost of games to about $50(AUD), give online features (even if just downloading new content.. doesn’t have to be fancy) and introduce R18+ rating, and piracy would fall like a brick.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:17 am
I have three of the games you listed (Sims 2, Mass effect, Fallout 3)
I have had NO problems whatsoever with securom!
With Mass Effect you stated you only have three installs and then its done.
Crap!
You can revoke your install-key at uninstallation which frees up a new key. Every single time.
Fallout 3 works great, too!