Always-on DRM

Always-on DRM or always-online DRM is a form of DRM that requires a consumer to remain connected to a server, especially through an internet connection, to use a particular product. The practice is also referred to as persistent online authentication. The technique is meant to prevent copyright infringement of software. Like other DRM methods, always-on DRM has proven controversial, mainly because it has failed to stop pirates from illegally using the product, while causing severe inconvenience to people who bought the game legally.

Usage

Popular video games such as Diablo III and Starcraft 2 employ always-on DRM by requiring players to connect to the internet to play, even in single-player mode. Reviews of Diablo III criticized its use of always-on DRM.[1][2] As with Diablo III, SimCity (2013) experienced bugs at its launch due to always-on DRM.[3] Its developer, Maxis, initially defended the practice as being a result of the game's reliance on cloud computing for in-game processing, but it was later confirmed that cloud computing was only necessary to support the inter-city and social media mechanisms.[4][5][6] Tim Willits at id Software has also defended the use of always-on DRM, arguing that it would make updates easier.[7]

A major disadvantage of always-on DRM is that whenever the DRM authentication server goes down, or a region experiences an Internet outage, it effectively locks out people from playing the game, hence, the criticism.[8]

Ubisoft's first titles requiring an always-on connection were Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic and Assassin's Creed II, of which the former had reportedly been cracked as of the first day of the game's release.[9] Assassin's Creed II was later cracked on the day of its release in Japan. Ubisoft also used always-on DRM in Driver: San Francisco, which was also cracked.[10] However, the company announced in September 2012 that it would not employ always-on DRM in its future games.[10]

EA was later criticized for making their latest game Need for Speed always online, even though it had both single player and multiplayer modes. EA later stated that this was because the game was an ever expanding world that would be constantly updated and that it would be required for taking snapshots and posting them on Autolog, which would earn the player Experience points and other rewards if the snapshots are liked enough. This later garnered up more criticism. In the end, it was later found out that the framerate drops in Need for Speed was because of the always-online connection.

HITMAN™ was later criticized to be always-online to be able to save in certain areas of levels in the game. Square Enix clarified that there would be no fix for it as the game was "a constantly, evolving, living world of assassination that will grow alongside the community with frequent content updates in between the launch of each location. This live content includes new contracts, escalation contracts, elusive targets, and even additional challenges", and while it is possible to play the game offline, two separate save states for both offline and online have been made.

Quantum Break was also criticized for being always-online on the PC version, due to the fact that live episodes limited to 4K resolution had to be streamed because of storage limitations according to Microsoft, despite the fact that personal computers can be constantly upgraded with more storage as time goes by. Nevertheless, it is possible to play the game offline without logging in into Microsoft, but it will result in the game's protagonist Jack Joyce wearing a pirate eye patch.

As of October 2015, always-online games with single player modes that now have had dead servers for six months and longer are now exempt from DMCA prohibitions on circumventing copyright protection.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kain, Erik (17 May 2012). "'Diablo III' Fans Should Stay Angry About Always-Online DRM". Forbes. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Jary, Simon (16 May 2012). "Diablo III players angry as Hell at launch chaos". PC Advisor. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Usher, William (5 March 2013). "SimCity Now Available; Always-On DRM Causes Major Launch Day Issues". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (21 December 2012). "Maxis: SimCity's always-on DRM for gamers' benefit". Gamespot. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "SimCity Boss's "Straight Answers" Seem Pretty Wiggly". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ Thier, Dave (March 18, 2013). "One Simple Change Allows SimCity Offline Play". Forbes. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (10 August 2011). "Id Software on always-on internet debate". Eurogamer. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ubisoft DRM Authentication Servers Go Down". Escape Magazine. 7 March 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  9. ↑ Geek.com. Ubisoft’s always-connected games DRM already cracked. Accessed 2013-03-12.
  10. 1 2 Karmali, Luke (5 September 2012). "Ubisoft Officially Ditches Always-On PC DRM". IGN. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies" (PDF). www.copyright.gov. October 28, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.