The Denuvo DRM Thread

[mondblut]

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (thanks for digging up the title) was released in 2005 and, I quote, "sold 2.5 million copies within the first month"

You conveniently forgot the "across all platforms" part. Which, for the record, stands for "it came out for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube and Microsoft Windows. Handheld versions for the Nintendo DS, Mobile phone and N-Gage were also released." Pray tell, which percentage of these sales was the starforce-ridden windows version?

That's about 600.000 copies more than the next game in the series that actually bothered to quote sales figures (based on release dates) and is an astronomical number for a AAA title released in 2005, when retail copies in stores were still the bread and butter of copies sold.

And you DARE to claim "I don't think it paid off"? Based on what cannot be anything else than your personal opinion? Do you work at UbiSoft? Do you have the numbers in front of you?

I don't work at UbiSoft. UbiSoft, however, had to say this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060413...01009903/m/9071096924/r/7911042234#7911042234

How silly of them, huh?

 

[pippin]

I stopped pirating stuff when I got a grown up job.

Kind of this. When you get the game, custommer support and more for the cost of a bag of peanuts then you have to be 8 to not bother with an official copy anymore. It's the case for me at least, but non-official copies of games like New Vegas proved to be less buggy than the real deal for some reason.

 

[DeepOcean]

Wait till Fallout 5 uses Denuvo and all you shitheads that played FO4 want to torrent it but can't!

Bethesda uses the same engine since 2002, they aren't into new software.

 

[Dreaad]

The only real problem is with updates often fucking cracks. Doesn't matter for games since you don't have to run the game until the patched crack is out. Operating systems though, that's another matter. Especially with shit like Windows 10 which forces updates on your ass, and copies all your data to god knows where on a whim.

 

[Mustawd]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that with the death of demos, piracy is the only way to test how a game runs and whether you like it.

Meh. That point ignores the fact that LPs and reviews exist. There's plenty of evidence that allows you to make an informed decision before playing the game.

 

[Luka-boy]

Right, and PC gaming is dying too, guys!

Clickbaiters gonna clickbait.

 

[Mustawd]

I agree that this is the case. But to say that piracy is a net benefit because it creates a de facto "demo" is a bit naive don't you think?

Personally, I don't think it's black and white. There is a spectrum where pirates will never buy your game or where pirated copies do exist as demos. But I think as an overall net it probably results in less sales.

I know because I still pirate TV shows and movies. My reasoning is that they're lower risk (for the creator/producer) and less pirated than video games. If piracy was not an option, I'd probably end up buying them in the end. But pirating them is too easy, so I don't.

 

[an Administrator]

Only pirating EA games is ok.

 

[Jarpie]

Some of those games were already cracked, Mad Max being one although it suffers from a few CTDs, as I've seen.
There was also the Football Manager 2015 debacle, where the devs/publisher paid the hacking group to not release the crack. Eventually one surfaced, albeit at the end of the season.

Sega forgot the golden rule "Never negotiate with terrorists", more and more crack groups will do the same "Pay up or we'll release the crack".

 

[laclongquan]

What to prevent crackers from sharing with each other method to crack, in order to squeeze more money from corporates?

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I think if devs started giving demos again for pc, they could reduce some piracy of their. Because IMO, I think that some people (a minority) just download games to try them out so they can decide if it's worth buying.

Or they could do like the guys of Battle Brothers. If you are playing on a pirated copy of the game some anoying things

Spoiler

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denuvo#List_of_protected_games

Games that are officially acknowledged to use, or reportedly use, Denuvo Anti-Tamper include:

• FIFA 15[3][10] -- Shit
• Lords of the Fallen[3] -- Shit
• Dragon Age: Inquisition[11][12] -- Shit
• Battlefield: Hardline[13] -- Shit
• Batman: Arkham Knight[14] -- Shit
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain[15] -- Shit
• Mad Max[15] -- Shit
• FIFA 16[16] -- Shit
• Just Cause 3[17] -- Shit

I say it is all good, folks.

I agree with that in every one of those games except for MGS V. Wich is a really great game. If you like shealth games try it out - with this mod (use it really).

 

[Karwelas]

Unbreakable... I had good laugh. Anyway... Really now. Do anyone think it will be end of piracy? StarForce was end of piracy too...

If somebody didn't manage to broke denuovo, there will be another person that will. Because of challenge it may give them, fame to be first man that did it or something else.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

As if there are not enough games already. I'll need to clone myself at least 3 times to finish my backlog before I die.

 

[Correct_Carlo]

I very much believe in the necessity of crackers as backdoor archivers. For years many games were only playable through piracy. That's changing now, but it's still true of many. And in certain cases (Interstate '76) cracked games are still the best way to play stuff.

It's a real worry for modding too. If game files can be so easily encrypted, it could have a chilling effect on the ability to mod games that don't come with modding tools.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Might be good news, we may see less mainstream projects if they dont have to cater to a larger audience to compensate piracy. Even if one torrented copy does not mean one lost sale , i am sure there's a large amount lost and many people who could afford.Stuff like AOD underrail is widely available on torrents too.

Here is what SI had to say couple years back when they did manage to stay uncracked for one month.
"When I asked for clarification on that how that 1.74% was reached, a representative for Sports Interactive said that they looked “at the differences in sales between FM12 and FM13 during corresponding periods, taking into account pre-crack increase and post-crack decreases across every country.”
Not even 2% difference.Right now the new game is still not cracked and was already on sale.Looking on steamspy it's selling worse than last year when even the beta was cracked.

About OP ,every now and then there is drama with warez groups that are no longer relevant.Haven't seen 3DM game in long time.

 

[Celerity]

I abuse the shit out of piracy demos. I'd say 90% of those games get bought, sometimes more than once because if it got as far as making me click a download link it's probably not a failure. Even if the pirated version works perfectly I still buy. The other 10%? Mismarketed terrible trash I'd have never bought anyways. So they're not losing anything. (And for those of you wondering, Derpest Dungeon DID trigger alarms during the piracy demo phase, this is the only time I didn't listen and will forever remain my motivator for strict game screening).

"So why not Steam refund?" Well the scummy devs know of it and game it, and the non scummy RPG makers won't make a good RPG I can have a feel for in 2 hours because that takes about 5. Since I almost exclusively care about RPGs only that doesn't work.

If it weren't for piracy demos I couldn't separate the good games from the shit, so this is an example of piracy actually making the developers money.

 

[sullynathan]

I treat piracy as a way to play all the games I want. Eventually, I will buy the games that I liked enough when I have the money or they're on sale.

 

[Major Malfunction]

I always liked FADE in OFP. Something similar for digital distribution would be lethal, though I suppose it already exists and I'm just clueless about it.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Just imagine what eliminating piracy would actually do to the industry. Like, seriously, not just as a numbers thing where people have X% more sales or whatever. Imagine reducing the number of people who've played any given game by a factor of 10 or more. The sheer difficulty of finding worthwhile consumer opinions that would create. The severe drop in interest in any game after release- far fewer people to swap stories with of your experience, fewer people finding bugs or balance issues in the game, and all these people, are the most technically proficient and discerning ones. Cut all those people out of the loop and you'd get something akin to modern news outlets- utter garbage made exclusively for people too stupid to go anywhere else. Prime examples of gaming communities without piracy are Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft. Enjoy your future.

 

[mondblut]

^ this, yeah. Basically, any game community would only consist of blathering fanboys who drank the kool-aid, and butthurt hystrionics bawwing "it wasn't what i thought it was, gimme my money back! you've lost a customer!! sending my lawyers111".

Widescale lack of monetary attachment makes a good soil for more balanced and reasonable stock of opinions to grow.

 

[hello friend]

tbh if piracy disappeared overnight I'd just stop watching films and tv shows.

Games are different, I pay gladly if it's good. But if a good game has draconian drm it's better to not remove from inventory.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Widescale lack of monetary attachment makes a good soil for more balanced and reasonable stock of opinions to grow.

I take from this, that for example Darth Roxor never paid for a game he reviewed.

Spoiler

 

[mondblut]

Widescale lack of monetary attachment makes a good soil for more balanced and reasonable stock of opinions to grow.

I take from this, that for example Darth Roxor never paid for a game he reviewed.

Spoiler

Well, reviewers are supposed to get their copies for free, either from game's publishers or from their own publication. Having paid for a game you review from your own pocket isn't any different than shelling its tranny developer some patreon shekels, and we all know it's filed under "conflict of interests" these days

 

[Mustawd]

If you steal just say you steal, and stop trying to do mental gymnastics on how it's somehow a good thing.

I watch pirated shows and movies. I am not some kind of Dark Knight of society. Just a bum who doesn't feel like paying to watch The Big Hit when I drink.

EDIT: And I don't pirate video games because I like playing on steam and I have plenty of left over $$ to buy them.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Why don't we just generalize it more and say 'break the law'. Now everybody who says they speed or jaywalk is just trying to be an edgy batman wannabe. :incloosive: