digital-rights-management
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Witcher 3 skipping quick-time events and multiplayer
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, project lead on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has confirmed multiplayer modes, quick-time events, and DRM are not part of the plan for the third entry in the role-playing game series.The "final saga of Geralt" will maintain a focus on single-player content, Tomaszkiewicz told Forbes, though multiplayer had been considered for the game at one point.Quick-time events found in previous Witcher games have also been abandoned. The lead designer noted that QTEs "didn't fit" the experience and often leads to frustration for players. "There is a small number of games where it is fun, like, for example, in the Uncharted series, where you don't even realize that you've just finished a QTE sequence. And I think that only this way of using QTE has any kind of future in games."Calling digital rights management "the worst thing in the gaming industry," Tomaszkiewicz confirmed The Witcher 3 will not have such restrictions. Though the decision against using DRM applies to retail copies and CD Projekt's GOG.com platform, other digital distributors such as Steam would still feature its own form of DRM. Distribution channels for The Witcher 3 have not been announced.The Witcher 3 is coming to the PC, PS4, and "high-end platforms" next year.
Maxis: SimCity's internet requirement not a 'clandestine' DRM strategy
Following claims yesterday that SimCity had been modified to run offline in a limited capacity, Maxis/EA general manager Lucy Bradshaw has since updated EA's official blog with a bulleted reiteration of Maxis' always-on design philosophy for the game.In the missive, Bradshaw dismisses claims that SimCity's internet connectivity requirements are in reality "a clandestine strategy to control players" while listing a few of the ways in which server connectivity is essential to the design of the game, though she does not directly address whether the game can be played completely offline in its current form."So, could we have built a subset offline mode? Yes," Bradshaw added. "But we rejected that idea because it didn't fit with our vision. We did not focus on the 'single city in isolation' that we have delivered in past SimCities. We recognize that there are fans – people who love the original SimCity – who want that."
Shroud of the Avatar promises offline mode with no DRM
As Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar Kickstarter campaign continues, the team has posted an update on a few topics that in no way have to do with the recent SimCity kerfuffle. The post states that the team is creating an offline version of the game for those who prefer that style (or find it more convenient). While players won't be able to take their offline character into the online version, there may be the possibility of doing the reverse. Other words of comfort include the promise that Shroud of the Avatar "will not use any form of DRM" for its offline mode and that the single-player version won't be littered with microtransactions. [Thanks to Don for the tip!]
PBS draws link between digital music ethics and magic spells, somehow makes it look simple (video)
AAC files and the arcane don't have much in common on the surface. After some digging, however, PBS' Idea Channel has found that magic is an uncannily good analogy for digital music rights and explaining the thorny ethical issues that come with them. Both music and spells stem from grassroots cultures that give away their content for free, but (at least until an anti-magic clampdown at eBay) have since become businesses. That nature poses a key ethical question: when we're used to a free experience and can copy songs or spells as much as we like, what does it take to keep us as honest customers? As show host Mike Rugnetta suggests, it's a matter of personal responsibility -- if we want more of either, we have to think of the commerce as showing support for future work. You can catch Mike's clever train of thought after the break, and ponder what constitutes DRM for a potion while you're at it.
Ubisoft UPlay may accidentally contain web plugin exploit, Ezio would not approve (update: fixed)
If you've played Assassin's Creed 2 (or other Ubisoft games), you may have installed more stealthy infiltration than you bargained for. Some snooping by Tavis Ormandy around Ubisoft's UPlay looks to have have discovered that the service's browser plugin, meant to launch locally-stored games from the web, doesn't have a filter for what websites can use it -- in other words, it may well be open season for any maliciously-coded page that wants direct access to the computer. Closing the purported, accidental backdoor exploit is thankfully as easy as disabling the plugin, but it could be another knock against the internet integration from a company that doesn't have a great reputation for online security with its copy protection system. We've reached out to Ubisoft to confirm the flaw and learn what the solution may be, if it's needed. For now, we'd definitely turn that plugin off and continue the adventures of Ezio Auditore da Firenze through a desktop shortcut instead. Update: That was fast. As caught by Geek.com, the 2.0.4 update to UPlay limits the plugin to opening UPlay itself. Unless a would-be hacker can find a way to compromise the system just before you launch into Rayman Origins, it should be safe to play.
German consumer advocacy group accuses Blizzard of deceptive marketing with Diablo III
The debate over Diablo III's always-online requirement doesn't seem to be over for a German consumer advocacy group. The Federation of Consumer Organizations is officially claiming that Blizzard Entertainment used deceptive advertising when marketing Diablo III and has given the company until July 27th to respond to these claims. If no response is received, the group will be taking Blizzard to court over these practices. This is in addition to a class-action lawsuit being organized by Korean internet cafe owners over the game's non-functional status following launch. Diablo III's current packaging states that players must be online to access Battle.net, but it does not specify that accessing Battle.net is a requirement of continuing to play the game. The outcome of these particular grievances could have a great deal of influence on the implementation of always-online services in the future, but it's unclear what Blizzard's response (if any) will be to this particular complaint.
Blu-ray video encryption cracked using $260 kit
When a master key for HDCP encryption surfaced last year, Intel hardly broke a sweat. It declared that nobody could use the key to unlock Blu-rays or other protected sources unless they got into the semiconductor business and "made a computer chip" of their own. Oh Mann, didn't they realize? That sort of language is like a red rag to a German post-grad, and now Ruhr University's Secure Hardware Group has produced the ultimate rebuttal: a custom board that uses a field programmable gate array (FPGA) board to sit between a Blu-ray player and TV and decode the passing traffic. Student price: €200, and no silly bodysuits required.
Driver: San Francisco studio head defends Ubisoft DRM system
Martin Edmonson, head of Driver studio Ubisoft Reflections, really doesn't get down with piracy. "You have to do something," he told Eurogamer in a recent interview, when asked about Ubi's PC digital rights management strategy -- which requires an internet verification of some sort for many games to be accessed, including Driver: San Francisco. "PC piracy is at the most incredible rates," he argued. "The game cost a huge amount of money to develop, and it has to be, quite rightly -- quite morally correctly -- protected." That said, the final decision on which Ubi titles get the infamous DRM goes to the publisher, not the studio. "DRM is not a decision taken by us as a developer at all. It's a purely a publisher decision. The publisher has every right to protect their investment," Edmonson explained. And while we see his point, we can't help but continue to wonder why paying customers are being punished with restrictive DRM after paying for their games.
The Daily Grind: Does Origin's new EULA make you feel better about playing an EA game?
So Electronic Arts has this digital rights management service called Origin, which was reincarnated from the former EA Store back in July of this year. It basically allows you to download certain purchased EA games straight from the tubes of the internet. It seemed harmless enough to the general MMO community... until fans began to worry that they'd need Origin in order to download and play Star Wars: The Old Republic. BioWare has since reassured the community to the contrary, but that didn't stop the concerns. A few crafty fans of the upcoming MMO looked more deeply into the service, which sparked an eruption of rage. Origin was denounced as everything from spyware to an elaborate identify theft system. EA recently responded by changing the service's EULA, making it absolutely clear that the company is not out to steal anyone's personal information. But is that enough for you? Has Origin completely soured you on SWTOR and any other EA game, or do you trust the new Origin EULA? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Confirmed: Intel says HDCP 'master key' crack is real
It's been just a few days since we broke news of the HDCP master key crack -- a rogue unlocking of the code that keeps HD content under strict control. Now Intel has independently confirmed to both Fox News and CNET that the code is indeed the genuine article. According to company spokesman Tom Waldrop, "It does appear to be a master key," adding that "What we have confirmed through testing is that you can derive keys for devices from this published material that do work with the keys produced by our security technology... this circumvention does appear to work." Coming from the company that developed and propagated the protocol, that's about as clear as you can get. If Intel is worried about the potential damage to copyrighted material and a new flood of super high-quality pirated material, however, the company certainly isn't showing it. "For someone to use this information to unlock anything, they would have to implement it in silicon -- make a computer chip," Waldrop told Fox News, and that chip would have to live on a dedicated piece of hardware -- something Intel doesn't think is likely to happen in any substantial way. Of course, like any major corporation, Intel seems prepared to duke things out in the legal arena should any super-rich hackers decide to do the unthinkable. So, to the Batcave then?
Alpha Protocol PC to use Uniloc DRM
Is the personal computer your platform of choice when it comes to living out your spy game fantasies? Be forewarned: Sega recently informed Eurogamer that the PC version of its upcoming cloak-and-dagger RPG, Alpha Protocol, would use the Uniloc DRM system. Though not as troublesome as other digital rights management protocols, Uniloc did hinder some players' enjoyment of Football Manager 2009 due to a registration code printing error and a supposed DDoS attack on the authentication servers. Uniloc's corporate site promises their DRM solution is "polite" and "unobtrusive," thwarting would-be pirates "without compromising [your] experience." Unfortunately, we've begun to equate a company's promises about the painlessness of their DRM technologies to proctologists' promises about the painlessness of their procedures. In fact, that might be the most literal analogy we've ever conjured.
Ubisoft's PC DRM verification was out because 'servers were attacked'
Ubisoft today offered up a bit of an explanation to those of you on PCs yesterday who were desperately trying to play the publisher's games with the cumbersome new DRM (Assassin's Creed 2 and Silent Hunter 5), only to find yourselves unable to authenticate said DRM because of the outage. Apparently it was (gasp!) ... hackers! "Servers were attacked which limited service from 2:30PM to 9:00PM Paris time [8:30AM to 3:00PM ET]," the company announced via Twitter. It also noted that most folks were unaffected by the outage, saying "95% of players were not affected, but a small group of players attempting to open a game session did receive denial of service errors." Needless to say, the company of course apologized to anyone who wasn't able to play its games yesterday. We would once again like to point out that this situation would never have occurred if such a poor DRM system weren't in place to begin with.
Splinter Cell: Conviction, future Ubisoft PC games to use internet-based DRM
Assassin's Creed 2 has yet to even arrive on PC, but ever since PC Gamer got an early hands-on with the final retail version, Ubisoft's ... somewhat cumbersome (to be very polite) internet-based DRM has caused a bit of a worry for some gamers. As it would seem, regardless of consumer complaint, the publisher is allegedly moving ahead with plans to implement the anti-piracy software in many of its upcoming titles. Softpedia reports that an Ubi rep (speaking with PC Gamer) has confirmed Splinter Cell: Conviction, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic, and the recently announced Ghost Recon: Future Soldier to employ the DRM tools. The publisher also specifically pointed out that different titles handle the loss of data differently -- for instance, AC2 depends on checkpoints and The Settlers 7 saves wherever you last were -- though PC Gamer supposedly pressed for an answer to the question on all our minds: Will every PC game from Ubisoft in the future have this DRM? Cryptically, the publisher replied, "It's hard for us to say, yes, from now until the day that we all die all of our games are going to include this but most will." While we can appreciate the efforts of publishers to diminish piracy of their games, we can't help but wonder what the logic is in seemingly frustrating your already dwindling legitimate consumer base with measures targeting the folks who probably wouldn't purchase games anyway. [Via Shacknews]
Ubisoft PC DRM doesn't sound like such a good idea anymore
In January, Ubisoft revealed plans to streamline its DRM policy across all PC titles, making players log in to Ubisoft servers to authenticate before playing. Although it sounded dubious at first, Ubisoft's Brent Wilkinson assuaged our fears, explaining the new process would allow gamers to play on any computer and continue a game's progress through a cloud-based save system. According to PC Gamer, tests of upcoming Ubisoft PC titles Assassin's Creed 2 and Settlers VII proved how flawed the system actually is. If, for whatever reason, your connection experiences an issue (be it router reboot or a momentary pause in connectivity) the software will immediately boot you to the main menu of the game. Oh, and all that progress you made after a previous save or checkpoint? That's gone. But that isn't the worst part. If Ubisoft's "Master Servers" encounter any errors, then all players with working connections logged in to the servers will not be able to play their games until the servers are back online, and lose all unsaved progress if this scenario occurs during gameplay. There is something to be said about protecting your property from rampant PC piracy, but when draconian concepts such as Ubisoft's new DRM policy are in place, the publisher seemingly punishes the players who do support its wares. The cloud concept is great, but not at the expense of saving every thirty seconds out of fear that a server on the other side of the world might decide to act up. [Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
Apple said to be using FairPlay DRM for iBookstore
Well, it looks like anyone hoping that books on Apple's iBookstore would be as DRM-free as music is on iTunes may be in for a bit of disappointment, as the Los Angeles Times is now reporting that Apple will be making its own FairPlay digital rights management available to any book publishers that wish to use it. Of course, that shouldn't come as a huge surprise considering that Apple still uses FairPlay for movies and TV shows sold on iTunes -- not to mention apps -- and it even still technically supports it for music as well, although it's pretty safe to assume Apple won't be going back down that road anytime soon. For its part, Apple is unsurprisingly staying mum on the matter, but March is fast approaching, so we should know for sure soon enough.
PSA: Think twice before deleting PSN video downloads
The ability to download movies and TV shows via your game console definitely has its advantages. Like, for instance, never having to leave your couch. Of course, as so many modern conveniences are apt to, it's not without disadvantages. In the case of PS3's video store, one of them is the fact that, should you want to free up HDD space by deleting a video and then attempt to download it again later, you'll quickly find yourself on the phone with a Sony customer service representative. (Plus, you might actually have to get up to call them – ouch!)Oh, the rep will happily flip a switch somewhere enabling you to re-download the video in question ... but only once. Make the same mistake twice and you're stuck. In this case, whether you actually "own" what you've paid for is more than a little fuzzy.Of course, you could take advantage of one of the PS3's nicer features and simply install a larger off-the-shelf hard disk by yourself. And, since Sony's been so kind as to provide a PS3 Backup Utility for migrating your data, those videos will transfer right over ... right? Not so fast. According to the utility's documentation, purchased and rented PSN video store content may not play following the transfer process. In this case, you'd better hope you haven't used that one-off "lifeline" call to customer service yet. [Via Engadget]Source – PS3 re-download limitsSource – Sony PS3 Backup Utility
Despite manual's claim, Spore only allows one account per copy
The latest Spore controversy comes courtesy of some false information printed in the game's manual. The Consumerist reports that despite the game's manual stating purchasers "may have multiple Spore accounts for each installation of the game," they only have one. An EA forum rep stated that the information was a "misprint and will be corrected in future printings of the manual."Spore has been lambasted in Amazon.com's user review section for its "draconian DRM" measures. There's no clear indication whether Spore was originally meant to allow for more than one account -- did DRM measures put the kibosh on that plan?[Via GamePolitics]
Microsoft backtracks, will keep MSN Music DRM servers online until 2011
Microsoft caused a tiny ruckus back in April when it announced that it was shutting down MSN Music's DRM servers, leaving all five customers with music stranded on already-authorized computers, but it looks like the company has had a change of heart: it's now informing MSN Music customers that they have until 2011 to authorize new machines. Of course, after that you'll still be stuck with DRM-laden tracks that won't play on new devices, but it you haven't learned to buy DRM-free content by 20-freaking-11, there's no learning anything, you know?
Amazon launches DRM-free "Amazon MP3" music downloads
If you're into DRM-free music, you have a reason to get pretty excited today. As speculated, Amazon has launched the public beta of its new digital music portal called Amazon MP3, which will feature two million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels, all without the painful and annoying restrictions of DRM. The press release claims that the site, which will include EMI and Universal tracks (take that, Jobs), will make separate songs available for $.89 or $.99, and boasts that all of the "top 100" tracks will be priced at the former, lower amount. Albums will range in cost from $5.99 to $9.99, with the best selling albums coming in at $8.99. Of course, since there's no DRM, users are free to throw the 256Kbps MP3s on any player they like, as well as burn CDs, copy to MiniDisc, and dump to 8-track.
Nokia adds Microsoft's PlayReady DRM to upcoming devices
Nokia appears to be making some interesting moves as of late. Following rumors that the company will hazard a foray into the world of digital music sales, the Finnish mobile manufacturer has signed a deal with Microsoft to utilize its PlayReady DRM scheme. The technology, which is file-format-independent, is specifically targeted for use with mobile devices, and is intended to strengthen "security" on a wide variety of content such as music, videos, games, ringtones, and images. The DRM is backwards compatible with the existing Windows Media 10 file management, and will be implemented on upcoming S60 and Series 40 Nokia devices beginning in 2008. It seems at least somewhat possible that this arrangement could be related to the recent whisperings of Nokia's iTunes-esque plans, as DRM has already been hinted at for the supposed forthcoming service. Perhaps on August 29th all will be revealed -- but only Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo knows for sure.
