Draconian DRM just results in paying customers opting to not buy software developer X anymore because experience Z was bad and we humans tend to remember the bad experiences. It also results in higher rates of piracy because well goshdarnit, the illegal version is easier to play.

Wouldn't say that if I were you. But I will say I have seen cracked versions of GTAIV without the Drunk Cam. I have never pirated a game but I have seen it get cracked without drunk cam and it being 100% playable. I know a guy who knows a guy who wrote a paper on DRM.

Please remember guys, we can't discuss piracy overtly (that is, say "I'm going to pirate X because Y"), that's against the forum rules. We can talk about piracy in general, such as "X is going to increase piracy because Y and Z", just be careful. I don't want to see anybody get banned.

I voted for "None" - oh wait, that wasn't an option. :unsure:

None. DRM doesn't work anyway, just a waste of time. <_<

Edit: Oh, for the poll, I voted for the one time check thing. For me, the less hassle the better.

Please, do the Battlefield Bad Company 2 kind of DRM. Activate once, either via Internet and never have to put in the Disc again, or without Internet and always put in the Disc before starting the game. If there is a limit of installs give us a program to revoke those licences. That would be very perfect for me.

I voted for other. What they can do? I don't know. I say no DRM at all since it's only hurting the peson who actually buys the game. People who pirate the game don't have
to worry about DRM at all. Why is it, that I am treated like the criminal when I go out and buy the game?

I don't want to use Steam. So why is it pirates can play the game and not use Steam then? Why is it that I have to suffer and use Steam while the people who pirated the
game don't?

I said it once, I will say it again. Why do companies have to treat thier customers as if they are the criminals.

In the end the pirates will always manage to crack any single player game no matter what protection they use.
To me, Steam is just an unnecessary program that clogs up my computer, so I'd rather not have to use it.
Edit: Voted one time authentication as it's the least intrusive method and basically as effective in stemming piracy as Steam or disk checks.

One-time is my favoured one as well, as I have no desire for Steam, and disk checks just don't cut it anymore. I'm not saying don't have a Steam version, I'm just saying give us a choice with the retail DVD, "Steam or Online Authentication?"

I consider a thrid party application, from a company I may not want to support, that I must have running in the background, that has an internet connection, and through its terms dictates my ability to play a game I have paid for very intrusive.

While the idea of disincentives sounds good, they can backfire. There have been some games where a glitch has caused it to trigger on legal copies of a game, the results of which destroyed people's save files becuase an essential item was deleted with no way to recover it.

Edit: Just to make it clear, I do believe that the manufacturer has the right to place limits on what you can do with their software so long as they are upfront about them. I can always choose not to buy it. I don't like adding a third party to the mix that may have its own ideas.

Other, none at all.

edit

Since I prefer my games on retail discs, I'll tolerate only a disk check for a single-player PC game like Skyrim. Any game that is dependent upon an online server amounts to nothing more than a rental that will expire whenenver the server goes down. I'm not paying $60 for that.

+1 --- Also the main reason for adding DRM is not to prevent Piracy --- the real reason for it is to keep people from reselling their games and to keep game rentals from being possible since the game company gets no revenue from resales or rentals of the gameand they want to keep that from being an option so that they can continue to charge the inflated prices that they currently charge - which is why they continue to use the DRM even though every form of DRM has and will be cracked by pirates within a few days of release if not sooner. The revenue they spend on including the DRM is recovered by the additional sales the game gets since there is little to no reseller market and they want to keep it that way.

I hope it will use Steamworks.

This.

Online DRM for an offline, hard-copy game is absurd.

You know what's funny? My buddy brought me over a cracked copy of his Oblivion game many years ago now, and said "you have to try this game".

I installed the game and played it for a good long while, instantly becoming one of my favorite games, even though I had to run it on ultra-reduced settings (having to find a way to play on my unsuported, too-old video card). I custom built a brand new computer to be able to run the game on it's highest settings (mods included), spending ridiculous amounts of money to do so. I bought a fresh brand new copy of the game, as well as all of the expansions (minus the latest add-on which never came on a disk). I have clocked so many hours on this game, and just playing around with the modding of it that I don't want to admit to it.

All this was possible because my buddy cracked his copy to run without a disk, and copied it for me to play. Just make a good game. Quality sells the game to people who would want to buy it. Pirates are not customers, and they never will be. Don't cater to them. Spending ridiculous money trying to prevent the piracy of a game will only make you flush money down the toilet.

SecuROM means I will not purchase this game unless a crack comes out to remove said secuROM. Always-on DRM means that you won't be able to play when the internet goes out, or it will crash when your internet goes out. That is not acceptable to me, and I will not purchase the game unless there is a crack to bypass this DRM. Spore-style is not acceptable for the same reason. Essentially I am being dictated as to "when" I can play my game. One-time activation is wasted money as it does nothing that a CD-check will do, same as Steamworks, considering it is already cracked.

The bottom line is none of the DRM out there deters pirates as they will get to play the game without the DRM regardless. The only people it hampers are the legitimate customers, who already gave their support to the company. And this is one customer who will go out of his way to find a crack to remove any DRM from his copy just to play the game. Or you will lose this customer completely and I will stick with Oblivion if the DRM isn't bypassed. Lose-lose in my books.

I vote for no DRM or a simple CD key and nothing more.

I would prefer no DRM, but if i had to choose one it would be steamworks.

None, they should spend that money on improving the game. It doesn't work anyway.
The 'best' DRM today are Assassin's Creed II and Steamworks I guess, and they both don't work since you can simply download AC2 and Steamwork games.

I really don't understand why they still put DRM on games and the problems you can cause with it if it doesn't work properly only increases piracy since pirated versions have the DRM removed.

Other: None/Disk check

If you make a good game, it'll sell. DRM is completely unnecessary.

DRM does not making it harder to pirate, only harder to get the game legitimately.

Exactly. You don't loose sales to piracy. These are sales that you would have never gotten in the first place. Make a reason why you want people to buy the game.

Why doesn't Bethesda comment on this matter, as it has the TES community in such an uproar?

All DRM methods will eventually be figured out and removed/bypassed. This is unfortunately a truth and we see it daily. The only authentication that still "holds" are the ones for multiplayer and MMORPGs.

Since Skyrim will be singleplayer i hope that a simple CD-check would be enough. Simple for the customer and simple (atleast i hope so) for the developer. I know that a strong DRM might boost sales if it isn't crap (StarForce anyone?).

I'd have no problem with online-authentication like Steam and such, but the simpler the better. I do know its a business decision and evaluation. Just don't make a hassle out of it (for us, the customers).