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PCGA To "Take Up the Challenge of Piracy"

Posted by Soulskill on from the work-cut-out-for-you dept.

Ars Technica reports that the PC Gaming Alliance has declared themselves the "guardians of PC gaming," which includes finding ways to help gamers decide on gaming hardware, and to make progress on the issues of piracy and DRM. "[PCGA President Randy Stude said,] 'The PCGA will take up the challenge of piracy, not to assume the responsibility that the ESA has taken on... rather the PCGA would like to address the methodology that publishers might be able to take to solve, or to do a better job trying to solve, the piracy challenge for their substantial investments in content.' The PCGA won't give a standard approach to publishers, saying it is much more likely it will release a series of recommendations to publishers, and track piracy on an annual basis to see if the problem is growing or shrinking. The PCGA is also working on methods for members to track how effective their antipiracy measures are once a game has been released."

7 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Stop treating the customer like a criminal. by Sentry21 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The best way around that crap is to stick the disc in your computer, and use various software to rip out the garbage. Optionally, use Handbrake, encode to h.264, and stream it to a set-top-box/game console instead.

  2. Re:I don't see what the problem is by RuBLed · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hey! I live in the closet you insensitive clod.

  3. Re:I don't see what the problem is by Arivia · · Score: 2, Informative

    A house near me (I live in a university town) does actually rent out two large closets as living spaces, $100 a month. This is the kind of house where 2/9 rooms are hotboxed at any given moment and there's a concert in the basement every week. YMMV, but I think it might be pretty fun.

    --
    The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. -Anais Nin
  4. Re:I don't see what the problem is by cerberusss · · Score: 2, Informative

    For non-native speakers like me: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hotboxed

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    8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
  5. It's like the XKCD comic says... by ZekoMal · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.xkcd.com/488/
    Steal it, and you're a criminal. Get the DRM locked media, something happens with technology that makes you have to try and remove the DRM lock just to use what you bought, and you're a criminal too.
    Piracy will be way more popular now that every company is scrambling to DRM-lock their products (sort of like the Sony 'rootkit' happy fun time, companies have decided when we pay for something, they can stick whatever they want in their product and let us sort out the mess leftover).

  6. Aw how things change. by Vexorian · · Score: 2, Informative

    Of course, DOOM II is a trademark of id Software,
    copyright 1994-95, so don't mess with it. Remember, if you
    are playing a pirated copy of DOOM II you are going to HELL.
    Buy it and avoid an eternity with all the other freeloaders.
    If you have any problems playing DOOM II, please call our
    technical support line at (212) 686-9432.

    This is all the copy protection Doom2 needed - And it was a heck of a money factory, in fact people still buy the doom collector's edition today because the wads can be used on the many ports (BTW id software GPLing the engine didn't stop them from profiting this way)

    Well, I tend to miss those times...

    --

    Copyright infringement is "piracy" in the same way DRM is "consumer rape"
  7. Re:I don't see what the problem is by omglolbah · · Score: 2, Informative

    For most europeans that is a great way to stay legal. I do that myself in Norway.

    In the US though it is very much illegal. Having a legal copy doesnt seem to mean squat if you break a copy protection scheme. DMCA and all that :-p