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NCSoft Drops GameGuard From Western Launch of Aion

Posted by Soulskill on from the they-can-be-taught dept.

chalkyj writes "NCSoft has announced that they will be dropping GameGuard from the western launch of their upcoming MMORPG, Aion. The flawed Korean anti-cheat software has been heavily criticized for employing root-kit like techniques and conflicting with many hardware configurations. The final straw is thought to have been the stability issues experienced by players during open beta and the community outcry it caused. The decision makes Aion, which recently announced over 400,000 western pre-orders, a real contender in the western MMO market."

5 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Poor Summary by Lulfas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nothing about the decision to drop GameGuard makes it a competitive MMO. The preorders numbers were given before that decision was made public. While I'm very glad they are dropping the horrible DRM program (I might pick it up myself now), it really has nothing to do with it's success or failure.

    1. Re:Poor Summary by Savior_on_a_Stick · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's not DRM.
      It has nothing to do with DRM.

      It was used previously in FreeToPlay games like 2moons to prevent cheating via game hacks.

      It failed utterly in that regard and was dropped.

      If Aion was relying on it as an anti hack measure - and "may introduce it later" - the game is already doomed.

    2. Re:Poor Summary by Jestrzcap · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If the program rootkits your system and prevents you from running certain software... well that sounds like DRM to me. I'd be happy to use a different term if you have something that's more accurate while conveying the same information.

      --
      "I have great faith in fools: Self confidence my friends call it." ~Edgar Allan Poe
  2. Re:Rootkitting is a-okay for cheat protection by Bieeanda · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Bullshit. It's an MMO, not some rinky-dink peer-to-peer setup like original flavour Diablo. If there's something important enough that you don't want it hacked, you don't let the client handle it.

  3. Re:That's nice by vikstar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Actually, no...

    We will however continue to pursue ways to effectively utilize GameGuard within Aion in the future.

    So once you've payed for the game, they'll bring it back.

    --
    The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.