Final Fight Brings Restrictive DRM To the PS3

Channard writes "As reported by Joystiq, the PS3/PlayStation Network version of Final Fight Double Impact features a rather restrictive piece of digital rights management. In order to launch the game, you have to be logged into the PlayStation Network and if you're not, the game refuses to launch. This could be written off as a bug of some kind except for the fact that the error message that crops up tells you to sign in, suggesting Sony/Capcom intentionally included this 'feature.' Granted, you do have to log into the PlayStation Network to buy the title but as one commentator pointed out, logging in once does not mean you'll be logged in all the time. Curiously, the 360 version has no such restrictions, so you can play the game whether you're online or offline. But annoying as this feature may be, there may be method in Sony's madness. " Channard continues, "The key difference between buying titles on the 360's Marketplace and Sony's PlayStation Store is that buying a title from the Marketplace only usually entitles you to play that title on a single console. A PlayStation Network account, on the other hand, can be used to license up to five consoles, meaning any title purchased from that account can be played on five different consoles. And these consoles can be de-authorized and re-authorized at will, allowing gamers to switch licenses around. This has led to a practice known as PSN game sharing, whereby gamers can purchase a title together, thereby paying a fifth of the cost of the game, and still allowing anyone to play the game on their console. Whether this has had any direct impact upon Sony or Capcom's apparent decision to implement this forced sign-in system is unknown. [Though an email from a Capcom employee seems to confirm this.] But Final Fight is the first title to feature this system — it'd be interesting to know whether this was done at Sony or Capcom's request."

Comments

Re:How Console DRM Works for digital downloads.

[weirdcrashingnoises]

You failed to mention that steam does have an "offline mode," although you ironically have to first be logged in + online in order to enable this, and it doesn't help for games purchased that have secondary DRM that require internet access.

Re:easy, i play spring RTS

[godoffsck]

Could you load it on Linux running on the PS3? I hear it runs Other OS. Oh wait... ;)

Re:We're not all always connected

[mcgrew]

These companies need to get it through their rotten skulls that we aren't all always connected to the Internet.

The only way to make that happen is stop buying their games, and tell them WHY you stopped buying their games.