Stardock introduces a new solution for the authentication of video games

"Avoid annoying authentication tied to your system."


The problem of piracy on the PC is linked to that of authentication software. Several software houses have adopted stringent systems and unwieldy enough to protect your software from piracy, but often caused the dissatisfaction of users. Electronic Arts faces several lawsuits for its DRM, which is famous among those involving the game Spore (see here).

Stardock intends to curb this problem by introducing Object Game obfuscation (Goo), an anti-piracy is not intelligent because it relies on a hardware system as with the DRM provided by and used by, among others, in Spore . Stardock has decided to create a sort of capsule that includes the executable of the game and the virtual platform Impulse Reactor.

This includes information through email of the person who purchased the game and also includes the unique serial associated with that copy. We need only authenticate once the software over the internet, after which no longer require access to the internet. Every time it is run, the software checks whether the data entered the first time are also linked to those new to running and if everything is compliant, leave the game starts. If you intend to resell the software, simply run a procedure to replace the data that's selling those that are buying.

"We want to sell their games through different channels without having to deploy anti-piracy invasive," says Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock. "Game Object obfuscation allows manufacturers to distribute their software to users everywhere and to reinstall the games that have purchased without limitations. Moreover, users can resell the games that were bought with ease."

Game Object obfuscation will be officially launched on April 7. During the month of April Stardock will announce the list of producers who have decided to adopt the new anti-piracy solution.

I think a good solution as long as they do not then you end up with the request address, tax, VAT ... it has already been achieved thanks to the DRM that led to the first game with an expiry date of (2 -- Maximum 3 installations and withdrawals ...)

I am of the view that these protections serve only to increase the final price of the product.
The main problem of piracy, IMHO, is due to the excessively high price of games (which some months later found attached to magazines or written off at 10.00 euros as UT3 or GOW).
If you lower the price of new buyers from 1 to 10 would reach 6 to 10 if not more, and their sales would surely higher as gains ... and then say that the market for video games is falling...

I think that there are excellent conditions with this type of protection, say very flexible.

Remains the speech related to the cost of video games, still too expensive for the pockets of many. I believe the correct cost for a video game would be from € 10-20 maximum.

I have now decided to play delayed compared the timeliness of games today (2 years back + or -), I have 2 benefits: they pay little, and I can play at a high level of detail.