History Main / CopyProtection

* The ''Starflight'' series:

* The ''{{Ultima}}'' games were particularly prone to this, forcing players to look up the {{Feelies}} for information from "Beyond the Portal" before being granted the right to save, leave the starting town, and so on.
* Introversion Software's ''{{Uplink}}'' featured a code table printed in glossy black ink on black card, which could generally only be read where the light reflected off the ink. However, this was also turned on its head when the developers later admitted it was designed to be a nostalgic nod to old-school games, and it was admittedly useless as copy protection (seeing as the game was massively profitable anyway). They later posted a PDF containing the entire table [[http://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/faq-general.html on their site]], saying it was not intended as a means of copy protection.

* ''ChronoTrigger'' allowed you to play until you first traveled back in time, then if it detected you were playing a pirated copy, it stuck you in an eternal loop in the warp sequence. This was also present in the original SNES version.

* ''DevilSurvivor2'' has an anti-piracy routine during the fight against Dubhe. Dubhe has StoryDrivenInvulnerability and is totally invincible until a cutscene where [[spoiler:Daichi hits it with a truck, slashing its HP and making it weak to just about everything]]. However, if a pirated copy of the game is played, the cutscene will not occur. And while the original objective of the mission is to ''escape'' from Dubhe, reaching the escape point triggers said cutscene... and nothing else. The game may as well just shut itself off there, because no progress can be made.

* In the Macintosh WorldBuilder game ''EnchantedScepters'', if you're playing a pirated copy, the game will randomly teleport you to the Arena, where you have to fight a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and will probably die. It also displays the message "The pirates laugh 'Har, har, har!'".
* Bethesda were forced to include CD keys with copies of ''{{Fallout}} 3''. However, the copy protection only denies you from running the Fallout Launcher; you can still launch the game from the game's directory.

* [[http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23336&start=0 KeySIGN]], a traffic-management software that creates road signs, has a dongle attached to ensure the licence is installed on a particular machine.

** Downloaded versions will only work on the particular PC on which they were purchased.

* If you played a copy of the NoExportForYou ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' on a UK machine via an adapter, it would work fine, but wouldn't show the ending. It's not known if this was deliberate or not. The only way around it back then was to get a US/Japanese console, or have your UK machine chipped to run at 60Hz instead of 50Hz. Fortunately, if you remember what type of code it is (a numeric sequence), it's actually pretty easy to brute-force it, since the game automatically stops you the moment you input an incorrect character, meaning you only have to go through around 90 sequences (tops) before getting at the correct code, as opposed to over a million.

** Some games on the original PlayStation, such as ''LegendOfDragoon'' and ''VandalHearts 2'', would detect if you had a mod-chip (which lets you play imported or copied games) in your system, and then the game would not play and a message to call a place to report the problem would come up on screen. What it boiled down to was that people who had mod chips and ''could'' pirate the games but ''didn't'' could not play the games they bought legitimately. It was probably an attempt to get people to abandon their mod chip consoles - guess what they abandoned instead?

* At first glance, the computer game ''Master of Orion'' used a simple "What spaceship is this?" manual copy protection. However, if the game executable was modified to remove the protection altogether, [[MagnificentBastard the game would detect the alteration of its code and become so difficult as to be virtually unplayable!]][[hottip:*:This is probably due to the copy protection itself actually setting some key variables that are initialized to such absurd values, not unlike the Slylandro Probe and Starbase [[GameBreakingBug thing]] that attempts to convince players to go to the Starbase first.]]

* Starship sim sequel ''Frontier: Elite II'' had an interesting version of this. Periodically, the player would be challenged by the in-game Space Police, and asked to find (for example) the fifth letter in the third word in line 17 on page 158 of ''his spaceship's'' manual. Three wrong responses in a row and you're arrested by [[AuthorAvatar Chief Inspector Braben]][[hottip:*:David Braben was the game's lead programmer]], who would give you a lecture on how stolen starships are a major disincentive for starship manufacturers to make new starships; your ship is confiscated, you're sent to prison and [[NonStandardGameOver "with luck, you'll get a job cleaning the toilets when you get out"]].

* ''X3: Reunion'' shipped with [=StarForce=], [[ObviousBeta along with a lot of bugs]]. The players and developers both hated it, and it was removed in a later patch (along with instructions on how to completely eradicate [=StarForce=] from one's system). The standalone expansion ''X3: Terran Conflict'' shipped with a different DRM package, but it was also ditched in a patch. Egosoft's position is they hate CopyProtection, but publishing contracts require them to use it.

* In the original ''[[TheBardsTaleTrilogy Bard's Tales]]'' games, the ''actual'' spells you cast in the game used magic words that you had to type in to cast them, present only in the manual and never given in the game (you would see only the 'thematic' name of the spell in-game, not the magic word used to order your characters to cast it.) This made playing the game without the manual extremely difficult. Most ports of the games made the spells selectable by menu, eliminating this issue.
** Also in the original ''Bard's Tale'', whenever you leveled up, the Review Board would ask you to name a street in the city. The map that came with the game had the streets ''misspelled'' - the Grand Plaza was labeled "GRAN PLAZ", and Hawk Scabard was labeled "HAWK SCABBARD". You had to use the map's spelling to pass; if you didn't have the map, you could never get past first level.

* {{Infocom}} tended to be among the cleverest in their integration of copy protection: for the most part, the game was simply unwinnable without the clues which the {{Feelies}} provided:
** In ''VideoGame/LeatherGoddessesOfPhobos'', the copy protection feelie was the ''map through the obligatory maze''. Considering that the maze was pretty much instantly deadly if you didn't do the right things in the right places, this was rather irritating when the map invariably got lost.
** A curious bit of copy protection was in Infocom's only romance game: ''Plundered Hearts''. The feelies in the game consist of facsimiles of the heroine's starting equipment, one of which is a banknote. The note shows the game's villain posing dramatically... but would you believe he's showing the solution to a puzzle? Grab his hat, try to grab the book he's carrying and press on the same part of the globe where he is and presto! Secret door!
* Introversion Software's ''{{Uplink}}'' featured a code table printed in glossy black ink on black card, which could generally only be read where the light reflected off the ink. However, this was also turned on its head when the developers later admitted it was designed to be a nostalgic nod to old-school games, and it was admittedly useless as copy protection (seeing as the game was massively profitable anyway). They later posted a PDF containing the entire table [[http://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/faq-general.html on their site]], saying it was not intended as a means of copy protection.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' had a character, early in the game, who "forgot" a vital communication frequency and mention that "it's on the back of the CD case," referring to one of the images on the back of the game's plastic case. If you rented the game, moving beyond that point was impossible. Better yet, Snake has a CD case in his in-game inventory. Many, many gamers tried to figure out how they were supposed to look at the back of that case. When they couldn't figure out the solution to the "puzzle", they turned to GameFAQs. The remake ''The Twin Snakes'' eliminated this particular problem by having the character say that the code is on the back of "the package", since there's no package item. The only other option for players was to try every radio frequency in sequential order until they reached the correct one.
*** Hilariously, the 2008 Essentials box set included all three PS2 Compatible ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' games in DVD Cases, including the original with new artwork in the style of the original "longbox" Playstation cases. Brilliant, ..Except for the fact that there's no screenshots of the game on the back, even the one needed to progress in the game! It's not in the manual either!
*** It is on the back of the box the cases come in, however.
*** Even if you lack the CD case, you can still receive said frequency by contacting Campbell enough times. Even though he would still end up telling you to check the non-existent case, the frequency ends up added in the list either way. [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything Hideo Kojima knew that not everyone would have access to the CD case]], and [[AntiFrustrationFeatures planned ahead for when players got stuck.]]
* Almost all of {{Sierra}}'s point-and-click adventure games had copy protection in their manuals, meaning that those who used illegal copies of the game (or who just plain lost their manual) couldn't progress any further. Most of these copy protection checks occured when starting the game, although a few subverted this trend by placing them about halfway through the game. Some of Sierra's examples:
** ''VideoGame/CodenameIceman'': The game begins as the main character is on vacation in Tahiti. A nearby volleyball player drowns in the surf and the player must rescue him and perform CPR. Obnoxiously, the game didn't tell you that it wanted you to look in the manual and type off the instructions verbatim.
*** However, the introductory walkthrough in the game's manual offers step-by-step instructions, making this section trivial for legitimate first-time players.
** ''Conquests of Camelot: The Search For The Grail'' also used this system - you had to look in the manual to solve various riddles throughout the game (but you learned some interesting mythology in the process).
** ''The Even More Incredible Machine'' required you to look into the instruction manual to input a code on a randomly decided page each time you opened it. However, during the game's intro, if you clicked to get past it at ''just'' the right time (specifically, when it switches from the second screen back to the first) it would almost always request the code on the first page of the book, requiring you to remember only one code.
** ''FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist'' requires that you look up recipes in the enclosed "home health manual" and create the prescriptions to solve certain puzzles. Only problem is, when the game was re-released in the Sierra Originals version, only a truncated version of the manual was included in the CD booklet, and one of the required recipes was left out entirely. Oops! Al Lowe, the game creator, has since put the entire doc on his [[http://www.allowe.com/ website]].
** A certain line of the ''VideoGame/KingsQuest Collection'', which included games I-VI, had a misprint in it, leading to a player most likely getting the spell wrong until they noticed that the misprinted manual decided to rhyme "thither" with [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment "thither"]] instead of "hither". The VGA remakes with the copyright stripped out that allow the player to just work the entire spell with a single command actually make the game vastly easier.
** ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman'': A very large part of the game revolved around copying lengthy, exact instructions for magical spells from the game manual. Getting the instructions even slightly wrong would [[HaveANiceDeath end the game]]. The correct phrasing was to simply type over the exact sentence in the manual, although words like "the" and "a" could be omitted. This was ''in addition'' to the disk check at the beginning of the game (that all Sierra games had at the time).
** ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella'' actually has a copy protection joke inserted into the coding. Activating the command box at the start (Ctrl + D) and typing in "Pirate" causes the game to play a small bit clip of "Drunken Sailor" and show a picture of a Pirate, while a text box above reads "Your privileges to this game have been revoked because you are a pirate! 'Yo ho ho!'" See it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDwu_OiOeTM here]]! In a straight example, before starting, the game would ask you for a certain word in the manual (for example, the fourth word in the second paragraph on page 3)
** ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder'': Randomly during the game, you have to cast a spell from Crispin's (dead) wand to get past mundane parts. To cast the spell, you would have to look up the symbol on Page X of the manual. Entering the wrong code made the game {{unwinnable}}. It was excised in the CD version, which then created a problem in that you didn't remember you had the wand when you needed it [[spoiler: at the end of the game]] because it literally had no other use.
** ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVIHeirTodayGoneTomorrow'' came with a "Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles", which contained clues needed to ascend the Cliffs of Logic. A wrong answer would cause the stone step you stood on to retract, sending Alexander plummeting to his death.
** The first VideoGame/LauraBow game (''The Colonel's Bequest'') required you to identify a fingerprint from a sheet that came with the game; originally, the fingerprints could only be viewed with a special magnifying glass, but this was too unfair (since some of them were fairly similar to begin with), so later printings just did it in black and white. Its sequel, The Dagger of Amon Ra, also required the player to dig information out of the museum guide book that came with the game.
** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' originally didn't have copy protection, but ''age'' protection - to play the game, you had to answer a question that you'd have to be fairly old to know the answer to. (Presumably.) [[http://www.allowe.com/Larry/1questions.htm See for yourself.]] The VGA remake added actual copy protection questions based on the included {{Feelies}}.
** In ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry II'', you have to insert the correct phone number of a woman by inputting it from the manual.
** In ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry III'', there's a promotional code you have to type (which is in the a certain page of the magazine the game came with) when presenting your show ticket. Another which you have to know the locker combination.
** In ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry 5'', to obtain airline tickets, the player must enter the corresponding symbols from the Aerodork timetable, which was printed in black on red in an attempt to make it uncopyable.
** ''PoliceQuest'' (VGA): The combination to the main character's locker, which you needed to get into to retrieve his uniform, was the score of a football game reported on in the fake newspaper included with the game, and also inputting violation codes while putting an arrested man in jail. The sequel required the player to identify the last name of the person on a mugshot before playing the game.
** QuestForGloryII had the map of Shapeir, though luckily you could guess your way to the money changer, and from that point onwards purchase an ingame map.
** ''QuestForGloryIV'': In order to get potions from Dr. Cranium, the player needed to help him remember the "formula" for various elements that went into the potions. Interestingly, the copy protection may not seem to matter since it's "just potions"; however, one of the puzzles required to beat the game requires a potion, meaning that without the manual you can effectively do everything ''except'' beat the game.
** ''Robin Hood: ConquestsOfTheLongbow'' featured a number of puzzles which involved having to consult the papers which came with the game. On the plus side, reading through these provided papers allowed you to learn about everything from medieval heraldry, to a secret "hand code", which used letters assigned to different parts of a hand to spell out words, to the purported magical properties of gemstones and trees. There were also dire consequences if you failed.
** In ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest 1'' (VGA), to get the cartridge, you had to enter the symbols from the manual corresponding to the term the dying scientist told you into the library computer. A ''second'' copy protection code was used for the coordinates of the Deltaur near the end of the game. Definitely copy protection overkill. The original EGA game didn't have ANY copy protection.
** ''Space Quest 4'' had its copy protection when you first enter the timepod, and you have to use the [[{{Feelies}} Space Piston Magazine]] included with the game to solve the code. The CD version excised it.
** ''Space Quest 5'' has the codes you need to enter to get to the various planets in the manual. Since you need to keep entering the codes throughout the game, it's borderline overkill. And there's no brute forcing here: going to the wrong coordinates wastes time getting there and kills you as soon as you're there.
** ''Space Quest 6'' had the datacorder puzzle, which you needed the [[{{Feelies}} Popular Janitronics magazine]] which came with the game to solve. [[GuideDangIt Unfortunately, the 2006 re-released ''Space Quest Collection'' didn't include it]].

* ''TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'' used a code wheel called "Dial-a-Pirate", whereupon loading the game, the user had to rotate the wheel to match the upper and lower halves of a series of pirate faces and then return the given date revealed by the wheel. ''MonkeyIsland2'' used a similar "Mix'n Mojo" code wheel, which involved lining up reagents in a voodoo spell. This was also used in the old SSI Gold Box Games (Pool of Radiance, etc) and their Translation Wheels.

* ''ZakMcKrackenAndTheAlienMindbenders'' required the player to enter exit visa codes before traveling between countries, which are given in the manual. Inputting an invalid code more than four times results in a NonStandardGameOver [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ0UPj3BiKY wherein you are placed in a "pirate jail"]].
* Nintendo got in on the act when it released ''VideoGame/StarTropics'' for the NES: At a later point in the game, it asks for a code that you can get by dipping the included map in water. Needless to say, this was a major inconvenience for people who rented the game or bought it used.
** Remember the bit above about Nintendo games being on ''ROM cartridges'', all but uncopyable by the typical users of the time? Nintendo apparently didn't.
** When the game was released on Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, the letter is included in digital form with an image of a letter and a bucket of water at the bottom. When the player clicks on one of the images, the letter dips into the bucket and the code is revealed.
* The original ''StarControl'' required players to answer questions with the help of a copy of ''Professor Zorg's Guide to Alien Etiquette''. ''Star Control II'' had the Starmap Trivia Quiz.
* ''Starflight II'' asked you to look up a code on a code wheel every time you left the starbase. If you entered it wrong you could still play the game, but a few hours in, your starship would be pulled over by the Space Police. The accused you of software theft and gave you one more chance to enter the right code; failing caused them to blow up your ship.
** The original Starflight had the code wheel. Starflight 2 had a fold out star map and a viewer to isolate 3 inch sections of the map. The game would then ask you the number of certain colored stars in the 3 in section once you placed the viewer at certain coordinates.
* Infogrames' original ''Franchise/AloneInTheDark'' series had this, and notably ratcheted it up in [[Videogame/AloneInTheDark2 the second game]]. [[Videogame/AloneInTheDark1992 The first]] required two objects from the game to be entered, which was already saying something given the large number of one-use clutter. [[Videogame/AloneInTheDark2 The second]], however, was a bit more complex. When you entered the first screen, it had a message something along the lines of "Protection Ace of Hearts over Three of Clubs First Hole". This could be disregarded, and if one tried to enter the hedge maze without inputting a code with the F keys, the game would say "YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION" and smite you. It turned out the manual told what the question is, and the game came with a number of hole-punched playing cards. Only by correctly laying the cards over each other and examining a hole could you figure out the required code to get on with it.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Vette}}'', you are a given a question whose answer is in the manual. If you incorrectly answer three times, the game allows you to play, but with severely crippled gameplay(eg can't go above 80 mph), and after a certain time, it ends with the message "You are driving a stolen Vette".
* ''F/A-18 Hornet'' had you answer a question from its rather large flight manual before starting a mission.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena'', the first game of the series, requires you to answer questions about spells in the known Spellbook part of the manual before leaving the first dungeon. Recently, Bethesda allowed the game to be downloaded for free, and while they did not remove the CopyProtection, the official download includes all the required information in a text file.
* Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (or the Diabolical Box in some countries) came with a train ticket needed to find the location of where the last half of the game takes place. It required a code to be deciphered and the answer had to be inputted into the game.
** More {{Feelies}} than this trope: the ticket was also shown in the game when it got to that puzzle. The puzzle required folding it, so it was a bit of a pain to envision how it folded from just the picture and without the physical ticket, but by no means impossible.
* ''NiNoKuni'' comes with the spellbook the character uses in the game, which it makes you use to get through the challenges.
* ''PathwaysIntoDarkness'' included some copy protection near the very end of the game. Your mission is to detonate a nuclear device at the bottom of an ancient temple that will bury an ElderGod in debris for a few thousand years. When you can finally arm the device, it asks for a launch code - which can only be found in the manual containing your briefing. Future distributions of the game left this part out.[[spoiler: But both versions left in your fellow squadmates changing part of the launch code because they thought you'd been compromised - if you don't ask them for the new code, you're still screwed!]] To start the game, at least in older versions, you also had to enter a code found on a randomly given page of the manual.
* ''DarkSun Shattered Lands'' has your party accosted at the end of the first dungeon (the AbsurdlySpaciousSewer) by the mental projection of a dragon, who wanted to know the words on on a page in the manual. Failing would crash you out of the game.
* ''SecretWeaponsOfTheLuftwaffe'' used a code wheel. The game gave you an airplane type and an example of bomber nose art. You turned the inner wheel (plane) until it matched up with the outer wheel (art) and a hole in the plane symbol revealed a woman's first name that you entered to verify that you owned the game.
* ''DuneII''. You were asked for a piece of information that you had to look up in the game's manual, such as "What type of structure is a Wind Trap?" (answer: it's a Power Plant).
* ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' has a section in the beginning of the game where you cannot move forward unless you solve a puzzle using diagrams in the game's manual. So you're out of luck if you lost it or bought a used copy that didn't have it.
* ''VideoGame/CenturionDefenderOfRome'': "What is the capital in the province of [name]?"

[[folder:Physical methods]]
* Particularly before the advent of [=CDs=] and [=DVDs=], console systems traditionally used media that could not be easily obtained or created - if at all - by the public:
* Eight-bit to 32-bit consoles including the Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, (Super) Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64 used proprietary cartridges that were relatively expensive. But by the time of the Game Boy Advance, third parties introduced compatible cartridges for playing homemade GBA games (which could also be used for pirated games, wink wink nudge nudge).
* The North American version of the NES used a proprietary (and in fact patented) lockout chip called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10NES 10NES]], which would reset the CPU if it did not detect a corresponding key chip on the game cartridge. Among other things, this allowed Nintendo to keep tight license control (and [[CensorshipBureau censorship]]) over ''developers'' attempting to publish games on the console, not just users attempting to make their own copies. Several companies discovered ways to beat the chip, such as piggybacking a chip from a licensed cartridge (Game Genie style) or using a voltage spike to knock out (bypass) the authentication circuit. Atari Tengen notably obtained the specs of the chip by (falsely) claiming they needed it for evidence in a legal case of their own, using that information to make a duplicate chip, their "Rabbit" chip. Nintendo promptly sued them in return, winning one of two counts of infringement, but later choosing to settle out of court.
** The same system was used in the Super NES and Nintendo 64. However, the top-loading NES II omitted the lockout chips entirely, meaning that theoretically, a game made for the NES II may or may not be playable on the original NES.
* The Sega Dreamcast could use a proprietary disc format called GD-ROM, which was essentially a dual-layer (1.3 GB) version of the CD-ROM format (multiple-layer discs would not become common until DVD); the system could load games off [=CDs=], too, though, and many games could be fit on a standard CD or the game itself compressed to fit.

*** Technically, Dreamcast piracy wasn't quite as simple as copying the GD-ROM, which regular PC drives could not read. Dreamcast piracy involved first ripping the GD-ROM using special hardware (often the Dreamcast itself via hardware plugged into the modem slot), then some tricky work involving a boot track and multiple burn sessions for the CD-R. Once created, though, that CD-R could be easily copied and used on any Dreamcast.
* The Sony [=PlayStation=] read a tracking pattern pressed onto the lead-in of official [=CDs=], which cannot be reproduced normally. The [=PlayStation=] 2 uses a similar system. They will both refuse to read any disc that doesn't have a valid pattern.
** The PlayStation mechanism was actually very clever, and made it completely impossible to burn a disc that would pass the protection ever. Unfortunately for Sony, there were points exposed where people could solder a chip in to override the attempt to read the signature and replace it with a valid one. People COULD press pirated discs once they figured out how the protection really worked, though, yielding the boot disc. Worse yet, it turns out that by using a single valid Playstation game and some quick swapping of the burned disc any reasonably dexterous person could play burned discs on a completely unmodded console. It takes some practice, but it's not that difficult.
*** The final evolution of this "swap trick" was the production of kits containing stickers to hold down the "lid open" sensors (so the console would not try to perform the security test again when the lid was opened to swap the discs), and boot discs that would pass the copy protection check, then stop the disc from spinning and wait patiently until the start button was pressed (so the user could swap in another disc at their leisure).
*** And then Sony removed the [=OtherOS=] function from the [=PS3=] back in April 2010, citing fears of ''security'' (or rather, ''piracy''. When the console is booted into Linux, it could now be used to run copied versions of discs). Generally, people weren't pleased and even brought on lawsuits.
* The Nintendo Gamecube uses a proprietary DVD-based 8cm disc. The Wii uses a full-size variant of said standard.
** Contrary to popular belief, discs for game consoles do not spin in reverse. But Gamecube and Wii discs do use a slight variant of the DVD sector-level encoding. The discs are recorded at the factory and read by the drive from outside to inside (unlike normal discs, which are read from inside to outside). Unusually, some LG DVD drives have the capability to read such discs. as they are simply [=DVDs=] recorded backwards. Unfortunately for Nintendo, Wii pirates either disregarded the physical aspects of the copy protection and instead decided to attack the console's firmware, which had quite a few holes, or simply stuck the disc inside an LG-manufactured DVD drive and ripped the ISO from there.
*** The other portion to this is that most optical media is recorded using [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_linear_velocity constant linear velocity]], which means that the data density on-disc is constant, but the motor must adjust speed depending on what part of the disc (center or edge) it's reading from The GameCube and Wii however, use [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_angular_velocity constant angular velocity]] (similar to that of hard drives), allowing the system to read from anywhere on the disc without having to change the speed of the drive motor first (the drive motor only ever spins at one speed, ever). This is one reason the GameCube typically had shorter load times than other consoles.
** Game discs are cryptographically signed using a laser during manufacturing based on small variations in the burning process.
* Sony has been fighting a long standing war against the Homebrew scene in the name of copy protection on the PSP. The Homebrew scene finds an exploit to allow un-official software, Sony releases yet another patch (that they usually make mandatory in order to play the newest games) to fix it, and the cycle continues. One particular patch that was designed solely to fix an exploit that would require a user to load a specific game in order to "unlock" their PSP, succeeded in introducing an exploit that allowed users to unlock their {{PSP}}s without any game whatsoever.
** The 3.56 firmware update to the PS3 marks the start of Sony's attempt to do the same thing (in addition to fixing the embarrassingly large security hole discovered not 2 months before the patch's release). How did it fare? Well, on the first release of the patch, it only succeeded in curbing (briefly) Call of Duty Modern Warfare hacks. It got cracked in under 24 hours, and that's NOT the worst news. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40zYK-DbgY It would not work on Slim PS3s that had an upgraded hard drive]], something that you are legally allowed to do. The second release of the patch only fixed the hard drive issue.
* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' memorably has a vast array of copy-protection mechanisms of surprising intricacy and thoroughness. For its first layer, it has a checksum that could detect whether the game was running from a copied cartridge or being booted from a cartridge-copying device[[hottip:*:Emulating the game does not set it off unless you're using a ''really'' shitty emulator]]; if the mechanism did not check out, the game threw up an antipiracy warning screen at the beginning and did not play any further. If this protection was cracked, a checksum mechanism would detect the change, and the game spawned [[ZergRush many more enemies than usual]] -- some even in places they didn't belong! -- in an attempt to discourage further playing. If the player persevered through this or cracked this second layer, however, an even nastier surprise awaited: the game would freeze and severely glitch after the first part of the FinalBoss fight against Giygas... and when you reset, you would find ''all your saves deleted!''.
** These copy protection schemes sometimes trigger on legit cartridges, likely due to wear and tear over time. Although unrelated to copy protection, the same wear and tear can cause the game to run entirely in black and white as well.
** The English NES prototype of [[VideoGame/{{MOTHER1}} its predecessor]], [[FanNickname dubbed]] ''[=EarthBound=] Zero'' by the fans, also had similar copy protection, but it's more mundane and far less cruel in its implementation. Instead of making the game impossible and scrubbing your save games at the end, it runs a checksum at certain points to test whether the game is pirated; if it is determined it is, it stops the game and [[http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/eb24.png throws up a screen]] saying that the game is an unauthorized copy and will not continue, and bricks the ROM/cart. This measure was part of a major headache in getting the ROM to work properly when it was first discovered and dumped in 1998, and owners of the actual physical prototypes are understandably concerned that the condition of the prototypes may set it off anyway. This protection wasn't in the Japanese version, nor does it exist in ''[[CompilationRerelease MOTHER 1+2]]'' which is built upon the prototype data.
* Several {{Capcom}} games also employed similar mechanisms as copy protection: if they detected a pirate copy, they generally made some early boss unbeatable by giving them infinite health. Known examples include ''Demon's Crest''.
** Another example would be the MegaDrive game ''Puggsy'', which would, several levels in, try to access the cart's SRAM (battery backup save memory). If it ''succeeded'', it threw up a message telling you to stop playing this silly copy and buy the game. Puggsy doesn't have on-cart save, but copiers and emulators enable it by default.
** ''MegaManBattleNetwork: Operate Shooting Star'', a remake of the first game, prevented you from editing your folder, and initiated a battle with three Mets, the weakest enemy in the game, with every single step you took while on the Internet.
** When the ROM boots up, ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheManhattanProject'' checks to see if the copyright text and/or icon has been modified (a common practice among pirates) - if it returns positive, the damage the players give out is reduced, the damage they ''take'' is increased, and a boss around 3/4 of the way through the game is modified to have infinite health, making the game {{unwinnable}} for anyone masochistic enough to keep playing after the first few levels.
** Similarly, back in the SNES era if you played a copy of the NoExportForYou ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' on a UK machine via an adapter, it would work fine, but wouldn't show the ending. It's not known if this was deliberate or not. The only way around it back then was to get a US/Japanese console, or have your UK machine chipped to run at 60Hz instead of 50Hz.
* ''TheJourneymanProject'', at three points in the game, asks you to enter a code from the "Temporal Protectorate Handbook" (aka manual). Unfortunately, if you got this game bundled with a new computer, it most likely didn't come with the manual, and unless you were clever and looked up the codes on the Internet, you would have to brute-force the code to continue.
** Fortunately, if you remember what type of code it is (a numeric sequence), it's actually pretty easy to brute-force it, since the game automatically stops you the moment you input an incorrect character, meaning you only have to go through around 90 sequences (tops) before getting at the correct code, as opposed to over a million.
** On pack-in editions of the game, the necessary codes are actually printed on the disc's artwork. Of course, they're printed just as small as the boilerplate copyright notice, with no indicator of their importance, and you're going to have to copy them down before you begin playing, unless you have a glass-topped CD-ROM drive...
*** Your glass-topped drive won't help unless you can ''also'' read fine print spinning at a minimum of 200 RPM.
* PopCap games for the PC have two different methods, according to how you purchased the game:
** Downloaded versions will only work on the particular PC on which they were purchased.
** CD versions periodically ask the user to insert the original CD for verification -- rather unfortunate if the game is installed on a netbook which doesn't have an internal CD drive, and the drive or CD or both are in storage somewhere.
* Interesting example: communication between ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' games involves an infrared beam ... which is built into the Game Card itself. So using a flashcart means [[SocializationBonus no (convenient) local trading/battling with other players.]][[hottip:Note:Local interactions are still possible, albeit only in the Union Room, which places a few restrictions on battling. Other features, such as quick Friend Code exchanges, become completely inaccessible.]] Official Nintendo-sponsored tournaments also require entrants to scan their infrared upon entry, which means only official copies are allowed.
* A variation of the CD key method is the Parallel port/USB "key". Enterprise class specialist software tend to be the most common type of software to use this, although many arcade cabinets as well as certain home release of games do use it as well. The dongle typically holds the license, ensuring that the software only works on the computers which the key is attached.
** The most well-known key to date is the Parallel port key that ships with most earlier versions of [=AutoCAD=].
** [[http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23336&start=0 KeySIGN]], a traffic-management software that creates road signs, has a dongle attached to ensure the licence is installed on a particular machine. (AFAIK, this is based on info from the link).
** If you've worked in the IT department of a large manufacturing enterprise, chances are you'd have dealt with a type of key known as the ''[=HASP=]''. Many specialist applications ranging from chemical work to asset management uses one of these for DRM.
** ''SteelBeasts Pro PE'' has hardware-based DRM in the form of a USB key. This key must be plugged in while running the simulation! (And it's not the only example...)
** ''{{DJMAX}} Trilogy'' comes with a USB dongle that must be plugged into your computer to run the game. It also contains your profile, which has your usernames, unlocks, etc., so a fortunate side effect is that you can carry your unlocks across multiple machines. On the downside, lose the dongle and you're screwed.
** Some arcade games also required "Licensing modules", which are a separate ROM board that holds only the decryption key of the game. Many newer games, since they're run on machines based on PC hardware, requires a USB dongle to run. And of course the USB dongle could hold an expiry date instead of the game, adding to the planned obsolescence method mentioned below.

[[folder:Software]]
* Valve Software's {{Steam}} is its online download and updating system, used to distribute Valve's games, first-party mods and quite a few other titles they have contracted in. It's usually cited as "DRM done right" by those who believe such a thing is possible. However, at the time of its original release, late 2004, DRM was nowhere near as common as it is now, and many players, who purchased the retail boxed copy, were understandably annoyed that they would have to install a separate program that runs in the background in order to prove that they weren't thieves. In addition, initially they had to connect to the Internet every time they wished to play the single-player game. Valve eventually removed this, and by now retail sales of their games have been dwarfed by digital sales, meaning most of their players already have Steam anyway. It is worth noting, however, that Steam is one of a handful of DRM systems to deliberately prevent players from reselling or giving away their used games. Steam also avoids a common issue with copy protection software -- the inability to install a single copy of a game on multiple computers. On a growing number of games, it even works cross-platform now. However, it has two downsides- you can't have more than one copy of Steam running on more than one computer at the same time (meaning that you can't have Steam download a game on one PC while you're playing a game on another, and oh, Steam boneheadedly pauses any download whenever you launch a game and there's no way to turn that function off), and you still need to remember to tell Steam to go into offline mode before you lose connection from the internet (meaning that if you forgot to put Steam into Offline mode before going on vacation to somewhere without proper internet access, you'll end up searching desperately for a WiFi hotspot the next time you try to fire up the game on your laptop).
* Like Valve, Blizzard requires players to sign in to Battle.net before they can play their games where some of the newer titles (which currently consists of only VideoGame/{{StarCraft II}} and VideoGame/DiabloIII) are concerned. On the plus side, it also allows you to have multiple installations of the game across many computers and even go cross-platform. On the minus side, well, have fun searching for a wireless hotspot while on vacation somewhere where getting an internet connection is very difficult even if all you wanted to do is to play the single-player campaigns!
** ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft II}}'' has no have localized multiplayer, in a effort to create "[[BlatantLies a more social gaming experience]]", or somesuch.
*** Local multiplayer is still possible, just that two people in the same room have to play each other through the official network.
** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment eventually admitted that ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'''s "always online" requirement was partially due to copy protection. While the game sold well, the game got a huge amount of negative publicity. Many people ''could not play the game when it came out'' due to server overload, leading to the infamous "error 37" MemeticMutation. It's been announced that the game's console ports will have some kind of offline play.
* But the ''Diablo III'' screw-up is nothing compared to what happened when Creator/ElectronicArts and Maxis released the 2013 version of ''VideoGame/SimCity''. While they haven't said if the game's "always online" requirement was due to copy protection, it seems very likely, given that hackers have found that the game works perfectly fine offline -- you simply can't save your city. In fact, the game actually allows players to play for twenty minutes offline if they get disconnected because there is a variable disconnect timer that forces the game to quit when it elapses.[[note]]All this despite [[WordOfGod official claims that]] [[LyingCreator it would not be possible to play the game offline without "a significant amount of engineering work"]][[/note]] In any case, many players could not play the game when it came out due to -- again -- server overload. This time, Amazon.com temporarily stopped selling the game, a patch was released that actually cut out several features in an attempt to relieve sever pressure, and EA actually told websites to ''stop advertising the game''.
* The launch of ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' was screwed up, plain and simple, when the single-player offline game shipped with [=SecuROM=] CopyProtection that allowed installation twice, ever, before the customer had to contact support[[hottip:*:it was intended that uninstalling the game properly would give access to another install... turns out this feature didn't actually work]]. In its wake came crashing authentication servers, the customer support of the publisher and of its parent company each referring people to the other, said support demanding photos of the CD and the manual, people in smaller countries being asked to phone the same support -- i.e., to make international calls in a foreign language, PR representatives assuaging the public by falsely stating that properly uninstalling the game would give the right to another installation[[hottip:*:they weren't knowingly lying; this was one of [=SecuROM's=] intended features]], finding out that installing on another account or making what [=SecuROM=] deems to be a significant hardware change counts, the protection disrupting other programs if they look like the sort that might be used for cracking, the demo coming with [=SecuROM=] -- without activation -- when it acknowledgedly has no reason to do so, and [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking halitosis]]. It would've been nice to tell about the limit beforehand, too. Others are cool with that and just dislike having unannounced, nonconsensual, unremovable data on their computers. Some parts of [=SecuROM=] don't like being told to leave.

* Likewise, the Starforce copy protection on legitimate copies of ''RogueTrooper'' is absurdly prone to false positives, but the publishers/developers never bothered to fix the problem because not enough people bought the game for them to care anyway.
* Ubisoft's Uplay DRM was extremely restrictive and despised by players, especially after it was determined that it covertly installed plug-ins for your browser without informing you... and that those plug-ins opened a security hole on the installed system! [[InternetBacklash This, and controversial comments regarding PC piracy rates, resulted in Ubi reducing their DRM to its lowest levels in years]].
* Some games like ''MechWarrior'', ''{{Warcraft}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' had special, network-client-only "spawn" installations that you could make many or an unlimited number of on other machines from just one copy and run without the disks (sometimes full versions and/or demos would automatically run in "spawn" mode when you don't pass the copy protection). These needed a full installation on another machine to act as a server, and would sometimes connect only to servers run by the full install from the same copy. Similarly, ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}} II'' allowed you to install a "multiplayer Version" with which you could play online, without the cd, but disabled the single-player segment of the game.
** The original ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'' did this one too, the number of original discs varying with the number of players. An eight-player game would require a minimum of three actual discs; the other five could all be spawns.
* Microsoft Reader's activation scheme lets you read the same book on five machines. The problem is that it doesn't realize when you have reformatted the drive or gotten rid of the machine. So when you run out your activations, you're screwed. Luckily, the encryption is [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop easy to break]].
** Apple has something similar going on. You have to 'authorize' a new machine in order to use the iTunes Store, or play your downloaded tracks, or... something. Whatever it is, you only get five of them -- and if you didn't hit 'deauthorize' before that old hard drive died, that's your own fault.
*** Authorization is required to play music/movies from the iTunes Store. If you run out of activations you can deactivate all machines via the iTunes Store. Still annoying, but if you forget one machine you aren't hosed.
* In the PC version of ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', the developers chose an interesting method of copy-protection, by making the Candleabra Crawler monsters, destroyable ghosts in the very first level, invincible. Since the Crawlers come at the player in swarms and will follow you relentlessly, it was next to impossible to proceed past the section where they are first encountered.
** And if the player DOES defeat the Death Crawlers -- which you have to be pretty pro to do and practically playing on Easy -- the VERY LAST LEVEL glitches so that Ray stands there slimegunning a wall and refuses to follow you, rendering you unable to continue. That's right. It lets you play the whole game, except the ending. The game is UnWinnable if you have a pirate copy or a false-positive legit copy.
* Bethesda doesn't distribute CD keys with ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', showing that they know exactly how "helpful" CD keys are.
** Unfortunately, they were forced to in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. However, the copy protection only denies you running the Fallout Launcher, you can still launch the game from the game's directory.
* In a pirated copy of ''VideoGame/EnchantedScepters'', you will randomly be struck on the back of the head by a pirate and thrown in an arena to face a Tyrannosaurus rex.
--> The pirate laughs: Har, Har, Har!
* ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}'': If you're playing a pirated copy, the monsters do six times more damage than normal, and when you die (as you almost certainly will before the third level), the tombstone says "Rest in Peace: Software Pirate, killed by Copy Protection Mafia". This can even happen on legal copies, possibly due to bit rot.
* The PC version of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure DX'' released in Europe had an absurd copy protection system which, each time you ran the game, required you to insert both of the two discs the game shipped on, and then performed a full, intensive scan of ''every file on the disc''. On systems that were new at the time this would take about a minute for the entire process, but if you were using a system which only just met the minimum requirements, it could take ''ten minutes''.
** On early pirated copies of ''{{Sonic CD}}'', instead of booting up the game, it would instead show [[http://tcrf.net/images/1/12/SonicCDsega.png one of the creepy screens from the sound test]].
* Command And Conquer Red Alert 2 had a particularly creative version. A pirated copy of the game would load up completely normally, and the actual gameplay itself would also operate normally. For about three minutes, until all of your units and buildings would simultaneously explode using the nuclear weapon animation, causing you to lose. It was pretty funny.
* A very recent version of copy protection: a pirated copy of Croteam's ''SeriousSam 3'' will spawn an immortal pink Arachnoid (a scorpion-like monster) thanks to the DRM software which comes with the game. This Arachnoid is unnaturally fast, armed to the nines, and will kill an unsuspecting player in seconds. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91q5BtlxK0 see for yourself]].
** And there was a second layer of DRM that caused Sam to [[InterfaceScrew constantly look straight up while spinning]] if the game was installed in the wrong directory.
* The arcade game ''{{beatmania}} IIDX 20 tricoro'' requires that the game be connected to Konami's e-Amusement network or else the game will refuse to start. This presumably is to ensure that only authorized arcades can run the game.
** But then, they remembered that they made their own implementation of e-Amusement to get around [[NoExportForYou another problem]].
* Inverted unintentionally in ''DJ MAX Portable Black Square'', in which songs will skip when played via UMD due to memory management issues, but won't when played via an ISO on a memory stick.
* Smartphone games by Naver (i.e. ''LINE Bubble'' and ''LINE POP'') will refuse to run if you are playing on an Android device that is rooted.
* ''{{Spore}}'' requires that the computer running it be in constant contact with the internet to verfiy the game's authenticity. Yeah. So, if you're disconnected for whatever reason...
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Uncategorized]]
* The Nintendo DS with a lot of recent titles has been adding varying copy protection methods, which all have been defeated by use of simple cheat codes.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesRingOfFates'' ([[ColonCancer awfully long title]]) also detected pirated copies. This caused the game to end after a while, with a "Thanks for playing!" message, which certainly confused many pirates. Why not have a "Stop playing this game now, you dirty pirate!" message?
*** This game was allowed as a demo in many stores. The same message would play in the demos. The method of the Copy Protection was that the game would have around a 30-45% chance of a random check to see if the game was a proper game... each time you changed rooms in the dungeons. The demos were only given a certain amount of game memory and that did not include the key to stop the Copy Protection from activating. This truly was a great AP due to the way it confused so many Pirates.
** ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' allowed you to play until you first traveled back in time, which then stuck you in an eternal loop in the warp sequence. This was also present in the original SNES version.
** ''[[LovePlus Love Plus+]]'' made it impossible to get past the first part of the game IN ADDITION to making it impossible to gain hearts in the main part of the game, effectively making the game unplayable on flashcarts. Apparently, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything if you're too cheap to pay for your virtual girlfriends,]] they will dump you.
** ''GhostTrick'' made all the text blank if you use a flashcart.
** If you play a purported copy of ''Michael Jackson: The Experience'', the notes don't appear (it's an ''EliteBeatAgents'' clone by the way), ''and'' it plays [[FIFAWorldCup vuvuzelas]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZwFxAi76iI over the music]].
** Other games that included protection: ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'', ''GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars'', and other major titles.
* Recently, controversy surrounding the copy protection of the PC version of ''Franchise/MassEffect'' sprang up. Here's the short version: You're only allowed three activations on a single computer until you have to buy another copy. You don't get back an activation and changing your hardware settings takes one up.
** There was also going to be a validation process that checked up on you every 10 days or the game would not run, but the immense backlash caused that to be abandoned and the developers will only implement the three-install limit. How thoughtful!
*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' does not use this DRM at all, for those who want to buy this game. [[http://meforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=710074&forum=144 It uses a disc check and doesn't require online authentication.]]

* In the classic adventure game ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' Marcus would ask Indy to translate some symbols for him, which would need to be looked up in the manual. Failing to do so would let the game continue as normal -- until a crucial point where Indy, at Donovan's place, would fail to translate a tablet concerning the Holy Grail (Indy mistakenly translates it as "Holy Grain"), prompting Donovan to say "Seems you're just an illegitimate copy of the man I thought you were."
** Even if you got past that, there was ''another'' level of copy protection - at an important part of the game, you read a set of inscriptions to get two possible descriptions of the Holy Grail (a later clue allows you to narrow it down to one), but those descriptions are merely references to the [[{{Feelies}} Grail Diary]] that comes with the game. If you don't have it, well, have fun [[HaveANiceDeath trying each grail one by one]] until you get the right one...
* ''OperationFlashpoint'' is notable for being the first game to use the FADE copyright system, which slowly degraded the quality of gameplay (for example, decreasing the accuracy of the player's weapons) if piracy was detected. The same applies for ''Videogame/{{ARMA}} : Armed Assault'', its SpiritualSuccessor. The best copy protection for ''ARMA'' was of course the fact that [[TheyJustDidntCare it didn't run under Vista.]]
** FADE also exists on ''Videogame/{{ARMA}} II''. [[RuleOfFunny Your accuracy slowly gets worse until you literally can't shoot the side of a barn]], it impedes your movement, blurs your screen, and it eventually turns you into an animal. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDKguXtrSxU Here's a video.]]
* Another Czech game, the first ''{{Mafia}}'', also used the FADE system : The farther you got in an illegal copy of the game, the more choppy it ran, forcing the player to continually lower the graphics quality. It didn't stop ''[[{{Determinator}} some people]]'' from beating the game, though.
* ''DayOfTheTentacle'' required the players to configure a machine based on an image printed on a certain page of the manual. Thing is, similar images were printed on every page, and the player needed a certain number in-game to look it up. Ironically, you can now download the manual for free from several sites.
** This copy protection apparently only exists on the floppy disk version; it's nowhere to be seen on the CD version. DOTT's predecessor, ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion'', also had copy protection as an in-game puzzle, but the version available for play within DOTT omits it by making it impossible to close the steel security door, which remains open throughout the game.
*** When DOTT was released, copying a CD was virtually unheard of.
-->For those of you playing from a Compact Disk, ignore this section [Copy Protection]. It never happened. It doesn't exist. [[Film/ANewHope These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along.]]
* The ''Franchise/{{Ultima}}'' games were particularly prone to this, forcing players to look up the {{Feelies}} for information from "Beyond the Portal" before being granted the right to save, leave the starting town, and so on.
* An early-'90s Spider-Man computer game asked the player several trivia questions before starting. The answers were supposed to be looked up in the manual, but they were also available in any of the Spidey comics of the time.
* As mentioned above, the original ''RailroadTycoon'' had you identify a railway engine at the start of the game. If you chose the wrong name, the game would confiscate all but two of your trains and make you unable to run more normally (though -- perhaps due to a bug -- clicking at the bottom of the train list actually allows you to view the lost train and buy it back by replacing its engine).
* ''F-19 Stealth Fighter'': if you failed to identify the plane the game showed you, the game forced you to go on a "training mission" with preset equipment instead of allowing you to choose your mission, plane, or ammunition.
** Microprose were well known for this. ''SidMeiersPirates'' (the original '80s version) allowed you to start the game even if you failed the manual-based question. However, winning the "intro duel" was extremely difficult. Still, even if you lost, you could still continue playing the game from a difficult starting point.
* ''Pirates! Gold'', meanwhile, would sometimes ask you to identify a famous pirate you encountered by his flag. Answer wrong and your ship loses all cannons. It was still possible to win the ensuing battle if you had enough crew to board the enemy ship, though. Also, since the copy-protection scheme only kicked in sometimes and other times the game would tell you the name rather than ask for it, with patience it was possible to reconstruct the list from scratch.
* The aforementioned VideoGame/SimCity copy protection sheet actually ''could'' be copied, if you had a copy machine that could be adjusted properly.
** Or, you know, you could spend all afternoon at your friend's place doing it by hand. And once color photocopiers became prevalent, the scheme fell flat on its face.
* At first glance, the computer game ''Master of Orion'' used a simple "What spaceship is this?" manual copy protection. However, if the game executable was modified to remove the protection altogether, [[MagnificentBastard the game would detect the alteration of its code and become so difficult as to be virtually unplayable!]][[hottip:*:This is probably due to the copy protection itself actually setting some key variables that are initialized to such absurd values, not unlike the Slylandro Probe and Starbase [[GameBreakingBug thing]] that attempts to convince players to go to the Starbase first.]]
* ''DarkstarOne'' featured an extra protection. In improperly cracked versions, the star map would "shiver" making it hard as hell to read or select anything. And the price of items & upgrades would be multiplied by 100. Or reduce the sale price of everthing to 0, making it impossible to make money, and getting the player stuck in the first system.
* Many old arcade games have "suicide batteries" that are believed to be used for this purpose. When the battery runs out, the game's graphics glitch, the sound goes away, or the game itself stops working.
** Of course, [[LostTechnology once replacement batteries stopped being made]], it became a rush for emulation experts to ''save'' these games from oblivion.
** Many operators believe that the suicide batteries are actually used for another purpose: [[SelfDestructMechanism planned obsolescence]]. The idea being that once the battery dies, the operator will be forced to buy the next version of the game (often, the deal is sweetened with a trade-in discount for the new version of the game), or pay through his nose for "repairs". Hence it's common to see this and CapcomSequelStagnation go hand in hand. In fact, these are now used in a different way: Given that many new arcade machines run off hard drives or GD-ROMs and sport real time clocks built-in (and many are based off PC hardware) and could be upgraded just like any other [=PCs=], many of the games now contained a time bomb within themselves and will display an error telling the operator that its licensing module has expired, and to call the game company's local distributor for an upgrade. No doubt that the operator will be told that the game is no longer supported and will be pushed to buy a newer version of the game instead if he/she calls (if not charged a fortune for "repairs"). The fact that it can be used for copy protection is just a nice side effect. It is also a bad idea in itself that it didn't stop the more adventurous of the bunch from attempting to make a backup of the board while the battery is still alive and use the backup on the board once the battery has died through various methods, most with high levels of success.
* The old GoldBox ''DungeonsAndDragons'' computer games by SSI requires the use of the included a thick manual not only to log into the game ("In the manual section on page 45, paragraph 2, line 10 - what is word 6?"), but also to understand the plot (you have to refer to the journal part). In the [[SarcasmMode brilliant move]] by the company for its Anniversary set, they included the spin wheels for some of the games' copy-protection, but forgot to put in the manuals for ''Gateway and Treasure of the Savage Frontieer'', rendering those two games unplayable.
* Unintentional example: ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' had a scene transition triggered by a certain audio clip. Pirated versions would often leave out much of the audio to save space, making the scene transition never take place, and making it impossible to continue the game. Additionally, there was also a batch of defective disks with corrupted audio files. Thanks Ion Storm!
* The {{Battletech}} PC game, ''The Crescent Hawks' Inception'', had two series of copy protection: one early on in the game, when you had to look up (or memorize) different Battlemech components to continue training at the Academy in your ersatz DoomedHometown, and one very near the end, where you had to look up some stuff on a star chart in order to get your father's ''Phoenix Hawk'' Land-Air Mech (AKA VF-1J Valkyrie, but that's another trope). Woe betide you if you lost the star chart.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the FictionalVideoGame ''Literature/OnlyYouCanSaveMankind'', in the novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett:
** "Someone in America or somewhere thought it was dead clever to make the game ask you little questions like "What's the first word on line 23 of page 19 of the manual" and then reset the machine if you didn't answer them right, so they'd obviously never heard of Wobbler's dad's office photocopier."
** "Basically, there were two sides to the world. There was the entire computer games software industry engaged in a tremendous effort to stamp out piracy, and there was Wobbler. Currently, Wobbler was in front."
* ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen 6: Aliens Ate My Babysitter'' required you to identify a random enemy by name before you could play it. The enemies were never identified in-game, requiring you to have an instruction manual on-hand.

* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' game, there would be two instances in the early parts of the game where you had to look up a [[TechTree civilization advance]] in the manual: you were shown a picture of a random one, then given a large set of multiple-choice answers of which two advances were its direct prerequisites. (The in-game justification was that "A usurper claims you are not the rightful king!") If you were wrong, you lost all the military units you had outside of your cities.
** Ironically, all the advances were also documented in the ''in-game'' "Civilopedia", and even if you didn't read that, the answers could often be worked out logically anyway.
*** Indeed. It would ask you things like "Which Advance requires knowledge of Steam Engine and Bridge Building?" Uh... geee... could it be railroad? Ya think?
* ''{{Halo}}'' for the PC seemed to have some sort of copy protection in place; if the game was obtained illegally, players could still play the game normally without problems, but if they tried to play the online multiplayer, they wouldn't be connected and got a message saying the CD key is invalid.
** Using CD Keys to prevent online play used to be quite common among PC Gaming, and it dates back as far as ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft|I}}''.
*** And it seems to be coming back; several Games For Windows Live games do this. So does World in Conflict.
* ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}} 2'' had a sly example; when installed off non-original floppies all would seem to proceed okay, but you wouldn't be able to advance past the first level for any of the tribes.
* ''{{Myst}} III: Exile''[='=]s copy protection system required you to insert Disc One at least once per run (either when starting a new game, or loading an old one), then pressed an error right into the disc that made that disc uncopyable.
** That copy protection is called [=SafeDisc=]. EA loves it. Unfortunately, all the forcing of the drive to read a bad sector can't be good for the lens...
* ''CommandAndConquer: RedAlert3'' uses DRM and counts your game installations. Also, for the first time of the history of ''CommandAndConquer'', two players can't ''even'' play in LAN mode with the same license (while before, the game using two [=CDs=] allowed it). Curse you, EA!
** Actually, you can't play C&C 3: Tiberium Wars in LAN mode with the same serial key either.
* Some users complain that ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'' on the PC will ping an unknown server every 75 seconds. The most common guess is that UbiSoft is tracking your CD key and looking for duplicates.
** The original ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'' also had manual-based copy protection which set several apparent vials of poison over which hovered several different letters; a variant of the "Page/Line/Word" index. Drinking the wrong one three times in a row would result in death; drinking the right one caused the door to the next level to open. The second game had you select a symbol from a certain page of the manual between levels.
* An annoying variation of this problem occurs with the Xbox360. The 360 has a removable hard drive and a variety of memory cards available, meaning there is a potential problem of people copying (paid) downloaded games and giving them for free to their friends. To remedy this, Microsoft decided that to play something you purchased, you must be signed in online with the purchasing account, or be playing the content on the machine that downloaded it in the first place. The problem with the second option is that Xbox hardware failures are notoriously common, meaning the only way to play your downloaded games from any other console is to be signed online. If you ever lose internet access after owning a replacement console, you were completely screwed out of everything you bought online, although (several years down the line...) they made a website to transfer the licenses to your new console without having to be signed into your gamertag online.
** Actually, licenses were and are ''supposed to'' transfer the instant you get it back and do the 5-second "redownload" after getting your new machine. Most people didn't bother to do the quick redownload, though, believing "My internet will never fail!", and so wind up with broken stuff.
* On the subject of the 360, the chief form of copy protection besides watermarking the disc code is the verification process afforded to Microsoft by Xbox Live's client/server model. Detection of circumvention perma-bans the offender from playing online on that console. This doesn't stop people from staying off Live ([[TooDumbToLive save some]]) and just skipping the standard disc check by modding.
* The InteractiveFiction game ''TheLurkingHorror'' deserves special mention of its copy protection. Getting anywhere in the game required you to log into an in-game computer; the necessary information was included with the {{Feelies}}. However, while the password was clearly marked, the [[GuideDangIt login was not]] (and, to complicate matters, was not on the same page as the password).
* Famous line from ''CaptainComic'': "Captain, I'm afraid you have made a terrible mistake. You failed to obtain a certain object you should have had from the start of your adventure. Since this object is not very expensive, you should go and obtain it before you venture any further." It shows up quite some time into the game.
* The 1988 Microprose game ''RedStormRising'' would give you the profile view of a ship and ask you to identify it; all the requisite information was in the manual. Of course, if you're big enough of a naval geek... [[SomedayThisWillComeInHandy guns in back, smokestack, missile pack]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krivak_class_frigate Krivak]]. Or you could just use Wikipedia nowadays.
* [[http://www.gamerevolution.com/goodie/movies/dont_copy_that_floppy This video]] (quoted in the page picture) gives a cheesy rap song about why people shouldn't use floppies to copy games, followed up by several developers that explain how games are made and how they won't make certain games anymore if more people copy their products instead of buying them since they feel less sales = people did not like product. The boy trying to copy doesn't see why the whole thing is a big deal, saying "everyone is doing it" and "one copy won't hurt them." The girl convinces the boy to change his ways by the video's end. Of course, things have not changed since then.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUCyvw4w_yk A sequel]] recently came out, and while it's musically more advanced, the message is still not as clear as the creators intended. Case in point: [[http://sati1984.tumblr.com/post/202537346/this-video-alone-is-going-to-increase-the-rate-of this YouTube comment]] and [[http://www.retrothing.com/2009/09/stunning-sequel-to-dont-copy-that-floppy.html this Retro Thing article]], the latter providing an excellent analysis of the video.
* Maxis' ''TheSims 3'' has recently been leaked online several weeks early, giving many players a sneak peek at the game's functionality. EA caught wind of this pretty quickly, saying that the leaked version was missing half the game's content and was glitched to hell, and instead of hunting down every single person who's downloaded the game and preventing them from accessing the game altogether, has settled on telling them they're running an unauthorized version and pleading them to buy the full version to get extra content. Which is surprisingly fair, considering this is ''EA'' we're talking about here.
** In actual fact, the retail copies of the game are missing this same half of the game's content as well, in the form of an extra city that is offered as a download upon registering the game. It should be noted, however, that the common leaked version is apparently 17 builds behind the retail version, as found by reading information about the first patch for the game, which for some reason this information was already uploaded to EA's servers.\\
\\
Also, thanks to the [=SecuROM=] situation, EA decided to scale back this game's copy protection to the traditional CD check and serial number that the earlier games used. Unfortunately, the direct download version of the game still sports SecuROM copy protection, limiting users to 5 installations per copy.
* All these modern examples pale in comparison to a form of copy protection employed by several publishers during the Commodore 64 era. We'll spare you the boring and confusing details, but it involved placing a deliberate error on the disk, which, being that it was an error, could not be reproduced by the current copy software. However, this also caused the disk drive's head to knock repeatedly against a stopper every time it tried to load the program. Over time, this would cause the head to become misaligned and be unable to read ''anything'' anymore until the drive was repaired. That's right, a copy protection scheme that caused legitimate customers (and legitimate customers only, as this required pirates to hack the software and eliminate the need to read the error -- hardly unlike today's cracks that remove pesky DRM) to experience actual ''hardware failure''. Yikes.
* ''The Island of Dr. Brain'' forced you to consult the manual, called the Encyclo-Almanac-Tionary-Ography, to input the coordinates necessary for finding his island. This counted as the first puzzle in the game, and you receive a gold plaque just for completing it.
* ''[[SpyroTheDragon Spyro: Year of the Dragon]]'', if you are playing a cracked copy, has Zoe the Fairy appearing at the latter part of Sunrise Spring telling you that your copy is hacked and may be an illegal copy, which will lead you to experience "problems" you would not experience on a legal copy. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZinR10DC3-Q]]
** The game also features a "save file erasure" thing similar to ''EarthBound'', although in a more subtle manner: instead of taking you back to an empty "select your save file" screen, it just stops the boss battle against the Sorceress and then a travel-between-worlds Saving-LoadingScreen appears, and after it, you return back to the Sunrise Spring Home with your hot air balloon, with the only difference that your save file has been written with a new status - namely, a fat zero over everything you can collect. To sum it up, instead of erasing your save file, the game resets it back to the beginning. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9O62ZNQSU&feature=related You can see it here.]]
*** And that was the ''third'' layer of protection. The second? Gems and eggs were removed from the game at random, making progress impossible. The "save overwrite" trick was designed to catch hackers that got past that layer.

** The conclusion: any CopyProtection not working explicitly is self-defeating. Most people won't bother to investigate on their own why this or that software happened to be buggy or crappy, ever. So unless users can openly admit what they tried and compare, this buries the reputation of an original, not a bootleg copy -- they haven't got any separate reputations if no one mentions them.
* The {{Amiga}} game ''TheKillingGameShow'' was broken and copied early in its life, but the original protected disk would alter the system timing during bootup. The broken copy did not alter the timing, resulting in a game that became {{Unwinnable}} without removing the "timer". (It is not known if any cracked version ever fixed this.)
* ''VideoGame/{{Drakensang}}'' (Das Schwarze Auge/ Black Eye) had at least three instances of copy protection and you were punished for then buying the original because you had to start anew, as the problems were saved in the savegames (there was supposed to be a patch for that, but it's unknown if it ever got made). First you have to go to a NPC that doesn't spawn. This can be corrected by using an SQL editor. Then there is a vital door, that's just not clickable. And last but not least there is supposed to be a door that usually leads to another vital part of the game, but in case of a pirates version leads into a cell with no exit. And no, nobody ever said anything about this beforehand, leading to a mass of "buy the game already" and almost as much "I already OWN it" :=)
* The diskette version of ''SystemShock'' stored more data on disk number one then normal copying tools would allow it to hold; attempting a basic clone would fail. Still quite easy to copy once you worked it out.
* {{Origin}}'s ''Videogame/StrikeCommander'' came with instructions to copy the disks and put them in the cupboard in case something happened to your originals.
** Another Origin property, the VideoGame/WingCommander series, required for the first few games information included in the {{feelies}} or manual to start playing the game. When they were reworked for the ''Kilrathi Saga'' collection, the check was eliminated.
* The SegaDreamcast game ''OogaBooga'' had an interesting CopyProtection mechanism: If it detected that you were playing a burned copy, instead of starting the game, it would show an in-game pirate character that would dance when you pressed any button on the controller. The group who released the pirated ISO left this in, but made it continue to the actual game when the player pressed Start.
* The PC version of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' has one of these in the form of a deliberate glitch which disables Batman's cape glide ability, rendering the game {{Unwinnable}}. The developers say this.
--> "It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code."
** Irony sets in when a lot of the complainers were legitimate purchasers who simply got told to piss off because they were supposedly pirates.
* The ''DragonBall'' video game trilogy known as "Legacy of Goku" (and the spiritual sequel, ''GT: Transformation'') had its form of copy protection wherein a message popped up at a certain point saying "this game cannot be played on this hardware" and wouldn't go away, should it detect that it isn't a legit copy (although there are rumours of some retail copies having this problem as well). Perhaps stupid is the fact that [[WhatAnIdiot later versions of the emulator Visual Boy Advance decided to emulate this form of copy protection]], making playing the games on that emulator ''extremely'' difficult.
* The Amiga game ''[[VideoGame/{{Elvira}} Elvira: Mistress of the Dark]]'' had you hunting for six keys hidden in the castle, and one was hidden in a dark passage, requiring you to have Elvira cook up "Glowing Pride" to find it. However, you couldn't find any recipes inside the game; all of them were in the manual. In other words, you could play most of the game on a pirate version, but to complete it you needed the original version. (At least, until GameFAQs was invented.)
* Not strictly CopyProtection, but more like ''incredibly'' failtastic programming: Capcom's ''MegamanBattleNetwork 4: [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo Blue Moon]]'' has issues the Red Sun version doesn't exhibit, which make the game virtually unplayable on anything except the original Gameboy Advance hardware. One unavoidable section of the game causes the entire game to slow to a near halt (the music remains normal, however) if you open the menu or encounter enemies. The game will eventually bring itself back to normal speed, but this glitch turns what should easily be a 15 minute at most scenario into something that can take up to an entire day to complete.
** There was a Super NES game that ''accidentally'' implemented copy protection: the game program had a bug which, by sheer dumb luck, caused it to depend on extremely precise timing of the SNES cartridge -- play it on a copier or emulator, and the slight timing change would crash the game.
*** Would that be a GoodBadBug?
* Some games on the original PlayStation, such as ''LegendOfDragoon'' and ''VideoGame/VandalHearts 2'', would detect if you had a mod-chip (which lets you play imported or copied games) in your system, and then the game would not play and a message to call a place to report the problem would come up on screen. What it boiled down to was that people who had mod chips and COULD pirate the games but DIDN'T could not play the games they bought legitimately. It was probably an attempt to get people to abandon their mod chip consoles; guess what they abandoned instead?
* ''VideoGame/RobotOdyssey'', an Electrical-Engineering-based adventure game by the Learning Company, utilized copy protection by checking the 5.25" disk for a "flaky bit". If the bit was not found, the player's ability to solder connections in the robots of the main game was disabled, rendering the game [[UnwinnableByDesign unwinnable]]. However, the copy protection was never disclosed in the manual and the flaky bit had a tendency to "settle" over time, meaning that many users found their legitimate games impossible to play past the third level.
* On certain emulators, ''Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak'' would not go past the character-naming screen.
* ''La Abadía del Crimen'', a 1987 adventure game by Spanish publisher Opera Soft, based on Umberto Eco's ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', required the player to assist to daily matins. In the original game, a recorded version of ''Ave María'' would play during these sequences. However, if the game detected a pirate copy was running, the song would be replaced by an echoing voice saying "Pirata, Pirata, Pirata" and locking up the computer.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' games always avert this, and most fangames follow suit. However, the fangame ''Touhou Unreal Mahjong'' requires a serial key for online multiplayer, which supposedly allows one user account per serial key as opposed to the usual one computer per serial key, so that the same key can be used as many times as you want as long as you still play on the same user account. The game is completely playable in single-player mode without a serial key.
* ''MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' locks up at the file select screen. That was quickly patched, though. It also had a couple, lesser-known ones: The tutorial battle with Bowser will go on forever because Bowser won't attack and Toadsworth won't do a tutorial which is required to progress (even if you say no to his offer). A second one occurs with another tutorial battle with a Goombule which won't progress because Starlow won't do a tutorial.
* {{Ubisoft}}'s [=uPlay=] [[InternetBackdraft has caused so much controversy]] that it deserves a mention. While its other purpose is to allow their games to include supplemental unlockable content, [=uPlay=] on ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' and ''VideoGame/TheSettlers VII'' initally required you to remain online during play, and if even the slightest connectivity hitch occurs, ''you would be booted off from a game and lose any unsaved progress''. ''Assassin's Creed II'' and ''Splinter Cell Conviction'' have since had the always-online requirement removed; the games must now "only" access the Internet each time they start up.
** Additionally, in ''Assassin's Creed II,'' the DRM is very poorly implemented. People who pirate the game report that it's an excellent porting job and runs as you would expect it to on any given level of hardware. People who buy it often report that the game's performance is dodgy at best, with inexplicable drops at random times in frames per second.
** All of their confidence in spite of the fact that -- quite predictably now -- it's already been leaked few days before the release.
*** [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome And a month and half later]], [[http://www.neowin.net/news/skid-row-hacks-assassin039s-creed-2-drm this happens.]]
** And how it fares towards the legit customers? [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98927-Ubisoft-DRM-Authentication-Servers-Go-Down The servers used for this scheme went down not even a week after release]], making the games ''unplayable at all'' for these poor souls. Ubisoft [[InternetBackdraft might better prepare a barbecue]] if they still insist on carrying this scheme from every single of their PC releases from now on.
*** PCGAMER US starts off their review of [=AC2=] as follows: ''It's brilliant. '''Don't buy it.''''' This is followed by a few paragraphs explaining exactly why they don't like the DRM on it. They also say they considered including this on their final review score, but decided to only judge the game on the actual gameplay contents and not factor in the DRM.
*** Additionally, the very next issue reviewed two more of Ubisoft's games -- both of which had the exact same DRM -- and actually brought BACK the "Copy Protection" descriptor, putting this in attention-getting RED (which they rarely use there) and actually docking off a few points for the DRM this time around.
** All the fans of Ubisoft-published ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik'' series also got screwed over after purchasing a legit copy of the final ''1946'' collection of the game -- which is heavily protected by SECUROM. Trying to uninstall and reinstall the game for whatever logical reason (including the need to change damaged hardware) will cause the antipirate malware SECUROM to block the game from launching. Fortunately, there are already several easy methods on how to bypass the original install (by making your own copy) and then uninstall it along with SECUROM. '''Fun fact:''' The reason your hardware could mysteriously become damaged in the first place (if your a responsible PC user) is because SECUROM's influence will gradually mess it up, which then comes full circle when you have to pay for new hardware [[AbsurdityAscendant and SECUROM will ban you]] ''[[{{Hypocrite}} from installing the game again on said new hardware]]''.
** ''MightAndMagic'' fans have had a bit of a fun time, too, with the latest installment ''Might and Magic Heroes VI''. Ubisoft's copy protection came in the form of the Dynasty system, which rewards players with leveling items and buffs as they progress through the game. The kicker: Dynasty progress is stored in the online "Conflux". There's an offline mode, but games saved to the Conflux obviously can't be loaded offline. Players with a steady internet connection naturally figured they might as well take advantage of the Dynasty bonuses... and were treated to a series of Conflux outages during prime play-times (including a few weekends and ''the week after Christmas'') for a while after the game's release.
** All the backlash has led to ''RaymanOrigins'' not containing any DRM. Just to tell the infamy of the debacle, the game's Steam page explicitly mentions the '''lack''' of DRM.
** More recently, a sale on Steam revealed the constant risk of this kind of DRM: The flood of new sales crashed the servers, preventing not only the new gamers from authenticating their games, but also anyone who was trying to play an Ubisoft game tied to this service. The actual DRM (for, say, VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations) is actually not too intrusive, simply requiring a one-time authentication before being available for offline play (multiplayer not working, however, for obvious reasons), making it like the old CD-key authentication. The problem being, it may not be too intrusive, but if the servers keep failing, it doesn't matter. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, with some of the more paranoid gamers suggesting this was just as [[Creator/ValveSoftware Gabe Newell]] [[JustAsPlanned planned]]...
* ElectronicArts tried the same thing as Ubisoft with ''CommandAndConquer 4: Tiberian Twilight''. While it didn't bring up as much bad press as it was in Ubisoft's case, there were some people complaining about it nonetheless, ''[[http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/03/26/0653202/EA-Editor-Criticizes-Command-amp-Conquer-4-DRM and that includes one of EA's own employees]]''.
** It should be noted that several companies, including Ubisoft, have previously tried to convince Microsoft and Sony to let them release console games that would require the player to be connected to Xbox Live or the Playstation Network at all times, irrespective of whether the game has any online elements. And despite the fact that such a mechanism would probably be far easier to implement on a console than on Windows, both Microsoft and Sony have smacked down such requests each and every time, on the grounds that they don't want to be responsible for [[InternetBackdraft the]] [[InternetCounterattack fallout]] that would inevitably happen. Let's reiterate: Sony, who ''love'' locking up everything harder than Fort Knox, using proprietary solutions wherever they can, and who have in the years attracted a lot of hatred due to their [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal boneheaded antipiracy measures]], [[EveryoneHasStandards have rejected Ubisoft's project]]. You'd think this would be an eye opener in and of itself for Ubisoft...
*** That certainly didn't stop {{Capcom}} of all things [[http://www.capcom-unity.com/ask_capcom/go/thread/view/7371/23158177/Why_does_Final_Fight_Double_Impact_require_me_to_be_in_PSN pulling off that dirty trick on the consoles]]. At least the [[http://www.giantbomb.com/news/bionic-commando-rearmed-2-psn-requires-an-internet-connection/2895/ second time]] they did it, they said it required a PSN login right on the description. (And it still only affects the PS3).
**** [[http://wii.ign.com/articles/117/1172319p2.html That type of copy protection actually is allowed by Microsoft and Sony]], but only on download titles -- even then, however, the game has to go through a more rigorous validation process than usual, which is why most game developers don't do it. However, Ubisoft (among others) have repeatedly demanded to be allowed to implement this type of protection on ''disc-based'' games, which is silly when you consider that a significant amount of people still go without internet connections on their consoles. Fortunately, both Microsoft and Sony both have more sense than the developers in question, and still refuse to allow them to do so.
** Ubisoft tried to guard against the first ''VideoGame/{{Assassins Creed|I}}'' being leaked by deliberately introducing a performance-degrading bug into the code, to be removed only when the game was sent to be mass-produced. Unfortunately, they didn't actually tell anyone, so when the bugged version was inevitably leaked, it considerably hurt their sales because the pirates spread through word of mouth to potential legitimate buyers that the game had [[PortingDisaster terrible performance even on high-end computers.]]
*** [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/adam-orths-always-on-twitter-gaffe Adam Orth, former director of Microsoft Creative Services, expressed support for EVERYTHING on the next Xbox console requiring a constant Internet connection for DRM purposes.]] [[InternetBackdraft The Internet's response was predictable]], [[Internet Counterattack as was the termination of his employment.]] Microsoft as a whole considers Orth an embarrassment.
* ''SOCOM: U.S. Navy [=SEALs=] Fireteam Bravo 3'' forces you to pay 20$ to play online on pirated '''or''' second hand copies. And it didn't take long to crack it, which makes this PSP copy protection irritating as it was preceded a month before by...
* ...the initial Japanese release of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep''. Why? At the time of the game's release, no one fully cracked the 6.20 firmware, which the game requires. The game was released in early January; it took until early March for a major cracking progress. Yeah.
* ''LordOfTheRings: The Battle For Middle Earth'' contained a rather unique form of anti-piracy. About ten minutes in, if the game decided your copy was pirated, your entire army would self-destruct, resulting in a GameOver. Caused some problems because bugs resulted in the game doing this to even legal copies sometimes.
* ''Bonetown'', an HGame by western gamers, has been noted for being "Uncrackable" despite using only Securom. The big problem? The Securom was rather archaic and was quietly subverted once the Retail Version was released (aka the physical copy) rather then the Direct Download version
* ''TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' had this when you got on the train. The controls for it wouldn't show up so you would end up crashing into another train over and over again in the tutorial section. This was patched. However, even patched versions of the ROM will ''absolutely not save'' your game, although it looks like the game is saving.
* Hackers had a field day when it came to ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''. Any pirated copies of the game would erase any saved data upon restarting, as well as not including any random encounter enemies whatsoever.
** The above "save data erasure" assumes that the game even saves correctly (notably, on a LOT of cards, the game automatically stops saving halfway and states "save failed", and then deletes the failed save data when you attempt to load it), which turns out to be the least of your issues when you realize that the "random encounters" are actually required to stand a remote chance of making it through one round of a boss battle (Tool Assisted Superplay notwithstanding). [[NintendoHard Not that anyone who plays]] [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei these games]] [[NintendoHard hasn't figured that out before getting this one.]]
* ''Mirror's Edge'' on PC had copy protection in the form of a game-breaking bug that tripped in the third stage, slowing Faith to literally a snail's pace, rendering it impossible to jump the requisite gap to continue with the game. A second fix was made to address this.
* Pro Tools, an audio-editing suite currently used by the majority of the music industry, has gone back to the "piece of hardware" method. You can pirate the software all you like... But unless you have an "[=MBox=]" plugged into your computer, the program will start to load, put up an error window that says something on the order of "ha ha ha", and close again. Used versions of the [=MBox=] 1 go for something like $200 on the secondary market; [=MBox=] ''3''s are worse. Oh, and, let's not even ''start'' on the "[=iLok=]" dongle.
** Though, if someone in the music industry is committing piracy, well, [[{{Hypocrite}} they have alot to answer for.]]
*** What does [[HyperboleAndAHalf the poor alot]] have to answer for?? But no, most people ''in'' the music industry are probably good to go. It's the people trying to ''get into'' the music industry -- Indie labels, home-studio owners, JonathanCoulton -- who would be running into this problem.
**** Being poor and not in the industry is still no excuse for piracy, but say that to Avicii, who despite being a '''multi-million dollar''' Producer/DJ, got in trouble for using an obviously pirated copy of Sylenth1 despite having so much money.
** Half-fixed. Starting with Pro Tools 9, Digidesign/Avid allowed the usage of third-party audio interfaces (even one's own sound card, perhaps), so copy protection was shifted to the iLok. They'll still recommend their own equipment, of course...
* ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' came with a code sheet printed in glossy black ink on matte black paper.
* The ''[[EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo Ef: a fairy tale of the two]]'' duology from minori is one of the few visual novels with any sort of copy protection. Strangely, the objective wasn't to stop pirates. Explanation below.
** To start off, you need a valid serial key to install either of the games. After it's entered, the installer begins extracting files from the DVD to the install directory while encrypting them at the same time. This encryption is to prevent the game from running should the files be copied to another machine after an installation and a start up attempted there. This does not stop people from installing the game using the same key and DVD on multiple computers, but it makes them take the extra step of finding a key they can use.
** What the copy protection was supposed to do was prevent people outside of Japan from being able to play either of the games. In addition to the above encryption and the fact that the computer clock must be set to Japanese Standard Time, a Japanese version of Windows XP or above was required to even get the game to run at all.
** All the above did not apply to the demo for the first game. So when FanTranslation group No Name Losers was working on an English localization of both games, they decided to do a combined stand-alone release that was run using a modified version of the demo's exe.
* Fictional example: In ''UserUnfriendly'' by Vivian Vande Velde, the protagonists are playing a pirated copy of Virtual Reality RPG ''Rasmussem''. Unfortunately for them, [[TalkingIsAFreeAction discussing the game]] in front of an NPC initiates an infinite loop in the relevant AI which can only be terminated by a customer service representative.
* The DOS game ''Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse'' featured copy-protection in the form of a question whose answer you needed to look up on a page in the manual in order to start playing. Not only does it give you the page of the manual and what number word it is, it also gives you the heading of that section of the manual and the first letter of the word. Unfortunately, one of the copy-protection questions used an answer that was directly related to the heading and extremely easy to guess: "On page 19, under the heading Sound, enter the ninth word: (first letter is m)" [[WhatAnIdiot (unsurprisingly, the answer is "music")]]. If you answered the question wrong it would simply let you try again with a different question as many times as you wanted, so even if you lost the manual it was easy to just cycle through the questions until you got one you knew or could figure out the answer to (not to mention having the first letter of the words made brute force guesswork much easier).
* ''X3: Reunion'' shipped with [=StarForce=], [[ObviousBeta along with a lot of bugs]]. The players and developers both hated it, and it was removed in a later patch (along with, if memory serves, instructions on how to completely eradicate [=StarForce=] from one's system. The standalone expansion ''X3: Terran Conflict'' shipped with a different DRM package, but it was also ditched in a patch. Egosoft's position is they hate CopyProtection, but publishing contracts require them to use it.
* Similarly, both ''Supreme Commander'' and its expansion came with a disk-check, but it was removed after a couple of patches.
** The copy protection was required by their publisher, THQ, during the short period in between the European and North American launches. Neither the developers nor the community liked the mere presence of the DRM, and it was promptly patched out; in the first patch for the expansion, in fact.
* ''OregonTrail II'' normally has to load the oregon.dat file from the CD drive, but this can be easily circumvented by copying the file to the hard drive and instructing the INI to load it from there.
** This is actually true for most if not all {{Edutainment Game}}s. Their reasoning being 1: the customer base (mostly schools and libraries, as well as parents, who're buying the game for students) needs a way to make a backup of the game, seeing that the media will be mostly handled by kids, and 2: their software are rarely attractive to pirates anyway.
* Most modern CD/DVD-ROM games require the original disc, not a copy, to be present in the drive for the game to run. Such as the aformentioned Safedisc system. Not surprisingly, most of these games have illegal no-CD cracks, although they can be flaky at times.
* Here's one that's both software and hardware at once. A form of copy protection for music [=CDs=] involved making the data initially read by a PC (but, theoretically, not a CD player) intentionally corrupted, which would prevent a PC from copying or even playing the CD. Which would have been brilliant, if not for the fact that you could use a Sharpie marker to physically prevent a PC from reading the corrupted part, forcing it to start on a working part, allowing you to play your CD on the computer.
** That's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal XCP]].
* Game manuals for Nintendo3DS games include this lovely bit of text: "''[[color:red:Important! Read the Nintendo 3DS operations manual before setup or use of your system.]] This product contains technical protection measures. Use of an unauthorized device or any unauthorized technical modification to your Nintendo 3DS system, '''will''' render this game '''and/or system''' unplayable.''" [[hottip:*:Bolded text is not present in DS, [=DSi=], or WII manuals.]] Yes, Nintendo is putting it right there in the manual that if you attempt to modify your 3DS, they will attempt to brick it via firmware updates. The catch? At least one method of delivering these updates cannot be disabled, and (in theory, at least) all firmware updates must be accepted by the 3DS.
** [[http://gbatemp.net/t284730-3ds-bricking-rumor It may or may not be true.]] Most notably, even though it's impossible to disable the firmware delivery methods, it's illegal in the US and UK for Nintendo to actually ''use'' that delivery method without your consent; firmware updates can ONLY be (legally) installed if you allow them.
** And then there's emulation, which is blocked by the innovations of the system; good luck emulating the 3D screen or the gyroscope.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus_Data_Shield Cactus Data Shield]] uses slight quirks on the disk designed to disrupt some speakers or cause read errors. The result was that it hung on some CD players, or caused other players to repeatedly play a given track.
* ''VideoGame/SiN'' encrypted the music files, to prevent them from being played outside of the game.
* The first ''{{Happiness}}'' VisualNovel (not the sequel ''Happiness! Re:Lucks'') used a variant of [=StarForce=] that required entering an encryption key. It was the only VisualNovel to use [=StarForce=] to date.
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' adventure games are free via the BBC website to UK residents. Everybody else is required to pay. In order to prevent unauthorized users, they use two forms of "protection". First, the BBC website will check whether your IP is local before allowing you to download the game -- and even if you manage to get around this via a proxy (or have someone else send you the game), it will "phone home" when you attempt to install it to check it again.
* The Interactive Fiction game ''Guess the Verb'' parodies Copy Protection. During the "SCRUTINIZE" scenario, the player has to find the exact button out of thousands for a coffeemaker that will make the coffee required to calm the nerves of a mad scientist. When the coffeemaker is examined, the game sarcastically mentions how the correct button is located on an included feelie, and any player who bought the game can go through with ease while people who downloaded it illegally off the Internet will die to the mad scientist's scheme. However, this is pure parody: this is a {{Freeware}} game and no such feelie really exists. The warning phrase is a RedHerring and the puzzle is solvable regularly.
* Possibly the most cruel example is in the Japanese DatingSim ''Cross Days''. Shortly after its release, fake pirated copies began circulating on the Internet. Playing one of these copies would prompt an online questionnaire, and if the player filled it out, [[DisproportionateRetribution it would be posted online, publicly exposing them as a pervert]].
** The funny thing about this one is that in the Terms of Service for the fake pirated copies, it specifically states that ''it is not a real copy of the game''. Basically, it tells you that you're playing a fake. But since no one ever reads the Terms of Service...
** It's worse than that. The game ''took a picture of your laptop'' and ''posted it online''. This exposed one unfortunate pirate as a reader of pornography involving sexually-deviant plants.
* ''DevilSurvivor2'' has an anti-piracy routine during the fight against Dubhe. Dubhe has StoryDrivenInvulnerability and is totally invincible until a cutscene where [[spoiler:Daichi hits it with a truck, slashing its HP and making it weak to just about everything]]. However, if a pirated copy of the game is played, the cutscene will not occur. And while the original objective of the mission is to ''escape'' from Dubhe, reaching the escape point triggers said cutscene... and nothing else. The game may as well just shut itself off there, because no progress can be made.
* The developers of ''Game Dev Tycoon'' purposely released a cracked version of their game via torrent in addition to a "legal" paid version. Both versions of the game were the same, except the cracked version has virtual pirates ruin the player's company financially after playing for a while. Cue those players asking how to prevent their company from going under and the developer noting the irony. You can read more about their findings [[http://www.greenheartgames.com/2013/04/29/what-happens-when-pirates-play-a-game-development-simulator-and-then-go-bankrupt-because-of-piracy/ here]].

** Website/{{Google}} Maps once included the fictional city of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argleton Argleton]], which was used to catch companies copying from Google's cartography. In reality, Argleton is a series of empty, uninhabited fields.

* CopyProtection/Lucasarts
* CopyProtection/Nintendo
* CopyProtection/Sierra
* CopyProtection/Ubisoft

* ''SiN'' encrypted the music files, to prevent them from being played outside of the game.

* Recently, controversy surrounding the copy protection of the PC version of ''MassEffect'' sprang up. Here's the short version: You're only allowed three activations on a single computer until you have to buy another copy. You don't get back an activation and changing your hardware settings takes one up.

*** MassEffect2 does not use this DRM at all, for those who want to buy this game. [[http://meforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=710074&forum=144 It uses a disc check and doesn't require online authentication.]]

** The developer of ''Game Dev Tycoon'' pretty much did the same thing.

* Like Valve, Blizzard requires players to sign in to Battle.net before they can play their games where some of the newer titles (which currently consists of only VideoGame/{{StarCraft II}} and VideoGame/{{Diablo III}}) are concerned. On the plus side, it also allows you to have multiple installations of the game across many computers and even go cross-platform. On the minus side, well, have fun searching for a wireless hotspot while on vacation somewhere where getting an internet connection is very difficult even if all you wanted to do is to play the single-player campaigns!

* But the DiabloIII screw-up is nothing compared to what happened when Creator/ElectronicArts and Maxis released the 2013 version of ''VideoGame/SimCity''. While they haven't said if the game's "always online" requirement was due to copy protection, it seems very likely, given that hackers have found that the game works perfectly fine offline -- you simply can't save your city. In fact, the game actually allows players to play for twenty minutes offline if they get disconnected because there is a variable disconnect timer that forces the game to quit when it elapses.[[note]]All this despite [[WordOfGod official claims that]] [[LyingCreator it would not be possible to play the game offline without "a significant amount of engineering work"]][[/note]] In any case, many players could not play the game when it came out due to -- again -- server overload. This time, Amazon.com temporarily stopped selling the game, a patch was released that actually cut out several features in an attempt to relieve sever pressure, and EA actually told websites to ''stop advertising the game''.

* Some games like ''MechWarrior'', ''{{Warcraft}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' had special, network-client-only "spawn" installations that you could make many or an unlimited number of on other machines from just one copy and run without the disks (sometimes full versions and/or demos would automatically run in "spawn" mode when you don't pass the copy protection). These needed a full installation on another machine to act as a server, and would sometimes connect only to servers run by the full install from the same copy. Similarly, ''[[VideoGame/{{Diablo}} Diablo II]]'' allowed you to install a "multiplayer Version" with which you could play online, without the cd, but disabled the single-player segment of the game.

* ''CommanderKeen 6'' makes you identify one of the enemies every time you want to start a new game. The enemies are listed in the printed manual.

* Interesting example: communication between ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' games involves an infrared scanner... which is built into the Game Card itself. So using a flashcart means [[SocializationBonus no (local) trading/battling with other players.]] Official Nintendo-sponsored tournaments also require entrants to scan their infrared upon entry, which means only official copies are allowed.

* {{Ubisoft}}'s [=uPlay=] [[InternetBackdraft has caused so much controversy]] that it deserves a mention. While its other purpose is to allow their games to include supplemental unlockable content, [=uPlay=] on ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' and ''TheSettlers VII'' initally required you to remain online during play, and if even the slightest connectivity hitch occurs, ''you would be booted off from a game and lose any unsaved progress''. ''Assassin's Creed II'' and ''Splinter Cell Conviction'' have since had the always-online requirement removed; the games must now "only" access the Internet each time they start up.

** More recently, a sale on Steam revealed the constant risk of this kind of DRM: The flood of new sales crashed the servers, preventing not only the new gamers from authenticating their games, but also anyone who was trying to play an Ubisoft game tied to this service. The actual DRM (for, say, AssassinsCreedRevelations) is actually not too intrusive, simply requiring a one-time authentication before being available for offline play (multiplayer not working, however, for obvious reasons), making it like the old CD-key authentication. The problem being, it may not be too intrusive, but if the servers keep failing, it doesn't matter. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, with some of the more paranoid gamers suggesting this was just as [[Creator/ValveSoftware Gabe Newell]] [[JustAsPlanned planned]]...

** The original ''AgeOfEmpires'' did this one too, the number of original discs varying with the number of players. An eight-player game would require a minimum of three actual discs; the other five could all be spawns.

* Like Valve, Blizzard requires players to sign in to Battle.net before they can play their games where some of the newer titles (which currently consists of only StarCraft2 and VideoGame/{{Diablo III}}) are concerned. On the plus side, it also allows you to have multiple installations of the game across many computers and even go cross-platform. On the minus side, well, have fun searching for a wireless hotspot while on vacation somewhere where getting an internet connection is very difficult even if all you wanted to do is to play the single-player campaigns!
** ''StarCraft II'' has no have localized multiplayer, in a effort to create "[[BlatantLies a more social gaming experience]]", or somesuch.

** Using CD Keys to prevent online play used to be quite common among PC Gaming, and it dates back as far as ''StarCraft''.

**** It is on the back of the box the cases come in, however.
*** Even if you lack the CD case, you can still receive said frequency by contacting Campbell times enough. Even though he would still end up telling you to check the non-existent case, the frequency ends up added in the list either way. Maybe Kojima thought the player could scrap the case at some point and get stuck.

* But the DiabloIII screw-up is nothing compared to what happened when Creator/ElectronicArts and Maxis released the 2013 version of ''VideoGame/SimCity''. While they haven't said if the game's "always online" requirement was due to copy protection, it seems very likely, given that hackers have found that the game works perfectly fine offline - you simply can't save your city. In fact, the game actually allows players to play for twenty minutes offline if they get disconnected because there is a variable disconnect timer that forces the game to quit when it elapses.[[note]]All this despite [[WordOfGod official claims that]] [[LyingCreator it would not be possible to play the game offline without "a significant amount of engineering work"]][[/note]] In any case, many players could not play the game when it came out due to - again - server overload. This time, Amazon.com temporarily stopped selling the game, a patch was released that actually cut out several features in an attempt to relieve sever pressure, and EA actually told websites to ''stop advertising the game''.
* The launch of ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' was screwed up, plain and simple, when the single-player offline game shipped with [=SecuROM=] CopyProtection that allowed installation twice, ever, before the customer had to contact support[[hottip:*:it was intended that uninstalling the game properly would give access to another install... turns out this feature didn't actually work]]. In its wake came crashing authentication servers, the customer support of the publisher and of its parent company each referring people to the other, said support demanding photos of the CD and the manual, people in smaller countries being asked to phone the same support - i.e., to make international calls in a foreign language, PR representatives assuaging the public by falsely stating that properly uninstalling the game would give the right to another installation[[hottip:*:they weren't knowingly lying; this was one of [=SecuROM's=] intended features]], finding out that installing on another account or making what [=SecuROM=] deems to be a significant hardware change counts, the protection disrupting other programs if they look like the sort that might be used for cracking, the demo coming with [=SecuROM=] - without activation - when it acknowledgedly has no reason to do so, and [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking halitosis]]. It would've been nice to tell about the limit beforehand, too. Others are cool with that and just dislike having unannounced, nonconsensual, unremovable data on their computers. Some parts of [=SecuROM=] don't like being told to leave.

** Apple has something similar going on. You have to 'authorize' a new machine in order to use the iTunes Store, or play your downloaded tracks, or... something. Whatever it is, you only get five of them - and if you didn't hit 'deauthorize' before that old hard drive died, that's your own fault.

** And if the player DOES defeat the Death Crawlers- which you have to be pretty pro to do and practically playing on Easy- the VERY LAST LEVEL glitches so that Ray stands there slimegunning a wall and refuses to follow you, rendering you unable to continue. That's right. It lets you play the whole game, except the ending. The game is UnWinnable if you have a pirate copy or a false-positive legit copy.

** Unfortunately they were forced to in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. However, the copy protection only denies you running the Fallout Launcher, you can still launch the game from the game's directory.

** On early pirated copies of ''{{Sonic CD}}'', instead of booting up the game it would instead show [[http://tcrf.net/images/1/12/SonicCDsega.png one of the creepy screens from the sound test]].

*** This game was allowed as a demo in many stores. The same message would play in the demos. The method of the Copy Protection was that the game would have around a 30-45% chance of a random check to see if the game was a proper game... each time you changed rooms in the dungeons. The demos were only given a certain amount of game memory and that did not include the key to stop the Copy Protection from activating. This truely was a great AP due to the way it confused so many Pirates.

** ''[[LovePlus Love Plus+ ]]'' made it impossible to get past the first part of the game IN ADDITION to making it impossible to gain hearts in the main part of the game, effectively making the game unplayable on flashcarts. Apparently, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything if you're too cheap to pay for your virtual girlfriends,]] they will dump you.

** Other games that included protection: ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'', ''GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars'' and other major titles.

* In the classic adventure game ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' Marcus would ask Indy to translate some symbols for him, which would need to be looked up in the manual. Failing to do so would let the game continue as normal - until a crucial point where Indy, at Donovan's place, would fail to translate a tablet concerning the Holy Grail (Indy mistakenly translates it as "Holy Grain"), prompting Donovan to say "Seems you're just an illegitimate copy of the man I thought you were."

* As mentioned above, the original ''RailroadTycoon'' had you identify a railway engine at the start of the game. If you chose the wrong name, the game would confiscate all but two of your trains and make you unable to run more normally (though - perhaps due to a bug - clicking at the bottom of the train list actually allows you to view the lost train and buy it back by replacing its engine).
* ''F-19 Stealth Fighter'': if you failed to identify the plane the game showed you, the game forced you to go on a "training mission" with preset equipment instead of allowing you to choose your mission, plane or ammunition.

* At first glance, the computer game ''Master of Orion'' used a simple "What spaceship is this?" manual copy protection. However, if the game executable was modified to remove the protection altogether, [[MagnificentBastard the game would detect the alteration of its code and become so difficult as to be virtually unplayable!]][[hottip:* :This is probably due to the copy protection itself actually setting some key variables that are initialized to such absurd values, not unlike the Slylandro Probe and Starbase [[GameBreakingBug thing]] that attempts to convince players to go to the Starbase first.]]

* The 1988 Microprose game ''RedStormRising'' would give you the profile view of a ship and ask you to identify it; all the requisite information was in the manual. Of course, if you're as big enough of a naval geek... [[SomedayThisWillComeInHandy guns in back, smokestack, missile pack]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krivak_class_frigate Krivak]]. Or you could just use Wikipedia nowadays.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUCyvw4w_yk A sequel]] recently came out, and while it's musically more advanced , the message is still not as clear as the creators intended. Case in point: [[http://sati1984.tumblr.com/post/202537346/this-video-alone-is-going-to-increase-the-rate-of this YouTube comment]] and [[http://www.retrothing.com/2009/09/stunning-sequel-to-dont-copy-that-floppy.html this Retro Thing article]], the latter providing an excellent analysis of the video.
* Maxis' ''TheSims 3'' has recently been leaked on line several weeks early, giving many players a sneak peek at the game's functionality. EA caught wind of this pretty quickly, saying that the leaked version was missing half the game's content and was glitched to hell, and instead of hunting down every single person who's downloaded the game and preventing them from accessing the game altogether, has settled on telling them they're running an unauthorized version and pleading them to buy the full version to get extra content. Which is surprisingly fair, considering this is ''EA'' we're talking about here.
** In actual fact, the retail copies of the game are missing this same half of the game's content as well, in the form of an extra city that is offered as a download upon registering the game. It should be noted however, that the common leaked version is apparently 17 builds behind the retail version, as found by reading information about the first patch for the game, which for some reason this information was already uploaded to EA's servers.\\

Also, thanks to the [=SecuROM=] situation, EA decided to scale back this games' copy protection to the traditional CD check and serial number that the earlier games used. Unfortunately, the direct download version of the game still sports SecuROM copy protection, limiting users to 5 installations per copy.

** The conclusion: any CopyProtection not working explicitly is self-defeating. Most people won't bother to investigate on their own why this or that software happened to be buggy or crappy, ever. So unless users can openly admit what they tried and compare, this buries the reputation of an original, not a bootleg copy -- they haven't any separate reputations if no one mentions them.

* The SegaDreamcast game ''OogaBooga'' had an interesting CopyProtection mechanism: If it detected that you were playing a burned copy, instead of starting the game it would show an in-game pirate character that would dance when you pressed any button on the controller. The group who released the pirated ISO left this in, but made it continue to the actual game when the player pressed Start.

* The ''DragonBall'' video game trilogy known as "Legacy of Goku" (And the spiritual sequel, ''GT: Transformation'') had its form of copy protection wherein a message popped up at a certain point saying "this game cannot be played on this hardware" and wouldn't go away, should it detect that it isn't a legit copy (Although there are rumours of some retail copies having this problem as well). Perhaps stupid is the fact that [[WhatAnIdiot later versions of the emulator Visual Boy Advance decided to emulate this form of copy protection]], making playing the games on that emulator ''extremely'' difficult.

* Not strictly CopyProtection, but more like ''incredibly'' failtastic programming: Capcom's ''MegamanBattleNetwork 4: [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo Blue Moon]]'' has issues the Red Sun version doesn't exhibit which make the game virtually unplayable on anything except the original Gameboy Advance hardware. One unavoidable section of the game causes the entire game to slow to a near halt (the music remains normal, however) if you open the menu or encounter enemies. The game will eventually bring itself back to normal speed, but this glitch turns what should easily be a 15 minute at most scenario into something that can take up to an entire day to complete.
** There was a Super NES game that ''accidentally'' implemented copy protection: the game program had a bug which, by sheer dumb luck, caused it to depend on extremely precise timing of the SNES cartridge - play it on a copier or emulator, and the slight timing change would crash the game.

* Some games on the original PlayStation, such as ''LegendOfDragoon'' and ''VideoGame/VandalHearts 2'', would detect if you had a mod-chip (which lets you play imported or copied games) in your system, and then the game would not play and a message to call a place to report the problem would come up on screen. What it boiled down to was that people who had mod chips and COULD pirate the games but DIDN'T could not play the games they bought legitimately. It was probably in an attempt to get people to abandon their mod chip consoles, guess what they abandoned instead?
* ''VideoGame/RobotOdyssey'', an Electrical-Engineering-based adventure game by the Learning Company utilized copy protection by checking the 5.25" disk for a "flaky bit". If the bit was not found, the player's ability to solder connections in the robots of the main game was disabled, rendering the game [[UnwinnableByDesign unwinnable]]. However, the copy protection was never disclosed in the manual and the flaky bit had a tendency to "settle" over time, meaning that many users found their legitimate games impossible to play past the third level.
* On certain emulators ''Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak'' would not go past the character-naming screen.

* ''MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' locks up at the file select screen. That was quickly patched, though. It also had a couple, lesser known ones: The tutorial battle with Bowser will go on forever because Bowser won't attack and Toadsworth won't do a tutorial which is required to progress (even if you say no to his offer). A second one occurs with another tutorial battle with a Goombule which won't progress because Starlow won't do a tutorial.
* {{Ubisoft}}'s [=uPlay=] [[InternetBackdraft caused much controversy]] that it deserves a mention. While its other purpose is to allow their games to include supplemental unlockable content, [=uPlay=] on ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' and ''TheSettlers VII'' initally required you to remain online during play, and if shall even a slightest connectivity hitch to occur, ''you would be booted off from a game and lose any unsaved progress''. ''Assassin's Creed II'' and ''Splinter Cell Conviction'' have since had the always-online requirement removed; the games must now "only" access the Internet each time they start up.

** All of their confidence in spite of the fact that - quite predictably now - it's already been leaked few days before the release.

*** Additionally, the very next issue reviewed two more of Ubisoft's games - both of which had the exact same DRM - and actually brought BACK the "Copy Protection" descriptor, putting this in attention-getting RED (which they rarely use there) and actually docking off a few points for the DRM this time around.
** All the fans of Ubisoft-published ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik'' series also got screwed over after purchasing a legit copy of the final ''1946'' collection of the game - which is heavily protected by SECUROM. Trying to uninstall and reinstall the game for whatever logical reason (including the need to change damaged hardware) will cause the antipirate malware SECUROM to block the game from launching. Fortunately, there are already several easy methods on how to bypass the original install (by making your own copy) and then uninstall it along with SECUROM. '''Fun fact :''' The reason your hardware could mysteriously become damaged in the first place (if your a responsible PC user) is because SECUROM's influence will gradually mess it up, which then comes full circle when you have to pay for new hardware [[AbsurdityAscendant and SECUROM will ban you]] ''[[{{Hypocrite}} from installing the game again on said new hardware]]''.

** More recently, a sale on Steam revealed the constant risk of this kind of DRM: The flood of new sales crashed the servers, preventing not only the new gamers from authenticating their games, but also anyone who was trying to play an Ubisoft game tied to this service. The actual DRM (for, say, AssassinsCreedRevelations) is actually not too intrusive, simply requiring a one time authentication before being available for offline play (multiplayer not working, however, for obvious reasons), making it like the old CD-key authentication. The problem being, it may not be too intrusive, but if the servers keep failing, it doesn't matter. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, with some of the more paranoid gamers suggesting this was just as [[Creator/ValveSoftware Gabe Newell]] [[JustAsPlanned planned]]...
* ElectronicArts tried the same thing as Ubisoft with ''CommandAndConquer 4: Tiberian Twilight''. While it didn't bring up as much bad press as it was in Ubisoft's case, there were some people complaining about nonetheless, ''[[http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/03/26/0653202/EA-Editor-Criticizes-Command-amp-Conquer-4-DRM and that includes one of EA's own employees]]''.
** It should be noted that several companies, including Ubisoft, have previously tried to convince Microsoft and Sony to let them release console games that would require the player to be connected to Xbox Live or the Playstation Network at all times, irrespective of whether the game has any online elements. And despite the fact that such a mechanism would probably be far easier to implement on a console than on Windows, both Microsoft and Sony have smacked down such requests each and every time, on the grounds that they don't want to be responsible for the fallout that would inevitably happen. Let's reiterate: Sony, who ''love'' locking up everything harder than Fort Knox, using proprietary solutions wherever they can, and who have in the years attracted a lot of hatred due to their [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal boneheaded antipiracy measures]], [[EveryoneHasStandards have rejected Ubisoft's project]]. You'd think this would be an eye opener in and of itself for Ubisoft...
*** That certainly didn't stop {{Capcom}} of all things [[http://www.capcom-unity.com/ask_capcom/go/thread/view/7371/23158177/Why_does_Final_Fight_Double_Impact_require_me_to_be_in_PSN pulling off that dirty trick on the consoles]]. At least the [[http://www.giantbomb.com/news/bionic-commando-rearmed-2-psn-requires-an-internet-connection/2895/ Second time]] they did it, they said it required a PSN login right on the description. (And it still only affects the PS3)

* ''LordOfTheRings: The Battle For Middle Earth'' contained a rather unique form of anti-piracy. About ten minutes in, if the game decided our copy was pirated, your entire army would self destruct resulting in a game over. Caused some problems because bugs resulted in the game doing this to even legal copies sometimes.

* ''Mirror's Edge'' on PC had copy protection in the form of a game-breaking bug that tripped in the third stage, slowing Faith to literally a snails pace, rendering it impossible to jump the requisite gap to continue with the game. A second fix was made to address this.

*** What does [[HyperboleAndAHalf the poor alot]] have to answer for?? But no, most people ''in'' the music industry are probably good to go. It's the people trying to ''get into'' the music industry--Indie labels, home-studio owners, JonathanCoulton--who would be running into this problem.
**** Being poor and not in the industry is still no excuse for piracy, but say that who Avicii, who despite being a '''multi-million dollar''' Producer/DJ got in trouble for using an obviously pirated copy of Sylenth1 despite having so much money.

* ''X3: Reunion'' shipped with [=StarForce=], [[ObviousBeta along with a lot of bugs]]. The players and developers both hated it, and it was removed in a later patch (along with, if memory serves, instructions on how to completely eradicate [=StarForce=] from one's system. The standalone expansion ''X3: Terran Conflict'' shipped with a different DRM package, but it was also ditched in a patch. Egosoft's position is they hate CopyProtection but publishing contracts require them to use it.
* Similarly, both ''Supreme Commander'' and its expansion came with a disk-check but it was removed after a couple of patches.
** The copy protection was required by their publisher, THQ, during the short period in between the European and North American launches. Neither the developers nor the community liked the mere presence of the DRM, and it was promptly patched out; in the first patch for the expansion in fact.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' adventure games are free via the BBC website to UK residents. Everybody else is required to pay. In order to prevent unauthorized users, they use two forms of "protection". First, the BBC website will check whether your IP is local before allowing you to download the game - and even if you manage to get around this via a proxy (or have someone else send you the game), it will "phone home" when you attempt to install it to check it again.

* Possibly the most cruel example is in the Japanese DatingSim ''Cross Days''. Shortly after its release, fake pirated copies began circulating on the Internet. Playing one of these copies would prompt an online questionnaire, and if the player filled it out [[DisproportionateRetribution it would be posted online, publickly exposing them as a pervert]].

* ''DevilSurvivor2'' has an anti-piracy routine during the fight against Dubhe. Dubhe has StoryDrivenInvulnerability and is totally invincible until a cutscene where [[spoiler:Daichi hits it with a truck, slashing its HP and making it weak to just about everything]]. However, if a pirated copy of the game is played, the cutscene will not occur. And while the original objective of the mission is to ''escape'' from Dubhe, reaching the escape point triggers said cutscene...and nothing else. The game may as well just shut itself off there, because no progress can be made.

** This is actually a fairly common practice among map publishers. Many map makers use [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_street trap streets]] to incriminate anyone who might copy their maps directly. These are single or non-existent streets with false names...which means any map that has that false street has copied their map.