Clever Anti-Piracy Measures

This may be the best anti-piracy system ever. But what are some other ones you've seen that you find amusing?

I can tell you... from experience... that the eye-patch thing didn't happen to me.

I've bought it now btw.

edited 29th Apr '13 8:44:55 PM by ZekeFreek

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the best anti-piracy measure was questions at startup that can only be answered by a manual. Sadly, the Internet made that copy-protection obsolete in this day and age.

Couldn't that screw up rentals/used buyers as well?

Yeah, but they weren't a concern back when this method saw it's heyday; back in the days of DOS.

that game linked in that article...I read the blog post that the article linked to and in that post, they say they're against DRM. But they're also imposing a 3 install limit onto the game, which kinda goes against their message. At least, I *think* it's an install limit.

Oh this is like an improved version of Game Dev Story by Kairosoft. I so gonna buy this.

Wasn't there a Leisure Suit Larry game where you had to type in at one point whether the perfumed cards that came with the game reak of piss, shit or some other natsy stuff?

I think we're all forgetting the Fairy from the original (the only good) Spyro games.

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver stopped you from gaining experience if you pirated (until someone cracked that out, of course).

FireRed and LeafGreen have the guy who checks your ticket for the S.S. Anne tell you that, if you like the game, you should buy it or die.

There was also that Michael Jackson game with the vuvzuelas drowning out the music if you pirated.

edited 30th Apr '13 12:12:36 AM by burnpsy

You mean this?

Ha! Shows what you know, stupid fairy! My emulator totally smoothed over the jaggies! The game is actually much better hacked!

edited 30th Apr '13 12:13:08 AM by ShirowShirow

Yeah yeah, the fairy.

Just read the article. The funniest bit is how people who pirated the game are complaining they aren't making any money due to pirates and trying to get help on preventing it.

That's what makes it Art.

Reminds me of the DRM in Batman Arkham Asylum.

The subtle DRM would make Batman unable to glide, instead falling into poison gas. When pirates complained on the official forums (BEFORE THE GAME WAS RELEASE ON PC, NO LESS), Rocksteady replied:

edited 30th Apr '13 9:24:55 AM by JAF1970

heh. The game gave me a an Achievement for buying the game and not stealing it.

That's awesome.

Serious Sam 3 pink scorpion OF DEATH!

Incidentally, if this was a clever attempt at marketing the game, it's worked in one case (mine). Yesterday I had never heard of this game, and now I'm buying it as much for the sheer audacity of the prank as for the fact that the game sounds fun in and of itself

Oh, I played Game Dev Story on iOS for a year. The PC version seems a lot fuller.

I'm probably gonna buy this at some point now, most likely when it's on sale. Yes, it doesn't cost much anyway but I'm not gonna buy a brand new game when I have so much else to play right now.

How many brand new games cost $8?

Not many. I'm not saying it's expensive, I'm saying it's a waste when you have other games to play and patience to wait for it.

I want to get that game pirated, just to see if I can blast through the piracy and still come out with a profit in game.

In other news, I heard of one game (can't remember which game, sorry), that required you to dunk a piece of paper with the box in water in one specific point, to reveal a code. The clue was cryptic, but it was a copy of an in game letter. It was also re-released as a downloadable on the Wii, where you now have to go into the in game manual and find a code.

That was some cool anti piracy measures right there.

I remember hearing about what happened if you played Earthbound on a copied or otherwise pirated cartridge. At start-up, the player would be outright told that copying games is a serious crime and stopped.

But with some hacking, it's possible to get past the piracy-control and play the game. However, the designers implemented several "checks" to see if you were hacking, and made it so that if it picked up that you were hacking...

...you were suddenly in Hard Mode.

Monster encounters goes through the roof, making the game a whole lot harder. But it is still possible to play, and for those who are hardy enough to make it all the way to the final boss, it's even got a prize. At the very moment the boss battle enters the final, most famous, phase...

...it crashes your game, forcing you to reset. And then it deletes your save data.

Right there, at the very end of the game, when you are about to face the final hurdle and see the renowned, nay, legendary final boss battle and witness the ending, it snatches it all away. This amuses me.

The issue with sneaky anti-piracy measures is that you risk the punchline going over their heads, them just thinking that you made a glitched-up game, and thinking "Boy, am I glad I didn't pay for this pile of junk!"

Sometimes a sledgehammer gets the point across more effectively than a booby trap.

Of course, you could go the sneaky method, and then put a message going the sledgehammer route into the game over screen.

edited 30th Apr '13 11:27:21 AM by Enlong