History MediaNotes / DigitalRightsManagement

* [[UsefulNotes/CopyProtection Copy]] [[CopyProtection Protection]] - wherein measures are created to prevent users from copying floppies, [=CDs=], [=DVDs=], or other media.

* UsefulNotes/UserOperationProhibitFlag - a user can't skip past certain portions of a video CD or DVD.

In the United States, the UsefulNotes/DigitalMillenniumCopyrightAct outlaws the use of mechanisms for bypassing or circumventing DRM; other jurisdictions' laws vary.

Needless to say, reasoned discussion can be... difficult to come by, and much like the MediaNotes/ConsoleWars, DRM as a subject of conversation is best avoided if you're not wearing a nice [[FlameWar flame-proof jacket]]. An important issue with UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution, since there's no "physical" copy in the first place.

If you hear the word in general conversation, it's most likely specifically referring to the CopyProtection placed by copyright holders on digital audio and video files -- restrictions on converting from one format to another, how many and what kinds of different devices the media can be played on, and so forth. One widespread example of this type of DRM is DVD UsefulNotes/RegionCoding, which restricts playback of a DVD to a player marked with the same region code as the disc.

Needless to say, reasoned discussion can be... difficult to come by, and much like the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars, DRM as a subject of conversation is best avoided if you're not wearing a nice [[FlameWar flame-proof jacket]]. An important issue with UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution, since there's no "physical" copy in the first place.

* UsefulNotes/RegionCoding - a piece of software from another locale can't be run on your machine.

* Creator/{{Capcom}} uses the Engima Protector on their [=PC=] games as the instance of anti-modding and anti-cheating, [[WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings/VideoGames after giving bad publicity]] for the [[VideoGame/StreetFighter6 nude mod incident]], as well for [[VideoGame/StreetFighterV unfair plays aganist vanilla players]] and [[VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld corrupting vanilla saves with modded quests]], [[ScrewedByTheLawyers/VideoGames in addition for taking down mods of their games]].

Not to be confused with "DRM"[[labelnote:*]]Direct Rendering Manager, i.e. the component supporting graphics hardware acceleration[[/labelnote]] in UsefulNotes/{{Linux}}.

* So far the only DRM schema to avoid a ton of flak is UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, but it's not without its vocal opponents and it launched to a shaky start. But aside from the initial online activation, Steam is fairly transparent and also standardised the "Offline Mode" so you can still play your games if you lose connection, which other launchers followed suit in adding. The mode only lasts two weeks, so if you're going to go without internet for much longer than that, make sure you can arrange to get access to the internet before the two weeks are up. The only issue people take in terms of their DRM Policies is that Valve still allows third party DRM on top of Steamworks, (which is not ''just'' for DRM, but also includes native support for Steam achievements and other features), which people aren't too happy about. However, some games ''are'' available on Steam that are DRM-free, and thus can be played by launching the game executable directly regardless of whether Steam is running or even if you have an Internet connection at all; ''VideoGame/EtherVapor'', ''VideoGame/LaMulana''[[note]]Although as noted by the developers, this will disable unlocking achievements[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/{{Satazius}}'' are such games, though indie developers are more likely to do DRM-free games than others from larger studio's. Unfortunately, you are never given any official indication as to whether the game you're purchasing is protected by DRM, or if it's DRM-free, so the only options are to ask other players on social media, or on the game's corresponding Steam forum... or to find out the hard way. Thankfully sites like PC Gaming Wiki have compiled [[http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Big_List_of_DRM-Free_Games_on_Steam a list of DRM-free games]] available on Steam to make things easier for people to know what they're purchasing on Steam is DRM-free or not, as well as any features disabled without running the game through Steam.

* The ''UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem'' used a chip in both the cartridge and the console that would communicate with each other on boot and, if the chip in the cartridge wasn't there or the chip in the console didn't like what it was hearing, it would repeatedly reset the console. Infamously, this is what caused the NES's characteristic "blinking", when crud in the console or cartridge would interfere with this communication and was the cause of ''tons'' of legal battles between Nintendo and other companies who attempted to circumvent this chip to make unlicensed games, such as by making their own bootleg lockout chips, using voltage spikes to knock out the chip in the console, or in [[VideoGame/LittleRedHood one desperate case]] attaching a legitimate game to a dongle on the back of the unlicensed game to ''piggy-back off of the legitimate game's chip''. Later revisions of the console changed how the chip behaved slightly to try and circumvent these unlicensed games (if you ever saw a game with a "use mode b if mode a doesn't work" switch on it, that was to get around these newer revisions) while the top-loader removed the chip altogether for improved functionality. A common and very easy mod for an NES is to open it up and cut pin #4 on the lockout chip, effectively [[CuttingTheKnot preventing it from sending the reset signal to the console]].
* The ''UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo'' used a ''much'' better lockout chip that lacked the annoying flaws presented by the Nintendo Entertainment System and also did a much better job at preventing unlicensed or pirated games. Such a good job, in fact, there was only [[VideoGame/Super3DNoahsArk a single unlicensed game]] ever released on the console in the day, and it had to use the same tactic as ''VideoGame/LittleRedHood'' where you attached a licensed game to it and it piggy-backed off of the licensed game's chip. The lockout chip in the SNES ''was'' eventually cracked and cloned, but only toward the end of the console's lifespan and nowadays bootleg SNES cartridges and mods to disable the chip are cheap and readily available, even on sites like Amazon.
* The ''UsefulNotes/Nintendo64'' took the lockout chip protection to the next level in that it integrated the lockout chip controller into the ASIC that controlled the main parts of the system and knocking it out would outright kill the console. Additionally, games could now poll the console to find out what lockout chip the cartridge has, allowing them to trap potential flash carts and piggyback carts. It took over a decade for the chip to be cracked and cloned.

* Rather (in)famously, the UsefulNotes/XboxOne was originally going to have always-on authentication checks (to the point you would need the internet to play single player games) and a content system that essentially blocked people from playing used games. Gamers protested mightily, culminating in Sony's E3 2013 conference where they basically just said "we're not going to do that stupid crap they're going to do" and got ''massive applause''. Microsoft backpedaled and reverted things to the status quo. Instead, any new from the box consoles (including [[UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS Xbox Series [=X|S=]]]) requires a one-time internet connection to finish the setup process.

* While not exactly [=DRM=] by nature, in 2022, Irdeto (the developer of the aforementioned Denuvo) announced a new middleware for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch (which Nintendo has now officially approved), aptly titled "Nintendo Switch Protection"[[note]]or "NSP" for short, coincidentally also the acronym for "Nintendo Submission Package", the ROM format the Switch uses[[/note]]. The idea is that a game using NSP will check to see if it is being run on an emulator [[note]]as the Switch is so easily hackable that games can be dumped and then used in emulators like Yuzu or Ryujinx; one legitimate reason to use an emulator is to take advantage of more powerful hardware on a PC, as the Switch is ''heavily'' underpowered[[/note]], and if so, will refuse to boot. The only problem with this is that in order to do this, the code has to be running in the background, and considering Denuvo's heavy impact on performance if implemented incorrectly, and the Switch's heavily underpowered hardware, one can only imagine how games with the NSP middleware applied will perform on the Switch.
* UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 slim models requires a one-time internet connection setup to pair the disc drive (with or as a separate option) is due to the [=DMCA=] 17 U.S. Code § 1201 which is illegal to "circumvent a technological measure that controls access to a copyrighted work". However, it is more complicated than it sounds like as switching the disc drives from the other [=PS5=] slim user or reseting the console to factory settings uncheck the disc pairing, requires to reverify the disc drive from the internet connection.

* Games For Windows Live was universally hated when it was in use, being seen as a poor attempt at competing with Steam that only clogged the launching of the games it had under its banner, like ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and the Gamebryo ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games (''[[VideoGame/Fallout3 3]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]''). Add to that GFWL's restriction on running {{Game Mod}}s of any kind, versus the prolific mod fanbase for both the ''GTA'' and ''Fallout'' series, and the end result is you'll hardly see a soul under the sun that doesn't go around GFWL -- most games that used it have since been updated or rereleased in some form to remove it, most commonly just running them through Steam.

* Rather (in)famously, the UsefulNotes/XboxOne was originally going to have always-on authentication checks (to the point you would need the internet to play single player games) and a content system that essentially blocked people from playing used games. Gamers protested mightily, culminating in Sony's E3 2013 conference where they basically just said "we're not going to do that stupid crap they're going to do" and got ''massive applause''. Microsoft backpedaled and reverted things to the status quo. Instead, any new from the box consoles (including [UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS Xbox Series [=X|S=]) requires a one-time internet connection to finish the setup process.

* Rather (in)famously, the UsefulNotes/XboxOne was originally going to have always-on authentication checks (to the point you would need the internet to play single player games) and a content system that essentially blocked people from playing used games. Gamers protested mightily, culminating in Sony's E3 2013 conference where they basically just said "we're not going to do that stupid crap they're going to do" and got ''massive applause''. Microsoft backpedaled and reverted things to the status quo.

* UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 slim models requires a one-time internet connection setup to pair the disc drive (with or as a separate option) is due to the [=DMCA=] 17 U.S. Code § 1201 which is illegal to "circumvent a technological measure that controls access to a copyrighted work".

* Future UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch games placed Denuvo [[https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/denuvo-security-is-now-on-switch-including-new-tech-to-block-pc-switch-emulation/ as an anti-emulation protection, after the emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx lowed the sales of unprotected games.]]