Posted on Monday, December 01 2008 @ 20:50 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Rockstar Games
unveiled the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV will use the controversial SecuROM 7 anti-piracy technology. GTA4's DRM implementation isn't as bad as in EA's Spore, but it will still be pretty annoying:
Unlike EA's titles, GTA IV will not have a limit on the number of computers it can be installed on according to Rockstar's initial statements on the topic. Rockstar defends its decision to jump on the DRM bandwagon in the online gaming site IGN.com, stating in an interview, "We invest a considerable amount of time and effort to release each title, and employ a large number of people in the process. Having copy protection allows us to protect the integrity or our titles and future investments… SecuROM is the most effective form of disc based copy protection and allows us to manage authenticity on a global level for Grand Theft Auto IV."
Another consolation, according to Rockstar is that the system will now allow gamers to get a code to activate their games on a different computer. This will allow users without home internet to activate their titles.
There are definitely some downsides to Rockstar's implementation as well. Unlike Spore's implementation of SecuROM 7, you will always need Disc 1 of the game in the drive in order to play it, probably due to the looser installation restrictions. Also, if you upgrade any of your major system hardware such as graphics cards, RAM, or the processor you will need to reauthenticate the game.
