[Infowarrior] - Don't call it DRM

[Richard Forno]

Don't call it DRM: Microsoft explains new gaming piracy tech

Microsoft sat down with Ars at GDC 2009 to announce its upcoming  
additions to the Games for Windows platform, along with more  
protection for publishers. They want you to know that this isn't DRM,  
and they don't think you're a bad person. They just want you to buy  
the games.

By Ben Kuchera | Last updated March 24, 2009 5:17 PM CT

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/03/microsoft-1.ars

Tuesday at GDC Microsoft announced a number of upcoming additions to  
Games for Windows, including stronger protection against piracy, as  
well as some nifty features to make playing your PC games simpler if  
you have multiple systems. There will also be storefront support added  
so publishers can add sales directly into their game. Drew Johnston,  
the product unit manager for the Windows Gaming Platform, and Dave  
Luehmann, GM for Microsoft Game Studios, described to Ars what these  
updates will entail.

You can call it whatever you want—as long as you don't call it DRM.  
"What we have is anti-piracy measures we've put in place. I wouldn't  
quite categorize it as DRM," Johnston tells Ars. "We have zero-day  
piracy protection—this helps reduce the leakage of IP before release.  
The bits are encrypted, and there is a one-time activation that checks  
to see if the game has been released or not, and we'll send out a  
decrypt code so the game can be played."

So if you download a leaked version of a game, or even have a boxed  
copy that was sold prematurely, you won't be able to play until the  
game is unlocked online.

This doesn't help after the game is released; the technology will only  
keep early copies from being enjoyed. "We've heard from publishers  
that preauthorized release before streetdate can... they can lose half  
the sales, the revenue of the game. This is specifically aimed at  
helping reduce that for the publisher."

Johnston is incredibly understanding when it comes to gamers  
downloading early versions of this game, which is a striking change  
from the demonizing you hear from most in the industry. "They want to  
buy the game, they're not pirates, these aren't evil people. They just  
really want to play the game. If we can just keep that excitement  
until street date, they'll actually buy. That's what we want to  
provide."

The second part of this protection is making sure there is a license  
attached to each account, via server-side authentication. You can sign  
in and play your game on as many systems as possible, but you have to  
have a license attached to your account. Of course, this only works  
for online games, and is relatively useless for offline titles. "You  
can install on as many systems as you want... whereever you want to,"  
Johnston says. The game simply authenticates whenever you log into the  
online servers. "This is really IP protection," he says, admitting  
that DRM is a dirty word.

"Whereas traditionally DRM is really about copy protection, what we're  
trying to do is license protection," Johnston clarifies. "Make as many  
copies as you want!" Luehmann stresses.

They tell the story of a publisher who says they'd be the first person  
to put the game on BitTorrent. "If you can't play the game without a  
license, it solves my distribution service, I don't care," they quote  
their source as saying. This again only works with online games, but  
it's funny to think of publishers encouraging gamers to get the game  
via BitTorrent, as long as they buy a key.

Game saves will also soon be saved in the cloud, so you can play, save  
your game at one location, and pick it up at another. There will be  
the ability to sell in-game items directly through the games. Does  
this sound like any other PC gaming platform you know?

"We obviously pay attention to what Steam is doing... in some cases we  
do compete with Steam, and in some areas we'd love to see them  
continue to do what they're doing." They both stress that Steam is  
great for the Windows Gaming ecosystem. "From a Windows platform  
perspective? Steam is fantastic."

I ask about Games for Windows, and Games for Windows Live being more  
deeply integrated into Windows 7 to get gameplay entwined into the OS.  
"Say hello to my friend, the Department of Justice," Luehmann says,  
laughing darkly.