Recall your worst DRM related problem

[SpcyhknBC]

I have to admit that in all my years of PC gaming (~20), I've never actually had a game be unplayable due to DRM. Is intrusive DRM really as much as a problem as people make it out to be, or is the Assassin's Creed "Always-On" DRM fiasco the only major problem to have cropped up?

 

[setting_son]

My biggest issue with DRM is that whenever a big game is released with DRM software packaged, the message boards flood with angry gamers who are surprised that businesses out to make money are trying to protect their profits.

Yes, DRM is a pain but I think we're stuck with it now.

EDIT: Oh and UFO: Aftershock, the DRM on that fisted my DVD drive to death.

 

[Zipa]

Back when starforce DRM was used widely it caused no end of problems for me and others. It would start disabling shit on your computer like if you had 2 CD drivs (which was very common at the time) it would disable one as it assumed you were pirating stuff illegally. Same for certain software packages.
It was also known to weaken OS stability and when several reporters called them out for it they threatened to sue and involve the FBI. Pretty pathetic.

 

[TheIronRuler]

The DRM for Tropico 3 was unbearable, very very uncomftorable.

I don't have much more to add, I'm just filling space here to a avoid a low content post.

 

[Vhite]

I never really had any. Maybe one I had was that Sacred didn't work on Virtual Box because of it and even that could have probably been resolved if I would invest little more time into it.

 

[veloper]

Blizzard nearly banned me from SC2 because I didn't play for a couple months before I logged in again. That counts as suspicious behaviour.
Had to go through alot of hassle before that got fixed. Then had to wait a couple days.

Company of Heroes Ant doesn't work for 2/3rds because it doesn't accept 2 out of 3 CD keys.
Bloody stupid hassle even if it did work, having to put in 3 x 20 character codes for a complete edition.
Not fixed.

DRM complaints can be valid.

 

[StBishop]

Bought spore. No internet yet because ISP is busy watching porn? No problem, cart tower about 5 km to nearest friends place to install. Oh fuck she needs to go to work and it's not finished patching.
3 days after release date I finally play the game I pre-ordered and finished work half a day early to play.

Then gf (now ex) got malware on the pc. Format, then reinstall all games.

New PC, re-install all games.

Upgrade PC, includes new hard drive, go to install spore. Not possible.

That's bullshit.

So, yeah, I stopped buying current gen games around about then. I made an exeption for Dawn of War 2, which made me waste about 3 hours fucking around with Games for Windows Live. Yaaaaay.

So yeah, not a fan.

EDIT: Why are people being warned for pirating a game they own? I don't get it. They paid for a product. If they choose to use a better version (essentially a mod) why is that wrong?

 

[Monkey lord]

assassins creed 2 DRM
My connection was so bad the game would´t start

 

[Wintermoot]

1. updating RA3 only to figure out I lost the CD key after the update

2. not being able to play my steam games due to a shitty or no internet connection (I have a few of my games installed on my laptop)
I,m thinking about replacing the official games with pirated versions (the ones on my laptop that is)
(PS I DO NOT CONDONE PIRACY I,m merely planning to replace my already bought games with Steam-lees backups)

 

[Weaver]

My roommate could not install SC2 because his "key was in use". This was a brand new, unopened copy from the store on launch day. It was sealed and everything.

Blizzard took no responsibility.

 

[RikuoAmero]

My worst case of DRM? I'd have to say back when I bought Bioshock 1 off of Amazon. The installer was pure evil. What happened was it would get to 99%, then say it had to go online and download the Bioshock.exe. Guess what happened? It failed. Every single time. And to be extra cheeky, every time it failed to connect to the Bioshock servers (and my internet was not a problem, every other single website checked out), the installer would then DELETE the game folder.
So what I had to do was, when the installer said it would look the for the exe, I had to go to Task Manager, kill it, and download a crack. To play a game I legitimately bought.

Weird thing is, I never once had trouble playing a legit copy of Assassin's Creed II. I knew all about the DRM, and bought it fully expecting it to keep on kicking me back to the main menu, but not once did it do it. I didn't crack it, it was all legit.

EDIT: Escapist, why the hell did you warn comment number 4? All he said was that pirated versions of games are superior when cracked, which is more or less true, given that then we don't have to deal with DRM, just look at what I had to do with my legit copy of Bioshock.

 

[Zoomy]

I can't uninstall Oblivion because the DVD isn't in the drive.

At least I'm merely too lazy to walk across and get it. Imagine if I was a guy who lost/broke his disk.

 

[WickedFire]

Command & Conquer 4. Got it at launch, hoping it would be at least ok. It wasn't. Horrific game in everyway.

The worst part of it was the always on DRM, I must have done one mission at least 4 times because the internet died before I completed it and I got kicked off.

 

[Binerexis]

I can't uninstall Oblivion because the DVD isn't in the drive.

At least I'm merely too lazy to walk across and get it. Imagine if I was a guy who lost/broke his disk.

At first I was going to say I've never had a problem with any games but I couldn't uninstall Oblivion even with the disc. I still say that it wasn't much of a problem, however, as I just deleted all the files manually and removed the uninstall entry for Add/Remove programs.

 

[Zhukov]

Couldn't install Dead Space 2 because it requires online registration. I had recently moved house and the internet techs weren't due for another couple of weeks.

Luckily, Steam has an offline mode. Otherwise it would have been an awfully long couple of weeks.

 

[Nimcha]

I remember a game having Starforce (I think it was called) and it would only play as long as I disconnected my second cd-drive. Needless to say I returned the game.

 

[Vakz]

Getting Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory to run on W7 x64. Just wouldn't work. Ended up having to crack it to be able to even start it.

Semi-DRM: All my saves for Fallout 3 stopped working after I formatted (I had backuped the saves) because Games for Windows Live refused to accept them for some reason.

 

[Pikey Mikey]

Somehow messed up and now I've removed one of the double-posts