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Arkham Asylum breaks the Bat for pirates photo

Good anti-piracy measures are hard to find. At best, it can be an inconvenience for legit purchasers of games while other methods like SecuROM are almost universally loathed by gamers. It seems that to protect their latest title, Batman: Arkham Asylum, developer Rocksteady is taking a decidedly different approach.

Over at the Eidos forums, a poster showed up with an innocent query about why Batman's cape refused to open, allowing the Dark Knight to glide over a room filled with poison gas despite pressing the assigned key. Outed as having downloaded a leaked copy of the game by another user -- Arkham Asylum has yet to release on PC and no portion of the demo features a gas-filled room -- the forum admin hopped into the thread to mention that this is not actually a bug but a feature to prevent piracy:

The problem you have encountered is a hook in the copy protection, to catch out people who try and download cracked versions of the game for free.

It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code.

Brilliant move, Rocksteady. It's nice to see that you are willing to go to a little effort in protecting your software instead of relying on annoying and sometimes gamebreaking methods. Kudos.


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63 comments | showing # 1 to 50

MowDownJoe's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:03
MowDownJoe
Sadly, a crack or mod for that will come soon. But still, awesome copy-protection there. Don't some console games do this? I know Squeenix did it with the Chrono Trigger rerelease.
Super Drybones's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:04
Super Drybones
Reminds me of Earthbound, with the endless spawns and freezing at final boss then deleting your data
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:05
pedrovay2003
Holy crap, that's the most amazing copy-protection I've ever seen.
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:06
Shin Oni
that poster just lost Honor -100.

still...this is awesome.

still....i'm too poor at the moment top pick this game up.
Jack8274's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:10
Jack8274
This was cracked on the 6th and already have fixed these issues... Tested
Monodi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:11
Monodi
I love when developers try making in-game piracy protection instead of shit like DRM
free touch's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:11
free touch
I'm pretty sure Super Punch Out had this feature, even after beating the first 2 or 3 classes, it wouldn't let you advance.


It seems as if supermario land 2 had this feature also, becuase no mater what copy i got from the internet, it would always freeze at the first boss battle.
Narishma's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:12
Narishma
Let's hope it doesn't backfire on them like it did for the developers of Titan Quest. They included a "feature" like this where the game quit back to Windows if it detected it was not a legitimate copy. Unfortunately for them, people who pirated the game thought that was a bug and told other people on message boards and whatnot that it was a buggy game that crashed constantly and so not many people ended up buying it and the developers went bankrupt.
Palidi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:14
Palidi
Wow...this seems like a very effective countermeasure.

Or atleast a very funny one XD.
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:17
Holyetheline
I'm unfamiliar with these methods and applaud their use in our daily gaming. <3
Scary Womanizing Pig Mask's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:17
Scary Womanizing Pig Mask
Lolz. Reminds me of what Nintendo did with Earthbound. If you were playing a cracked copy it all worked fine till the moment before the final boss; wherein the game froze and deleted all the saved data XD
Dreamweaver's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:23
Dreamweaver
haha, total ownage.
what did you expect from a company called Rocksteady?
VGFreak1225's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:27
VGFreak1225
Not too effective, but still awesome.
robotbebop's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:32
robotbebop
"It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code." OOH SNAP!
Cynical Gamer's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:33
Cynical Gamer
It happens in the full game 360 version as well if you don't know where to jump and glide from in that particular room.
Mirax's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:33
Mirax
That's a really funny and cool way to prevent piracy, but I feel kinda bad for the guy who posted that message.
DJP3DRO's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:34
DJP3DRO
If you pirated Ghostbusters, the candelabras - among other enemies - became entirely invincible.
Dodgyc's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:37
Dodgyc
Similar thing implemented in GTA4 I think, where the camera would be stuck in 'drunk-cam' mode if you were playing a pirated copy.
robotbebop's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:42
robotbebop
I think there's a negative consequence here: these effects sound so hilarious I actually _want_ to pirate the games just to see them.
HiddenAHB's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:43
HiddenAHB
Huh, good to know that developers are having more useful and creative solutions to old problems.
CodeFire's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 19:53
CodeFire
Too bad these solutions don't work and are pretty easy to fix.
Dangsterr's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 20:00
Dangsterr
Great move! Too bad hackers will have a crack by the week after the game is released.
Magnalon's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 20:05
Magnalon
Damn The Escapist for not crediting us, when we broke it yesterday!

::shakes fist::

:D
ace of knaves's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 20:14
ace of knaves
Piracy: Batman's one weakness. And bullets, those'll fucking kill him.
yaesir's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 20:33
yaesir
That type of copy protection has been in the industry for years, has pointed out by others in here, but yes i find it the most interesting type of copy protection, even more fun when the fools say they are having problems with the game only to be discoreved has being pirates.
Jon B's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 20:37
Jon B
Known about this for a while, and it's one of the most awesome copyprotection schemes I've seen.

But it's also been cracked for a while too. Although it does really piss off the people who stole the game, so that's worth it.
Hriki's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:04
Hriki
Hahaha I know for a fact that was cracked and fixed about 3 hours after they found it :)
Los255's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:07
Los255
"It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code."

Holy shit. OWNED!

That is the most interesting prevention method and should be looked into much more.
runtheplacered's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:08
runtheplacered
Do you all really think this is the first time a game has ever introduced this kind of scheme? Seriously? That's actually really shocking. I thought I was the ignorant one when it came to video games, in comparison to some people here. Guess not.
And if you don't think that, why are we giving Rocksteady credit and not others?

By the way, you'd be surprised how much this isn't stopping people from completing the game. I'm not going into anymore detail then that about this subject, though, on this website. Don't want people to actually go and do that, now do we?

I just needed to comment, because I was shocked this actually got its own editorial, without noting any previous efforts that are aligned with this same line of thought.

Not that any of this matters. The game will be completely cracked and working fine when the game is actually released, I'm sure. Just as every other attempt in the history of PC gaming to stop piracy, it will fail.

Why does nobody ever talk about people that pirate Xbox 360 games, by the way? I always found that odd.
runtheplacered's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:12
runtheplacered
@ Hriki
"Hahaha I know for a fact that was cracked and fixed about 3 hours after they found it :)"

Exactly. And it was.

@Los255
"That is the most interesting prevention method and should be looked into much more."

I disagree, it really shouldn't be looked into more. It's a waste or resources, as it hasn't ever worked, so far in the past for other games. I applaud the effort and the thought, but it just doesn't stop pirates. The only effect it might have is day 1 or 2 that the game is out (that's being kind). After that, I can't imagine it matters anymore.
gamadaya's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:18
gamadaya
So they killed Batman to stop pirates? That's too much.

And has this been leaked now? That's cool. I need this game before the 11th, otherwise I won't be able to play it for a long, long time.

Although, I'm at college right now, and they don't really look kindly on pirates. Fuck.

@runtheplacered: Not really. It probably took all of about 10 minutes to add.
Steel Brotha's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:31
Steel Brotha
I think that they should keep doing Batman games based on Batman story arcs. Arkham Asylum was a great read. Knightfall would be an amazing game.
Arlek's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 21:36
Arlek
Pirates, you either seize your piracy acts, or we kill your batman! YOU DECIDE!!
matrixdude171's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 22:54
matrixdude171
HOW STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO TALK ABOUT ACTUAL GAMEMARKERS BEFORE THE GAME IS EVEN RELEASED?????????
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 22:57
Volomon
@matrixdude171 Even stupider is the fact that he used a marked IP code probably to log his complaint. Cause if he brought it up he has to be a moron.
NihonTiger90's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 23:11
NihonTiger90
It's a smart move on their part. Make the game just unplayable enough no one wants to pirate it.
HOLY TACO's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 23:45
HOLY TACO
Will this affect the Xbox games as well? Not many people talk about 360 piracy. From what I understand it's just as rampant, if not more so than PC gaming.
ajaxender's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 23:52
ajaxender
They've already got through this. I havent downloaded the game, and dont intend to (I find that nowadays, if I could be bothered downloading/cracking something, it's probably worth paying for), but I keep track of these things. They've pretty much got the game playable, fixing a number of issues present in the leaked code (intentional or not), with only a couple remaining. Admittedly, it seems like a hassle to save your game at the moment, but hey, its only a matter of time.

I commend the efforts of Rocksteady, but this isnt quite the way to stop piracy. Remember, most of the game crackers are doing it just to prove they can, not because they want to get games for free. Of course, they have to share their work for proof... which is the problem.

The bigger problem here, though, is that they let the game be leaked before release date. Considering how easy it is to download stuff these days, its pretty much asking for it, with PC gamers getting the oh so difficult choice of "wait weeks until release and pay for it then, while watching console gamers play" or "download now for free!".
Occams electric toothbrush's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/08/2009 23:58
Occams electric toothbrush
Piracy causes such silly antics.
Exinjeru's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 00:00
Exinjeru
I have this problem on Xbox 360 and people just accuse me of being a PC pirate
Reginald's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 00:48
Reginald
rot in hell rocksteady, this kind of thing is just as flimsy as any other DRM. I've had legitmate games (that I've bought with human money) glitch out on me halfway through only to find out that it was some anti piracy thing, which apparently can get falsely tripped if you computer does something it doesn't like, like a registry cleanup or if the internet cuts out. I bought GTA4 for the PC and it was a mess from day one.
Los255's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 00:54
Los255
@rocktheplacered

I had no idea this was ever implemented in older games.
Cor E's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 00:59
Cor E
@Reginald, shove your complaints up your ass where they belong, no one cares if you don't like it.
Justice's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 00:59
Justice
Awesome, he got served!
RWarrior1CO's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 01:00
RWarrior1CO
Ha ha ha! You lose, pirates! This sort of thing should be done more often, if only for the entertainment value of watching a bunch of freeloading jerks who think they're entitled to everything look stupid.
grasslunatic's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 01:57
grasslunatic
Brilliant, all developers should do things like this.
CaptainBus's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 03:18
CaptainBus
Since the PC is an open platform, it's nigh-on impossible to prevent piracy, which makes you wonder why companies get so excited about finding different methods.

A game pitched to PC audiences correctly and providing the least amount of fiddling to get up and running is most important, and although copy protection stunts like a gimpy Batman is amusing, it clearly tooks the pirates next to no time to crack it.

If you propose a new system that is meant to be effective at blocking pirates, this only steels the pirating community determination to crack it.

I mean, take a look at Sins of a Solar Empire. It had no copy protection at all, except for a product key to register for updates and multiplayer. Were game sales crippled by piracy? No, it sold 200,000 copies in the first month alone.

I am in no way approving piracy, but sometimes DRM gets put in place that causes trouble for honest consumers.
hjd uk's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 03:42
hjd uk
The original operation flashpoint had similar code-parity checking, if you pirated it then your aim would slowly get worse and worse until you couldln't hit the borad side of a barn.

I think one of the Sypro games had the same thing, instead at one point in the game a text-box in a cutscene explicitly told you that you were playing a pirated copy and you couldnt progress.
chrisgopher's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 04:57
chrisgopher
I highly doubt this issue is an "anti-piracy" scheme. It's more than likely a developer bug in the game that the developers are frantically trying to fix at the moment. Why do I say that? I've already gotten past the batcave part where lots of people have had trouble, and instead, gotten stuck at other random places that people haven't mentioned. The bug seems pretty random to me. I can't really credit rocksteady for doing anything revolutionary with this so-called "anti-piracy" claim. Instead, I'd credit their public relations team for being on their feet and not dropping the ball. Seriously, would a company really admit it has a bug in the game that renders it unplayable? Never. So, smart move by the PR team to claim that it was for anti-piracy.
Kaspar's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/09/2009 05:17
Kaspar
DRM locks like this have been done before. Nothing new here.
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