During GDC last week, Taylor threw his support behind the idea of curbing piracy by having gamers sign into a secured server, where they can be authenticated as paying customers -- before being able to play:

"It's all got to be secure, we can't afford to make this stuff and give it away for free. I don't think we should be sending the message to anybody that PC gaming is dead. We're going to secure it and our customers have to know why we are securing it. They have to appreciate why we're protecting it. It inconveniences a little but now they know why. And then we can get the economics back in line and maybe we can actually start offering it up at a lower price point in the future. So it will come around full circle,"

Seems fair enough to me, as long as they make sure that the authentication process is smooth, and it doesn't force us to jump through a bunch of hoops while they perfect the model. Since developers devote valuable time and money into their projects (which are risky enough as it is), they undeniably deserve the right to protect their own interests. How does our own PC crowd feel about this? Cheaper games are certainly attractive to us all.

[ Via Gamesindustry.biz -- Thanks, Justin!]