14 DAY TRIAL // We know game developers always say that they listen to the gaming community and that the opinion of gamers is very important to them, but to actually see results and not just empty words is always shocking. Valve has a steadily build tradition of public interaction, but to see that 2K Marin is also as receptive, if not even more so, is as surprising as it is pleasant, as its decision takes us to that warm, fuzzy place that we all have somewhere on the inside.
Responding to the massive amount of feedback its upcoming Bioshock 2 got, 2K Marin has decided to scale down its DRM and the tasks that the SecuROM is expected to perform have dropped significantly. "Over the past two days, I've fielded a lot of questions and concerns about the DRM for both the retail and digital versions of BioShock 2. Because of this feedback, we are scaling back BioShock 2's DRM," 2K's community manager revealed.
This basically means that the newly shaped DRM for B2 is more similar to what we saw in Batman: Arkham Asylum, where the main components were Games for Windows Live and a crippled version of SecuROM. "There will be no SecuROM install limits for either the retail or digital editions of BioShock 2, and SecuROM will be used only to verify the game's executable and check the date," she said.
"Beyond that, we are only using standard Games for Windows Live non-SSA guidelines, which, per Microsoft, comes with 15 activations (after that, you can reset them with a call to Microsoft..)" Also, the community manager announced that the Steam version of Bioshock 2 had also received a "less restrictive" SecuROM.
"I know that the variables of PC gaming can be frustrating and confusing, and when you say there is a problem, we listen, and use your suggestions to make things better. Feedback like this does not go unheard, and while this might not be the ideal protection for everyone, we will continue to listen and work with you in the future when formulating our DRM plans," she explained.
No matter how much we would prefer not seeing anything even similar to SecuROM as part of any title, or any kind of annoying game protections at all, we need to understand the importance of this feature, especially for PC games. Sales are the primary drive for both the income and the reputation of a developer, which leads to people keeping their jobs, staying in the industry, and developing another title. So, while we'll always see DRM as an inconvenience, remember to "support the developers. If you enjoyed the game, buy it."