GTA IV’s Very Own Hot Coffee

Right, now I’ve got your attention.. GTA IV’s very own Hot Coffee… is actually going to be SecuROM. Yes, that’s right, the big controversy over the PC release of the latest GTA game isn’t an unlock-able sex game, it’s that boring topic of DRM, and how Rockstar have decided to go with one of the most hated DRM kits they could ever choose.

We all remember the upcry from people over the use of SecuROM in Spore, the game we had waited so long for. Sure that game didn’t live up to its promise in more ways than just the DRM, but it was the DRM that got so many people so angry they littered Amazon with negative reviews.

Now Rockstar rarely shy away from controversy. Usually it’s not as boring as over how they protect their games from piracy, because let’s be honest, the Daily Mail aren’t going to care about this. So often it is said that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but are Rockstar about fond out that actually there is, and SecuROM is it?

Now, I haven’t entered the new generation of consoles so I can’t play GTA IV on a shiny PS3 or on an XBox 360, and even if there had been a Wii version I wouldn’t be able to play that. Actually, stop reading for a second and imagine that.. A Wii version of GTA IV…

OK, that’s enough imagining, let’s get back down to business. I had been awaiting the PC release so that I could atleast start thinking about buying this latest GTA release. But… SecuROM. It stopped me buying Spore, and it has atleast given me second thoughts about getting GTA IV. EA’s use of the package with Spore proved it doesn’t help stop pirates, Spore hitting torrent dates the day before release, so why does Rockstar think their incarnation will be any different?

It’s been said far too often that DRM doesn’t stop the pirates and only harms those who buy the legal copy, much like the piracy adverts we see at the beginning of our new DVDs telling us that we shouldn’t buy a pirate copy of a film, even though it should be painfully clear that we wouldn’t as we have the nice shiny disc in our player.

This game will be pirated. That is a fact. Pirate releases may well hit early because people are angered by SecuROM. People may refuse to buy the legal copy because of the horrible piece of code that could well damage their shiny gaming PC. Some people may buy the legal copy, but get the torrent so they don’t have to install SecuROM. No matter what happens the illegal version will be downloaded, and some of that may be down to the fact Rockstar chose SecuROM.

Or maybe, just maybe, people who were waiting for the PC version, but already have a PS3 or XBox 360 will just buy the console game instead. Well done Rockstar, you picked a great controversy this time.

MTFBWY