Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition to Hadoken PC Gamers with GFWL, Highly Restrictive DRM
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition to Hadoken PC Gamers with GFWL, Highly Restrictive DRM
Posted 05/26/2011 at 11:43pm
| by Nathan Grayson
22
Comments
Print
For shame, Capcom. For shame. You promised us the world, and – just as we were ready to pull you close in a warm embrace – you E. Honda-palmed us in the gut with some truly atrocious DRM. And then, as we laid on the ground, clutching our mushified organs and gasping for air, you climbed into an escape helicopter with none other than Games for Windows Live. Please, Capcom, tell us this isn't what it looks like.
“If you aren’t signed in to an online GFWL profile, the offline mode has limited functionality,” Capcom's Christian Svensson said on his blog. “Obviously there’s no online play, access to replay channels or other online-centric features (and this is the part that keeps the online play secure from hackers or pirates). Additionally, you won’t be able to save any progress in challenges or settings, won’t have access to any DLC you’ve purchased and all local play will be restricted to 15 of the 39 characters.”
Wait, no! That's exactly what it looks like! As per usual, we're not entirely sure what this accomplishes, either. In our experience, legitimate copies don't magically walk the plank into pirate-dom at the drop of an Internet connection, so we don't really see how this counts as “security.”
On the upside, Capcom's responded to the inevitable outcry by engaging its fans in an open dialog on the subject of DRM. In other words, fan feedback could very well whip this DRM into shape – or at the very least, something that doesn't sound about as pleasurable and well-thought-out as sticking your hand in a waffle iron. That's inside a woodchipper.
Fingers crossed, too, because the rest of SSFIV:AE's PC-specific features sound pretty great. Here's hoping Capcom manages to put this whole fiasco behind it so we can get back to focusing on what really matters: punching feral oversized oompa loompas in the face.
More like this
22
Comments
Comments are closed on this article
aso chudi
January 15, 2012 at 5:22am
The post is pretty interesting. I really never thought I could have a good read by this time until I found out this site. I am grateful for the information given. Thank you for being so generous enough to have shared your knowledge with us.
bolod
December 23, 2011 at 1:38pm
I love to surf and my initial source for information is the blogs which have always helped me in my education. This blog is one of them.
I_pwn_newbz86
June 03, 2011 at 7:52am
@Holly Golightly I agree with maleficarus™. I'm running a dual core and 2GB DDR3 and Steam's resource usage is negligible. Heck, I play Counterstrike Source on my AMD Sempron laptop with 1GB DDR2 533 and I don't even notice it there. If your client is freezing it is probably because it is waiting for your hard drive. Try a SSD or faster HD and see if it gets any better. Reinstalling Steam may also help. Nobody here is being a fanboy.
Holly Golightly
May 27, 2011 at 9:12pm
Okay, I seriously do not understand why so many people hate Games For Windows Live. It is not bad at all. At least it is not like Steam which requires you to run a client that is resource-heavy.
Now I am a little shocked... You can only play 15 of 39 characters? That is insane. What is wrong with Capcom? Still, I prefer Games For Windows Live over Steam any day of the week!
mexfreak86
June 02, 2011 at 9:12pm
For me Steam uses at most 90MB and minimum it uses 15MB. It's hard to call that resource heavy when running Chrome or Firefox can easily use 500MB or more.
Holly Golightly
June 02, 2011 at 9:25pm
Hmm, your Steam program does not have a 2 second freeze when starting a game? Everytime this happens to me, I can see the ram and cpu meter on my keyboard spike to 80% use, and then drops back to the normal 2% on CPU and 38% RAM, and that is while using 4gb of ram and a Q6600. I also get the small freezing spike problem when launching Steam itself... But that is because it automatically opens the Steam Browser to show me the latest sales. At some point, I started to wish I had more control... :/
maleficarus™
May 28, 2011 at 6:41am
You crack me up! With multple-core CPU's and endless amounts of cheap affordable memory your point is so silly and irrelevant it isn't even funny. Please, enough of your anti steam propraganda!!
Holly Golightly
May 28, 2011 at 10:45am
Screw you... Enough with your Steam Fanboyism! It is seriously boring.
Ghok
May 27, 2011 at 12:04pm
I appreciate this report. Just last week I bought a game recommended on PC Gamer, but found out it had both Games For Windows Live and Securrom on it. Ugh. My fault for not checking, but I wish there was less tolerance for this kind of thing. That negative buzz really killed Spore.
The best DRM I ever saw was a company that required a unique security key to download bonus content. It had a lot of bonus content, and didn't even need the CD in unless you were updating.
someuid
May 27, 2011 at 7:57am
That's ok. There are a gazillion other games that were made for gamers rather than this overly restricted, our customer is a criminal, we want on-line measurement statistics just because we want it crap.
And Games for Windows Live? Please. Not interested.
ChatterboxChuck
May 27, 2011 at 7:56am
Lot's of people out there always ask why some of us complain about small things that happen such as a company forcing you to register a piece of software online in order to use it. It's not as if it's a big deal right? It's simply to protect the product from hackers. Not like you will be prevented fro using the software after you register it. Well, here is the result of what happens when a company is given the OK to apply DRM to software. Every time they come out with a new product they restrcit it's use more and more every time with the claim that they are trying to prevent piracy. The problem is the consumer is being told they can't be trusted, that they are under suspicion of criminal activities at all times, that you have to pay full price but only use the software when and how they tell you and that if you happen to lose your internet connection for what ever reason, too bad. But what can you expect from a group of stupid people who still go and buy the product anyways.
maleficarus™
May 28, 2011 at 6:45am
Oh please give it a rest! Buy the game and enjoy it, stop crying like a 12 year old on his Wii...
poee
May 28, 2011 at 5:28pm
Pay good money for a crippled game that treats you like a criminal? Why bother to do that when you can get the same game to play without all the hassle? I'd pay for the same game with no DRM, but I rarely have that option. The only options available for most DRM-riddled games are 1) pay money for a restricted experience, or 2) get the full experience for free. It's quite insane, really. Devs and publishers obviously need to make a profit to stay in business, but looking at the two options above, how does harsh DRM accomplish that goal?
Holly Golightly
May 28, 2011 at 10:50am
Oh boy... Your comments are as played out as your name.
It is called a free speech. Allow him to voice his concerns you troll! DRM is as evil as you are.
ozziekun
May 27, 2011 at 5:27am
Was actually going to get this, but if the offline funtionality is limited it doesn't make sense (because I have no time with playing a fighting game online). with the last street fighter I just connected my wireless 360 controls and my friend and I played for hours laughing at each other in person rather than over an internet connection. This really blows cause I was looking forward to this title.
Jason Hopkins
May 27, 2011 at 3:59am
What about those of us in the military. We love playing games but don't always have access to an internet connection. This makes people run off to grab pirated copies. It does not matter what sort of DRM you put on software, the hacking community just sees it as a challenge and will break it in a matter of days.
igoka
May 27, 2011 at 12:46am
Very sad . They have not learned anything from the past . I thought i'm gonna get it . Not anymore.
ChatterboxChuck
May 27, 2011 at 7:59am
Learn what? Black Ops sucked the day it was sold and people still bought it. Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2 also had problems and yet people still bought it. Steam has tons of DRM issue and yet people still buy thru it. GFWL is probably the worst offendor and yet people still buy GFWL games. If anything they learned that people are so stupid they may as well charge them ahead of time for a product still being developed and not ready for prime time for another 6 months.
aFineWayToDie
May 27, 2011 at 12:32am
Yeah, sorry capcom. If you put it on Steam, you can have my money. Otherwise, I'll pass.
igoka
May 27, 2011 at 12:42am
Even if they sell it on Steam they will keep their DRM. There is so many games on Steam with additional DRM. It's not gonna solve anything. I some kind of expected they are gonna do something like that .
yugiah
May 27, 2011 at 12:25am
This sounds exceedingly similar to what Ubisoft did with Assassin's Creed 2. That's reallllly lame.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E1 day 14 hours ago
- maximumpc: Fraps 3.5.2 fixes lots of bugs, so if your motto, like @PCGamer's, is "always be frapsing," you should pick it up http://t.co/3DW3WUI01 day 17 hours ago
- maximumpc: Google Chrome Becomes World's Most-Used Web Browser, Kinda http://t.co/Xqgscmrp2 days 11 hours ago
