yeah, it'll be around forever. but companies shouldnt just accept it, if they have a good product with online capability there's just no excuse for not protecting your games with cd keys unless the people responsible for bringing us this game are so filthy rich tens of thousands of pirated copies wont make a difference for them. you should see how software piraters whine when a game has cd key protection with online checking for it and they can only play single player. of course you'll still get people stealing cd keys or the whole game and people who can only play single player pirating the game but the number does get reduced significantly.

its also funny how people like big nose always point out the fact that people who bring us this game dont need any pitty or anymore money. some sort of "fight the power" mentality that justifies piracy or makes it sound less damaging than it really is. but somehow they always forget that how well the developers do are based on sales of their product, and their future and whatever games they will produce in the future are based on whether they do good or not. and i dont know how popular the space sim genre is but i know it isnt as big as the fps or rts industry. so dont think that millions of copies of this game will be sold and a few thousand stolen copies won't make a difference.

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yeah, it'll be around forever. but companies shouldnt just accept it, if they have a good product with online capability there's just no excuse for not protecting your games with cd keys unless the people responsible for bringing us this game are so filthy rich tens of thousands of pirated copies wont make a difference for them. you should see how software piraters whine when a game has cd key protection with online checking for it and they can only play single player. of course you'll still get people stealing cd keys or the whole game and people who can only play single player pirating the game but the number does get reduced significantly.

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Um...

NeverWinter Nights, along with many other games, has the sort of "cdKey protection" you speak of.
But guess what...

Ever heard of a keygen, or regedit?
It is STILL cracked within a month, and pirated copy owners can play single AND multiplayer games.

It's a simple fact.
A protection is developed.
A way to bypass it is developed within a short time.
There is virtually NO way around it.
It's just like in anything else in life, one advance brings another.

Car Theft.
Home Invasion.
Software Piracy.
It doesn't matter the crime, or the protection the "rightful owner" takes.
There will always be ways around it, and when that way around it is as easy to find as on the internet then EVERYBODY will have access to it, and a percentage WILL use it.

Yeah, it's wrong.
Yeah, it's illegal.
But, it's a fact of life.
Deal with it.

This is neither the right forum, the right website or the right whatever... *CLICK*

Best Regards
Christian "Bargib" Koerner
Editor in Chief, The Lancers Reactor