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An American Square Enix exec has insisted that the consumer backlash against DRM will not prevent its ongoing implementation.
The primary benefit to us is the same as with any business: profit,” Square Enix America’s senior manager of business and legal affairs told Torrent Freak. I think DRM will be essential for the foreseeable future.
We have a well-known reputation for being very protective of our IPs, which does deter many would-be pirates. However, effectiveness is notoriously difficult to measure – in short, we rely on the data available to us through our sales team and various vendors, along with consumer feedback.”
Sullivan does concede, however, that current DRM methods are not perfect.
The key to DRM is that it can’t interfere with the customer’s ability to play the game,” Sullivan added. It’s not uncommon for people to get a new computer every few years, or to have multiple computers. Sometimes they don’t have reliable internet connections. There’s no perfect solution yet.
So long as we’re concerned about things like data privacy, accounting sharing and hacking, we’ll need some form of DRM.”
