DRM-Plus, Or How Eidos Is Treating Anyone With A Jail-Broken iPad Like A Criminal

from the everyone's-a-pirate dept

You know the DRM story already. Game publisher creates game, has everything needed to release it, then slaps on some annoying digital rights mechanism. Often times the DRM is pointless, getting cracked quickly, all while either annoying customers or creating major headaches. When it works perfectly, anyone who pirated the game will either be unable to play it at all (pending a crack), or they'll be subject to more creative annoyances, my favorite still being Ubisoft's vuvuzelas. All in all, DRM is futility in motion. But at least it's usually an honest attempt to punish software pirates.

That's why we may have to come up with a new term, like DRM-Plus, for what Eidos has done with their latest Deus Ex game. Released for iOS, the game works exactly as described...unless you've jail-broken your iPad or iPhone, in which case you can't fire the guns within the game.

Encountered by Redditor KipEnyan and verified by several user reviews in the app store, jailbroken players starting up the first mobile installment of the Deus Ex series are treated to a few cutscenes and a movement tutorial before running into the message above. It comes up during the game's shooting tutorial, and while one would assume players could still stealth through the game, I'm not sure they can progress beyond that point without tranquilizing those guards.

Mind you, this isn't pirates running into this issue. While I am sure there are some shady players attempting to get The Fall to run on their jailbroken iPads and iPhones, there are plenty of honest folks who dropped $6.99 on the game, only to have it treat them like pirates.
Worse yet, customers (customers!) have been indicating that there is absolutely zero warning that the game won't function within the listing in the app store. In other words, people plunked down their money for the game, intending to play it on their iDevice, which is perfectly legally jail-broken, only to find out that Eidos has capriciously decided that their devices indicate they're pirates.

Very, very few publishers do this. Why? Because it is probably the best indication that a company has attained peak levels of dick-ish-ness this side of owning a Hummer H2. Sorry, Eidos, but not only is jail-breaking an iPad legal, it's a growing trend. To go out of your way to piss these people off is an incredibly efficient way to mount enough ill will to torpedo what sounds like an otherwise amazing game.

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Filed Under: drm, ios, ipads, jailbreaking
Companies: eidos


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  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 4:32am

    Amusingly there's a very easy solution for this issue: piracy. Thus we arrived at that "lol" moment where a tool designed to stop piracy actually promotes it among the paying customers. Hilarious ;)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:24am

      Re:

      Yeah, I understand there's already a patch for the pirated version.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Wally (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:37am

      Re:

      Problem is that the DRM also appears for cracked versions of the game and not just unlocked iPads.

      No form of DRM like this is good.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:47am

        Re: Re:

        ...until the cracked version is patched and then yet again the pirates have a better version of the game than any legal purchaser.

        "No form of DRM like this is good."

        I agree, although the words "like this" are redundant.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Guardian, 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:24am

    i have an android

    naaaaa naa naa na na

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:06am

      Re: i have an android

      It's not out for Android. Which I suppose is the ultimate DRM.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Ninja (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:07am

        Re: Re: i have an android

        Not out for my system? I'll go without, thank you.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:36am

        Re: Re: i have an android

        It's the only DRM that actually works. Also sets paying customers to zero but you have to be willing to loose some paying customers or the pirates win.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 8:30am

          Re: Re: Re: i have an android

          Well if you have no customers due to excessive DRM you will go out of business, and their will be no more problems of piracy.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Bergman (profile), 13 Jul 2013 @ 1:10am

          Re: Re: Re: i have an android

          If your metric on how much your game is being pirated is how far below predicted profits the game is, then the pirates win no matter what you do.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Miff (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 8:03am

        Re: Re: i have an android

        Eh I've seen apps refuse to run on Android if it's rooted, which is a problem for custom firmwares that can't ever not be rooted.

        Heck, even certain vendors' software (at least Samsung and T-Mobile did this) will do anything between refuse to run and intentionally brick the device if it even detects rooting.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    pegr, 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:27am

    And another you may not know

    Time Warner's IOS app for video playback for cable subscribers will not work on a jailbroken iPad either. In fact, that's been true for quite some time.

    But in the tit-for-tat game of DRM vs. hackers, the hackers always seem to be at least one step ahead.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:36am

    so why not try one or both of these choices? dont buy it (getting money back if already bought because as far as a user is concerned, the game is broken, not functioning correctly) and/or suing Eidos for taking money under false pretences, or suing for deformation of character, something similar that will bring what is happening out to the general public, making Eidos look exactly as they are, complete twats!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      jjmsan (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 9:13am

      Re:

      TOS are "No Refunds" and arbitration for any disputes. Both of which you agree to by buying the game.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 10:10am

        Re: Re:

        IANAL, but I wonder if you be able to make the case that since you never got the goods (a functioning game), the TOS are irrelevant as the contractual deal was never completed, so you can sue in small claims court.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Bergman (profile), 13 Jul 2013 @ 1:12am

          Re: Re: Re:

          This. You can't just create a contractual obligation by shining a flashlight beam on someone. A t-shirt that says "by reading the front of my shirt you agree to be bound by the contract on the back." has no legal force to it.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Lurker Keith, 14 Jul 2013 @ 4:17am

        Re: Re:

        There is something either in the law or otherwise understood & enforced by the Legal System called an Implied Warranty, in this case, specifically a Warranty of Merchantability (translated out of Legalese: "it is fit to be sold"/ the maker promises it works).

        Basically, for this case, if you buy something new, it is supposed to work in a certain way. For shooting games, you should be able to shoot. This game does not work as it should on certain devices.

        Some States or Local Governments make it non-enforceable, if not illegal, to disclaim the understanding that it will work as it is supposed to. This is why most, if not all, disclaimers/ warranties that try to limit your rights state that you may have more rights or that some of the restrictions may not apply depending on where you live.

        By this reasoning, all DRM that renders software to not behave as it is expected to is illegal in those places that make disclaiming the implied warranty non-enforceable. Especially since DRM is an intention crippling of the product.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:36am

    This reminds me of the time all my PC games stopped working because I logged on with an administrators account. I mean, why would any none-pirate, none-lying dirty scumbag thief ever need unrelated administrative powers for one of their own devices?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:41am

    Did Apple have a hand in this, starting a trend to reduce the value of jail broken devices?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Wally (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:48am

      Re:

      Well yes and no. Jail broken iPads are still supported by Apple. Funny thing is, the DRM seems to also pick on unlocked devices and wifi onlu devices as well....I checked with mine and my wife's iPads.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Wally (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:45am

    It could be worse...

    Admittedly it could be much much worse. One of the many reasons the Apple Lisa was a commercial failure is that once you inserted a floppy disk into the drive...that disk was tied to that specific computer...even for backups.

    Timothy Geiger, I know of one other game that had DRM similar to this one from Eiods....Knights of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords DRM prevented the game from loading old games from the main menu if the Disc was under spun by the DVD-ROM Drive.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:18am

      Re: It could be worse...

      "once you inserted a floppy disk into the drive...that disk was tied to that specific computer...even for backups."

      Are you sure? I know the Lisa (depending on the model) used unusual proprietary floppy media, but Ive never heard of disks actually being locked to a specific computer.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        cpt kangarooski, 12 Jul 2013 @ 9:17am

        Re: Re: It could be worse...

        No, he's right. In addition to using a bizarre and lousy floppy disk design -- the Twiggy -- it also had an anti piracy measure. All the Lisas had a unique hardware serial number which it would write to install disks to prevent software from being installed on multiple machines.

        Luckily even though the Twiggy was originally going to be used on the Mac as well (there are photos of a prototype equipped with one floating around somewhere), they eventually went with the far superior Sony 3.5 400kB disks instead and seem to have lost this 'feature' along the way.

        Apple has an ancient document describing this: http://support.apple.com/kb/TA31513

        There is a way to remove the serial after it's been written to disk as I recall, but not having ever used a Lisa, I don't recall the particular way to do it. Later models of Lisa moved to Sony 3.5" disks; I don't remember if this was maintained. My guess is probably yes if you used the Lisa OS, probably no if you used the Mac OS (which was ported to the Lisa eventually).

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:54am

    "Very, very few publishers do this. Why?"

    Because most companies aren't stupid enough to cripple a legitimately purchased product? I don't agree with developers intentionally crippling a game when it detects that it's been pirated, but I can see the reasoning.

    Crippling a game that's legally purchased just because you don't like the platform the user has decided to run it on? Utter insanity. Not only do you piss customers off, you give them a choice - stop jailbreaking your device (which may affect a huge number of other legitimate apps and uses) or pirate the game. Guess how many people will think twice about pirating a copy of a game they've already paid for just so they can use it?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Internet Zen Master (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 9:17am

      Re:

      EA would like a word with you...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Bergman (profile), 13 Jul 2013 @ 1:15am

      Re:

      If you've bought a license to install and use one copy of the software on one device, but the DRM stops it from actually running, is it a license violation to install a hacked copy of the software as your one copy on one device?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 13 Jul 2013 @ 3:32pm

        Re: Re:

        It wouldn't be a contract violation, but it would be piracy (assuming you downloaded the hacked version. I think you'd be OK if you hacked it yourself.)

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 14 Jul 2013 @ 5:09pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          Actually, it wouldn't necessarily be piracy, depending on whether or not the EULA specifically states where the copy must be from for the license to apply. If it does not say that, then the license applies to pirated copies as well, meaning that you can torrent the licensed software after paying for it without it being infringement.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 6:57am

    This is shocking news.

    Eidos is still alive!?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:54am

      Re:

      Where have you been? Eidos was purchased by SquareEnix and have been making games for them ever since.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Zakida Paul (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:12am

    Hey

    If you are gonna be treated like a pirate, you may as well act like one ;-)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Zac Morris, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:13am

    H2

    Really? "has attained peak levels of dick-ish-ness this side of owning an H2 Hummer"

    So you know the life of every H2 Hummer owner?

    I'm a staunch supporter of EFF, ACLU, etc. Like Techdirt, I believe that DRM does nothing but harm paying customers while giving Company Execs a false sense of security.

    I own an H2 Hummer, that I use primarily for towing and transporting a group of people when we travel. I have added several efficiency mods, including a solar array, electronics "chip", etc. It is 10yrs old and still in excellent working condition. It is actually one of the few modern vehicles that is easy to repair because there is enough engine space to get at components without having to remove the entire engine! When the engine declines in repairability then I plan to convert it to a diesel engine, and look into various biodiesel solutions. I plan to own this vehicle, easily, another 10-20 years!

    Add to all of this that I work from home (no commute), have no children, and use a 60mpg motorcycle for "local travel". So even with said H2 my carbon footprint is still less than the average American.

    You do nothing but show you own ignorances and reduce the effectiveness of what you're trying to communicate, when you add such blatant "comparisons" to what you believe are "universal" bad guys.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:23am

      Re: H2

      It's pretty dickish to get so worked up about an offhand remark based on a common joke/stereotype.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:25am

        Re: Re: H2

        Heh, that was about to be my comment. Hey, own what you want but that reaction to a jokey aside was dickish and fitting with that stereotype, even if it's for different reasons than normal.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:36am

          Re: Re: Re: H2

          In all fairness, he's probably got a bit of "straw that broke the camel's back" going on. Likely put up with similar humor too often before and as a result is a little sensitive.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Rich, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:28am

      Re: H2

      Wow, aren't we a delicate snowflake.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Dark Helmet (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:54am

      Re: H2

      "Really? "has attained peak levels of dick-ish-ness this side of owning an H2 Hummer"

      So you know the life of every H2 Hummer owner?"

      Take it easy there, champ. It was just a joke...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      techflaws (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 8:01am

      Re: H2

      Thanks for proving his point.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Amber, 12 Jul 2013 @ 11:52am

      Re: H2

      Hey, I resemble, er, resent that comment!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Transmitte (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:19am

    Jailbreak away..preferably far away from me

    My question? Why bother with a device that you have to do this to in the first place? I know it's somewhat off topic, however, I've never understood why people want to own something they have to go to all this trouble to use how they want when there are so many other choices that are just as good if not better than apple and it's "i" devices.

    Yes it sucks that the developers are pulling this and should take a bowling ball to the face for it's arrogance, but, I'll stay with android simply because I can do what i want with it and not have some company telling me what I can and cannot do with something I own(or for that matter, dealing with some shit heel of a company pulling garbage like eidos has).

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Eo Nomine, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:30am

    While I appreciate that this site will reflexively get outraged at anything intended to, this comment is simply incorrect:

    "In other words, people plunked down their money for the game, intending to play it on their iDevice, which is perfectly legally jail-broken, only to find out that Eidos has capriciously decided that their devices indicate they're pirates."

    Sorry, but the current exception for "jailbreaking" under the DMCA only applies to hand-sets and not to tablets, so jailbreaking a tablet actually is not necessarily legal (unless another exception applies). I would have hoped that a site that constantly rages against the DMCA might actually understand the basics of how it works...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:39am

      Re:

      a tablet is just a large phone without a sim. it shouldn't matter.
      Besides even if you want to stupidly split hairs, it's a game for iOS, not just iPads but iPhones as well, so jailbreakers of iPhones are still in the right

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 10:16am

        Re: Re:

        a tablet is just a large phone without a sim. it shouldn't matter.


        But he's right. Legally, it does matter. That it doesn't make sense just points out how completely insane the anticircumvention clause is.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:48am

      Re:

      It might be semi-legal in your strange country (poor assholes don't even own what you buy anymore huh?), it's 100% legal in mine (and most of the rest of the world). This DRM is being inflicted globally not just on US customers.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:55am

      Re:

      When the Library of Congress creates an explicit exception it means it's a priori legal. The reverse, however, is not true. So what it really means when the Library of Congress says 'well tablets are a broad category' is that if someone were ever to be taken to court over jailbreaking an iPad they wouldn't be able to use the exception as a defense but they could avail themselves of any number of other defenses (not the least of which is arguing that the material difference between an iPad and an iPhone from a DMCA standpoint is nill).

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:55am

      Re:

      The fact that jailbreaking the same OS on different devices has varying legality depending on the device it's installed on only illustrates how broken the system is.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 10:41am

        Re: Re:

        You jailbroke iOS? Ok no big deal. Wait, you jailbroke and THE SCREEN HAD MORE THAN A 5" DIAGONAL! TERRIBLE DAMAGES! SUE! SUE! SUE!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      G Thompson (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 11:27am

      Re:

      You do realise that in the other countries of which the USA is not part of this action by Eidos and Apple themselves under numerous Trade laws and/or Consumer Acts is actually unlawful, illegal or in some cases both!

      Selling something to someone that you know does not work as advertised is classified as milsleading at best fraud at worst.

      Oh and Most of those places jail breaking ANY Apple product is highly LEGAL!

      I know for a fact that Apple are about to find themselves in a deep and hugely expensive (the fines because astronomical) legal problems due to this (and Eidos as well) within Australia. Where our laws are actually about protecting the consumer against shysters and fraudsters like Eidos and Apple are showing themselves to be in this matter.

      The EU, and New Zealand, etc wont be far behind

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:49am

    DRM Digital RENTAL Media!

    You will NEVER own what you pay for DRM laden software.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Guy From V, 12 Jul 2013 @ 7:59am

    Slater? Screech? Jesse?

    I saw the post by "Zac Morris" and the following post say something about "Lisa" and I thought there had to be some Bayside High shenanigans going on here.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2013 @ 10:44am

    I'm pretty sure this opens up Eidos Interactive to wire-fraud charges, though I'm not 100%. I mean, paying for an item that you cannot use for its function without an in-person access is probably the definition of wire fraud.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    btr1701 (profile), 12 Jul 2013 @ 10:57am

    iPads

    Will it run on a wifi-only iPad? Mine has no jail to broken out of because it doesn't have cellular internet acccess.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      PaulT (profile), 13 Jul 2013 @ 1:26am

      Re: iPads

      You're confusing jailbreaking and unlocking. Unlocking is where you remove the carrier restriction, so that naturally only affects phones & 3G devices. Jailbreaking is where you remove Apple's restriction to only install pre-approved apps downloaded through their app store. You can still jailbreak your iPad, but if you haven't done so you should be safe - from the above description at least.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Jul 2013 @ 3:33pm

    i'm so sick of all this drm. f you!

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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