The player

Game makers are getting far too trigger-happy in their fight against piracy, writes CIARA O'BRIEN

It’s a common gripe from record labels that piracy is killing the music industry. Industry groups blame falling record sales on internet pirates who are infringing copyright and giving away others’ work for free. In response, they’ve come up with solutions that have, in turn, been derided and despised by the public.

The games industry is no different. Facing a growing problem of piracy, gamemakers have begun integrating features intended to prevent users from infringing their copyright and sharing games online. Some of the solutions have not been well-received.

Two recent releases require a persistent internet connection to work, regardless of whether you're playing online or not. The PC titles Silent Hunter 5and Assassin's Creed IIhave both been criticised for this feature, which limits how and where they can be played. If you can't get online, you can't play. Take into account that internet connections can be flaky, then add complaints of games not saving correctly, leading, ultimately, to player frustration.

Console makers are at a slight advantage, given that anti-piracy measures are built into the consoles, but they also have problems. Microsoft last year removed 600,000 to one million Xbox 360 consoles from its online service, Xbox Live, because the consoles had been modified. This is supposedly permanent, although it’s probably only a matter of time before someone comes up with a fix for the ban.

Aside from the fact that altering the console’s hardware breaks Microsoft’s terms and conditions for using Xbox Live, some modded consoles can play pirated games. But the methods seem harsh on those who altered the machines simply to add a larger hard drive.

Sony is taking another tack, moving to download models for some of its titles. Owners of a PSP Go, for example, can only buy games from the PlayStation Network, because Sony removed the UMD drive that featured on the original PSP machine. Once downloaded, the games can be used only with the associated account. Attempts to download the code to a second machine account will be fruitless.

Downloadable games are undoubtedly more convenient for both gamemakers and consumers – you don’t need to carry around the discs.

But they also put a lot of limitations on the games.

For a start, it cuts out the possibility of a short-term loan to a friend.

The days of swapping titles look increasingly numbered, and if the download model is adopted on a wider basis, the pre-owned market will also see fewer titles available.

For Nintendo, the move is understandable, given that the company has been fighting the use of cartridges that allow users to store a large number of games on a micro SD card. While the cards were developed to allow users to back up games they legally owned, free ROM sites (and some enterprising users) have enabled the SD cards to be used for the file-sharing of copyrighted games free of charge.

When Nintendo’s DSi was launched, it was said to strip out any compatibility for the cards; however, there are plenty now on sale that are said to work with the handheld gaming device.

However, as Ubisoft discovered when its Digital Rights Management (DRM) servers went down last month and rendered Assassin's Creed IIunplayable, companies need to tread a fine line between protecting their intellectual property and alienating customers who have bought a genuine copy of a game.

There are tough lessons to be learned from the music industry’s battle with pirates – the gaming industry should take note and avoid repeating the same mistakes.