Viewing topic WARNING: Capcom going back and adding DRM to games that lacked it before!

Title: WARNING: Capcom going back and adding DRM to games that lacked it before!

Pengling 15 Jan 2024

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I just learned about this when grabbing a link for a title I already have, only to see a sudden spike in negative reviews, all talking about the same thing: Capcom has been [going back and adding DRM](https://www.polygon.com/24034967/capcom-drm-resident-evil-revelations-steam-mods), called Enigma Protector, to past PC releases, sometimes after removing the much-reviled Denuvo, and the Steam pages for the affected games don't mention this new DRM. I bought a few games without DRM attached - I don't think I should be hearing that they now have it second-hand.

Apparently this has been going on over the last year, for some titles, and it's quite tricky to find a complete list; I did find one [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/comments/195n8st/about_enigma_drm_and_whether_or_not_capcom_is/), but I get the feeling that it's probably only a partial one, especially since [apparently it's been reversed in some cases](https://readwrite.com/capcom-backtracks-quickly-and-removes-drm-after-players-rebel/).

For me, luckily the affected games aren't native titles and are run through Proton*, and they're only on my Steam Deck and not on more important hardware, but I am a bit miffed to learn that malware has been added without warning like this.

*I assume that removing the games is the end of the problem, for a Linux user? I've honestly never encountered this before!

When they announced previously that they were doubling down on DRM I'd already decided not to purchase any more Capcom games until they rethink it. This makes my decision permanent, which sucks because they make a number of series that I like, but I'd rather go without because I'm not going to do business with a company that behaves like this.

Last edited by Pengling on 15 Jan 2024 at 7:35 pm UTC

7 Likes, Who?

StoneColdSpider 16 Jan 2024

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No..... Its the modders that make Capcom look bad....... Not the on disc DLC...... Or the Capcom hack........ Or any from of DRM they use....... Its all the modders fault that Capcom looks bad..... Its not Capcoms fault at all....... /s

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Pengling 16 Jan 2024

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Quoting: StoneColdSpiderNo..... Its the modders that make Capcom look bad....... Not the on disc DLC...... Or the Capcom hack........ Or any from of DRM they use....... Its all the modders fault that Capcom looks bad..... Its not Capcoms fault at all....... /s

There's an alleged reasoning for all of this floating around at the moment (and I'm trying to type it with a straight face but I can't! :grin:), which probably won't surprise anyone who's been a fan of the company or has known employees there: Apparently, after [that naked Chun-Li mod incident at a Street Fighter tournament](https://www.retbit.com/2023/08/01/nude-chun-li-mod-momentarily-delays-street-fighter-6-tournament/), they doubled down on this because Chun-Li has been dishonoured! :tongue:

Take it with a pinch of salt of course, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it's true - where most companies would just be like "lol that guy's nothing to do with us" and quite likely bar them from hosting sponsored events in the future, older Japanese businesses can get quite weird about it (apparently the incident blew up over there, which is why they think we're all stupid and got confused to believe that Capcom did this officially), and it looks like this is one of those cases.

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Doktor-Mandrake 17 Jan 2024

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It's really disappointing as I have alot of their games in my library and been a big fan of their games since I was a kid, but this is like on-the-disc-dlc levels of bad lol

And yes I do think it's true that it was the chun-li thing that brought this on.

Thing is everyone knows these kind of mods exist for games in the PC space, even those of us that don't use them.. do they REALLY hurt a companies brand or reputation if said mods exist? Probably not

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LoudTechie 17 Jan 2024

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Quoting: Doktor-MandrakeIt's really disappointing as I have alot of their games in my library and been a big fan of their games since I was a kid, but this is like on-the-disc-dlc levels of bad lol

And yes I do think it's true that it was the chun-li thing that brought this on.

Thing is everyone knows these kind of mods exist for games in the PC space, even those of us that don't use them.. do they REALLY hurt a companies brand or reputation if said mods exist? Probably not

Qua market share.
Nah.
A thing is though some of these Japanese companies are full blown political entities in Japan.
As a political entity your image is very important.
Naked Chun-Li mods do affect your image.

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Tadas-Estidal 17 Jan 2024

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is there a way to stop steam from updating the games? maybe just making the folder read only and messing with folder write permissions?

steam client doesnt have a "dont update" feature.

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Ehvis 17 Jan 2024

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Quoting: Tadas-Estidalis there a way to stop steam from updating the games? maybe just making the folder read only and messing with folder write permissions?

steam client doesnt have a "dont update" feature.

It's hard to "stop" the updates on steam, but you can restore old versions. And as long as no new update comes (and you don't verify your files), it will leave the old version.

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Tadas-Estidal 17 Jan 2024

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Quoting: Ehvis
Quoting: Tadas-Estidalis there a way to stop steam from updating the games? maybe just making the folder read only and messing with folder write permissions?

steam client doesnt have a "dont update" feature.
It's hard to "stop" the updates on steam, but you can restore old versions. And as long as no new update comes (and you don't verify your files), it will leave the old version.

There has to be a way to take away write permissions from steam to be able to write to a readonly folder(specific folder of the game)

2 Likes, Who?

whizse 17 Jan 2024

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I think I'm ok with DRM in this specific case.

The reason being; while I don't care one way or the other about naked Chun-Li, the same DRM will also make sure Blanka keeps his shorts on.

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Pengling 17 Jan 2024

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Quoting: whizseI think I'm ok with DRM in this specific case.

The reason being; while I don't care one way or the other about naked Chun-Li, the same DRM will also make sure Blanka keeps his shorts on.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh goodness, that is not what I was expecting at all! :tongue: :grin:

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damarrin 17 Jan 2024

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We all laugh, but if China called and told you they'd invade tomorrow if you didn't protect their citizens' modesty you'd be putting DRM everywhere you could as well.

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Doktor-Mandrake 18 Jan 2024

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Quoting: LoudTechie
Quoting: Doktor-MandrakeIt's really disappointing as I have alot of their games in my library and been a big fan of their games since I was a kid, but this is like on-the-disc-dlc levels of bad lol

And yes I do think it's true that it was the chun-li thing that brought this on.

Thing is everyone knows these kind of mods exist for games in the PC space, even those of us that don't use them.. do they REALLY hurt a companies brand or reputation if said mods exist? Probably not
Qua market share.
Nah.
A thing is though some of these Japanese companies are full blown political entities in Japan.
As a political entity your image is very important.
Naked Chun-Li mods do affect your image.

But some Japanese games are so weird and also questionable which makes them so memorable to me.. like Mr Mosquito on the ps2

Also this was one person, one bad actor.. seems harsh to force this drm onto people like myself who hate drm with a passion due to one bad actor among the capcom fans

1 Likes, Who?

Pengling 18 Jan 2024

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Quoting: Doktor-MandrakeAlso this was one person, one bad actor.. seems harsh to force this drm onto people like myself who hate drm with a passion due to one bad actor among the capcom fans

If there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that one should never underestimate how far an old-fashioned Japanese business will go regarding even imagined slights regarding honour.

One other example would be how Nintendo halted pretty much all licensing and merchandising in the West after the Super Mario Bros.: The Movie debacle in 1993. They kept that up for 25 years.

Last edited by Pengling on 18 Jan 2024 at 9:47 pm UTC

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PublicNuisance 26 Jan 2024

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This is a downside to Steam and anything like it. Steam being DRM itself, it isn't a big deal to add in more DRM. How are people going to really complain about more DRM when they're fine with the DRM they already capitulate to ? Lot less likely for a store like GOG or Itch to allow adding in DRM down the road.

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Pengling 26 Jan 2024

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Quoting: PublicNuisanceThis is a downside to Steam and anything like it. Steam being DRM itself, it isn't a big deal to add in more DRM. How are people going to really complain about more DRM when they're fine with the DRM they already capitulate to ? Lot less likely for a store like GOG or Itch to allow adding in DRM down the road.

Very true, and very fair.

However, this isn't ultimately a big factor, from what I can tell - because of the sort of old-fashioned company they are, Capcom would be doing this regardless of sales platform, because they feel so strongly that the character they designed to sell on sex-appeal was "dishonoured". If they were on a more open platform, they'd probably just withdraw from it - Capcom only has two games on GOG as it is, and zero on Itch.

Last edited by Pengling on 26 Jan 2024 at 7:25 pm UTC

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Ehvis 26 Jan 2024

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Quoting: PublicNuisanceThis is a downside to Steam and anything like it. Steam being DRM itself, it isn't a big deal to add in more DRM. How are people going to really complain about more DRM when they're fine with the DRM they already capitulate to ? Lot less likely for a store like GOG or Itch to allow adding in DRM down the road.

I agree with that, but that's only one side of the coin. With respect to DRM there is also the matter of what it does and who you trust. In case of Steam, the DRM Valve put in is pretty mild and lets you play offline without any issues. Also Valve has no history of betraying the trust of their customers. GOG on the other hand does very well with their stance on DRM, but, as a Linux user, I don't trust that their decision making is in my best interest. Now, everybody needs to make those decisions for themselves, but for me Steam still wins it. However, this only applies to Steam and Valve, it does not apply to the publishers selling games on Steam. So I do have a strict rule that I will not buy any games that require 3rd party dependencies (as in any online requirement that is not covered by Steam itself).

1 Likes, Who?

Doktor-Mandrake 30 Jan 2024

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Quoting: Ehvis
Quoting: PublicNuisanceThis is a downside to Steam and anything like it. Steam being DRM itself, it isn't a big deal to add in more DRM. How are people going to really complain about more DRM when they're fine with the DRM they already capitulate to ? Lot less likely for a store like GOG or Itch to allow adding in DRM down the road.
I agree with that, but that's only one side of the coin. With respect to DRM there is also the matter of what it does and who you trust. In case of Steam, the DRM Valve put in is pretty mild and lets you play offline without any issues. Also Valve has no history of betraying the trust of their customers. GOG on the other hand does very well with their stance on DRM, but, as a Linux user, I don't trust that their decision making is in my best interest. Now, everybody needs to make those decisions for themselves, but for me Steam still wins it. However, this only applies to Steam and Valve, it does not apply to the publishers selling games on Steam. So I do have a strict rule that I will not buy any games that require 3rd party dependencies (as in any online requirement that is not covered by Steam itself).

As someone who uses Windows primarily I've been annoyed when I bought games on GOG preferring DRM-free only to find my specific version of the game doesn't support linux, only the windows version does

But even on Steam, some DLC for some reason do not work on the linux build.. I found this out on Worms Reloaded that I couldn't use my DLC, a minor annoyance for that game but none the less

In terms of DRM and digital content, I feel like I want to bring up the elephant in the room... "piracy"

Do you know that games like Manhunt, on Steam, use cracks? By the infamous Razer, like you buy the game on steam, download it and it uses cracks lol!

Rockstar couldn't even be bothered to re-verse engineer their crappy DRM they used years ago for their old legacy games, but oh hey some pirate has already done the work for us, lets use that!

Trials Evolution.. Love Trials, but I always have my no-cd crack for that game to bypass the ubisoft launcher, not only makes the game much easier to install on linux but I do the same on Windows just to bypass their awful launcher, I'll download my copy I bought from steam, and then apply a crack.

And yeah Valve have been mild with their DRM but when I see what TF2 has gone through over the years with bots hackers ect. and now l4d2 getting ddos makes me wish they'd give their legacy titles more love.

Things like the concept of ddos on one of my favourite games puts me off not just DRM but internet in general atm

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