Encrypted Video Game Files

I received Half-Life 2 from Mom & Dad McGowan for Christmas. The game is supposed to be great, and I’m looking forward to it. But so far, I am not impressed - and only because of the installer. Valve had a very early version of the game’s source code and content stolen some months ago, and they seem to have over-reacted in a ridiculous fashion. I’ve spent the last twenty minutes watching the semi-invasive Steam program decrypt the data files for a game I own. The absurdity is that a legal, paying customer is required to sit through a tortuous decryption process and an online registration requiring an email address so that I can obtain updates that should be free. In the mean time, the people who really want to steal the game will already have done so.

Here’s a clue: The super-advanced copy protection schems you guys come up with will be broken, and the only people who suffer are your good customers. There are better ways to protect your investments.