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Copy Protection: Difference between revisions
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** ''[[Metal Gear]] 2'' used "[http://www.msxnet.org/gtinter/Operate2.htm# P23 tap codes]" at certain points in the game, and the Colonel would instruct you to look at the manual for information on how to interpret tap codes. This was a frequency you needed to continue, and while brute-forcing it was possible, it was far more annoying than brute-forcing Meryl's frequency in the sequel due to the MSX's criminal slowdown and Snake's insistence on starting every conversation with "THIS IS SOLID SNAKE. YOUR REPLY, PLEASE...". Even more annoyingly, the version included in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3: Subsistence'' (the first release of the game in English) did not come with tap codes in the manual. Konami eventually provided a downloadable online manual with the tap code chart in. The European version of the ''Subsistence'' manual also omits the tap code chart, but does tell you the frequency, albeit without any context as to when it's required.
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' had a character, early in the game, who "forgot" a vital communication frequency and mention that "it's on the back of the CD case," referring to one of the images on the back of the game's plastic case. If you rented the game, moving beyond that point was impossible. Better yet, Snake has a CD case in his in-game inventory. Many, many gamers tried to figure out how they were supposed to look at the back of that case. When they couldn't figure out the solution to the "puzzle", they turned to [[Game FAQs]]. The remake ''The Twin Snakes'' eliminated this particular problem by having the character say that the code is on the back of "the package", since there's no package item. The only other option for players was to try every radio frequency in sequential order until they reached the correct one.
*** Hilariously, the 2008 Essentials box set included all three [[
* Almost all of [[Sierra]]'s point-and-click adventure games had copy protection in their manuals, meaning that those who used illegal copies of the game (or who just plain lost their manual) couldn't progress any further:
** ''[[Codename: ICEMAN]]'': The game begins as the main character is on vacation in Tahiti. A nearby volleyball player drowns in the surf and the player must rescue him and perform CPR. Obnoxiously, the game didn't tell you that it wanted you to look in the manual and type off the instructions verbatim.
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* Many old arcade games have "suicide batteries" that are believed to be used for this purpose. When the battery runs out, the game's graphics glitch, the sound goes away, or the game itself stops working.
** Of course, [[Lost Technology|once replacement batteries stopped being made]], it became a rush for emulation experts to ''save'' these games from oblivion.
** Many operators believe that the suicide batteries are actually used for another purpose: [[Self-Destruct Mechanism|planned obsolescence]]. The idea being that once the battery dies, the operator will be forced to buy the next version of the game (often, the deal is sweetened with a trade-in discount for the new version of the game), or pay through his nose for "repairs". Hence it's common to see this and [[Capcom Sequel Stagnation]] go hand in hand. In fact, these are now used in a different way: Given that many new arcade machines run off hard drives or GD-
** Some arcade games also required "Licensing modules", which are a separate ROM board that holds only the decryption key of the game. Many newer games, since they're run on machines based on PC hardware, requires a USB dongle to run. And of course the USB dongle could hold an expiry date instead of the game, adding to the planned obsolescence method mentioned above.
* The old [[Gold Box]] ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' computer games by SSI requires the use of the included a thick manual not only to log into the game ("In the manual section on page 45, paragraph 2, line 10 - what is word 6?"), but also to understand the plot (you have to refer to the journal part). In the [[Sarcasm Mode|brilliant move]] by the company for its Anniversary set, they included the spin wheels for some of the games' copy-protection, but forgot to put in the manuals for ''Gateway and Treasure of the Savage Frontieer'', rendering those two games unplayable.
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** There was a Super NES game that ''accidentally'' implemented copy protection: the game program had a bug which, by sheer dumb luck, caused it to depend on extremely precise timing of the SNES cartridge - play it on a copier or emulator, and the slight timing change would crash the game.
*** Would that be a [[Good Bad Bug]]?
* Some games on the original [[
* ''[[Robot Odyssey]]'', an Electrical-Engineering-based adventure game by the Learning Company utilized copy protection by checking the 5.25" disk for a "flaky bit". If the bit was not found, the player's ability to solder connections in the robots of the main game was disabled, rendering the game [[Unwinnable by Design|unwinnable]]. However, the copy protection was never disclosed in the manual and the flaky bit had a tendency to "settle" over time, meaning that many users found their legitimate games impossible to play past the third level.
* On certain emulators ''Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak'' would not go past the character-naming screen.
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