The studio boss notes that "as long as there are dishonest people" we'll need to lock things, and so there will "be a need for DRM" as long as there are pirates.
SEGA's own math figures that for every four pirates of Football Manager there is one legitimate customer. "That figure is just from what we've been able to track, and the reality is that it's higher than that," lamented SI studio director Miles Jacobson.
Has Steam been good for the fight against piracy? "Again, you can't talk about saved sales. It's an impossible stat to track. Steam is effective at cutting at day-zero, and pre-launch piracy. Time will tell whether in FM12's case, it can stay protected beyond that."
A DRM-less world? "I would love to have no DRM on our games. I'd also love to not have to have locks on my home, or a burglar alarm, or locks on my car. How good would a life without keys be?" continued Jacobson.
"I'd also love to have no insurance, either at home, or at the studio. Or a security guard at the office. The unfortunate reality is that as long as there are dishonest people in the world, you will need locks, and you'll need insurance."
"As long as there are people out there who want to pirate, there will be a need for DRM."
The Sports Interactive studio director doesn't believe there's a future without piracy of DRM anytime soon. "If there is, I unfortunately don't think it'll happen in my lifetime. Even with freemium games, people cheat and try and find ways to steal others coins, as per recent court cases. It's very sad, but it's the world we live in," he said.
Football Manager 2012 releases on PC October 21st.
