I think people often evaluate DRM as if it stands alone. In reality it's only one component in an integrated system of technology, economics and law.
A good enough DRM system does not have to be 100% unbeatable all the time. It's sufficient to:
a. Delay a hacked release until after most of the sales have already occurred. This is very often the case with successful game DRM. A crack after six months is irrelevant because virtually all the sales are in the first month or so. A crack that comes out after everyone with interest has already ponied up doesn't matter much, and in fact an unbeatable DRM that never gets cracked would suggest misallocation of resources!
b. Focus cracks on a handful of specialists who can then be investigated and potentially prosecuted or bought out. A DRM so easy 100,000 people can crack it is very different to a DRM that only 5 people have cracks for and where they keep their cracks private. The latter becomes amenable to non-technical approaches. Again, an unbeatable DRM would probably represent a waste of effort.
There are quite a few DRM schemes that have achieved this level of good-enough success which is why despite decades of people railing against it in online forums such as this one, it sticks around regardless.
A good enough DRM system does not have to be 100% unbeatable all the time. It's sufficient to:
a. Delay a hacked release until after most of the sales have already occurred. This is very often the case with successful game DRM. A crack after six months is irrelevant because virtually all the sales are in the first month or so. A crack that comes out after everyone with interest has already ponied up doesn't matter much, and in fact an unbeatable DRM that never gets cracked would suggest misallocation of resources!
b. Focus cracks on a handful of specialists who can then be investigated and potentially prosecuted or bought out. A DRM so easy 100,000 people can crack it is very different to a DRM that only 5 people have cracks for and where they keep their cracks private. The latter becomes amenable to non-technical approaches. Again, an unbeatable DRM would probably represent a waste of effort.
There are quite a few DRM schemes that have achieved this level of good-enough success which is why despite decades of people railing against it in online forums such as this one, it sticks around regardless.