Bit-Tech published an interview with the owner of Stardock, the developer behind Sins of a Solar Empire. In the interview, they discuss piracy, DRM, online distribution and more.

BT: Piracy is pretty big topic right now and, with games like //Mass Effect and //Spore threatening increasingly draconian DRM 'protections', some gamers are worried about the state of PC gaming. Sins though came with no copy protection at all if I remember correctly, so what's your take on all this? Is there a way to stop the pirates without punishing the customers?

CF: We're all stuck in an unfortunate vicious cycle. As pirating increases, DRM increases, which in turn forces people to pirate.

From what I understand, //Mass Effect has since backed down a tad after listening carefully to their fans. SecuROM seemed a bit ridiculous in my opinion. At the same time you can't blame developers for retreating to the console if they can't receive the fruit of their labour.

Until a real solution presents itself, Stardock and Ironclad will continue to reward legit gamers and make the purchasing process are smooth as possible. The last thing we want to do is treat our customers like criminals.

Sins of a Solar Empire Interview