To be honest, when Takayuki first t this man, he thought he seed alright—relaxed and informal, which suited his own style. That was part of the reason he was willing to talk business.
If the person had been overly formal, Takayuki would've probably just told him to skip the nonsense and get straight to the point so he could make his own judgnt.
But the mont the guy opened his mouth and started spewing buzzwords, Takayuki felt like he was suddenly back in his old world.
He rembered how the internet company he used to work for would go crazy looking for investors every few months—and they'd speak in the exact sa way.
It felt familiar... but also incredibly annoying.
Then, when Takayuki asked him to cut the fluff and explain the product directly, the man introduced sothing very familiar:
Encryption for gas? Anti-piracy? Preventing cracked versions from spreading?
Oh boy.
Takayuki could only think: Of course. Denuvo finally shows up.
Denuvo was a well-known digital rights managent (DRM) software from his original world. Its main function was to prevent pirated versions of gas, making sure players couldn't enjoy them for free.
On paper, Denuvo benefited ga developers. It did help boost sales and protect revenue.
In theory, it was a win-win.
But only in theory.
Denuvo was a love-hate tool.
Ga developers loved it—because it protected their bottom line.
Players, however, hated it—because it hogged system resources.
Gas that could've used 100% of a system's power to deliver top-tier visuals ended up using only 70-80%. The rest went to DRM overhead. This made the experience worse for the people who actually paid for the ga.
Ironically, the pirated versions—once cracked and stripped of Denuvo—often perford better.
Takayuki always hated it.
Because of DRM like this, many gas he played had disappointing performance, even on good hardware.
Consoles weren't affected, thanks to their closed systems. That was one of the few "safe zones" in gaming.
But on PC? Denuvo was notorious.
"So what you're saying is, you've developed a program that can protect legitimate gas from being cracked for a long ti, thereby increasing sales?"
"Yes! Exactly, Mr. Takayuki! Sounds like you've already heard of us. So ga companies have already seen big sales jumps after using our product."
The guy was excited. He took it as a good sign that Takayuki understood right away—proof, he thought, that his product was becoming famous.
He was already dreaming about signing this deal, hitting it big, and living a life of yachts and mansions.
"I'm not interested in your product," Takayuki replied bluntly.
"...Uh, Mr. Takayuki, perhaps you don't fully understand what we're offering. I can explain—"
"No need. I know exactly what it is. I only have one question for you. Answer it clearly, and I might reconsider."
The man straightened up a little, trying to look serious.
"Alright, go ahead."
He expected a challenge—but felt confident he could handle it.
"My question is simple: does your encryption software consu system performance while the ga is running? And if so, how much?"
The man froze.
It wasn't that the question was difficult—it was easy, actually. He instantly knew the answer.
But how did Takayuki know to ask that question?
It was their biggest flaw. And it was a serious one.
Just like Denuvo in the original world, this encryption software used up system resources.
And not a small amount, either.
Denuvo had gone through many updates over the years. In the beginning, it was nearly useless for stopping piracy, yet still consud massive resources—players hated it.
So hackers even vowed to crack any ga that used Denuvo, just to spite it.
But despite the backlash, DRM stuck around—because for ga publishers, sales ca first.
Most profit-driven companies ignored the complaints. And so, Denuvo beca widespread, much to PC gars' dismay.
Eventually, a erged: "Suffering for buying legit."
It described players who paid for gas—only to get worse performance than pirates.
"...Uh..." the man stamred.
He didn't know how to answer. Or rather, he didn't want to.
But Takayuki already understood.
This world wasn't much different from the one he ca from. All the sa issues would appear eventually.
"I refuse. I'm not using your product. Gastar Electronic Entertainnt won't touch your DRM software. You may leave," Takayuki said, without hesitation.
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