A new Ask Capcom Forum Thread started by Christian Svensson indicates that a positive outcome may be possible after the negative backlash to the recent announcement that the upcoming Windows edition of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition would use one of those DRM schemes that requires a constant internet connection (thanks Joao). Following much outcry, he is soliciting "a constructive dialog" on the topic of DRM, offering a Christian take on the four questions:

Question 1: Without using a secure network authentication mechanism of some kind (SSA, Steam CEG, Impulse GOO, SecuROAM, etc.) how can we validate that a copy is legitimate versus pirated?

Question 2: If it isn't what we've proposed, what form of limitations would be acceptable in the event that there in a "non trusted" mode, assuming that it can be secured?

Question 3: If there were a network validated install and we put in an offline mode that would allow you to have funtionality for some period of time, but require revalidation on a frequent interval, would that be acceptable?

Question 4: There seems to be a lot of supposition that the pirates will instantly crack whatever protections we put in place. One never knows, that could well be true. Personally, I'm not quite as defeatist. One at least has to try. Now, if we promised to "sunset" those protections in the event of a crack being created so that legitimate users don't have a substandard experience to pirates, is that an acceptable solution?