Story by Anonymous

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I live in Argentina. When I was growing up, it was very common for games to be bootlegged—same with movies. You didn't think twice about it. If you wanted some cool new Japanese game, the only way to get it was from a guy who burned them onto a CD.

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This is how I got my hands on Norse Gods 2 (this is a pseudonym for the real game). I loved the first game, and was super excited for the second.

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I opened up the plastic jewel case, took out the white disc with black marker scrawlings, and played for ten hours straight. It was a school night. But I didn't care.

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I woke up groggy, went to school, zombied my way through the day. When I got home: Norse Gods 2. Hell yeah. Except... my save files had disappeared.

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Back then, we used memory cards. This was a PS2 game, and even though it wasn't as common for there to be a problem with a PS2 memory card, the original Playstation had had enough memory card issues that I was not entirely shocked that something would go wrong. Still, all of my save files disappearing was an oddity, especially since the save files for my other games were still there.

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Whatever. Another ten hours. I stayed up late again, grinding back to the point I had already gotten to. It was still fun, but a little less fun. Whenever you're forced to repeat gameplay, you get a little bitter about it.

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The next day, I rushed home from school only to find my saves had disappeared again. I was pissed. I asked some friends if they knew what was happening, and sure enough, I had been burned by DRM. The bootlegged copies of Norse Gods 2 would delete your saves after ten hours of play to prevent pirating. The only way to beat the copy I owned was to play it straight through, non-stop, all sixty-plus hours of it. Screw that.

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I put the CD back in its plastic jewel case and tossed it in the trash.

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