Computer game developers want to know how many people are interested in their product. It is easy to define this if we are talking about the boxed version: there is nothing easier than counting how many copies have been sold. But if the product is published only electronically and free of charge, then the only way to count is by authorizing the product.
Instructions
Step 1
Do not use phone activation. This service was relevant until 2002 at the most and was finally superseded by the arrival of the Internet in everyday life. It worked as follows: when registering a product, you could select the item "I do not have an Internet connection." In this case, the program offered a phone number, by calling which it was possible to find out the registration code.
Step 2
The basic type of activation today is automatic. By purchasing licensed versions of products such as Assassin's Creed II, you agree to mandatory online activation, without which the game simply will not work. The developers make the process as convenient as possible for the gamer: by clicking on the launch shortcut, you call the very "Internet launcher", which will establish a connection to the server, activate the game (if you launch it for the first time) and only after that will launch the product.
Step 3
Activation can go through internal services. For example, games marked Games for Windows use a single Windows Live service that is integrated into the product and allows online game activation through a single user profile. A similar system is used on Steam with the only difference that there it is not integrated into the environment, but is a separate program for the OS.
Step 4
Activation can go through the developer's site. This mainly applies to small games distributed over the Internet and created by independent developers. However, serious projects may come across, such as "Splinter Cell: Double Agent" or "Borderlands". To carry out such authorization, in the main menu of the game, select either the appropriate item ("registration" or "product activation"), or study the item "Network play" (for example, in the above "Splinter Cell", product activation was actually required only to play on the official server). When you press the button, the game will be minimized to the tray and will open the Internet browser immediately on the product activation page. You will need to indicate your information (name, gender, age, etc.), as well as the serial number of the game.
