Pretty predictable. As usual, legit contents are a loss against the "illegal" ones. These industry assholes are very very smart, indeed :-D

I'll just do what I did to Bioshock: buy the game then play the cracked version.

Same here. I never bother installing a DRM infested game when there's a pirate version out there without it. I'll pick the game up from somewhere and stuff it on a shelf. Problem solved. The devs get their due if the game is worth it, and my computer stays squeaky clean.

Won't buy, won't play. I am sick of seeing this crap in my registry. No amount of violence, drugs, foul language or hookers offends me more than malware DRM.

Yet another game I won't be buying. If it has SecuROM - forget about it. It's that simple to me.

Yup, count me out too. If it has SecuROM on it, I'm not going to buy it.

I wonder when will the publishers understand that this kind of protection is hurting their sales, not improving them.
There will be a crack for any protection system imaginable.
Yes, get used to the idea.
People WILL pirate your game.
Sadly, that's also something to remember.
However, some of the pirates might still buy your product if they think it's good enough. They certainly won't bother if you reward them with infecting their system with malware. And what about honest buyers? How many people will reject your game up front, just because you were idiots enough to treat them like brainless ATM machines? By selling a game that is in no way superior to the pirated version you only hurt yourselves. Not to mention nasty lawsuits. Your reputation and your stock are on the line here.

I have some strange feelings towards DRM that forbid me buying games with that s**t (sorry for that but so many games has been "destroyed" in my eyes because of DRM that I can't restrain myself)
I hoped that GTA IV will be DRM-free, cause it's in the market (console) for sooo long :/

Unfortunately, this method still supports DRM. It may be ethically acceptable to you, but it's certainly not helping the DRM situation in any way.

That's right. I can really understand the need to support the developers, but you have to be aware that:
1. By buying the game you support the publisher first and the developer second,
2. You show other developers that choosing certain publishers and agreeing to invasive DRM is perfectly acceptable,
and, the most important thing:
3. You support the DRM in its current shape. By doing that you also support more and more invasive forms of DRM.
The truth is - if the publishers see a constant stream of money, even when they put this crap in every game, then they will want to do more, move the boundaries further - bit by bit. If no one reacts now what's stopping them from moving to a fully rental model? We really need to look at the larger picture here.
I don't have the right to tell you what to do, but I can tell you that I - for one - from this point forward am not going to buy any game with that kind of DRM. I'm tired of this crap forced down my throat and I will vote with my wallet. It can be damn hard sometimes - I really wanted to buy Dead Space - but I'll get over it. And seriously - I can get on without some games. The question is: can the publishers really say they can get on without their customers...?

I was going to pre-order via Steam, but with the release of this information, couple with the fact that Rockstar has no confirmation about activation limits for Digital Distributions of GTA IV, I pulled away. Instead I sent a letter to Rockstar expressing my disapproval.
That's all I can really do.

If not already done you should read through this IGN article:
IGN: Rockstar Talks GTA IV PC DRM
It's really informative and answers questions like activation, digital distributions and so on...

Thanks for the link. I for one, will be skipping on this title. I don't care enough about Rockstar to support them with SecuROM in the picture, so I won't.

This kind of DRM is unfortunate but it is something that sadly we pc gamers are being forced to accept. Some game production companies are already starting to view the pc market as a lost cause. Choosing to not support drm riddled productions may send the message that we don't want their crap on our systems, but it also runs the risk of further pushing them away from the pc market in general. We are stuck in a d**ned if we do d**ned if we don't situation here. My only prayer is that once they decide that they no longer feel the need to run the drm servers, they'll have the decency to actually provide a kill switch patch to remove the securom from the game so we can still play it for years to come.
I'm just glad they are at least giving us the unlimited activations unlike bioshock or any other online activation securom titles that have come out. As long as the server is running and I can install the game, I can live with it. I don't necessarily like it, but I'll make do. The creations are, afterall, their own. It's their right (and mistake) to protect it as they please.

No and yes. We certainly don't have to accept DRM and we shouldn't. As for the companies leaving the pc market - GOOD! I can't wait for smaller companies taking the place of idiot giants like EA and earning money by learning from their predecessors' mistakes. Of course that will never happen, because no matter how much whining we hear about PC games market, no company will ever leave it alone, because it would mean less profit. They NEED to make PC games. Fortunately we don't have to buy every piece of crap they create, and their deepest fear is that the general community will one day realize that they need us more than we need them.