You might want to look into what Stardock does with their games like Gal Civ 2. I know it is hard, especially publishers to accept, but maybe consider no DRM and require the game to be registered to get updates or some DLC later on. Stardock did this and while I can't find a sales number article at 2am, I remember reading on IGN years back their Gal Civ 2 sold over a million copies blowing their expectations away. http://forums.galciv2.com/106741 <- in their own words

I do NOT support pirating games but I am realistic about it, the people that want to buy the game are going to buy it, like me. Those who don't or can't afford to buy the game though and pirate it are more than likely not going to buy it, even if they can't get a pirated copy. I think publishers/developers sometimes get caught up in the mentality that every game pirated is a lost sale when, in reality the vast majority of them are probably not. Don't get me wrong, it sucks that you guys/gals don't get 100% of what your hard work deserves, but I really think the one misbehaving means the other 99 must suffer rule is kind of silly.

I think if developers/publishers would start trusting their fans a bit more they might be surprised by the results. Of course that is just my opinion wink