Comment by heavyset_go
4 years ago
I remember all sorts of bootleg media prior to the PS2 release, and what I suspect happened is that there were large crackdowns with FBI investigations and raids on bootleggers. They went after homeless people selling bootleg VHS and DVDs on the street, too. I haven't seen much counterfeit media since then.
Modern DRM uses cryptography and remote attestation, but that wasn't around in the PS2 era.
How does that work? Is every legitimate CD different, with some unique key? Otherwise why can't pirate versions use the same key?
I can't speak for all systems, but some games on CDs were burned with unique keys, yes.