factsinallcaps:

THE DEVELOPERS OF “BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM” INITIALLY COMBATED GAME PIRATES BY INSERTING CODE INTO THE GAME THAT WOULD PREVENT ANYONE FROM BEING ABLE TO PLAY ON AN UNLICENSED COPY. THIS CODE WOULD DETECT IF THE GAME HAD BEEN PIRATED, AND INSTEAD OF REPORTING THE COPY OR DISABLING THE GAME, IT WOULD MODIFY THE PLAYER CHARACTER.

THE PIRATED VERSION OF THE GAME WOULD FEATURE A BATMAN WITH SIGNIFICANTLY LESS COORDINATION, CAUSING HIM TO BE UNABLE TO USE HIS CAPE TO GLIDE FOR MORE THAN A FEW FEET. 

WHILE THIS WOULD SEEM LIKE A RATHER TRIVIAL CHANGE TO MAKE, ONE OF THE FIRST MISSIONS OF THE GAME REQUIRES THE PLAYER TO GLIDE OVER A PIT OF POISON GAS TO THE NEXT PLATFORM. IF BATMAN FALLS INTO THE GAS, HE DIES, AND IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET TO THE NEXT PLATFORM MY JUMPING, CLIMBING, OR GRAPPLING. THE PLAYER WOULD GET THROUGH THE INITIAL LEVELS OF THE GAME, ONLY TO FIND AN IMPASSABLE BOUNDARY. 

IT WAS DESIGNED, HOWEVER, TO SEEM LIKE A GLITCH IN THE DESIGN OF THE GAME, AND MANY PIRATES WOULD POST ABOUT IT ON THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT FORUMS, EXPOSING THEMSELVES AS PIRATES.