Some people think the Stardock team are morons, they think Stardock don't know what's going on.

Are you kidding? If anything, they are genius. (genii?) If the rest of the market doesn't understand it, it is their loss, and their customer's loss. (Loss? For the company? For the customer? I'll explain below.)

Stardock has an extremely successful model which actually turns piracy into yet another sales channel. Their game upgrade / registration process (further fueled by Stardock's reputation for after-sales upgrades and enhancements) funnels illegitimate copies back into sales. And in a way that doesn't run over the customer (compare/contrast: RIAA). People won't buy the product for some altruistic motive or "to do what is right". Owners of illegitimate copies want the goods. They want the upgrades and the enhancements to the game that everyone else is getting. And with the regular updates, it is very difficult and time consuming and unreliable for most people to do that with pirated copies.

These Stardock guys are ahead of the curve. Without actually saying it, they (unofficially... wink and a nod, you know) want pirated copies because it only means more sales! Not indirectly... directly.

That's a win for them (real sales) and a win for the consumer (no DRM). Stardock has the new model for successful game sales. Too bad they didn't patent it!