From what I've heard on the net it's not a rootkit.
And even tho I'm not 100% sure I think ppl making images like that without being sure should have their balls cut off. All it did is spread mass histeria across the net even tho the dispute is not resolved and before you know it you've got god knows how many know-it-alls yapping about the damn thing without even reading up on what happened.
It has rootkit-like behaviour. it installs itself without letting you see where it is, so you can't get rid of it. The uninstaller also doesn't get rid of it, you're stuck with it untill format or you find a way to get rid of it.
This is the source Slashdot used to thrash Sony. The author admits to not doing his homework in the comments. He says "He's letting the readers to judge" and still taged his article with a title that scared everybody. I dont see a question mark anywhere. And also, pretty much anybody that has looked into the situation says it's not a rootkit.
From what I've read, if you buy the game off Steam, no extra copy protection is needed. Only the retail boxed version has SecuROM.
If you're anal about the whole rootkit nonsense, just buy it from Steam (www.steampowered.com) , the game will be downloaded and no cd will be required.
Guys, to call it a rootkit is pure crap - they tell you it's there and what it does. This is just Slashdot hating MS again. Nothing new - follow the links and actually read the source article. The link in the story takes you to a blog, which takes you to a user submitted story with a contradicting headline.