I mean, Ubisoft ended up giving customers a fix for Rainbow 6 after it rain into DVD problems that was made by a piracy group...

[forums.ubi.com]

@oncewascool
I read that Blizzard quip also...it was on an EA forum, posted by a Maxis (i.e. EA) VP. To me that's a lot like my neighbor saying to me "I don't see why you are upset I smashed your car windows with a baseball bat because I'm starting a rumor that your other neighbor is planning on burning your house down...THAT's the guy you should be upset at"
I had been following Spore since it was announced, and was looking forward to buying it, but two reasons have changed my mind.
1. 3 Activation limit - Since Spore can not be installed as a "All users" instillation, I would have to burn two activations to install it on my PC under my user ID, and then again install it on my PC under my son's user ID, or let him log into my PC under my user id, which means he'd be playing with my profile. If I did install under two User ID's on one PC, the 1st upgrade/OS refresh, I'd burn activations 3 and 4, prompting a call to EA, which btw, is NOT a 1-800 call.
2. A lot the 5 star reviews I've read on Amazon and Best Buy all seem to say the same couple of things "Great game - finished it in 3 hours" and then go on to say any games after that feel exactly the same. Or they say "Great Game - my 5 year old loves it" Okay, how is a game that is doable in 3 hours with little replay value great, or how is something geared to a 5 year old going to hold my attention?
If I am going to buy a game (and yes, I buy each and every one of my games, piracy is wrong) I want it to last me a good long while, the Civ series, Age of Empires, Railroad tycooon for example are games I bought and still play years later. I'm not going to spend 50$ on something I'll play once or twice, only to get bored with it. Yes, the DRM is arrogantly condescending to the purchasers of the game, and had some weight on my decision, but the overall dumbing down and no re-playability was the deal-killer.

If not, then you aren't. You are purchasing a copy, and have all rights as you would with any other set copy of digital media. Likewise, one of these days, I imagine they'll get in trouble for installing things like SecuROM, without telling you very plainly what it is, what it does, and allowing you to get a refund if you do not agree with it. But, it will take more people getting screwed by it than has happened so far.

I'm not a lawyer, but the EULA paragraph governing technical protection measures seems to imply that there is a software component, since it tells you in plain English that "If you disable or otherwise tamper with the technical protection measures, the Software will not function properly."

After reading up on the consumerist, I have decided not to buy the game. This is of course due to the DRM, as I cannot support such strong use of it. I liken it to that of an over-zealous police officer; they mean well but the ends do not justify the means.

Initially I intended to make a suggestion. After reading many comments, I noticed people thought it a good idea to buy the game proper, but never install it and use a torrent version instead. This would rid them of morality issues and they could enjoy the game DRM free. However, this would unfortunately support EA, which other users also pointed out, puts us all back at square one: supporting a game that has DRM even if we have eliminated it on our personal machines.

The suggestion I was going to make was to donate the full sale price of the game to Maxis, the developers of the game, and then use the pirated version. This would have the same effect as purchasing the game morally, but without supporting EA. Upon looking at Wikipedia however, it seems Maxis is a subsidiary of EA, and I do not have the business savvy to know whether you are still simply giving the money to EA anyway. Anyone with enlightened information about subsidiaries should please share with us this information, as this would be a fantastic way to support the game and still make consumers happy. The main point I am trying to get across is that EA not make any money from this, therefore if giving money to Maxis is essentially the same as giving money to EA than simply do not pirate and do not buy the game.

Clearly this is a big issue that will garner much attention from the gaming community, as well as other news representatives. I am personally saddened that great games such as Spore are being limited by the company that publishes it, as it creates waves of confusion in some instances that can be detrimental to something that shouldn't be tarnished.

@solipsistnation:

enjoy your spyware/malware/virus.

@Segador:

You must be an EA plant to try and calm down the fire. SecuROM is spyware people, do not buy anything infected with it.

@Jesse:

Your sympathitic to a company who would sneak spyware/malware/viruses on to your machine without your consent or knowledge? You should work in DC.

I find it kind of disappointing that Consumerist (and many of the commentors) seem to be celebrating what is basically a dishonest form of "vigilante justice" taking place here.

People are "reviewing" a game they refuse to buy because of stories they have read on the Internet. None of the quoted reviews recount any first-hand experiences with this supposedly terrible copy-protection runining their gameplay experience.

This sort of thing is exactly what's WRONG with online review systems that allow anyone to publish a review. Products can become whipping boys due to outrage over unrelated (and at this point still completely theorhetical) issues. We should all be outraged by dishonest people who "review" products they have never used, not saying "lol good 1 way to show EA whos boss!!!"

I guess that's alright... but having to call them up can be annoying.

Oh well I guess as long as it's a semi yearly thing and perhaps I'll get bored with Spore later on.

I meant.... "it doesn't hurt..."

As a biology teacher, I found this game particularly interesting. Unfortunately, having discovered EA was behind it, I knew there would be issues. I haven't bought an EA game since BF2, since in BF2140, they started inserting ads into the game to generate even MORE revenue. Sorry, but I refuse to support a company that whores out its customers like that. I paid for the game, I refuse to suffer ads in addition. Add to that the DRM issues, and I'm done with them. Doesn't help I don't have time to spend getting good anymore... :)

But what about games whose concepts don't really require network features? Is there a good, non-intrusive means of deterring piracy in those cases? I'd hate to see standalone games die in this environment, but is it unavoidable?

No. I've got a fairly substantial essay on this topic on the forums (if you're interested in reading it, search for "Surely EULA Jest"), but I'll summarize it here:

I don't buy licenses, I buy games, regardless of what the game companies might like American consumers to think. When I buy a game, the transaction is NOT between me and the game company, the transaction is between me and the store. The EULA is NOT a legally-enforceable contract. To use the common legal term, a EULA is a "contract of adhesion" and is therefore unenforceable digital wind worth no more than the paper it's printed on.

They don't get to say, "Oh, well, when you buy our game, you're bound by this contract that you can't even read until after you've opened the box" any more than I get to say, "EA, you can use my fifty bucks for food or gasoline but not booze or transvestite hookers". The interactions between me and a software company are not governed by the so-called "license agreement", but by the laws of our state and country, specifically Copyright Law, which can be found here:

[www.copyright.gov]

Legally, a EULA is the same thing as me saying, "By reading this comment, you hereby agree to donate 50% of your paycheck for the rest of your life to RedSonSuperDave. If you do not agree with this condition, you may travel back in time and not have read this comment." That is, utter horseshit that nobody should take seriously. You have just as much chance to travel back in time and not read my comment as you have to take an opened package of software back to the store and get a refund because you don't agree with the terms of the EULA.

Unfortunately, a lot more American consumers don't realize this, and yet I don't get shares of anybody's paycheck. What an unjust world we live in.

@Trai_Dep: cool. As far as the whole "creationism" question, someone still needs to "create" the creatures, correct? :) The rest of the game (in it's original scope that now appears to be dumbed down) is based on an interesting theory.

I decided not to *buy* Spore after the Bioshock debacle.

I decided not to *torrent* Spore after reading the reviews. In the end, it just wasn't the game I'd been waiting for.

I haven't bought any Sims expansions after that first one where they stuck on SecuROM without telling anyone, and I did buy GalCiv2, just because of their DRM policy. (Oh, and it was on sale for $10. But still.) And I won't be buying Sims3 if they keep up this silliness. So that's... what, like $200 they're not getting from me in about 18 months, or (once you add in 7 Sims3 expansions) over $400 over a couple of years. Not bad. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Seriously, if a lovely working crack is on the torrents before your product is even in the store, your DRM isn't doing jack except annoying your legitimate customers.

It's a shame I won't be buying it, then.

I tolerate Steam, and I've come to terms with CD keys and CD checks. But that's it. In fact, SecuROM and online activation are so far over the line that the line is out of sight on the horizon.

Regarding point #3, does this paragraph from the EULA (link above) not disclose DRM policy?:

"Technical Protection Measures. Our Software uses access control and copy protection technology. An internet connection is required to authenticate the Software and verify your license. If you are not connected to the Internet, you will not be able to
use the Software until you reestablish an internet connection and verify the license. The first end user of this License can install and authenticate the Software on a set number of machines which may vary by product. If the Software permits access to additional online features, only one copy of the Software may access those features at one time. Additional terms and registration may be required to access online services and to download Software updates and patches. Only licensed software can be used to access online services, and download updates and patches. If you disable or otherwise tamper with the technical protection measures, the Software
will not function properly."

I'm pretty darned pleased that the Mac OS doesn't allow such system-level shenanigans to happen and blocks them, I have to admit)

Question: to people that believe in Creationism suffer a crisis of conscience before purchasing Spore? Heh.

I don't think that's going to be a problem. The End User License Agreement (EULA) does not specify a limited amount of activations per license. That seems to be more of an EA policy in order to deter serial key abuse.

I would bet money that as long as you are the original user, you should have no issues with obtaining additional activations.

Since the stories about EA forcing users to buy another copy after their three lives are up cannot be independently verified, we have to be skeptical.

Again, I think there's nothing to worry about. It's my belief that those hoping to get their copy & serial off of a torrent are causing all the fuss.

Everyone must remember that EA still owns the software and the user is just paying for a license to use it.

[www.gametreeonline.com] - Spore EULA

No DRM + online capabilities. It's stupid that I have to pirate something I paid money for just so I can avoid crippling DRM policies. And SecuROM clearly doesn't work because there's thousands of cracked and hacked Spores being downloaded right this second.

EA, you can do three things to get that little portrait of Grant out of me:

1) Stop using DRM software that installs itself as a rootkit, cannot be removed without a complete reformat, interferes with normal computer use and blocks legitimate software. You do not have the right to control how my PC works, and installing malicious, invasive software is highly unethical no matter what the reasoning.

2) Ease up the "three activations" restriction. At the very least, don't make it chew up activations for things like minor hardware upgrades and the like.

3) Provide full disclosure of any DRM and activation restrictions included in your game. This is, to me, the most serious ethical breach by EA: That they used highly invasive DRM software and a restrictive activation scheme is bad, but not actually informing your customers of those facts is damn near fraudulent. At the very least, the presence of SecuROM should be made known on the back of the retail box so that customers know what they're getting into. Not informing them that rootkit software will be installed on their PC is tantamount to putting malware or a virus on the disc.

I'll put up with CD keys and online activation with no problem, but restrictive activations and malicious DRM software is an instant no-no for me. Hopefully enough people shy away from Spore for these reasons that EA gets some of this through their thick skulls.

I think there needs to be warning labels on games that install viruses like DRM. That way people know up front.

To all those touting the WoW model: I may be wrong, since I've never played it (I have an addictive personality, so it's probably a good idea that I stay away), but isn't it a monthly subscription-based game? I do not want to pay monthly to play a computer game. EVER. I can understand why MMORPG's do it, but Spore isn't an MMORPG, is it? No, really, is it? I haven't kept up with all the hype over the years, but was hoping to check the game out when it dropped under $30.

Anyway, I remember the days when you'd buy a game, install it, and play it without having to insert the disc. Then, you'd install it on each and every one of your family and friends' computers. Well, there's got to be a middle ground somewhere ;)

Good work EA. Alienate some more people.

Also, several acquaintances who got the game said that it gets boring after a few hours, probably because there's no challenge to it.

The whole DRM crap is just extra incentive not to bother.

I agree with the rental remarks.

Furthermore, I extend that comment to some of the D2D distributors who, after you pay FULL PRICE for the game, cut off your access to download the game after six months. So, basically, you're paying to rent access time, of all things.

But, don't worry, EA and others have your best interests at heart, and therefore offer you, out of the goodness of their hearts, the opportunity to pay them another 6 dollars over and obove the cost of the game to gain an additional 18 months of download access to the game.

Nmever mind the fact that if you want to play the game again a couple years from now you won't be able to... unless you buy the full version again.

Fucking rip-off artists... I'm so tired of that D2D scam.

A vast majority of the users will not even notice the DRM restrictions. I don't like the idea of having to call up EA on the fourth install and ask for that counter to be reset either, but I am sympathetic to what they are doing.

Most people would simply buy it, but thanks to EA, the only way to get a copy that doesn't destroy your computer IS to steal it, since only pirated copies come without the virus/DRM bullshit.

I do know some morally exceptional folks who pirated the game and THEN bought it, so that EA got their money and the customer got a working copy...but I think if the product's so bad that you have to pirate it in order to have a good copy, they don't really deserve that money anyway.

If EA wants to get paid, EA will stop producing crippled products that nobody in their right mind would buy.

If they want to prevent piracy, they'll produce reasonably-priced games and treat their employees and customers well, so that people will want to pay them. (That's all they have the right to do to prevent piracy, but thankfully it seems to work very well, as other companies like Stardock demonstrate.)

My husband really, really wanted this game...but no. No WAY. Our computers are too important to us, as is our time and our self-respect. F U E A.

Thank you for this incite.
I don't like paying 50 bucks for a game BUT, I was ready to buy this until I read this article.

EA can keep their DRM ... and Spore with it.

way to go EA

I was in line to buy the game at Wal*Mart but the line was taking too long. I decided to break for a second and on a whim I did search on Spore at one of their display laptops. I dropped the box and left Sporeless.

"I'll just wait till someone cracks it then download it."

He will, too. He buys plenty of games but won't buy ones with offensive DRM.

[www.jeremyduffy.com]

DRM, and I was really tempted in buying it, thanks for the warning.

Oh, yeah. The WoW model works a lot better, folks. But this is EA, after all, whose answer to viable competition (ESPN NFL2K5), instead of improving their (Madden) product, is to pay more to the NFL for an 'exclusive' license.

So go ahead, buy this, and let them put spyware on your PC or you cannot play the game.

No, I didn't skip the game - I just downloaded the torrent with all of the DRM and activation garbage removed.

What publishers don't realize is that by implementing all of these anti-pirating schemes they are forcing people to pirate the games. SecureROM, web-based activation, all of these can be easily bypassed and/or removed from the game - you are doing nothing more than emptying your own coffers by using them.

@Brine: If you are against pirating, you could purchase a retail copy and leave it unopened, then just torrent a DRM-free version to install. You paid for the product, and you get it DRM-free.

Wrong. That puts money in EA's pocket and only encourages them to continue using Sucker-rom and other DRM bullshit.

The only way EA is going to smarten up is to hit them where it hurts the most: in the wallet. If people don't buy the game, tell others not to buy it and give bad reviews, and tell EA about the bad reviews and lost sales, eventually they'll get a clue if they lose enough revenue. And that means not playing pirated versions too - played games means more word of mouth for the product.

I believe the method is to install the game, DON'T run it, download the crack (just the "crack only" file, not the whole game) and then copy the cracked file where the download directions tell you to. And, supposedly, it'll work perfectly and allow you to connect to the internet, which the downloaded game won't do without a registration key.

Some people aren't willing to do this because it puts $ in EA's pocket, but it's the closest thing I can think of to being legal without having to use Securom.

Also, I've heard that (and seen confirmation of, on someone's machine) the game has a fairly serious security leak, which hasn't yet been exploited by anyone but alarmed several people on a private forum I read. I'd love to post the discussion but it would really piss the mods there off! Feel free to take this with a grain of salt, as I can't provide direct evidence.

According to the computer wizards on this forum, when you create content (which the game is all about) and aren't logged in using your EA username, the game takes your computer account name (at least in Windows) as your creator name for your creature. This is a real problem for one of my friends, who created some things and then realized the game was putting his unusual real first name (which is the name of his account on the computer) as the creator name. It supposedly is embedded into the .png files the game uses to store and share the creature data. The data is actually part of the picture itself, which makes it almost impossible to remove, at least right now.

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't want much I post on the internet to be labeled with my name.

Once again, I'm going off of a bit of hearsay on this, but I did see my friend's name showing up on his creations, which is a big red flag to me.

Time to buy a new computer!

I'm sure there are many spore fans out there that would not mind paying a fixed amount of dollars for extra downloadable content (ex. new limb and leg parts, etc)

Later,
Chrome...

Hopefully someone at EA will realized how many sales they've screwed themselves out of and be wiser with future releases.

Of course there are a couple of drawbacks: a) You're rewarding EA for their lousy choice of DRM, and b) you'll need a helluva hot system to run this game virtually.

Amazon is up to 1,800+ 1 star reviews. That is simply awesome. I really hope EA is watching.

EA and all of the backers of DRM think that it is like a cure all. I prefer slysoft's game jackal to get rid of DRM but getting rid of DRM is still a pain

Who do I e-mail to tell EA exactly how I feel about this? Hopefully we can get both the DRM and Securom removed, and EA won't try this shit with The Sims 3. (Crossing fingers here)

Put up a CLEAN copy of Spore and I (along with a bunch of other gamers) might consider purchasing Spore, EA.

Does anyone know of any repositories that list programs known to use DRM
like this? It would be nice to have a simple way to check anything before
purchasing.

Yes, the DRM convinced me to hold onto my money. So far, that's Spore and Mass Effect that I haven't bought for the PC.

How many more times does EA need to shoot itself in the foot before gangrene sets in?

@dorianh49: sheesh. EXPLANATION.

Based on EA's track record, they will release a statement in a few days defending their choice of DRM with an explation containing mostly half-truths, and will only address 1 or 2 of the dozen or so issues that have been raised by consumers, and will finally be forced to reduce their DRM a few weeks later. You read it here first! (but you've seen it countless times before, so, no biggie)

When I thought of my fourth install, if needed (probably not seeing as how game installs have survived on my Mac for more than a decade, moving between computers and copies of my OS, without trouble) I'm just going to crack it. I paid for the game, they can suck it.

This reminds me of Adobe CS3. I pay crap loads of money for the opportunity to suffer through DRM that illegitimate buyers don't even have to stress over. I wish these inbred companies would wake up...

I love videogames. But if the next Zelda came out with DRM, I would skip that too.

Maybe rent. But not buy.

The biggest issue with the DRM in question that some people (SkokieGuy being one of them) are ignoring is that it does not only stop you from copying the game. SecuROM tends to be setup to install several potentially nasty things on machines that are not going aware without a reinstallation of the operating system.

There is no good reason to install a virus on a paying customer's machine to protect your copyright.

Do gamers expect software companies to 'trust' them to not buy one copy and equipment themselves, their friends and anyone they choose via file sharing?

What do these angry gamers propose? Their beef is legitimate, but how does a company permit a buyer to perform unlimited downloads on his personal computer, but prevent file sharing and illegal uses on other computers.

Heck, I hear that the Orange Box kicks ass, but it's infected with Steam, so I'm not going to touch it. I still bear a grudge against Steam for the way it handled my dialup connection when HL2 came out, and the way it took it upon itself to Steamify the copy of Half-Life 1 on my computer. I don't care for uppity inanimate objects deciding to make changes to my computer against my wishes.

I'm ashamed to say that I bought Mercenaries 2 (for the 360), but after the half-assed responses we're getting over at the official forums, I'm starting to move into the "I will never buy another EA product ever again, ever" camp. I can hardly wait for WIF mode to be released as a 108k download that costs 1600 Microsoft Points. (That last sentence was pure supposition based on EA's track record.)

I can't blame software makers for using some kind of DRM, but I do agree that the DRM better not interfere with normal computer usage. Apparently the technology used in the Windows version creates some problems -- and that's not OK. They should just require registration and occasional checks via on-line access -- the game is really only good online anyhow.

I read about this a few days ago. I dont want SecurCom on my computer and I don't want to buy DRM'ed games. I've avoided game patches in the past because they downloaded SecurCom along with the patch. So yeah, this decision will keep me from buying this game. Which is a shame, because I already have the Spore Creature Creater. Good thing that SCC satisfies my God complex enough on its own.

I certainly appreciate the distinction between unethical and illegal. I also abhor the DMCA, and as I pointed out above, I believe that buying the game and downloading a DRM-free version would be ethical.

If you want to send a message to EA about this kind of crap, but you're not amoral enough to just download the game without paying for it, then I don't really see any reasonable alternative to not playing the game at all.

IMO, buying the game, even if you circumvent the DRM in some way, just rewards EA's bad behavior, which is something I personally refuse to do.

im expecting the same to happen to spore a few months down the road.

When you steal something, that item is taken and is gone "forever".

When you pirate something, you're just making a copy of that item.

Circumventing DRM is another issue though this definition applies to all general music/movie/software piracy. The original still exists and the owner still has possession of it.

I don't buy licenses, I buy games, and I have the utmost sympathy for anybody who decides to pirate a game that is published by a company that treats its customers like criminals.

Breaking immoral laws is the American way. Stand up for what's right, and don't let yourself be bullied by soulless corporate tools. No real human being ever said, "You know what would make this software BETTER? If it included a bunch of restrictions telling me how and when I can use it, and made me prove that I own it every time I want to use it, and if it disabled legal and legitimate functions of my computer because they might conceivably be used to pirate this program."

@jimconsumer:

I probably would have put this differently but I agree with some of the spirit. As someone who has read and commented on this site since its inception I've found the quality of discourse has gone down, not up. I don't know who's the chicken and who's the egg, but it seems like a lack of screening on potential commenters is part of the problem. This necessitates a response from the comment cops to something that I thought would be encouraged here, a way to get across to people at a company a consumer has a problem with. My cynical side says that the infraction is not organizing anything but taking a subject out of the EECB pool which could be written as a post and generate page views.

Just skip the game altogether and go with something that doesn't violate your rights as a consumer.

Mass Effect
Spore
Any and All of the Sims 2 EPs and Stuff packs since Open for Business
Sims 3 (if it has DRM, I ain't buying it. No matter how awesome the game is.)

Seriously, stop treating honest customers like we're wannabe criminals and they might help these companies turn a profit.

I wouldn't go to the trouble. If Consumerist wants to employ moderators who threaten and ban people on a whim and accuse them of "organizing" when any idiot can clearly see they did no such thing, I can point my browser elsewhere along with whatever ad revenue I may have generated.

When I see the gestapo, I call them out. If they get heavy handed with me, they lose my "business." Eventually, such activities will result in the death of an otherwise excellent site. I've seen it time and time again. A forum I used to frequent had over 100,000 active members and was pulling in huge ad revenue. They hired a bunch of gestapo to police the place, myself and hundreds of others were banned for daring to call them to the carpet, and everyone else just got tired of the BS. Today the forum is a shadow of it's former self with less than 10% of the activity it once had. So sad, but that's what you get when you fuck with people to fuel your ego.

We all know EA sucks...they only thing they make good is sports games...because nobody can compete with their licenses for real team names and player names.

Everything else is a cutting edge gaming studio that they took over to suck all of the profit from them and spit them out.

We really wanted to purchase Spore. Glad we read this before we bought it.

This is a problem with videogames in general and in my opinion is the main reason piracy is so rampant. In this day and age, you pay around 50 for a game and if you don't like it then tough. You're stuck with it unless you trade it in for store credit. Game reviewers don't help either. Plenty of sites will hype up a game and then when it comes out will say that it's shit. Plenty of games have also been hyped to the moon only to suck.

Most games should have a demo. With all of the consoles online, this shouldn't be a problem.

If company rewarded paying customers rather than ostracizing them PC games wouldn't be in the pinch they're in. Crap. I wanted to play Spore, now I won't be able to.

Actually, yes.

We purchased the creature creator and we've played with that all summer, but if installs garbage on my machine, We simply won't be purchasing it.

I don't pirate, so surely the game makers can understand why I don't like to be treated like a criminal.

Piracy sucks, plain and simple, but in this case the solution is worse than the problem. This is actually keeping people from buying the game. So you have pirates who get the game without buying it and you have people who actually don't bother buying it due to the DRM.

The point is to make folks who are considering buying the game very aware of what the DRM consists of, something EA has been unwilling to do.

EA has not adequately informed buyers of the game of their limited installs, the viral nature of the DRM, and the implications of 'renting' what they thought they were buying. That is simply not acceptable. At least now, anyone buying the game from Amazon, will be able to make an informed decision about buying/not buying the game.

The other point is that DRM does NOT prevent pirating, it only makes it more likely. The reason is simple: people who might normally buy a legitimate copy, when faced with draconian DRM that will literally infest their computer, will choose a 'hacked' version from bit torrent or the like. These DRM schemes do NOT prevent pirating, (Mass Effect was hacked 4 days after being released, despite the same DRM scheme). This garbage treats gamers as thieves, and only hurts legitimate consumers. The pirates will always download a free copy. The only people EA is hurting is the honest folks like myself and others.

If I don't get a physical copy that I can resell as I please, you are not going to sell me a single game.

If I buy something, I expect to own it outright, not just have a license to use it.

What these companies fail to appreciate is that the average person willing to play the pirated version of 15 games is NEVER going to pony up for those 15 games if paying the tab... they'd probably only buy 3 or 4 of them... and therefore, they piss off the paying customers who crave convenience over price, and do NOTHING to prevent the very pirates they want to go after...

Yup.

You're always going to have piracy. It's not pretty, but it's true. Spore was on the torrents at least 24hrs before release (in stores). All you're doing with DRM this restrictive is punishing legitimate users that are buying the game. It's zero sum really, and the Ironclad gent made a better case against copy protection / drm than I ever could. Sins of a Solar Empire is by far one of the best RTS games I've played in forever. No copy protection on the game at all. You want the updates? You have to register the key, but that's no biggie.

Ways to cut down on piracy:

1) Good demos widely available. Why would you pay 50 bucks for a game you can't return and might not like?

2) Bang for buck. Sins may not be the prettiest game, but you felt like you get your freakin' money's worth out of it.

3) Realistic system requirements. Nothing sucks more than finding out the game will run like crap on the minimum system. Oh, and you can't return it either.

4) Gameplay is king. Good games focus on gameplay (SMAC, SoaSE, Civ, Q, UT2K4, RTCW:ET, WoW, Omega, Battletech: CHI, et al.) Why should anyone pay to play a sucky game? (too many to list) Especially one that crashes all the time.

Thing is, it's probably true regardless. That's what's sad.

Go ahead, ban me and continue to make up bullshit rules and watch your membership decline. I've seen my share of excellent forums destroyed by the moderator gestapo, if you continue down this path Consumerist will be no different.

The problem is not the membership fee, but the fact that charging the same fee as another club that lets you have unlimited visits and only allowing 3 visits for that price. Then after your 3 visits are used requiring a driver's license, passport, birth certificate, and utility bill as proof that you haven't moved since you joined.

Typical EA bullshit. Hey, Consumerist, can we get some coverage of Mercenaries 2? Leaving out all the things that they promised and didn't deliver, including the official forum's administrator Alastor making false claims about the game as recently as three weeks ago, Pandemic released an utterly BROKEN game that apparently didn't go through beta testing at all: it's a glitchy mess on the consoles and utterly unplayable for many PC users.

Are you aware that changing your Harddrive or your Video card or your network card or a number of other normal changes burns an activation.

This DRM scheme is junk and the game should be panned for it.

You're welcome to call EA all week, but I'll stick to games that assume I'm innocent, rather than assume I'm guilty until I convince them I'm not..

If they used a scheme which did not make pirated copies superior, it might end up a good compromise. As it is, it's a waste.

Since then I have avoided buying EA games and I buy about 3-4 games per year. Spore had me ready to buy. I was going to break down and play the game know customer service would be useless.

DRM stopped that cold! I hope all the games get returned for credit. Shame on EA!

Same way with DRM. No matter how restrictive you make DRM, pirates will always break it very quickly, usually before the game's release date. Spore, for example, was up on bittorrent days before it was released in stores. So, people who weren't going to buy the game anyway can still get it as freely as ever, yet paying customers are hit with the ridiculous restriction on the number of times they can install the game. The DRM only hurts paying customers and noes NOTHING to stop piracy.

There is a difference between renting and owning.

A better analogy would be:
You purchase a new car, but in order for the car not to be stolen they only allow you to turn it on three times. After your three times is up you have to go back to the dealership and beg them to let you use your car again (more activations).

But if you are a hacker, you don't have to worry about this because your hack makes it so the car doesn't have that limit.

These limits are only hurting the customer. The hackers don't care about any sort of protection, they just disable it.

Hell, the hacked version is better then the real version.

@Suttin: WoW and other MMOs can only be played online (not just authenticate). Many resources are on the server only and the whole point of the game is to interact with others (be it through talking or simply "being" in the same world, etc).

Which leads to another reason that this DRM is horrible. One of the big draws of Spore is the interaction between players online. Do the random authentication then so that playing the long-term-attractive-part of the game builds in the DRM. Don't do stupid things with the CD or limit installs. The pirates still get their game (which they have now) but people buy the game for the value-add online component. Others here have compared it to battle.net.

I'm not buying the game either. I buy games and expect to be able to play them down the line.

@Corydon: well? Improve your morale, already! :P

@SkokieGuy:
nice, you actually looked into it...

In closing, you have an example of a company that knows the market, knows how to keep costs down (great game for under $1 million), built a game for a wide audience, and completely skipped using any type of copy protection of DRM scheme. Why? Because the only people that decision effects are the paying customers.

The result?
Game has sold over 500,000 copies so far.

Success?
Damn right

IMHO, the people complaining are fairly uniformed whiners. DRM is simply the nature of the PC software industry, where companies shut down every day because of rampant piracy. I'm also having trouble imagining a situation that would require more than 3 activations, and even if you do, you can simply call EA, as I have in the past, and they assigned me THREE more activations. Try getting three more activations from MS, or any other large software company. Also, installing the game does not "break" your computer. If you don't care enough to educate yourself about the software you buy, then don't buy it. Trashing it on Amazon's rating system simply demonstrates your amazing willingness to go along with a knee-jerk crown reaction.

Ironic that the draconian DRM has actually helped the game get pirated more..

Nice work EA.

@OminousG: For others, the link to the page where the company comments on privacy is:

[forums.sinsofasolarempire.com]

there's a very interesting rant by blair fraser (the game's producer) somewhere on the net about how DRM is a complete waste of time & resources. wish i could find it...

Unless DRM of this type is killed in the market by consumers, be prepared for a lot more of it. The truth is that every trade association involved with digital media: music, movies, software; would love to do away with the business model where you own an unlimited use physical copy of their product.

They would much rather you 'license the rights' to use something, i.e.: rent it. Failing that, they would like to push people into proprietary formats so they can make you pay more for the versatility you currently enjoy under the fair use provisions of copyright law. Looking around my house, I have CDs that over 10 years old and I'm still working off of Microsoft Office 2000. I'm sure media corporations would love it if I had to re-purchase those things.

Please explain why my rights as a consumer should be infringed because of the actions of another.

Your argument (and EA's) sounds suspiciously close to "the floggings will continue until morale improves".

@godai: The analogy game is fun! And no software required.

Okay, I have a club, I charge a membership good for three admissions. Someone is letting people in through the back door.

Do I:
A: Hire a security guard to reduce the number of illegal entries?
B: Stop charging membership, go bankrupt and close the club.

They're going to have hacked copies of Spore showing up on torrent, and it will only be EA's loss. With this many outrage people, you're going to see a ton of downloads.

I agree with the negative reviews. DRM is one of the reasons I'm also not buying Spore, even though it is a game I've been looking forward to for years.

That, and the fact that they DID choose to dumb the game down for more of a "Sims 2" audience.

Rumor is that the game was cracked & up for download on release. The people that download a cracked version are using a version that isn't loaded down malware, while the people who paid money & bought it legit have to deal with third party malware on their system.

10 years ago, you were hesitant to download pirated software because there was a good chance it was loaded with viruses/malware. Getting a clean copy of the software was a big incentive to buy a legit copy from the store.

I don't have the answer to the pirate question, but something is very wrong when the cracked copy has become the only way to get a 'clean' copy of software.

@SkokieGuy:
I'm going to take this as an honest question, and not sarcasm. So I'll reply with a short response that should point you in the right research direction:

Sins of a Solar Empire

I bought it because I wanted to play it and I don't really care what a bunch of churlish geeks think.

Also, DRM has a secondary, rarely-mentioned - to damped the used market. When someone ebays their copy of the game, the publisher doesn't get diddly. Adding restrictive DRM can keep a second, third, etc. player from playing that same copy. In other words, the publisher is effectively skirting the first-sale doctrine.

[en.wikipedia.org]

@Suttin: really thats lame, its not even an mmo is it.

The most pathetic part about all of this is the complete ineffectiveness of SecuROM to prevent this (and every other "protected" game I'm aware of) from being pirated. I understand their need to protect their intellectual property and I have no intention of pirating it, but I will not pay for a copy either. No Spore for me until this gets sorted out.

people need to stop buying madden, and NCAA and any other sports game EA makes.

EA is my least favorite publisher by far. *points at the battlefield games*

*points at crysis*

that company has a firm hold of buy the next version of said game to get a patch for a bug that has been in since the original launch. and never releasing a patch for older games. horrible.

"Have these reviews convinced you to skip this game?"

Yes.

But the check doesn't happen when you play the game, the check happens when you install. No internet connection, no installation.

as long as ive had my steam account, i havent had to re activate games, despite being on multiple systems ive had, and even logging in on my brothers computer (while mine was off)

never had any issues like that.

thats probably why the 3 times issue is big.

I bought the game as soon as it hit the shelves (for my son). And EA's other DRMed game, Mass Effect, as well (for me!). No I don't like DRM. OTOH, I don't like software piracy either.

While I won't be contributing to the crummy Amazon rating, I wouldn't mind if it had some effect on EA's pretty draconian policy about 3 installations of a game.

More game companies need to look at the example Stardock is setting([forums.galciv2.com]), and realize pissing off your paying customers while fruitlessly trying to stop piracy is hurting only the paying customer. Given enough time all DRM is cracked (apparently not alot of time... as I spotted torrents for Spore a week before release).

Wrong, if you have no internet connection when you start up steam, it starts into offline mode automatically.

I met Mr. Wright at Pop!tech in 2006 when he demo'd Spore. He was certainly excited to see this type of game experience come to life. Too bad the protection on this fantastic game will make it a classic for being unpopular amongst gamers due to DRM and not for the fact that it is a leap ahead in gaming experiences.

Shit, there are even links on the WoW site to download the full game no questions asked.

@skokieGuy:

No say you are a dance club owner.
Now you charge a membership to get into the club.

But that membership only lasts until you change your hair cut/clothes 3 times. Then you have to buy the membership again.

Meanwhile there's a guy in the back alley letting everyone in through the back door and giving everyone a free membership.

The people wanting to steal the game, are still stealinging. The DRM was busted before the game was even released. So the DRM is not stopping piracy.
It is simply annoying people who actually pay for the game.

also: @Skokieguy, if your were EA, your solution would be to install monitoring devices on everyone that came into your store and if they (over time) changed their outfits or did their hair a different way (they could be disguising themselves to rob the store!), you'd have the police drag them in for interrogation. Silly, I know. As was the original analogy.

Steam requires you to activate online, only lets you activate ONCE (not three times), and you can't transfer the games you bought to a friend or another account. You also can't even play the game without an internet connection, unless you go "offline", but you need to have an internet connection in order to activate "offline mode". So if you've got your laptop somewhere with no internet and you want to play some Half Life, you can't without first going online.

/shrugs

I guess these are still good, anyone is free to try and guess other ones.

Partnerships and Biz Dev: onstage_bizdev@ea.com
Media Inquiries: onstage_pr@ea.com
Copyright Inquiry: onstage_copyrightagent@ea.com

1- Don't buy DRM'ed games
2- Buy DRM-lite or DRM-free games

That will convey the message a lot better then just pirating shit.

So if I'm a shop owner, and my store is going to be broken into anyhow, I'll should leave the front door unlocked, so I don't piss off the robbers?

Bnet. Doesn't matter how many copies you pass to your friends the #1 application of that software restricts you to one user at a time per major gateway. Using positive controls versus negatives. Legit copies are enabled to play online on Bnet. Illegitimate copies will have to cope with Lan and Single Player. It seems to work well for blizzard (War 3, SC, WoW, D2).

They even removed the CD check recently. So long as the CD key is unique and not banned they allow you to use the game. Pirate copy or not. Not invasive programs. No limited installs. This scheme has been around for ages but only works if you provide enough of an incentive (Bnet) to buy it legitimately. EA has problems producing games with that sort of value.

Curious, what would be a better way for companies to protect their product while still making things easy for the customer?

I've never really ask any gamers this because I rarely play computer games.

Good lord, I hate EA. You think this is bad, what about when you do buy something through there EA Download Manager, you have to pay an $6.00 to keep that registration on file more than 2 years.

Man, when Steam came out. I was not happy. But boy, I have been a convert. Nothing to worry about just need my SteamID and password. All games I own tied to me, not my particular hardware. Plus nifty sales of favorites (old and new) all time. I bought BioShock for $14.99 about a month ago!

EA is always an also-ran when it comes to these issues.

EA just copy what Steam does.

Betcha Amazon deletes all those ratings very soon.

Jeff Bezos bending over for EA in 3... 2... 1...

@Corydon: You couldn't be more correct. This DRM method has no chance of stopping pirates, but rather casual copying, and more importantly the secondhand market. It's already been reported that you need to fax over receipts, IDs, etc to get more than 3 activations. Good luck doing that with a used copy. This is yet another example of DRM screwing over the paying customer.

No doubt EA expects that this will result in more retail sales at the expense of the secondhand market.

Just more proof that Digital Rights Management has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with legitimate consumer rights.

And like terminalboredom, I am upset with the loosely-labeled industry journalists who neglected to mention this in their reviews. That just shows how out of touch they are with their readership.

Unfortunately for EA, customers didn't discover the bugs in BF2142 until EA already had their money. Not so with Spore.

As far as I could tell all the online stuff still worked (assuming you use a real CD key during install), it just removed the activation crap somehow.

/second-hand info

@m4ximusprim3: That was a joke, by the way. I don't condone software piracy, nor do I play computer games anymore.

I was worried about the piracy protection screwing up my system, so I just pirated it.

Works like a charm!

Do gamers expect software companies to 'trust' them to not buy one copy and equipment themselves, their friends and anyone they choose via file sharing?

What do these angry gamers propose? Their beef is legitimate, but how does a company permit a buyer to perform unlimited downloads on his personal computer, but prevent file sharing and illegal uses on other computers.

This was going to be the first PC game I bought since C&C the first decade was released.
Won't be getting now, mainly because of the reviews even without the secure rom. With that I won't get it even after expansion that make the game worth a damn.

And people wonder why people download games. If I get the downloaded game, I can install it as many times as I want.

No thanks to the game journalists who neglect to mention this in every single review.

I like to keep games indefinitely and brush them off every few years. This model of 'renting' new games - with no option to buy - just doesn't work for me. Further, I doubt that EA will keep up their end indefinitely and unlock activation at 'end of life'. They'll just say, "you got your money's worth, if you want to keep playing, buy EA Classic Games Vol 1 with Spore, Mass Effect, and Bioshock for $9.95".

The only DRM I tolerate anyway is Steam. It plays well with everything else I run and is not all "up in my grill."

SecureROM needs to close up shop. They are part of the problem, not part of the solution to piracy.

Three installs is not enough. Four installs is not enough. To use SMAC as an example, since buying that game, I've bought 4 completely new computers, upgraded my desktops several times, reinstalled and/or upgraded Windows probably at least 10 times.

If SMAC had had this DRM virus on it, it would have become an expensive coaster a long time ago.

There's no way I'm buying Spore, even though it was on my shortlist of games I wanted to buy.