Won't be getting Spore ...

[pam123]

It's a pity since I was looking forward to the game.
Today's (9/14) cartoon from User Friendly sums it up perfectly : http://www.userfriendly.org/

[Force Flow]

I was only mildly interested in the game, but in combination with EA's DRM, the updater tool, the reports about it being an unpolished game, and a few other minor quibbles, I think I'll pass...

[XenaWP]

Question: an article on ExtremeTech says it can only be installed 3 times. How can a CD know how many times it is installed? Does this thing phone home to report its installations? Does that mean that someone who has no internet connectivity can't play the game?

[pam123]

Originally Posted by XenaWP Question: an article on ExtremeTech says it can only be installed 3 times. How can a CD know how many times it is installed? Does this thing phone home to report its installations? Does that mean that someone who has no internet connectivity can't play the game?

The game has to be activated, which means it calls home.

[Force Flow]

After 3 activations, it won't activate any more. If you want it activated after that, you have to call EA, they'll grill you on why you used up the 3 activations, and *maybe* grant you a 4th.

[Strider]

Well, I like the game and I don't plan on playing it on more than 1 computer I personally have no problem. The people I blame for this DRM debacle is the pirates, for they in my opinion are the ones to blame for the DRM mess in the first place and unfortunately they'll not going to be the ones affected by this for they'll hack around this copy protection. I never really did care for EA for their customer support has always been terrible and have always taken a hard line stance on technical issues, but I've been a big fan of Will Wright (SimCity, SimEarth and SimAnt). I think EA will eventually relent in changing their DRM policy in the future for I think they'll be getting a lot more complaints from honest customers than they anticipated in getting.

[Alaron]

I don't really see why this is a major problem for most users. How many computers are you going to install it on exactly? Do people buy games to put on half a dozen machines in their house to avoid having to move more then 10 feet when they want to play?

I have one gaming machine, where games would be installed. I don't care that it has 3 activation limit. I only intend to play a game through once.

Disclaimer, I haven't played Spore or even intend to. Just a general thought.

[pam123]

It looks like EA is not only getting the complaints but that Spore is about to set a record as a pirated game.

Since September 2nd when Spore first appeared on BitTorrent, it has been downloaded a little over 500,000 times across various BitTorrent sites according to our most recent statistics. This download rate exceeds that of any other pirated game in history, and in a week or two from now it will be the most pirated game ever on BitTorrent.

http://torrentfreak.com/spore-most-p...to-drm-080913/

Furthermore the "pirates" are EA's former paying customers this time around and they're making a point of seeing that EA knows it.

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by Alaron I have one gaming machine, where games would be installed. I don't care that it has 3 activation limit. I only intend to play a game through once.

Spore is a SIM game...it doesn't have a solid end. Just whenever you feel like quitting. Kind of like WoW (but with no monthly fee....yet)



Something else to be aware of...you pay for an account. If you want seperate accounts, you need a seperate copy of the game. Or, if multiple users use your computer, they either use the same account, or have to purchase their own copy of the game.

[Alaron]

Even still, at some point I would be finished with it and move on to another game. I don't think I would have sudden urges years later to play it again. And even if I did, I could do that twice before having a problem.

[Force Flow]

Arstechnica plays with EA's DRM: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...ng-result.html

According to their findings, a reinstall slot is only used up when the game is installed on a different machine (although, I'm still curious what happens after you install it, do a nuke n' pave, then install it again)

Also according to their findings, EA's reactivation for someone claiming that the game is a rental is easier than first expected. They issue a new key, but the game has to be reinstalled.

[pam123]

That looks much better but it still doesn't explain why, if that's how they handle it, EA set that 3 install limit in the first place.

[liambl]

I don't think games should have activation, and if they do, 3 times is a bit too little. Looks like Crysis Warhead is going to have the same protection.

[Force Flow]

They certainly have the capability to remove the activation limit. Bioshock was using securom as well, and they removed the limit after the gaming community got in a tizzy over it.


The reason for activation is to attempt to retain control over a software product to prevent the proliferation of pirated copies (which doesn't always work well, either for being transparent for legit customers, or for preventing piracy. I just read on an article on digg a couple days ago that a high-profile distribution site had 300,000 pirated copies of spore downloaded On the other hand, look at all the complaints floating around about activation from legit customers...)

There's also the argument that if the company's activation servers go offline (Microsoft had this issue last year with WGA), or if the business gets shut down entirely (Yahoo Music), you're out of luck.

Just think of some old classics that you may like to pull out from time to time. Many of those games are 10-18 years old already. There's no way game companies would keep activation servers up for that long. It's not profitable. Would you be able to play today's games 10 years from now?