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Apparently the folks at Electronic Arts want me to become a software pirate. You may recall that I refused to purchase the PC release of Bioshock because the SecuROM DRM it contained would actually disable some perfectly legitimate troubleshooting software on my PC out of fear that I might use it to crack the game. It also limited you to 10 installs before you had to “reactivate†the game over the Internet and, as someone who restages his PC often, that was too much of an intrusion.
Now word comes down that the critically acclaimed RPG Mass Effect will also make use of SecuROM with a limit of 3 installs and a requirement that it phone home every 10 days to reactivate itself. Apparently the same will also be true of Spore:
The Sims controversy
The Sims 2 and some of its add-ons had previously used SafeDisc for copy protection until April 2007. Electronic Arts replaced SafeDisc with SecuROM v 7.x software protection since, beginning with The Sims Pet Stories. This includes The Sims Castaway Stories, The Sims 2 Deluxe, The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff, The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff, The Sims 2 Double Deluxe, The Sims 2: FreeTime, The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff, The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff, and The Sims 2: Apartment Life. Claimed problems relating to SecuROM include prevention of proper launching of games, disabling of CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc burners, and disruption of antivirus programs. Some users have reported severe damage caused by SecuROM, resulting in system failures that required complete system reformats to fix. EA attempted to address some of these concerns on the official website. Despite user complaints, EA plans to continue employing SecuROM and its future versions in their future releases.
Mass Effect controversy
In May 2008 EA announced that Mass Effect for the PC would be using SecuROM 7.x requiring a reactivation of the software every 10 days.[4] Due to a massive outpouring of complaints EA removed the 10-day activation while keeping SecuROM tied to the installation. SecuROM's product activation facility was still used to impose a limit of three times that a customer is allowed to activate the copy of Mass Effect they purchased. The game becomes unplayable after the activations are used up, until EA's customer support is contacted to reset the activation limit. Unlike Bioshock, uninstalling the game does not refund a previously used activation.[5]
Spore controversy
On September 7, 2008 EA released Spore using SecuROM. Public reaction has been swift and sharp, fueled by a grassroots campaign to flood Spore's comments page on Amazon with one star reviews (the lowest possible rating). As of September 8th 2008, there are over 1,031 reviews total with 1 star ratings. A vast majority of these comments cite SecuROM as the main reason for the low rating
With the exception of the (similarly plagued) MASS EFFECT, I never post reviews before actually using a product first-hand. What urged me to post this warning on SPORE was the unbelievable information leaked this week about this game. And it was what made me cancel my PreOrder of the game.
LIMITED INSTALLS? Well, we can thank BIOSHOCK for introducing and opening THAT can of worms - but hasn't anyone at EA heard how hard BIOSHOCK's PC sales were hit by that disastrous decision? How ridiculous their customer community office had to become to explain such hostile measures to their own customers? History does indeed repeat itself as a farce...
And, let me guess: exactly like BIOSHOCK, there will be IRREMOVABLE FOLDERS placed in our systems' Root that will effectively revoke our Administrator rights to our own PCs!
WEEKLY ONLINE AUTHENTICATIONS - FOREVER? What does EA thinks they are selling? NASA's trajectory software? I recently bought ADOBE's CREATIVE SUIT 3 (a much more expensive software than a PC game mind you) and it required only an initial activation.
What will happen after an unavoidable format? What about if you find yourself between internet providers for some days or your system crashes? There is no end to the ridiculous problems stemming from such a "security scheme". What were they thinking at EA? Were they thinking at all - or did they outsource that function to miser accountants?
In the end it boils down to this: who actually will be owning my copy? Are we to pay £35 only to...RENT this from its publisher - and be pestered with the weekly need to prove our purchase FOREVER? And what makes this even harder to understand: will such extreme measures actually prevent piracy? Well, they did not work for BIOSHOCK, why should they start working now?
So, one has to ask: what is next in store for customers that make the mistake of buying such a product? Chinese water torture? The Iron Maiden? Orwellian rat-masks? Guantanamo?
NO THANKS! No game is worthy of such harassment!
I canceled my PreOrder today. I would advise any serious PC gamer to do the same.
BTW: check this:
http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Pc/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1220969288&sr=8-1Check the reviews
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