Second Take: Spore's DRM Problem

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DogSnake..

this DRM got rootkit in it. unless you do heavy registry change + system32 dll cleanup. i dont think its that easy to remove once in your computer. then again, as tomshardware reader i assume you good on that.

another point been, activation limited is control by server side. which mean remove or uninstall dont give you back the activation. thats what people piss about.

i dont really know what EA thinking, i buy alot use psp/ps2 game.. but never for PC game. maybe just me.. but old pc game price drop fast enuff for me. i buy all the AAA title new. and for less know title by the time i buy it they already only cost 20~30$.

as for now.. no EA game for me. although i hate the company (by destroy origin/westwood) but i dont really care since their game is good. but DRM is something i cant live with.
 
The thing about the Securom software that looks like a rootkit is the null registry value it places in your systems registry. This entry defies most efforts to remove it. And it is the intent of Securom that you not ever be able to remove it. They have publicly stated this. If the intent is to grant three uses of a game they do not want us to be able to uninstall and get three more uses. It is as if we are being rented something not buying it and being able to use it as we please. Imagine buying a DVD title watching it three times and then not ever being able to watch it again unless you called the movie studio and got permission to watch it again.

As to removing Securom, the process for stopping its service and finding the .ddl are well documented in many forums. The part that jams most is getting rid of the registry values. There are tools for this and it is not hard to do.

What the problem is in the game not being able to be activated/registered, I have no idea. EA has issued no statement as to the cause of the problem. Could be server side, could be Securom screwing with the process and it could be many other things as well. My point is EA has sold a pig without lipstick. The game is defective because it does not deliver what it promises. If they can not fix it in a reasonable length of time they should be required to give us our money back.

EA has earned its place in gamers hell.
 
in all honesty, I don't think I'll be installing this game on a regular basis. If it was a game that is part of my gaming life (WoW, CS:S, TF2) I'd be uber pissed.
 
I have found that the easiest way around the whole DRM situation is to buy the game and use a cracked .exe to get around it. I'm legally buying a physical copy and using a semi-legal hack to ensure that my game remains mine to do what I want with which...seems a bit odd. That said, I still bought copies of Crysis Warhead, Mass Effect and Bioshock and will continue to buy PC games until the entire industry takes the route of EPIC (you backstabbing bas#@rds) and decides to cut out the platform like they have with Gears 2.
 
I simply will not buy any game that installs a software on my PC that i cannot uninstall.

Additionally, I will not rent a game for $50... because that's what this 3 or 5 install limit is the equivalent of.

Lastly, no anti-piracy software actually do any anti-piracy. All it does is make sure you cannot pass on your DvD to friends - which means the anti-piracy measures only hurt people who actually do pay for the game while they could easily grab a pirated copy from the web for free.

Which makes one wonders: why do you keep on paying a company that rewards you by hurting you instead of the people who are pirating the game?

I certainly haven't bought any EA games with SecuRom and will not. I would rather download a pirated copy that would probably install some virus or backdoor on my pc instead of paying EA to install their own virus...
 
Im trying to figure out why no one is talking about one big point. The point I speak of is that SecureROM has not stopped anyone from pirating the game.

The only people that SecureROM prohibits from installing the game is the people who actually purchased it. Its no wonder piracy continues to climb higher and higher. Its an interesting system we are developing here where the good consumer is actually punished for following the rules.

Its really funny how there was a fully working crack up for download a whole week before the games release. The crack was fully functional and only prohibited you from using the online content.

I for one am fully boycotting all EA and EA affiliated games.

As a hardcore gamer I tend to go through my comp monthly and uninstall games Im no longer playing. Later after a few months I feel the need to play one of those games again and then I reinstall it.
 
I don't understand what EA hopes to accomplish with DRM. You'd think they would've learned from seeing the fiasco that happened with Bioshock. All it does is create bad press, piss people off, and lose sales. They're replacing theoretical sales lost from piracy with guaranteed sales lost with unhappy gamers. And ironically, it won't stop piracy at all.
 
Remember, SecuROM is Sony's. The same crap they got sued for not too long ago for putting on CDs. Sony representative (VP or something) said that making your own copies (like ripping a CD you BOUGHT to an iPod) is piracy!

EA can shove it. I'm no longer buying any of their games. (I won't be downloading them either, or else they'll justify having this crap).
 
I suppose most people who bought Spores for example were not aware of the 3 installs (or 5... who cares) limit. I can't imagine anyone dishing out 50$ + to rent a game...
 
Just to restate what I wrote in the comments section yesterday (before that was deleted).

Your (Ben & Rob) decision not to include DRM in the review is a bad idea. You say it is to be fair to the developers. Well are your reviews targeted at the developer or the purchasers? How about being fair to us instead? Clearly something as nasty as EAs DRM is going to impact the hardcore gamers enjoyment of the game. And so if you producing videos with your viewers in mind this must be a factor. If you are doing these videos with the developers interests in mind, I sure will not bother viewing them any more.
 
Greetings!

I agree.
The DRM method being used by a game must be mentioned in a review/article about that game.

Think about it, if you reviewed houses and you were reviewing a house that has a train passing outside every 10 minutes, you would mention that in your review, wouldnt you?

It may not be fair to the builder, but a house buyer should know of that inconvenience.
 

Very well said, excellent analogy. Ultimately any reviewer must decide who they write reviews for. The carpenter or the home buyer / the game developer or the game player.

In my own case, I broke one of my cardinal rules. I downloaded the game not to try it, but to avoid the DRM. If EA comes to their senses and releases this game with copy protection but without DRM (such as Fallout3 is doing), I will happily drive down to my local store and plunk down my 500nok ($100 usd) for the game.
 
I think it is unfortunate that Ben and Rob adopt this attitude of: We don't like DRM, but oh well there's not much we can do and it probably won't affect sales anyway.

Well, here's the thing. Spore was the most anticipated release in the past five years. Of course it's sales numbers are high.

Speaking for myself, I loved Crysis and I would love to get Warhead, but I won't.
I won't buy C&C when it releases, but I likely would not have anyway.

But then again, I won't buy anything else published by EA ever unless the DRM foolishness stops.
Not a PC game or console game. Sorry, I can't support a company who pushes this kind of crap anymore.

And reviews definitely should include DRM as part of the review.
Maybe it would help developers make better choices about which publishers they choose and ultimately which ones stay in business.
 
Ra3 was my last game with that piece of **** DRM.
Was thinking on buying Farcry 2, Sacred 2, Crysis War Head. Dropped them all. Both on DVD and STEAM. I'm just not interrested in paying for spyware like that on my computer. Secondly any software that requires to be installed into the windows settings are playing with the computers stability. And I don't thrust them on that. Especially not SONY. learn from Steam, its a far better system and stays outside of my Windows install.
 


Well, not that much. if it uses 100KB each 24hour I have no problem with that. Offcourse the updates themself comes on top of these 100KB.
 
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