EA Denies DRM Problems With Sims 2 188
Fizzlefist writes "For the past 2 weeks there has been an uproar on the Sims 2 forums concerning the inclusion of Sony's SecuROM DRM software in the latest expansion pack, Bon Voyage. It seems paid customers have been having problems since day one of release, but EA is only now, 5 weeks later, issuing an official statement on the matter. A lot of what's in the statement is outright fiction with proven reports of issues with disabling of disc burning software, optical disc drives, printers, cameras, system slowdown and even system crashes. Fan responses have been cold to say the least. Interestingly enough, the expansion pack was cracked and up on the internet less than 24 hours after its release."
It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:5, Informative)
"But of those 7,122 messages we can track, 2,976 have been authored by just 32 individuals (41.8 %). Each of these individuals has posted more than 40 times on the subject."
"Since that team was set up 2 weeks ago, we received only 12 calls to EA's North American Support Center from players looking for help with their PC's, suspecting a conflict with SecuROM. Sony DADC received just 29 calls about The Sims 2 Bon Voyage and SecuROM."
I didn't really notice an outright denial in the "offical statement". I read that 'problems happen' and if you want it fixed you need to call support.
Looking at the replies and the response, it 'sounds' like they want to help:
quote:
Guys-
If you really want to make a difference, you need to file a support ticket with Customer Support to explain what is going wrong with your PC and try to get help. Those numbers about the few number of calls to Support are not made up. I looked them up myself. There's just not enough people calling to cause change. We've received 4 times more calls with people with flashing red walls than any of the PC destruction calls about SecuROM. (and, btw, about those walls...don't forget to update your video card driver).
We want you to call. I want you to call. I work on the team that makes the game. The last thing we want to do is to make you unhappy.
To get support, follow the instructions in MaxoidVanquish's post above. The thread is here:
http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=c7bc28ba7df0b19335a3d8edb3ec9919&directoryID=211&startRow=1&openItemID=item.211,root.1,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127,item.23 [ea.com]
If you create a support ticket and don't get the help you need, I want you to do this: send me a note in my SimPage guestbook. Click on "View My Sim Page" right above my post and you'll find my guestbook. Tell me what happened, and if you can, cite the Incident Number you were given so a supervisor can track what happened on your case (those numbers look something like 123456-789012. Write it down when the support person gives it to you). Also please give me your email or phone number and a good time when you can be reached, so a support supervisor can get back to you.
unquote
And to the thought of "interestingly enough, the expansion pack was cracked and up on the internet less than 24 hours after it's release."
I wonder just how many of the folks that 'cracked' the pack are having the problems and are bitching?
Of course I could be wrong and DRM could just be the cause of global warming.
Re:yep. (Score:4, Informative)
An EA Astroturf? (Score:2, Informative)
1) Is your PC plugged in and turned on?
2) What version are you on. Yes, that's the latest one.
3) Run Windows Update.
4) Do you still have problems?
Contact your PC manufacturer. It's not our game. All you guys are proving is that it's better to pirate games than pay money to EA.
Re:Class action suit... (Score:4, Informative)
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
http://www.brownraysman.com/index.cfm?section=articles&function=ViewArticle&articleID=1393 [brownraysman.com]
Re:no patience for this (Score:3, Informative)
Not the first group to have issues with SecuROM... (Score:5, Informative)
Insane Moderators too (Score:5, Informative)
Some might say "The system works". However this moderator had been displaying this behaviour for longer than most people can remember yet EA looked the other way even with user complaints until she finally went off the deep end and banned too many 12 year olds who could dial the customer service line.
Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:5, Informative)
If you do any sort of laptop gaming in down time on the road, or the occasional LAN party or such, I can't imagine being without it anymore.
It does install some sort of crap ware if you get the free version, but since I don't use IE, it doesn't much bother me, and you can just buy it and avoid that trouble, anyway.
Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:1, Informative)
Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:1, Informative)
I'm a software engineer at a major game company, and I specifically asked this question (because I hate DRM), and that's the specific answer I got - it does make total sense for the business.
Re:What the DRM providers don't want you to know.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. (Score:3, Informative)
The graphics look fine. They don't look state-of-the-art, and didn't when they came out, but that's OK. I'm currently playing and enjoying a couple of old RPGs on the SNES. I obviously don't think that killer graphics are the most important thing in a game.
What I don't get is why a game with such low-end graphics takes much, much longer than, say, GTA:San Andreas, Half Life 2, or Oblivion to load on the same machine, and has so much in-game lag and so many other long loads. A game like this should be aimed at the "pick-up-and-play" crowd, and should appeal to people who just want to put the occasional 15-20 minutes in to it, but with the load times anything under an hour seems like a total waste. Want to go to a different "neighborhood" or go check on the University? Better consider how much longer you want to play, first.