Spore DRM Protest Makes EA Ease Red Alert 3 Restrictions 486
Crazy Taco writes "The heavy Amazon.com protest of Spore's DRM appears to have caught the attention of executives at EA. IGN reports that DRM for the upcoming C&C: Red Alert 3 will be scaled back. Unlike previous Command and Conquer games, the CD will not be required in the drive to play. The online authentication will be done just once (rather than periodic phone calls home), and up to five installations will be allowed, as opposed to three for Spore. While I still think five installations is too few (I've probably re-installed Command and Conquer: Generals 20 times over the years for various reasons), EA says they will have staff standing by to grant more installations as necessary on a case by case basis. So, while this still isn't optimal, at least we are getting a compromise. Hopefully, if the piracy rate for the game is low, perhaps EA will get comfortable enough to ship with even less DRM in the future."
We will not compromise (Score:5, Interesting)
No, securerom is a resident program on your computer, I should also not have to get permissions to install more than a few times. Spores limit of one account as well is ridiculous. I will not buy another game with securerom ever.
a small victory. (Score:2, Interesting)
it's a step. keep protesting and keep pirating and one day we'll see a more consumer-friendly business model.
Re:How to make them understand... the fun way! (Score:5, Interesting)
At which point you return it, or (check your CC terms), dispute it if they decline to accept a return on a defective product, or after properly documenting everything, file a an action in small claims (this presumes you were not reinstalling it for spite, but instead, actually having problems).
You're fixing the wrong problems! (Score:4, Interesting)
Having to call EA to persuade them to let you install the game a sixth time is a potential inconvenience. EA may not exist in a year or two. I might still want to play the game if EA doesn't exist! We're still leasing. Just because we're leasing on more generous terms doesn't mean we're getting a better deal. They've clobbered any potential resale value.
If piracy is low, EA will assume this works and use this scheme every time.
Pirate this as well!
Thanks for the warning (Score:5, Interesting)
Limited installs is not acceptable. I am off to cancel my Red Alert preorder and leave a nasty review.
Re:Less Piracy - Less DRM? WRONG! (Score:1, Interesting)
The problem is this whole thing has become a vicious circle.
There are always people who will warez stuff; This will never change. Even if the games had no DRM, they'd still pirate the game.
Most people (Like me) would buy their games, however. (Possibly warezing it first to see if it's worth buying).
This was up until a few years ago 'tho; Now this group is shrinking rapidly - We are not keen on the ridiculous things being done to our systems by these games (It's only a f*****g game FFS! These programs have more ludicrous security than the programs I use for work!!), so we either don't buy them or migrate to the warez groups.
I haven't bought any games since WH40k:DoW abnd expansions, and only because that had no DRM at all.
I bought NWN1 years after it came out when they removed the DRM (And am still waiting for NWN2's DRM to bbe removed before I buy it.)
On a side note, I bought GalCiv2 on the basis that it had no DRM, but this turned out to be a fat dirty lie. (The game doesn't have DRM, but the patches to make the game NOT SUCK do. And now you need to install a Steam-like DRM-facilitating client just to download the patches!)
Re:We will not compromise (Score:4, Interesting)
Then do things the right way, and flood their phones telling them they can't install their AIDS on your computer because they've hit their 0 install limit and need to beg YOU to get the game installed on your computer, or you're stealing it the proper way, cracking it, distributing it to all of your friends, and periodically calling them to let them know you're playing the game.
Actually, do that more. Everytime you load up Spore/C&C/MassEffect, call EA and tell them, "hi, I'm playing your game". Bonus points if you let them know you're running a cracked version.
Every time you play.
S'about time you give them twice as much crap.
Re:We will not compromise (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree, I think EA is blowing its own foot off. I spend a LOT of money on games. I spend a lot of money on computer games. I am in the process of building a new machine from scratch is basically a gaming computer spawned from hell. I like games.
I also never pirate. The last time I pirated something I was 16. Buying things is quick, easy, and without hassle. Pirating on the other hand is a pain in the ass, time consuming, and risky. My time is worth more than what it takes to pirate. I have a large disposable income because I don't spend my money on cars, HD TVs, or anything like that. I'll buy a game if I have any interest it and I won't feel bad if I decide I don't like it. I have never resold a game. I am the perfect guy to sell games too.
I won't be buying Spore, C&C3, or anything with this absurd DRM. I am not going to have a game install crippleware onto my computer, and then limit how many times I can install games. I have reinstalled Starcraft, Fallout, and Knight of the Old Republic more times than I can count. Hell, I will burn through three installs in under a year. I will easily kill 5 installs in a year when I make/buy a new computer.
So, EA can continue down this path, but I won't go with them. It isn't going to stop piracy (as Spore has shown). If anything, it will increase piracy as the pirated version is the non-crippled version. So it won't stop piracy, but it will stop someone like me who merrily blows a few hundred dollars a month on games from buying.
Re:How is this a compromise? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm recommending to everyone I know that they should buy it and pirate it at the same time. It inflates the piracy numbers making EA slightly more scared, you still show your support for certain aspects of the project (the core game) - and you're protecting your financial investment by future proofing it against EA's decisions.
That and there is a good chance the retail game won't work in a decent percentage of the population's DVD-ROM's...so, downloading the game is the only way many people are even able to play their purchase. For example, my roommates year old laptop wouldn't spin up the game, she had to go through three DVD-ROM's to be able to install the damned game. This is after a nightmare OS/HD wipe and reinstall. No game should cause you to do that, just so you can install it.
Re:Yeah, sure its because of some comments on Amaz (Score:4, Interesting)
I would gladly take CD checks over limited installs any day. Red Alert series is known for its replayability and people play it for years on end, unlike most games. Limited install don't cut it.
EA, let us pick our poison. Enable limited installs only if the I choose the disk check to not bother them. However, the problem seems to be that disk checking is now seen as an unreliable method by the companies.
Also, do these companies plan to ultimately release patches that remove DRM after a set period of time?, say 3-5 years when they won't be running authentication servers or just simply decide that you don't own the game anymore?
Boycotting DRM (Score:4, Interesting)
Unless DRM is dropped, I'm not buying games anymore. It was painful enough to deal with "CD must be in drive" hoping for a good no-cd crack to be released by the community; but now this... XP style activation? Limited number of activations? Unacceptable.
Re:DRM, the snake oil of content producers (Score:3, Interesting)
Pirates are a cost of business. And even many companies have encouraged pirates (Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia--prior to buyout). Even Metallica supported them, until their Napster blow-out.
What they ought to fear is Customers switching over to the evil side. Crap like DRM encourages behaviors like no-cd cracks, serial gens, and other fixing tech. When the real paying customers realize that the pirate Arrrr versions are without anti-user tech, and simple to install... Well, why pay for crap quality when you can get better quality for free?
That's why I'm pro-DRM. 200 Million pissed off no-longer-buying customers WILL change copyright law and anti-user tech.
SecuROM vs. Process Explorer (Score:1, Interesting)
I often run Process Explorer instead of Task Manager in Windows. Do securom products work with process explorer running or do I need to reboot and not load process explorer in order to play a game?
Time To Use Big Content's Methods (Score:4, Interesting)
If the content industry wants to ruin people's lives under the assumption that downloading games/movies/music inderectly harms the artists that create them, they need to be held accountable by the same rules. People refusing to buy due to publisher meddling is DIRECTLY harming the artists and developers in this case. They (the publisher) need to either admit that they were wrong and greedy, or be painted with the exact same brush they seem to want everyone else painted with.
Someone needs to send a message to these assholes that treating your PAYING CUSTOMERS like criminals will NOT be tolerated.
Re:We will not compromise (Score:3, Interesting)
I find it morally wrong to pirate something and keeping it if I like it instead of buying it and showing my gratitude for hours of fun with that purchase
Totally agree. I have legal copies of the first four C&C games. I won't buy the next one because of the DRM. If I pirated it, I'd probably enjoy it, and then I might tell other people that I enjoyed it, and they might buy it, and so pirating it would indirectly lead to EA profiting from releasing a game with unacceptable DRM. Since I have no intention of EA profiting in any way from my actions, even indirectly, while they continue to pull this kind of stunt, I'll spend my entertainment money on other things.
Re:How is this a compromise? (Score:5, Interesting)
It says in the spore EULA that you /can/ transfer the license 'one time' to a new party.
that new party should then be bound by the license in full, and also be able to transfer it to a third party 'one time'
Re:How is this a compromise? (Score:5, Interesting)
You have to call to get more activations .au that's 2.95 a minute to wait on hold while some stupid frakking helldesk tool flips a coin to decide if you get to use your game or not
and in
plus costing 100 USDish :(
Re:How is this a compromise? (Score:5, Interesting)
On the other hand, I bought a game called the Omega Syndrome. Independent developer. I went to play it again and he had closed up shop. I had my key but needed the files (it was shareware, after you bought it you activated it and applied a couple more exe packages to install the rest of the content). I managed to track his name to a developer forum and find an email address for him and he got back to me with the files.
I hate to say it but regardless of which companies that go out of business The Pirate Bay and Gamecopyworld will always be around. If there is some game you're still playing 10 years from now and the company has folded, the multiplayer scene is likely going to suck anyway so that aspect really isn't that much of a concern. It doesn't excuse them, I just don't think you'll ever genuinely be in a position where you can't play your games.
Re:How is this a compromise? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:How is this a compromise? (Score:4, Interesting)
What they should do is be honest and describe the limitations in the box.
No, what they should do is stop fucking over their customers.
Who's up for organizing a similar protest around Red Alert 3? I would like to think that we won't accept the "just throw 'em a bone" strategy.
Pay 'Em with DRM'd Money (Score:2, Interesting)
Pay 'em with DRM'd money. Put the bucks in a plastic bag with a EULA on the outside they can read that tells them under what conditions they can use the money you're sending in exchange for their DRM'd game.
When they receive enough DRM'd bucks they'll get the message.
In fact, I propose paying for all DRM'd media that way.
Fuck 'em. If they can do it to us, we can do it right back.