Is It Time To Enforce a Gamers' Bill of Rights? 469
adeelarshad82 writes "The SimCity launch debacle is only the latest in an increasingly frustrating string of affronts to gamers' rights as customers. Before SimCity, we had Ubisoft's always-on DRM (that the company only ended quietly after massive outcry from gamers). We had the forced online and similarly unplayable launch of Diablo III. We had games like Asura's Wrath and Final Fantasy: All the Bravest that required you to pay more money just to complete them after you purchase them. And let us never forget the utter infamy of StarForce, SecuROM, and Sony's copy protection, which installed rootkits on computers without users' knowledge. As one recently published article argues, maybe it's time for gamers to demand adoption of a Bill of Rights."
Re:Better off enforcing an EA boycott (Score:5, Informative)
The Free Software Foundation [fsf.org] campaign about this all the time, and have for some time now. They do have the organisational structure to do this.
But nobody listens, because they also care about linux and free software in general, and that's eww hairy nerds, don't take my capitalism! Maybe if angry gamers would join up, they would get the manpower to actually get heard.
Re:Better off enforcing an EA boycott (Score:5, Informative)
Is it likely that EA will release a game that "pro gamers" want to play? A game that is not a glorified FarmVille.
SimCity existed way before FarmVille. If anything, FarmVille is a dumbed down SimCity rather than SimCity being a glorified FarmVille.
Some of us who have been playing computer games for 30 years remember SimCity and SimCity 2000 quite fondly. I'm not sure what you define as a "pro gamer", but as a long time gamer, I'd love to give SimCity 5 a go to see if I like it, but EA and their draconian attitude towards their customers means I won't.
I think that's a shame.