EA CEO doesn't like DRM

DRM is mainly the cause for it being pirated. And DRM increases piracy, so why have it at all.... when will they finally figure out that DRM will not stop piracy but increase it....

Because like normal, Intellectual Property when it comes to any program is so convoluted because the publishers want nothing more than money in their pockets. They know if they can create a rule that gets them more money in their pockets, which is something that the SecuROM does, they will do it. Then you have the people that believe that nothing is suppose to be owned by one person or corporation and they want to have it saying it belongs to them mainly due to a belief that people are raised to which is that everyone is 'entitled' to it. But that is another discussion for another time

That is my two pennies.

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EA CEO John Riccitiello has made some comments recently regarding the DRM and it appears that he also dislikes DRM but says piracy is too strong to completely remove it.

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What an idiot!!!

Piracy HAS removed it. Yes, piracy has done exactly that. Now why on God's green earth would I pay money for the official retail version that will f*cK me, when there is a cracked one widely available that does not immediately accuse me of being a pirate?

I don't know. Does anyone have a good explanation for this?

Once again, the DRM has done NOTHING to stop the game's piracy, while shafting legit customers, therefore John Riccitiello's comment makes little if no sense at all.

Not only this, but the more a high profile game is hyped up, the more of a target it becomes for pirates. Since EA knew they had a potential blockbuster on their hands that would sell like hotcakes, they decided to lace those hotcakes full of delicious hydrogen cyanide, to prevent anyone from having their cake and eating it too.

Unfortuantely, as we can see from the awesome ratings on Amazon as well as from the fact that the game was already cracked before release, their plan to f*ck the customer backfired.

The only people that bought this game legit are clueless about DRM, and they will be in for a world of hurt if they need to upgrade, or their system crashes etc.

So outrageous..... sighhhhhhhhh...

These games often come out CRACKED before they are even released. So quite obviously DRM does not prevent piracy but rather prevents the product from selling at retail instead (because not everyone is ignorant of DRM, and those who aren't, usually don't buy stuff that is DRM laden).

I try not to pirate, and if I do, I still try to support artists and creative works that I like. Yes I know many of you will say that the money goes to the publishers instead of the artists and I agree. However something has been brought to my attention recently that I can't shake. Publishers like EA work hard trying to put out a title and also take a finacial risk putting out material. It's only fair that they should get paid for their work.

Be honest with yourself, if your employer said they liked your work but weren't going to pay you, you would be pissed. I just got done reading a book and went to the book signing. Someone asked a question that I can't remember off the top of my head, but the author's response was - I didn't write the book with the sole purpose being to make money, I had a story to tell and I put 2 years of my life into making the book - so it's not like making money wasn't in my mind, it just wasn't my motivation.

I can pirate any game I want, the problem is that pretty much most games suck. If I pirate something and play it for more than a day, I'll go out and buy the damn game cause it's worth my money.

Now in spores case, I was originally gonna go out and buy it, but then I found out about the 3 install limit, which was later raised to a 5 install limit. So I downloaded it a week early like everyone else. I played it for 1 day, got all the way up to the civilization portion and then called it quits. Haven't touched the game since. Just seems like too much of a kids game.

More lies and rhetoric used to enable studios to block second hand game trading using Sony DRM SecuROM.

he is right about most ppl not being aware of the implications of DRM until it jumps up & bites you on the butt.

I think you guys might be missing the point of DRM. I'm anti-DRM and I do enjoy the humor in seeing a game like Spore which was hated so much for including DRM end up on torrents with a crack days before it's even released. There's a wonderful irony.

I think EA is smart enough to know that if you're going to pirate a game, you're going to steal it no matter what they do. This DRM isn't supposed to entice you to buy the game instead of downloading it. The DRM is meant keep those who bought the game from making copies for their friends and family. It's meant to make sure that the casual gamers and less nerdy don't give away the game for free... and in that regard this DRM is a success. So let's stop claiming victory in a battle EA isn't fighting.

That said, this tired old debate is exactly why the PC market is dead. I frankly blame both sides. Of course the rampant internet piracy is to blame for PC game sales. It's no wonder everyone is moving to consoles in droves. And I know I stopped buying most PC games once the DRM became so obnoxious and over-bearing. At least the DRM on the console doesn't make me feel like criminal. It's simple and fair and I'll keep buying my games there to avoid this whole issue. Thanks to pirates and the horrid attempts to thwart them there's nothing worth playing on the PC anymore anyway (outside of the Telltale Sam and Max, which I'll be rebuying on the Wii soon enough).

@jab1981

Use steam. i think someone said there is some ea game that allows only 5 download (intall times), but any non-ea game works perfectly and you dont need to worry about serial keys or even condition of your game cd/dvd´s (there isnt any =) they are downloaded).

Ea´s policy in drm and internet accounts are retired. I accidently had a typo in my accont name and they won´t let me change the name. Only way to do that is if i buy same game again and that way get "new" account. Thanks alot ea and f*ck you too.

at first steam sounded kinda annoying (because you had to have internet connection) but now it sounds pretty good. With internet you are just a click away from all you (steam bought) games.

What disturbs me is that this game sold well. It would've been better if EA felt it in the wallet which would make them want to get rid of DRM even more.

But now that it sold well, i think DRM is here to stay.

Originally posted by gnovak1:

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What disturbs me is that this game sold well. It would've been better if EA felt it in the wallet which would make them want to get rid of DRM even more.

But now that it sold well, i think DRM is here to stay.

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Agreed, it'll only end when these sheep stop baa'ing and buying without doing the research first. I try not to spend my money unless i've tried it or seen $50.00 is too much to blindly spend on anything, espically after you find out it has DRM in it? It's like you paid to get kicked in the gooch.

The only "problem" with piracy is that these attempts to stop it are pointless and do NOT hurt the people who pirate the game they only hurt the consumers who buy the game, and if the CEO of EA didn't like DRM I doubt he would still shove it on a game, so he should just be honest, he sits in his office and rubs his body in the oil of DRM because he LOVES it.

Maybe these guys need a brick slammed onto their skulls before they understand that DRM hurts everyone and helps nobody, or maybe EA just doesn't care!? big surprise here's a company that pushes out sports games with the exact same code and the exact same glitches as the year before, thanks but NO thanks say no to EA.

i traded my ipod touch 32GB on craigslist.. for some cash.. a digital camera.. and a copy of spore unopened NEW..

guess what.. i sold my copy of spore on ebay ! why.. because i didnt want that DRM in my machine.. even after a reformat.. the DRM still remains.. screw that.. bye bye spore.. great game or not..

Thanks for your post jab1981. You're the only person so far who have made a lick of sense with their comments and of which were not laden with hypocrisy. The rest of you would have and will continue to steal games regarddless of the existence of drm. So get off your soapboxes and quit complaining about an issue that really doesn't effect you. No level of proection can keep a movie, album, or game from being pirated if someone wants to copied ir ripped bad enough. If you steal stuff, just be a man and admit it. I make no bones about having downloaded stuff from torrents or ripping and copying DVD's. I know that they have forms of protection but I easily bypass them and could really care less about their existence. Now I'm not much of a PC gamer as I am a console gamer so I can't talk from experience about dealing with this drm. However, from what I've read about it here, it seems reasonable to me and shouldn't be an issue unless you have a warehouse full of computers or want to sell, trade or plain giveaway to your friends. Outside of thos outrageous circumstances and blatantly illegal intentions, I wouldn't exactly say it's cause for the type of revolt that has come about. You just need an excuse to try and justify your thievery(which I think is funny that you claim to be upset at being labeld one by the game publisher when that's exactly what you are)and this is your platform. Go ahead, keep at it and see how much longer it will take for game publishers to trust the public enough to no have to add drm to games. At thie rate, I'm guessing that day will never come. You can thank yourselves for that one.

Originally posted by 5fdpfan:

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However, from what I've read about it here, it seems reasonable to me and shouldn't be an issue unless you have a warehouse full of computers or want to sell, trade or plain giveaway to your friends.

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No offense, but you need to read more about the many different issues raised with this type of DRM. There have been many discussions here on Ad, and although you may have to filter past many of the "piracy rules" and "@@#%# EA" posts, you will find a plethora of educated comments with valid arguments on the adverse effects to many a consumer. For me personally, the death of the second hand market is the biggest issue. Selling my old games helps me offset the rising prices of newer games that I want to try.

EA needs DRM. All companies need DRM. And they need to show that they are actively upgrading it. Why? Not because they think that it's actually working or will eventually work. But (just my opinion) if they remove it, they in effect accept "piracy" and all future efforts in a court of law are negated. So the fight against "piracy" isn't won by stopping it with DRM. It's won by taking a public stand aginst it. Well, I correct myself...it's actually not ever won, but once they back off from that stand, then they've officially lost the battle. I say this because I honestly find it hard to believe that the CEO of a major Company would be so out of touch in this day and age to really believe that he/she will ever be able to prevent piracy. So they cut their losses and rely on people who don't care to continue to buy their trojan horses.

And then there's the other benefit to them of killing off the second hand market, as 13thHouR brought up.

Steam and Blizzard, nuff said.

What's truly sad is the honest consumer unknowingly infected their computers with SecuRom.

"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

Originally posted by beanos66:

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"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

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Well, 99.8% of North Koreans don't have a problem with their country being communist..that doesn't make it right. When EA goes down in a few years bc of customer outrage at this fatcat CEO, I'll be there pointing and laughing in my best Nelson impression.

whats right in your opinion doesnt means its not right in theirs.

if there has been a tribe who has been canabalistic for millions of years, then to them its their right, who are we to say no?

as with DRM, who cares, how does it actually affect one?

i renistall my OS every coupld of months, but thats why i have my vista USER folders on a different drive, and games. all i need with a reinstall is DX to be installed and video card drivers.

apart from the fact that EA didnt tell us that the DRM would be imbedded into the OS, what was wrong with it?

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Originally posted by beanos66:

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"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

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Well, 99.8% of North Koreans don't have a problem with their country being communist..that doesn't make it right. When EA goes down in a few years bc of customer outrage at this fatcat CEO, I'll be there pointing and laughing in my best Nelson impression.

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Nothing wrong with being a communist. I think it's totalitarianism that you have a beef with. Please take your mid 20th century public school propaganda somewhere else.

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Originally posted by beanos66:

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"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

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Well, 99.8% of North Koreans don't have a problem with their country being communist..that doesn't make it right. When EA goes down in a few years bc of customer outrage at this fatcat CEO, I'll be there pointing and laughing in my best Nelson impression.

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Nothing wrong with being a communist. I think it's totalitarianism that you have a beef with. Please take your mid 20th century public school propaganda somewhere else.

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At least 23 million people are dead because of Communism.
Over nine million died under socialism.
There is no difference between either of them, because totalitarianism is inherent in their "philosophies."

In order for the arrogant, elitist fascists to force their rancid systems on people who want to be free, they have always and will always be totalitarian.

Maybe this "tolerance for evil" crap is what they teach in universities and Hollyweird these days, but that doesn't make it true or right.

Originally posted by oappi:

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I accidently had a typo in my accont name and they won´t let me change the name. Only way to do that is if i buy same game again and that way get "new" account. Thanks alot ea and f*ck you too.

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Cry me a river. Seriously though many internet forums and trackers adapt such a concept as well but because EA does it they get a FU? Type it right the first time, with care and it wont be a problem.


On topic, i have read the other EA articles regarding Spore and i dont see the problem. I dont like DRM but whats the prob with 3/5 installs? If you buy the game how many installs are you really going to use? If it was one of those DRM kits that really cripple your system, then i could understand an excuse for not buying it, but i havent heard any such reports so as one or two others said, many sound like there using this as an excuse.

Hey John, that .2% sure are noisy! May more than .2% of your customers aren't morons. Maybe you are looking for morons in the wrong place. John, I got news for you the morons arn't your customers but your management. You can count yourself as management can't you or can't you count?

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Originally posted by beanos66:

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"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

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Well, 99.8% of North Koreans don't have a problem with their country being communist..that doesn't make it right. When EA goes down in a few years bc of customer outrage at this fatcat CEO, I'll be there pointing and laughing in my best Nelson impression.

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Nothing wrong with being a communist. I think it's totalitarianism that you have a beef with. Please take your mid 20th century public school propaganda somewhere else.

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At least 23 million people are dead because of Communism.
Over nine million died under socialism.
There is no difference between either of them, because totalitarianism is inherent in their "philosophies."

In order for the arrogant, elitist fascists to force their rancid systems on people who want to be free, they have always and will always be totalitarian.

Maybe this "tolerance for evil" crap is what they teach in universities and Hollyweird these days, but that doesn't make it true or right.

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hah, typical american thinking, if you dont think its right, it isnt.

i wonder how much your lovely capitalistic war for oil has cost with lives of american and iraqi people?
wheres your facts abotu that many people being killed by communism?

i also like how you dogded my question earlier.

mspurloc, you are off mark. It is not the flavor of government that is the problem it it whether it is basically good or is it basically evil that make it a problem. Most of the allies of the US are more or less socialist. The US will likely go more socialist after the election. Will that make the US evil?

Call me stupid but what does this have to do with DRMs? DRMs are kind of like blow flies they serve no purpose and can easily be gotten rid of but keep coming back to land on your lips after eating dung. I wouldn't call the evil just annoying.

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Originally posted by beanos66:

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"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

---

Well, 99.8% of North Koreans don't have a problem with their country being communist..that doesn't make it right. When EA goes down in a few years bc of customer outrage at this fatcat CEO, I'll be there pointing and laughing in my best Nelson impression.

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Nothing wrong with being a communist. I think it's totalitarianism that you have a beef with. Please take your mid 20th century public school propaganda somewhere else.

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At least 23 million people are dead because of Communism.
Over nine million died under socialism.
There is no difference between either of them, because totalitarianism is inherent in their "philosophies."

In order for the arrogant, elitist fascists to force their rancid systems on people who want to be free, they have always and will always be totalitarian.

Maybe this "tolerance for evil" crap is what they teach in universities and Hollyweird these days, but that doesn't make it true or right.

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So much ignorance in a single post. Millions of people have not died because of a SYSTEM OF ECONOMICS. They died because they had aholes in charge. Communism has been proven to not be effective in modern times, however, neither has pure capitalism. The majority of the free world operates under social capitalism including the US, we just haven't caught up in the areas of healthcare, education, and utilities.

You need DRM because you don't want to give them the impression that you're totally ok with people stealing your game. Even if you know it will be cracked, it will be pirated, and still sell well. You never want to stand up and tell people that you don't mind whether they steal your game or not... especially if you depend on game sales to stay afloat as a company.

As far as people pirating because of DRM... total BS. Games were getting pirated when there wasn't DRM. You could releases a non-DRM game and it still be pirated to hell.

DRM is not the cause of piracy, its just the excuse people give.

Without it they'd probably say that anything digital should be free and its greedy for companies to be paid for their product, so thats why we pirate.

Originally posted by atomicxl:

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You need DRM because you don't want to give them the impression that you're totally ok with people stealing your game. Even if you know it will be cracked, it will be pirated, and still sell well. You never want to stand up and tell people that you don't mind whether they steal your game or not... especially if you depend on game sales to stay afloat as a company.

As far as people pirating because of DRM... total BS. Games were getting pirated when there wasn't DRM. You could releases a non-DRM game and it still be pirated to hell.

DRM is not the cause of piracy, its just the excuse people give.

Without it they'd probably say that anything digital should be free and its greedy for companies to be paid for their product, so thats why we pirate.

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The drm that EA and now Ubisoft with far cry 2 have chosen to adopt Sony made SecuROM has nothing to do with stopping piracy and everything to do with reselling games. Its nothing more than an assault on our rights to resell our media and for this reason every company using Sony's anti-consumer SecuROM should be boycotted.

There are many types of drm that stops casual copying but SecuROM goes one step further, and does little to combat piracy, Sonys malware actually is a less effective DRM than either Starforce or SafeDisc.

Complaining about losses from second hand game resale is nothing new to sony or many other greedy companies even though they have already been paid for the copy they want to be able to get paid for every sale much like sony's part with the RIAA where they want to be paid every time a mp3 is moved from the CD you have already purchased to your iPod, ect.

A great quote from Julio Franco, TechSpot.com would sum up your, John Riccitiello's and sony's attitude.

Weekend Open Forum: DRM in games and music, does it prevent you from buying?

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Nobody on its right mind would dare to defend DRM (Digital rights management) in front of a web crowd, unless you represent one of the few enterprises pushing it forward, of course.

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What is this DRM about?

$ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $ $ £ $ £ $

Originally posted by Azuran:

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Originally posted by beanos66:

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"99.8% don't have a problem"

Another one of those pick a number any number "facts"

---

Well, 99.8% of North Koreans don't have a problem with their country being communist..that doesn't make it right. When EA goes down in a few years bc of customer outrage at this fatcat CEO, I'll be there pointing and laughing in my best Nelson impression.

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Nothing wrong with being a communist. I think it's totalitarianism that you have a beef with. Please take your mid 20th century public school propaganda somewhere else.

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At least 23 million people are dead because of Communism.
Over nine million died under socialism.
There is no difference between either of them, because totalitarianism is inherent in their "philosophies."

In order for the arrogant, elitist fascists to force their rancid systems on people who want to be free, they have always and will always be totalitarian.

Maybe this "tolerance for evil" crap is what they teach in universities and Hollyweird these days, but that doesn't make it true or right.

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So much ignorance in a single post. Millions of people have not died because of a SYSTEM OF ECONOMICS. They died because they had aholes in charge. Communism has been proven to not be effective in modern times, however, neither has pure capitalism. The majority of the free world operates under social capitalism including the US, we just haven't caught up in the areas of healthcare, education, and utilities.

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1. Prior responder: I wasn't the first one to bring up Communism in connection with DRM, so stop distorting.

2. A question in the form of propaganda or talking points is not a question and doesn't deserve an answer.

In order to inflict Communism, you have to strip all freedom from your people, so it's not a system of economics. Every time it's been tried, you get - death, imprisonment and slavery. So why keep trying it? Communism will always have "aholes in charge" because by their nature Communists kill everyone else and take their places.

You can keep trying it all you want, keep beating your heads against the wall, hoping one day it won't hurt, but I prefer to pay attention to history and reality. Just because college professors feed Leftists a bunch of pro-Communist garbage doesn't mean the garbage is true.

If America goes Communist under Obama, yes, it will be evil. It will do evil because it will be under an evil system. It will become like Iraq before liberation and Obama will be the new Hussein.

And on "ignorance:"
Leftists are fascists, and blind to the fact that they are, for the same reason. They're arrogant, elitist and smugly self-assured that only their "viewpoint" is the right one. So they silence and bully all opposition. That's fascism.

Beating up an old woman in New York because she carries a McCain sign, or taking a mentally-challenged man in Georgia from his home without his family's permission and forcing him to vote Obama is fascism.

And in case you haven't noticed, the Left has run out of issues, so the tired old Iraq war harangue just makes them seem pathetic.

"Cry me a river. Seriously though many internet forums and trackers adapt such a concept as well but because EA does it they get a FU? Type it right the first time, with care and it wont be a problem."

:.. Well most of them dont charge me $50 for typo. If they like to go that road thats fine with me, but they lost a customer.


"
On topic, i have read the other EA articles regarding Spore and i dont see the problem. I dont like DRM but whats the prob with 3/5 installs? If you buy the game how many installs are you really going to use? If it was one of those DRM kits that really cripple your system, then i could understand an excuse for not buying it, but i havent heard any such reports so as one or two others said, many sound like there using this as an excuse."

well i have 3 computers and install windows every half a year on them... if you can count right you might understand that with 5 install times games wont last long.

Dont know if you live in garbage box or something if you didnt hear that sony:s drm music cd made backdoor which hackers where able to use. Also startforce or securom had genius idea to make new user group in winxp, but litle they knew that it made major backdoor to windows 2000 so how can you trust them on this one? I dont want to make backup of my system so that i can rollback to get securom off. What does that even tell your software if you wont let people uninstall it? Im not intrested in spore at all.. but i was intrested in next ra3. fortunately i can still play ra2 because it didnt have install limit.

^^ deja vu

Now about this sinful DRM trash..

It's spyware

You can't remove it (malware by design)

It can totally screw your hardware and software (starforce can and does cause real physical damage to dvd drives.. people have been compensated financially after threatening legal action for willful damage)

It costs everybody money.. That's the bit that is forgotten.

Every game with this failed DRM on it costs $10 more than it would without it... and BTW.. SecuROM is illegal under California laws regarding malware.

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What is the point of the DRM though? The game was leaked to torrent sites and P2P four days before its official launch date, SecuROM or not. The game sold extremely well, and was pirated in unprecedented numbers. So once again, why have the DRM at all

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I think thissums it up in a nutshell. There is really no point to trying to securing something because there will always b someone that will break it and defeat it. If the game is great and we have downloaded the pirated version if we enjoy it that much i am sure a lot of us will go and buy it because we have tested it via torrents.

Theres an idea why doesnt the softeare companies realise users should access programs this way and then we will go and buy it if its that good sorta like demo versions.

borhan9, The suits running the corporations do not want to be fair they are really dishonest. They lied and backstabbed to get to where they are and will continue to do so as long as it is profitable. Actually, I bet they will continue until they are stopped. That is who they are, villians. As long as persons buy their tainted products their greed has been vindicated.

Originally posted by BludRayne:

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What's truly sad is the honest consumer unknowingly infected their computers with SecuRom.

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Very true. If they knew, they wouldn't have bought these DRM infected games. Most people who talk down to us DRM haters never mention the securerom, just "What's wrong with 3 installs? When will we need to install 3 times anyway? This doesn't bother me !!"

But they never mention securerom because they have no clue about it.

It's something I've been saying in the Phoronix forums.

I'm all for the freedom of information, ideas, and... stuff.
I also want to be able to paid for what I love doing. I do support DRM in a small fashion that prevents everyone and their Grandma from copying it and distributing it everywhere. Just keep it where it's at. Let the people that do this just to do this do this. It's been in existence for centuries, it's just more rampant now that the world has a central place of communication.

Obviously something as heavy as what's included in Spore is just out of the question. I think whoever came up with that system should be dragged to a back alley and shot. I'd much more prefer a system of running a secure binary, with a verified key.
I miss the old shareware days...