News Mass Effect and Spore DRM detailed

Greetings!

Thats irrelevant.
A copy of the content has been made and the content was used by someone.
The content owner is therefor entitled to receive compensation from that someone.

Three installs is too low.

 

Hi, and welcome to the conversation which you appear to have completely missed. Noone is arguing that the content owner is not entitled to recieve compensation from their work. The issue i'm discussing is whether piracy is theft or copyright infringement. In both cases the content owner is entitled to recompense but they are very different issues

 

Greetings!

Thanks for the welcome.

Discussion on wether piracy is or isnt theft is just semantics. A side show.
The end result for the harmed part is the same. As you well say, "In both cases the content owner is entitled to recompense".

 

I just saw this article featured (I'm sure the web admin will be happy about that ) and it looks like they may have backed down - if will is right. I have a legit copy of Bioshock but my PC's tend to get a new install a lot, so I've had the stupid copy protection issue so many times I just cracked the game just to stop it, frigging ridiculous!

Another thing that gets my goat is when games feel the need to install their savegames away from the game install directory, like Bioshock, Oblivion and a few more....I know you can copy it and paste it in when the re-installed game creates a new directory but it's bloody annoying

/rant

I really hope Spore comes without stupid copy protection 'cause I won't buy it if it does...and I want to buy it

 

Just like the Sony Mini-Disc, lawyers and CEOs see fewer pirated copies as success, rather than copies sold as success.
I will not be buying, thats one more for Derek French.

Good job.

 

Thats the best quote so far, I totally agree.

 

Don't agree with the cost argument at all, game prices have not changed in ten years, but dev cost is out of control, the same games at higher prices sell on console, so it is either sell them at the curent price, or PC gaming will die, devs would never make a profit selling big name games for $20, the PC market is just to small. People expect charity, compared to movies, the amount of entertainment you get for games is a bargain, a game like mass Effect is a great expereince and last 50 hours, get real. Sad how we live ina society where people think the world owes them something. If spending 50 buck once in awhil for a game is too much, you should not be gaming. NES games were 60 bucks 15 years ago.

 

I have been PC gaming for 20 years, I don't think I installed one game more then 3 times, maybe once, then a quick call fixes that, people are like cry babies, unreal.

 

Some people do install their games more than once, just because you don't doesn't mean you can make a huge generalisation

 

Probably been raised already, but when it has become easier to pirate a game than go through all this crap to buy it then something has gone severly wrong with thier marketing and sales strategy...

Imagine if they put up a fast download service that cost £20 which was unrestricted and could be downloaded and installed as many times as you wanted. It would certainly reduce the temptation for many...

 

Good news, as already posted, Mass Effect is ditching it, and now Spore is as well: http://kotaku.com/5008454/spore-to-use-online-authentication.

 

So steam then?

The DRM has come down to an acceptable level for me (thank god, I really want this game), if a one time check means I don't have to play using the dvd then I'm happy. As for the 3 installs, I won't run out for a few years, and a phonecall isn't that hard, although a crack is easier...

 

While the 3 activations is still worrying, only requiring a given install be activated when you first set it up and every time you patch, makes more sense than checking every ten days.

Not requiring the disc in the drive is also a step forward over most forms of protection and as pointed out in the Kotaku thread, means a lot of the crackers who may have worked to make a no-cd check or sites that might have hosted them (like gcw) won't now do so, since working to break an activation system is a totally different kettle of fish to making a no-cd crack, as the latter can be used by legitimate customers, while the former definetely can't.

 

Nice to see that EA actually listened. I'm definitely going to buy Spore now. I have no problem with authenticating on install and when I access online content. Also, I think 3 activations refers to 3 different machines, as opposed to 3 installs on the same machine. (and you can always ring them up and ask for more if you upgrade )

 

Its a vast improvement, the built in no-cd is excellent, i'm still not overly happy with secuRom but thems the breaks i suppose. Thanks to EA for listening (i never thought i'd ever write that)

 

considering this i will buy this game. i would like it if they had more installs or that the phone calls were free/very cheap, or even if it used the internet to do this, as in skype.

 

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05/10/ea-backs-down-from-draconian-copy-protection/1

 

Greetings!

Might want to add that limited installations are still in effect.
Not buying any of those titles. DRMshock was enough.

 

While that's better it's still not that great. I'm guessing it's just like Bioshock's now then?

Maybe that was their strategy from the start, had they said they were implementing the same thing as Bioshock, the community would have been in uproar. So they make it even harsher than Bioshock's, with the community backlash, they then go back to the DRM they were planning from the start. People see them "backing down" and they're happy.

It's a step in the right direction but it's just not enough IMO. Although now I am more likely to buy it, before there was just no way. I'm not saying no DRM, but something a bit less intrusive at least. Like say, having to register the game to your account and log in to be able to dowload patches, access online features, etc.

I'm ok with that, but having to install malware onto your system to play the game and limiting how I install the game isn't acceptable to me, if I have multiple computers I want to be able to install the game on all of them should I feel like it.

 

Greetings!

Suppose you dual-boot XP and Vista, you purchase "DRM Effect" and install the game in both OS.
You have just lost 2 out of the 3 allowed installations.