News Mass Effect and Spore DRM detailed

No, you're missing the point. The point is that if you don't want to buy the game based off of this then that is fine - EA won't mind losing a sale because it believes it can get those sales back from potential pirates. If you disagree with the reality of that, then as I say, contact EA.

EA, Bioware, etc aren't forcing you to buy the game or forcing you not to buy it. They are offering you a product if you want it, letting you know in advance what will be in that product and giving you time to contact them if you disagree with them. If you don't want to buy the game then it is your choice not to, not because EA has forced you to. They are perfectly right to try and defend their product from those who might steal it.

Now, say you're one of those people who won't buy it now. OK, fair does - I'll get it, I'll play the game and I'll have fun. You won't out of choice. No problem there, except you'll be a little miffed but the reality is that it is your choice. What I have issue with though is the people who won't buy it and who will pirate it to spite EA or to get around the phone-home which would (in reality) never inconvenience them at all - those people are the ones who will bury this industry if left unchecked.

This isn't an erosion of consumer rights, this is someone trying to stop themselves from being stolen from. If you disagree with their methods then it is a shame, but not a tragedy. Either way, the only way forward is to contact EA and let them know what you think the way forward is.

That's the point - a big company taking a mis-step in the right direction and gamers as a community needing to come in and show them how to do it properly. Enough people contacting them will make a difference - it was based on community outcries that Ubisoft stopped using the unstable Starforce protection.

You are voicing a real concern - but you are voicing it in the wrong place if you expect your voice to make an actual difference. At least contact EA and show them this thread.

 

But I, and many others, *will* play it -- we'll wait for a pirated copy to appear. I don't WANT a pirated copy, I'd much prefer to support the dev/publisher. The big problem ISN'T that it has CP/DRM but the *type* of CP/DRM. And not the internet pinging -- that's nothing, many software packages and tools do that anywaze.

It's potential malware/rootkit technology installed on one's PC which has a serious risk of affecting things other than what it was installed for. And I'm not paying for that. I'm absolutely happy to "donate" the cost of the game via PayPal to EA when I get a pirated copy *without* the hazardous CP in it.

 

I agree with you, but you aren't seeing the bigger picture. Sales charts don't reflect intentions or motives. EA won't see a guy who just wanted a copy without DRM and wanted to pay for that. EA will just see a pirate and will make the next game worse to cope, or go console-exclusive.

I agree with you all about the DRM and how annoying it is and damaging and so on. However, all I'm saying is that if you do want to get a legit copy, but you don't want DRM, then don't just talk about it here. Contact EA. Send them an email to Piracy@EA.com, or to a feedback email. Find the email address of their PR team or start an online petition. Let them know so that they can change it before release.

 

Joe you believe that a hidden virtually non-removable program installed with out consent or warning (at least at the time of bioshock) is not a erosion of consumer rights, honestly? In what ever name it dressed up in that is unacceptable surely?

It took nearly an hour to remove Starforce from my pc from the demo i've never had that much trouble with any virus or trojan.

Any way your right complaining here isn't going to get us any where i'll try to find or draft a letter that any one who care can send to EA. I'm not so eloquent as has been demonstrated many times over this thread so i'll post it here and any one who cares to help can do.

 

Yes, you're absolutely right, everyone here having a p1ssing contest won't actually get anything done I have sent an email to the address you mention. Hopefully others do as well. I was honest in it, saying it had nothing to do with cost of the software or the idea of CP itself as all companies have the right to protect their investments, but in how it was implemented. But I suppose time will tell.

 

mmorque: any chance you could post a copy of the e-mail you sent as a template for the less eloquent?

 

It's not an erosion of consumer rights because they are very clear, very up-front and very honest about it being there and what it does. They are telling you what they are doing and asking that by using the products you sign the EULA and agree to use the product as they indicate. You have no right to use the product in any other way and you have no implicit right to the product. This isn't food, education, safety or shelter - if you don't want it, don't buy it. But don't buy it and bitch about it afterwards when they've clearly told you and will be labelling the package.

Starforce isn't being used by EA and not on these products - it was Ubisoft that used that most famously and, when enough people complained, they got rid of that too. I agree that Starforce is a bitch and I've had trouble with it too.

 

@eddtox

It was along these lines.. Again, it was honest from my POV and not what others might admit to...

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To EA, <whoever>

I am writing in regards to the recent announcement of the DRM and copy protection decisions to be implemented in the upcoming games, Mass Effect and Spore.

To start, I am not against copy protection or any other legitimate means by a company to protect its investments -- you spend millions developing software for the benefit of others, only to suffer losing a significant portion of revenue due to piracy. As a developer myself I can understand the frustration and annoyance as it affects current and future endeavours.

The concern at heart is in the type of copy protection you are choosing to use, namely the SecuROM copy protection software.

In previous instances, it has caused serious harm to my home game PC; the worst was completely disabling my DVDROM unit to point that I had to reinstall Windows in order to get back control of it. It also had other side affects, many of which are reported around the internet by other, very annoyed and angry game users.

As I said before, you have every right in the world to make the best efforts to protect your software, but the choice in using copy protection that is widely regarded as malware and even in some sites, a rootkit, is unjustifiable. When I heard this recent news from EA to use SecuROM, that effectively killed my decision to purchase copies of both Mass Effect and Spore.

Even with the various copy protection methods you're going to employ, you know it will be only a matter of weeks if not days before the games appear in full on Torrents or the Usenet, stripped of the nefarious SecuROM malware.

And sadly, at that time, devoid of potentially harmful copy protection software, I might download copies of the games. I would happily donate to EA, via PayPal, the full cost of the games I might download to compensate because I do want to support your developers and designers fully, but I simply cannot risk another installation of a copy protection system that has been proven to do harm to one's PC.

I hope perhaps others write to you with similar opinions and feelings and maybe you might opt for a less intrusive, less harmful copy protection system. For the most part, many of us support your efforts 100% -- again, it is NOT the idea or concept of copy protection I or others are against -- it's your choice on *type* that many of us in the game community are simply not convinced with. We shouldn’t have to put our expensive game machines at risk to play a video game.

Kind Regards,

Me.
--------

 

Sorry your right it was secuRom, it still took an hour to remove. I managed to avoid the Starforce issue luckily.

It wasn't well documented at the time of Bioshock and it was most certainly not on the box when people purchased it. They did not tell you they were installing a program which could not be removed from the windows explorer or that it was installing hidden entries in your registry. I did not buy it I installed the demo before the truth of it was general knowledge HAD i known i wouldn't have even gone that far! Show me the place in the EULA they mentioned a root kit un-removable program? Show me on the box where it mentioned the fact that after the game has gone this **** is still in place.

Securom Removal: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/98241-25-remove-securom-malware-uninstalling-bioshock-demo

 

@mmorque: thanx.. i am currently formulating my e-mail and i will be sending it soon

 

I hate to say this but your really well wrote out email will most likely be glossed over between emails from numpties going WTF U FINK U DOIN WIT THIS COPY PROTECTION ME DONT LIKE: drags nuckles on the floor either that or an inbox of spam and pawn all of which is most likely ignored.

May i suggest you send a copy of the email to bioware + will wrights lot as i don't really think the EA employees give **** too much,
if you can convince the true games developers then they can battle the cause far better than we can and i think the likes of bioware will see out POV of this.

 

contact@bioware.com
piracy@ea.com

 

Sadly you're right. But as CardJoe says/said, it's best to make an effort there than to keep moaning on here.

 

how about a petition as well? the uwe boll one is at just short of a quarter of a million. Plus, its a lot easier for people to click 'yes i agree' than writing an email like the above.

 

Sent to both, also looking for a snail mail address in the UK for Bioware since as has been pointed out emails will likely be left cold.

 

I was considering pre-ordering Spore, but I think I will wait to see if the CP causes any issues before parting with my cash.

As far as CP goes I don't have a problem with a company wanting to protect there product as long as it doesn't cause an inconvenience to the end user.

What was the problem with Starforce? as I bought X3 Reunion which came with this CP but never had any problems with it, but have been put of buying any other games using it because of the bad press it has received.

 

Spot on there really.

amount of pirating levels and for that matter, terrorism threat, has not really changed by any perceivable amount in the last decade IMHO.

For whatever reason, the public perceived threat level has spiralled wildly out of control

 

scared people are easier to manipulate

 

Fox Weasel News

Spore was pretty much the only PC game I was looking forward too, my PC has pretty much fallen out of use now, I mostly play retro games on it. Very disappointed to hear that Spore has this draconian copy protection, I won't be buying it if this isn't changed.

Anyone know of a petition up already regarding this?

 

Only one i could find with a quick search, http://www.petitiononline.com/copyprot/petition.html Oddly this thread comes up when you google

Code:

spore drm petition