Are EA allowed to do this

[Final8ty]

Im having serious troubles with EA at the moment, my crysis warhead i paid for on steam has run out of licences, ive contacted EA who at first said just send us ur cd key which i did, now they have replied directing me to pogo to make an account there, and then to download crysis warhead over origin which i dont have at the moment and dont want, i just want the game to work on steam again, but now they seem to be forcing me to do 2 things to make a game ive paid for work again!!! help!!!

Recently, EA hasn't been allowing additional licenses if you're using Steam client.
Instead, they will give you a copy of the game on Origin.
I don't know if they are allowed to do this, but they are anyways.

Similar thing happened to me last week, well first time it happened was about three months ago.
I was to install my retail version of Crysis Warhead which I never ever registered on either Origin nor Steam.
Second time ever i install it. I get a msg that the license key is invalid. :/

After quite a few messy turns with EA customer service where they forced me to send them photos of my retailbox, manual, disc and license key they finally sent me a new key via email.

Everything was fine and I was able to install and play the game again. Then last week when I was to start up Crysis Warhead again I'm met but the same msg, license key invalid.

This time I get a bit more jarateed then the first time so I write to EA customer service yet again asking them what the heck is going on.

I also suggested that they activate the game the Origin account from where I contacted customer service. Maybe a bad move since it renders my retail version worthless.
But anyway, I suggested it as a measure to avoid future keys from going invalid.

A few hours later I get a reply where they say that they activated it in Origin.

I logon to Origin but there is no Crysis Warhead, so I contact them again. Eventually it turns out that they activated it for the wrong account (screen name). I told them that I want the game on my main Origin account from where I have had all my contact with them.
They said it was not possible to do this since they can't deactivate the game on the other account (screen name).
This all plays out in quite a few turns back and forth where they also tried to make me go register some pogo ♥♥♥♥ to make a new account.

I refused to do this and finally after about 13 hours of msgs and wait time all of a sudden Crysis Warhead popped up on my main Origin account.

I send them a final msg where I yet again ask why all this happened in the first place. Why my license keys goes invalid over and over again.

They never replied.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2637121

 

[shortylickens]

I no longer buy EA games cuz of all the nonsense involved. On top of the fact that much of what they've been making has sucked ass lately.

 

[KMFJD]

Origin works better than steam, they are doing you a favor

/runs

 

[Maximilian]

DRM strikes again :thumbsdown:

Those diminishing few who chime in "ive never had any problems" should read posts like that.

Dont know if they are allowed to do that or not, either way its completely unfair for those who bought the game on steam.

 

[Cerb]

I don't see why they wouldn't be allowed to do it, but IMO, the guy should be bitching at Steam. They should be responsible for making sure the games on their system can be installed by a user that bought them, regardless of whether EA is the one that actually did the screwing over or not.

 

[postmortemIA]

I don't see why they wouldn't be allowed to do it, but IMO, the guy should be bitching at Steam. They should be responsible for making sure the games on their system can be installed by a user that bought them, regardless of whether EA is the one that actually did the screwing over or not.

EA games have license agreement that opens on Steam upon first run. Among other things, it says you can use it only on a single PC. So Steam didn't do anything wrong. Best thing we can do is vote with our wallets.

 

[BladeVenom]

Take them to small claims court.

 

[lupi]

I don't see why they wouldn't be allowed to do it, but IMO, the guy should be bitching at Steam. They should be responsible for making sure the games on their system can be installed by a user that bought them, regardless of whether EA is the one that actually did the screwing over or not.

Ubi games on steam will do the same thing other than requiring you to use origin.

 

[Cerb]

Ubi games on steam will do the same thing other than requiring you to use origin.

Then the same should apply, if Ubisoft can't/won't get it working in short order. While I fancy myself as not being an abrasive asshole, I largely agree with BobJustBob in the linked thread.

 

[darkewaffle]

There is a 5 activation limit for Crysis Warhead, but there is no limit for Crysis Wars. The 5 activation limit for Warhead is not the same as 5 installations - you can uninstall and reinstall the game multiple times on the same PC and not use up any more activations. Only if your PC hardware has significantly changed, or you reformat your drive, or upgrade the OS, or try to install on a different computer, will an additional activation be used. Crytek has also promised to provide a 'revoke tool' shortly to help manage and free up activations.

There also appears to be a "DRM Revoke" tool available which I would start with to 'open up' more of your activations once more. Don't have a link because of the firewall here though.

 

[Gheris]

Amazing when you cannot use something you spent your money on. DRM is out of control at this point. Sorry set of circumstances that us pc gamers have to deal with.

 

[Mem]

DRM strikes again :thumbsdown:

Those diminishing few who chime in "ive never had any problems" should read posts like that.

Dont know if they are allowed to do that or not, either way its completely unfair for those who bought the game on steam.

You get good and bad on both sides of the fence,personally never had any DRM problems and I've used them all Starforce,TAGES,Securom and dozen more could name,my game count is over 400+ so you could say I should of had my fair share of DRM issues but never had any ,oh and yep I also use both Steam and Origin(no issues).

However saying all that I don't like how EA treats customers with regards to their games,putting restrictions is one thing but when it effects gamers that buy their games legit its a bad thing.

I'm well aware its their game and copyright so they can argue they can do what they want,however legit gamers that buy their games are their bread and butter ,wonder sometimes if they even think about that?

End of the day you have a choice,its down to you if you buy a game or not.

 

[PowerYoga]

If you already have a copy of the game, download it from your usual sources. It's the game you paid for without the DRM nonsense.

 

[gorcorps]

The first two stories aren't even problems, just users bitching that they don't want to use Origin. Suck it up and quit whining...

The third story is the only one I had a problem with, because it's BS that they can't "deactivate" the product from the wrong account. That was entirely their screwup, and I understand wanting all your games on your main account. But then it's ruined by continuing to bitch even after they fixed the problem. Shut up and play the game now that you can.

 

[you2]

For the most part i disagree. If I buy a game on steam; and od not have (nor want) origin; the publisher should not be able to froce me (at a later date) to use their system (imho).

The first two stories aren't even problems, just users bitching that they don't want to use Origin. Suck it up and quit whining...

The third story is the only one I had a problem with, because it's BS that they can't "deactivate" the product from the wrong account. That was entirely their screwup, and I understand wanting all your games on your main account. But then it's ruined by continuing to bitch even after they fixed the problem. Shut up and play the game now that you can.

 

[thespyder]

You get good and bad on both sides of the fence,personally never had any DRM problems and I've used them all Starforce,TAGES,Securom and dozen more could name,my game count is over 400+ so you could say I should of had my fair share of DRM issues but never had any ,oh and yep I also use both Steam and Origin(no issues).

However saying all that I don't like how EA treats customers with regards to their games,putting restrictions is one thing but when it effects gamers that buy their games legit its a bad thing.

I'm well aware its their game and copyright so they can argue they can do what they want,however legit gamers that buy their games are their bread and butter ,wonder sometimes if they even think about that?

End of the day you have a choice,its down to you if you buy a game or not.

So DRM issues generally only (Significantly) impact 10-15% of gamers. Now those are usually the highly vocal ones (and how can blame them). The remainder may have minor issues that are ignored or suffered silently, or no issues at all, but that doesn't invalidate those who do have issues. So claiming "I never got stung by DRM" really doesn't mean squat. You don't have to be a slave to know that it is a bad thing.

Point is, that DRM probably doesn't impact anywhere near that many pirates. So it is failing significantly, and where consumers are saying companies like EA are not consumer friendly. You can find hundreds of people complaining about draconian DRM issues after being impacted by them (and rightly so). But if they don't have issues, they are less likely to post it.

As for copyright issues, problem is that legislation isn't 100% hashed out yet. And the industry is evolving every day with changes in delivery systems and expanding markets. So, Publishers try to leverage any means they can that haven't been specifically made illegal so long as they anticipate making a profit out of it. The more the profit, the more they do what they think will make them more money. Same as any business.

Where consumers come in is when they see something that they won't stand for (it is useless to say unethical, as that is highly subjective) but as they see practices that are perceived as harmful to their consumerism, they speak out. Hopefully, eventually it gets made into law and the gaming publishers modify their practices accordingly. But in the mean time, they complain, loudly in places like this forum.

 

[frozentundra123456]

EA games have license agreement that opens on Steam upon first run. Among other things, it says you can use it only on a single PC. So Steam didn't do anything wrong. Best thing we can do is vote with our wallets.

Well, you could argue that before Steam distributed the game, they should have negotiated with EA to allow a reasonable number of installs. This is good to know though, because I was not aware of this limitation.

If that is true, you might be better off to buy the game on "gasp" origin itself. I installed ME3 on 2 computers and played off line on each. I really see no problem there.

 

[gorcorps]

So DRM issues generally only (Significantly) impact 10-15% of gamers.

I stopped reading here. When you pull figures completely out of your ass it discredits you entirely. How do you know it only affects 10-15%? What do you mean "significantly"? Does somebody with a single issue on a single game count as 1 data point, or did you think of somebody having issues with LOTS of DRM?

 

[thespyder]

I stopped reading here. When you pull figures completely out of your ass it discredits you entirely. How do you know it only affects 10-15%? What do you mean "significantly"? Does somebody with a single issue on a single game count as 1 data point, or did you think of somebody having issues with LOTS of DRM?

the fact that you stopped reading at the opening sentence discredits YOU completely. LOL.

My definition of "Significantly" is non-qualifiable except in that it constitutes someone who has enough of an issue to complain about it. Hence, when I played ToEE, I encountered several issues (non-DRM related) with the game play but do not feel I was "Significantly" impacted by it. That type of thing.

As for my assumptions of 10-15%, I pulled the statistic from an article I read on PCGamer.com some years ago although i can't find the link. And I have read nothing to disabuse me of those statistics. Care to provide counter statistics proving them wrong? And in which direction? Up or down? (just curious)

it is simple business that if the defect rate was larger than that, the consumer base would not purchase significant quantities. That is generally considered the (high end) threshold beyond which a product will stand given market defects (or equivalent 'DRM').

Bottom line is, in the same vein as "just because you were never impacted by it doesn't mean that no one was." is a false analogy, it is conversely true that "just because you were impacted, doesn't mean that everyone was."

 

[pontifex]

Amazing when you cannot use something you spent your money on. DRM is out of control at this point. Sorry set of circumstances that us pc gamers have to deal with.

who says you can't use it? they are allwoing you to use it on Origin.

 

[pontifex]

For the most part i disagree. If I buy a game on steam; and od not have (nor want) origin; the publisher should not be able to froce me (at a later date) to use their system (imho).

why not? it's their game, their servers?

 

[thespyder]

why not? it's their game, their servers?

I think they are disagreeing in principal, and saying that they disagree with companies that put those types of restrictions on games that the consumer purchases. I too agree in principal, but the fact of the matter is that it is their game. And your choice is to agree with it or not buy it. More's the pity.

 

[tommo123]

i use steam but i won't use origin. if i had the same problem as the OP then to be honest i would pirate the game. i already paid for it so fuck EA. i think others would do the same which would lead some to just pirating games from the get go.

ps. i'm not american so i don't have this attitude of companies being justified about fleecing people all over.

 

[bononos]

The first two stories aren't even problems, just users bitching that they don't want to use Origin. Suck it up and quit whining...

The third story is the only one I had a problem with, because it's BS that they can't "deactivate" the product from the wrong account. That was entirely their screwup, and I understand wanting all your games on your main account. But then it's ruined by continuing to bitch even after they fixed the problem. Shut up and play the game now that you can.

The problem is the sheer nonsense that a user has to go through to get a game working after paying for it. No apology no explanation necessary, your shut up and play attitude is the sort of rubbish that allows companies to screw paying customers.

Maybe an employee activated the id for themselves or a friend and hoped that that the poor sap of a customer would give up after hours of complaining.

 

[Martimus]

i use steam but i won't use origin. if i had the same problem as the OP then to be honest i would pirate the game. i already paid for it so fuck EA. i think others would do the same which would lead some to just pirating games from the get go.

ps. i'm not american so i don't have this attitude of companies being justified about fleecing people all over.

Lol at the bigoted response saying that Americans act differently than the rest of the world.