EA copy protection taken to new heights

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SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
145
106
www.neftastic.com
I know it's an Inq link... but...

ELECTRONIC ARTS HAS backed down from its plan to ship uber-draconian DRM software on two of its top PC releases for the year, Mass Effect and Spore.

...

The games will now only authenticate with internet servers once upon installation.

Direct from Bioware link...

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Originally posted by: SunnyD
I know it's an Inq link... but...

ELECTRONIC ARTS HAS backed down from its plan to ship uber-draconian DRM software on two of its top PC releases for the year, Mass Effect and Spore.

...

The games will now only authenticate with internet servers once upon installation.

Direct from Bioware link...

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

Thats good to know, I can now look forward to Spore again. :)
 

AMDZen

Lifer
Apr 15, 2004
12,639
0
76
Originally posted by: sirjonk
Great news, the anti-piracy measures won't be as invasive as previously thought!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/5/9/

Awesome.

I might re-pre-order Mass Effect now. I wonder if it will be on Steam and then maybe it won't have the limit of 3 thing. I'll need to look into it more. One thing I like about steam is that the games work on any computer that has steam installed on it and you just login to your account.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
145
106
www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: Bateluer
Originally posted by: SunnyD
I know it's an Inq link... but...

ELECTRONIC ARTS HAS backed down from its plan to ship uber-draconian DRM software on two of its top PC releases for the year, Mass Effect and Spore.

...

The games will now only authenticate with internet servers once upon installation.

Direct from Bioware link...

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

Thats good to know, I can now look forward to Spore again. :)

Keep in mind, ONLY Bioware has confirmed this for Mass Effect.

A change to Spore has NOT been publicly announced as of yet.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: Bateluer
Originally posted by: SunnyD
I know it's an Inq link... but...

ELECTRONIC ARTS HAS backed down from its plan to ship uber-draconian DRM software on two of its top PC releases for the year, Mass Effect and Spore.

...

The games will now only authenticate with internet servers once upon installation.

Direct from Bioware link...

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

Thats good to know, I can now look forward to Spore again. :)

Keep in mind, ONLY Bioware has confirmed this for Mass Effect.

A change to Spore has NOT been publicly announced as of yet.

Dammit, good point. :( I wasn't going to bother with Mass Effect anyway.
 

sourceninja

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2005
8,805
65
91
I don't buy EA games. If more people would stop buying EA games, the state of PC gaming would improve. I did buy sins of a solar empire solely on the fact it had no copy protection. I've only played it maybe an hour.
 

Scooby Doo

Golden Member
Sep 1, 2006
1,040
18
81
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Originally posted by: Scooby Doo
Ehhh I can see it now.... Securom likes to break CD/DVD drivers.... I'm guessing this new version will break your network connection. LOL

The DRM that supposedly broke CD/DVD drives was StarForce, not SecuROM. Unless, there is a problem like that with SecuROM as well that I am not prelude to....

Actually the latest versions of SecuRom (those included with the latest Sims expansions for example) have caused problems with cd drivers.
 

Canai

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2006
8,016
1
0
Originally posted by: sourceninja
I don't buy EA games. If more people would stop buying EA games, the state of PC gaming would improve. I did buy sins of a solar empire solely on the fact it had no copy protection. I've only played it maybe an hour.

EA had nothing to do with Sins.

Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: Bateluer
Originally posted by: SunnyD
I know it's an Inq link... but...

ELECTRONIC ARTS HAS backed down from its plan to ship uber-draconian DRM software on two of its top PC releases for the year, Mass Effect and Spore.

...

The games will now only authenticate with internet servers once upon installation.

Direct from Bioware link...

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

Thats good to know, I can now look forward to Spore again. :)

Keep in mind, ONLY Bioware has confirmed this for Mass Effect.

A change to Spore has NOT been publicly announced as of yet.

I thought they said they were going to validate only when patching or uploading/downloading creature things. Grr if Spore has that stupid 10-day thing I won't buy it, even though I've been looking forward to it for years.
 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Originally posted by: sourceninja
I don't buy EA games. If more people would stop buying EA games, the state of PC gaming would improve. I did buy sins of a solar empire solely on the fact it had no copy protection. I've only played it maybe an hour.

EA Games =

1) no support for widescreen games on PC.
2) Crappy cookie cutter game play.
3) Forced upgrades to the latest Madden because they won't guarantee multi player support for Madden 2007 after August 2008 even though the box stats the game supports multi player play.
4) Having to put in your disk to play every single game you own instead of playing off the hard drive (btw THANK YOU! Company of Heroes for making installation and play so easy)
5) and now..... this... jeez

I used to be a fan of EA years back. Now I curse them. I will never buy another EA game ever again.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Originally posted by: sourceninja
I don't buy EA games. If more people would stop buying EA games, the state of PC gaming would improve. I did buy sins of a solar empire solely on the fact it had no copy protection. I've only played it maybe an hour.

EA Games =

1) no support for widescreen games on PC.
2) Crappy cookie cutter game play.
3) Forced upgrades to the latest Madden because they won't guarantee multi player support for Madden 2007 after August 2008 even though the box stats the game supports multi player play.
4) Having to put in your disk to play every single game you own instead of playing off the hard drive (btw THANK YOU! Company of Heroes for making installation and play so easy)
5) and now..... this... jeez

I used to be a fan of EA years back. Now I curse them. I will never buy another EA game ever again.

Yeah exactly! People who buy a game with EA on the label are funding the butchering of gaming as we know it! Dosent matter if your a PC gamer or a consonle gamer, EA's buisness plan will trash every good franchise out there. If your into their sports franchise there are alternatives!! Pro evo instead of fifa for example.

Dont let them ruin any more good franchises people! Whats next? GTA! Thats whats on their list next, but what if they dont get it, or even if they do, whats next on the chopping block? Halo? Gears of war? Company of heros? Who knows... only thing for sure is whatever they get a hold of next they will ruin it!
 

Canai

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2006
8,016
1
0
Originally posted by: Soviet
Originally posted by: Chosonman
Originally posted by: sourceninja
I don't buy EA games. If more people would stop buying EA games, the state of PC gaming would improve. I did buy sins of a solar empire solely on the fact it had no copy protection. I've only played it maybe an hour.

EA Games =

1) no support for widescreen games on PC. Many games do not support playing at the native res of my monitor, but EA games are easily modified with simple command line params
2) Crappy cookie cutter game play. BF2/2142 had cookie cutter game play? :confused:
3) Forced upgrades to the latest Madden because they won't guarantee multi player support for Madden 2007 after August 2008 even though the box stats the game supports multi player play. I never play sports games, but isn't that what consoles are for?
4) Having to put in your disk to play every single game you own instead of playing off the hard drive (btw THANK YOU! Company of Heroes for making installation and play so easy) This really pisses me off. Playing BF online requires a cd in the drive, even though you have to log into an account tied to your CD key. AND no cd cracks don't work - fuck you EA
5) and now..... this... jeez

I used to be a fan of EA years back. Now I curse them. I will never buy another EA game ever again.

Yeah exactly! People who buy a game with EA on the label are funding the butchering of gaming as we know it! Dosent matter if your a PC gamer or a consonle gamer, EA's buisness plan will trash every good franchise out there. If your into their sports franchise there are alternatives!! Pro evo instead of fifa for example.

Dont let them ruin any more good franchises people! Whats next? GTA! Thats whats on their list next, but what if they dont get it, or even if they do, whats next on the chopping block? Halo? Gears of war? Company of heros? Who knows... only thing for sure is whatever they get a hold of next they will ruin it!

While I hate EA as much as the next person, I'm not going to let the EA logo prevent me from playing a game that I enjoy, like the BF series. Halo sucked, Gears of War was trash, Relic would never change their games to suit EA. I remember a few months ago the EA head admited that their business policies ruined games and alienated gamers, so we'll have to see how they handle their releases over the next year or so.

Like it or not, EA is here to stay.
 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
"Many games do not support playing at the native res of my monitor, but EA games are easily modified with simple command line params."

Can you find me command line params to play at 720 for Madden 07, NBA live 07, NHL 07, MoH? (Hint: they don't exist)

BF2/2142 had cookie cutter game play?


(Shouldn't a sniper rifle be 1 shot one kill?)
Play CS:S or COD4 lately? Both have much better game play mechanics that BF2 (I have all three) But that may be a matter of personal preference.

"I never play sports games, but isn't that what consoles are for?"

I shouldn't have to buy a console just play play Madden especially if they're selling it for the PC. Why are they forcing people to upgrade in order to keep playing multiplayer?

"This really pisses me off. Playing BF online requires a cd in the drive, even though you have to log into an account tied to your CD key. AND no cd cracks don't work - fuck you EA"


This is a real reason why I like steam games so much. I can buy them and never have to put in a CD or worry about losing or breaking my discs. If I could all my games would be on steam. (Too bad my Civ 4, COD4, and Rome Total war were retail I can't add them to my steam account)
 

GundamSonicZeroX

Platinum Member
Oct 6, 2005
2,100
0
0
Originally posted by: Chosonman
[Too bad my Civ 4, COD4, and Rome Total war were retail I can't add them to my steam account
Can't you still activate them? I bought Dark Messiah of Might and Magic at Best Buy, entered the CD-Key and I was able to play the game through Steam.

 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Originally posted by: GundamSonicZeroX
Originally posted by: Chosonman
[Too bad my Civ 4, COD4, and Rome Total war were retail I can't add them to my steam account
Can't you still activate them? I bought Dark Messiah of Might and Magic at Best Buy, entered the CD-Key and I was able to play the game through Steam.

I think some retail versions are supported, but alas... my games aren't.
 

quattro1

Member
Jan 13, 2005
111
0
0
From reading the resonses in this thread, its no wonder more and more games are coming out on console and why GTA4 is not on PC yet.

People are so quick to say they will crack it or pirate a game that publishers have no other choice but to put some kind of protection in their games if they want to continue making them.

Don't blame EA, blame all the people who crack and pirate PC games.
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,295
391
126
I dont condone the buying, selling, or using of back ups, unless for true legit reasons or law allows, but when are these fat heads going to get it through their heads that it doesnt work. They make something, it gets broken right away, if they were able to get away with this bs having to reactivate every 10 days, they would make a patch so that it wont ever need to revalidate at all. I mean who wins there? The bad guys, because they get to play for free, and patch it so THEY are not bugged to have to keep revalidating. Who loses, US, by inflated outrageous prices for games, that 75% of the time suck so bad they are not worth the plastic they were stamped out of, while they get richer cramming down our throats "we gotta do this to stop the pirates from stealing the games, so we'll just add another $20 to the title so you can play it".

Its no damn wonder there games are getting stolen even more today then yesterday, they keep upping the price on us to stop something that cannot be stopped. You may as well blow smoke up my ass and tell me you wanna raise my property tax, but this time its because if they do, they will be able to end the war on drugs and terror. MY BIG WHITE HAIRY ASS! They dont want that to stop just as they dont want, or cannot afford for their games NOT TO BE copied. There is too much money to be made. The pirates sell the games they got for free and make money. the feds make money from taxes to "stop" the pirates. Then the big c's make money trying to supposedly stop something that cannot be stopped, that they know but make you pay more thinking its for the greater good, the greater good in knowing you will believe them and glady pay for them to stop them damn bad people for stealing a game you had to buy out the ass for, that sucks balls. Then they need more funds and better programs they tell you, and cause us to pay even more, and more, and more, and more, till they sell 1-2 copies a year to rich kids who can afford to pay $500 a game, but to stupid to go buy an illegal copy of it.

They want to stop copying of their shit, STOP CD COPY PROTECTION AND MAKE THE FUCKING GAMES AFFORDABLE TO EVERYONE!!!! Then there wont really be a reason for anyone to steal them, other then people with a mental issue of having to own everything no matter what.

But they cannot because everyone is in bed with everyone and making money, but its going to come to a head soon, no one will want to pay out the ass for a game, nor even get a copy of it for fear of being caught having it, and then they aint going to sell shit when people buy up all the rich peoples games used for cheap. Me I will never buy a new game again, and havent in years, gamestop, gamecraze, half.com, anandtech, and ebay are my shopping stores to buy nothing but used games dirt cheap that I can afford. Granted it may be a year(s) old, but they didnt get my money and at 75 cents to $20 each game, I can afford to wait for those prices and fuck the hype, and fuck big companies. I mean just the fact they are selling like hot cakes these little, graphically challenged games on line, xbox live, for 45-$20 a pop says the people dont want to really pay out the but to play, its what they can afford to keep playing, even if it means its not halo 4 billion, or GTA4, stupid gumboy game sells millions of copies because its fun, and costs $20 VS $75. So it is proven right there, its not about stealing the games, its about them robing us and we dont want to, or cannot afford to pay the price for their games as the reason from crappy sales, and why you will see a lot of them on the newsgroups. Why should they pay $75 when for around $20 a month they can dl yours and everyone else's, or take that $20 and buy 1-6 games with it and not even think of buying yours till it hits the bargain bin, most likely used.

They need to stop, and the people need to wake up and say "FUCK YOU!", no matter what hype the media says about a new game coming out, and dont bother to buy it, send a message to them that we had enough, we want your games, we REALLY DO, but come back to earth, make it so we can afford it, and stop making crappy games, make something we like to buy. You watch how fast when one of their big sellers no one buys, or bothers to down load, comes down in price till they get the message enough is enough. These times are hard, parents cannot afford to give their kids allowance, or what they we giving was too much to make up for food, GAS, utilities, you can bet your ass if they keep making these new games with protection,a nd sell them still for high prices, they are going to lose. There wont be a message sent, because you stopped mod chips, or modding, or back up games from being sold when it all stops. You will stop people from downloading them for fear of being busted, sure, but it still wont change the fact they still wont be able to afford to buy the damn game, and still your sales will fall through the floor. No more back up or copied games, but no more sales of games either unless everyone changes. Gas, prices for food, and utility are not going to change any time soon, and will only get worse the way things are going. People are more broke then ever, the time has come where pc game prices and lose of protection and "fighting" to stop it from being copied has to change if pc, or even console gaming is to survive. its all we got left to take us out of our humdrum pathetic lives because we cannot afford to do anything else. Cant drive to the parks, the zoo, afford the drive to the amusement parks let alone the ticket once there, I mean, when is it going to stop? Movies, tv, and games is all we really got left and its being TAKEN away, not because the stuff is getting copied and sold, but people cant afford to get the real deal no more for the prices keep going up on that as well in the name of stopping the pirates. So come on, dont feed more on "its the pirates" who is doing this to us, its really you, the makes or publishers of games being the pirates for you are the ones stealing EVERYONES money from both sides. Bring back the lower prices, bring back buyers, bring back even more profits then you could of ever imagined, and we ALL win.

Thats my 2 cents
 

Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
People who pirate games probably are the same people who mod their consoles so I don't see how that's any excuse for PC games not being a popular as they should be. I do notice a problem with standardizing PC game interfaces and controller probably because of the many possible different configurations computers can have and a common market strategy. I think "Games for Windows" is a good start.

Another positive sign for PC gaming is the success of Steam. I haven't heard anything about their sales figures, but judging by it's growth and the positive feedback I've heard from users I have no doubt online distribution of legitimate PC games is here to stay. Combine Steam with "Games for Windows" I think we might just have the death of consoles for good. Hurray for a unified gaming platform! (yea I know.. dream on...)
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
Originally posted by: funboy42
I dont condone the buying, selling, or using of back ups, unless for true legit reasons or law allows, but when are these fat heads going to get it through their heads that it doesnt work. They make something, it gets broken right away,
Except in this case, it was the cracks that were broken. Heh.
 

Pia

Golden Member
Feb 28, 2008
1,563
0
0
Originally posted by: quattro1
From reading the resonses in this thread, its no wonder more and more games are coming out on console and why GTA4 is not on PC yet.

People are so quick to say they will crack it or pirate a game that publishers have no other choice but to put some kind of protection in their games if they want to continue making them.

Don't blame EA, blame all the people who crack and pirate PC games.
You blame cracks for copy protection. It's self evident they would not even exist if there was no copy protection, so you have it 100% backwards. A legit user applying a crack to fix the artificial problem of copy protection costs the devs nothing.

I do blame pirates for making the game business less successful than it would be otherwise, but the pirates don't have the power to make my legit copy worse. When the devs do that, the blame for it is on their shoulders, and their shoulders alone.

I'd really like to play Bioshock, but the DRM is too much and I want to get my software legit. :frown:
 

wanderer27

Platinum Member
Aug 6, 2005
2,173
15
81
Originally posted by: Pia
I'd really like to play Bioshock, but the DRM is too much and I want to get my software legit. :frown:

I'm in the same Boat:

Orange Box
Crysis
Bioshock
ME
Spore

Games I have/had some interest in until the DRM status came to light - I'm just not going to support DRM.

In the long run this is just going to save me money. I mean for one, I won't be buying as many games (especially theirs), and I won't need to spend a bunch of money buying new hardware to play said games.

Actually, I seem to prefer the older games anyway these days. The newest game I have is Sins of a Solar Empire, and I haven't even booted that up yet. The interest in most of the newer stuff just isn't there - too many rehashes.

 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
Originally posted by: ghost recon88
Originally posted by: Lithan
This is hilarious. It'll be cracked in a matter of hours after release.
What are you quoting this for? This assertion, taken as holy writ by many, was proved totally wrong. The pirates only came up with broken, unfinishable versions of a cracked game. Even if they succeed in a few weeks, it doesn't matter. It's the initial wave of sales that's important, and the DRM seems to have worked in this case.