Guess EA was "taking it seriously". I mean, that seemed to be the only buzz-phrase missing from their statement.

@ThunderRoad: "Is important to us" is synonymous with "taking it seriously."

@ThunderRoad:
That's because they actually did something about it. They would only "take it seriously" if they didn't intend to do anything about it :p

At least they figured out that it doesn't really matter. Most people will gladly check back in for updates and patches, and that's when you do a re-authenticate.

This is, in all seriousness, really great news.

@44 in a Row: Absolutely. A rare occurrence of a company actually listening to customer feedback and taking swift action. This will serve as a great example both for DRM solutions themselves and public behavior of game publishers.

i missed the original discussion. How was this any different from Punkbuster, which required online re-verification just about every time you wanted to play America's Army on a PB-enabled server?

I never heard gripes about that (other than when it didn't work to stop cheats/hax/etc).

"The solution being ... a one time online authentication." - 10 to 1 odds the first version of the game installs a rootkit that keeps verifying itself online without letting the user know its doing it. Aaaah the Sony model of corporate solutions, what a life eh ;)

Also I say first version because they will quickly be releasing a new version after the backlash and possible lawsuits. See also Sony.

@savvy9999:

Punkbuster is a free 3rd party add on for various games.

So it still has DRM, still installs invasive software on your computer that is in no way required to play the game (like say DX10 might be). Sorry, I am a legit customer, paying money for your product. I won't have spyware and other crap installed on my computer as if I needed to be monitored like some file sharer. Can we go back to the old days of "Look on page 11 of the manual and enter in the 3 symbols found on the wheel of power"? I didn't buy bioshock due to DRM, and I guess I won't be buying Mass Effect either (no I didn't pirate them, I just simply won't play them). I hear Spore will have DRM software too...ah well I was excited for awhile.

It is a step in the right direction but not total victory. The game is still DRM'ed.

Say I notice people say they heard about the DRM for spore. Can anyone fill me in on where I can find out more?

I have a copy pre-ordered, and I'm gonna cancle it if the DRM is bad. Too many stories of bad DRMs messing up PCs.

@savvy9999: Punkbuster isn't an online authentication system for a single-player game. PB is made to try and curb cheating in online games, the two things are totally different.

News flash: Nearly every game made has DRM and has for decades.

Say I notice people say they heard about the DRM for spore. Can anyone fill me in on where I can find out more?

Last we heard, it was supposed to use the same DRM as Mass Effect, complete with reauthorization every 10 days. EA only announced they're ditching that for Mass Effect; as far as I know, there's no news on Spore.

@Geekybiker: So?

@savvy9999: Well, one big difference is that that was generally for online games, and was NOT for purposes of copyright enforcement. If you're playing an online game already, online authentication is a bit less onerous than for a single-player game where you may not have Internet access. And with PB, people were supposedly getting an actual benefit (the control of cheaters). With DRM, you're just punishing the legitimate customers only.

what about the 3 install limit? i reformat my pc 3 times a year. does this mean i'll only be able to play for one year?

The fact that they keep sneaking stuff like this in their games and only take it out if there's an uproar makes me leery of purchasing games with their logo on them.

I'm surprised there's so little mention of the big debate in gaming circles:

You can still only install Mass Effect (and Spore) three times.

After that you'll have to phone EA and argue your case, and they might let you install it again. If you regularly upgrade or replace your PC you'll run out of installs fairly quickly.

It's like EA have overpitched the DRM, so they can "back down" to what they actually wanted, and people are praising them.

It's still a no sale for me; pirates will be able to reinstall their copy as often as they like, why restrict your legitimate customer so?

So Mass Effect and Spore won't suffer through this but what happens when it comes down to Sims 3 and every other PC game EA releases to the wild?

@The_Mhor:

Holy crap.

You've got to be kidding me. I've never heard of a company that is so willing to shoot themselves in the head to retain control over a bunch of bits.

I was fully intending to buy Spore the day it came out. Then I heard about the invasive DRM & decided I didn't want to play Spore that badly. You just changed my mind, but I promise you I won't be playing the $49.99 version from EA Games. This is coming from someone who hasn't pirated a game since highschool & literally spends several hundreds of dollars a year on gaming purchases. I hope someone from EA Games reads this blog, because I *will* be pirating Spore as soon as it's cracked (& it will be cracked) & furthermore, I'll be making physical copies for all of my less savvy friends & co-workers.

All for spite.

Fuck you EA Games.

I'll download a cracked version of Spore and then find a way to make sure Maxis and Will Wright get my cash.

EA can suck a dick.

What EA is doing is making something completely outrageous, letting the consumer rage, then put in something mostly outrageous in its place, and look good in the process. This is exact same thing they did with Bioshock, and people raged over that. This is just all an attempt to get consumers used to buying the same game over and over- which is pure profit for EA.

The game should still be boycotted.

If you don't like EA's corporate tactics, support smaller game companies like Stardock or Paradox instead.

EA already does something like this with their "download manager". My daughter plays the sims on my vista box and that loads every time she runs the Sims. It does not unload when you leave the game. I started having issues with ftp and a couple of other services and tracked it down to the EA "download manager". I uninstalled it and The Sims no longer worked for my daughter. I contacted EA and asked if it were really a download manager or an online DRM and the support guy admitted it was DRM. I next asked why they couldn't unload it when the game unloads and he wouldn't even respond to that. So I'm guessing if it runs all the time it will report home if you did run another EA game, regardless of it's authenticity.

As much as I like that they're "looking out for" us or whatever, I hate that it has to come down to "doing it for the troops."

@arstal:

Amen to the Stardock / Paradox props.

If you like Sci-Fi, RTS games & haven't played Sins of a Solar Empire, you are missing out on a great game.

EDIT:

I forgot Maxis is a subsidiary of EA so I guess I'll just donate to Child's Play and write Will Wright a nice letter.

Yeah... still not acceptable. Still not buying Spore, despite having eagerly awaited its release since it was very first announced. Will get a cracked copy ASAP. Congratulations, EA, you've turned me into a pirate! (Have never, ever used non-legitimately purchased software in my life, and usually buy 5-6 games a year. Now sounds like a good time to start, though.)

I totally agree with the support Stardock line. Their games are superb and their ideas about their customer's rights of use are bang on.

@Geekybiker:

A CD check isn't really DRM. Neither is a CD-Key.

@neost: I have The Sims installed and I didn't know about the download manager. Do you remember what it was called in task manager?

@The_Mhor:

Oh yeah, don't forget to give Bethesda Softworks (The Elder Scrolls) some props too, they don't use DRM either, just a simple CD check.

What gets me is there are so few games out that I actually want to buy, and the few that interest me come with DRM crap, preventing me from buying them out of principle....if PC gaming is on the way out, it is because of this crap.

This is better how exactly?

Years from now, when I think "Hey, you know what would be fun? Playing through X game again, it was really fun..." I dig out my old computer, dust it off, install the game and it fails because it can't activate.

Product activation is stupid, and so is EA. At least Steam is honest: they make no bones about the fact that Steam games are a service, not a licensed product; you retain no rights to use them at any time, for any reason, you're just paying for the privilege of using them for the moment.

For what it's worth, I've been waiting for Spore for a long, long time and I won't be buying it now.

Bullshit, the game still has CD-Check, what's the difference, one requires Internet, the other requires compatible hardware that 2 out of 10 PCs lack.

2 steps back, 1 step forward, were still 1 step back.

I will still buy the games, I don't care what protection they go with, everyone who says they now won't buy a game because of all this bologna is lying to themselves.

freaking addicts.

Basically what happens in the pc game industry now is anyone who purchases the game/software legally will has to jump through hoops again and again to get the game to work. While those that steal the software have it easy because all that crap is removed. What I suggest is to buy the game and then get the pirated version to actually play. You aren't breaking the law and you get to play the game without the hastle.

Bullshit, the game still has CD-Check, what's the difference, one requires Internet, the other requires compatible hardware that 2 out of 10 PCs lack.

Ah, but the former requires not just internet, but a working activation server, and we've all seen recently (with the Microsoft music store) how badly that can go. For me, personally, this is the major difference -- the fact that with a CD check, my access to the game isn't dependent on EA/Bioware's activation servers remaining online indefinitely. A CD check isn't exactly desirable, but at least it's within my control.

@Android8675:

No. I have a bit of self control. I will not be buying Spore or Mass Effect at all, if they leave the 3 strikes & you're out DRM in them. A CD check is not DRM not matter how must you rant & rave that it is.

I was going to buy Mass Effect and I'm not kidding myself when I say I won't due to the 3 Install Limit.

I just bought Warcraft 3 and installed it yesterday (yeah, I know, late to the game). All I had to do was enter a CD-Key when I installed. There was no online authentication. They did give me the option to register my game/Cd-key online. Which I did because Blizzard allows people who've done so to download the game and install it in the future. Amazing, being presented with an actual benefit! For Free! Blizzard rocks.

this isn't a triumph
DRM is not reducing piracy.. you know why?
Because over 60% of piracy is not even done in the big markets.. US is a relative minority of the consuption of bootlegged or pirated games; you've seen the number of Downloads on MiniNova? those are German, Yougoslavian, Vietnamites, Brazilian, and so on...
EA and many other companies are blind to this... they think screwing us legit customers they will reduce the piracy? hell no!, not when there are people (over places they might not even know that exist) that can crack and post a game for torrent comunity to avoid being screwed in the first place , the sad truth is they are willingly loosing a huge market because is unknow to them ... this is why Steam will eventually swallow them all and rule as the one distribution channel that gives +value to their customers
(for those that don't agree.... remember Ubisoft released Assasins creed on Steam but only for US customers, like the $$ of any other country are less useful or valuable)