Just pirate. Fuck them. If they want to screw legit buyers and owners... Well, you reap what you sow....

What an odd coincidence! The number of EA games that I have personally purchased is at 3 (not including Maxis games, which I have back when they were independent and after their absoprtion into EA)!

I think I'll keep it there until this issue gets sorted out.

This will be a gateway game for many people. It starts with cracking a legit game to actually be able to use it. Then, when you see how easy that is, you use the no-cd patch. When that is super easy, you go ahead and install a friends game, crack it, and use the no cd patch so you can play whenever.

Then you decide you want a game that your friends don't have. Torrents away.

Pirates are caused by the people who make it a pain to play the games you paid for. Why pay to be treated like a pirate, when for free, you can be a pirate and not treated like one?

I know a lot of people are going to be upset about this--and rightfully so. If you purchase something, software or otherwise, you should be purchasing the right to use it at will, not the right to install it three times and three times only.

If their system can detect an install, it should be able to detect an uninstall. Barring that, does anyone else have any solutions?

so what about people that continuely upgrade their computers with new parts to stay current ?. so after 3 active installs the player is basically screwed, this is clearly unfair to thebuyer of the game. I know piracy is high for games but 3 game install DRM is nuts.

@MustyBuckets: Not for nothing, Musty, but pirates are also created by the greed induced by a desire to obtain something they didn't ethically earn.

I'm not saying EA is in the right here (nor am I interested in a debate on the definition of ethics, because I think we all agree stealing a game isn't the same as stealing bread for a starving family), but I think your rationale behind why people steal is only very partially true.

On the other hand, you highlight the problem at its very core. The same thing happens when we travel does it not? We're all presumed a threat until we're searched, scanned and questioned until they believe otherwise--and once again, we're paying for that privilege.

Well, there's one more EA game I wont purchase. I was seriously considering getting it, but if I'm treated like a criminal, I won't.

So when I chose to reload my OS like I need to do everyone once in a while, I wont be able to install it a few years from now. GJ EA.

Such a shame. I generally like Bioware's games. I enjoyed Star Wars KOTOR and Neverwinter Nights. I was kind of toying with buying Mass Effect, but I wanted to see how this whole debacle turned out. Looks like I have my answer.

I'm also pissed that now I won't get to play Spore because it will be using the same kind of crippleware.

Oh well, I guess I'll just go back through my library of older games and save the money.

@MustyBuckets: Bullshit. People pirate because they are lazy, cheap and selfish. And yes, I fully admit to being the pot.

I can remember one single instance where I cracked a legit game I bought (Draken).

I think it's incredible that consumers are willing to accept that a game has to be "authenticated" online to play a single-player offline game with NO multiplayer component whatsoever. Not that I'm blaming the consumer here, I'm just wondering why there's not more of an outcry. After the company has your money, it's a little late for them to be telling you how many times you can install the game in your lifetime. I sure as Hell don't get to tell EA that they can spend my $64.49 on food or gasoline but not booze or the services of transvestite hookers. If they're going to limit your use of your game, they need to have these limitations clearly displayed on the box so that you can make an informed decision about whether to buy it.

This sort of crap in Half-Life 2 pissed me off so badly that I will NEVER purchase another game from Valve as long as their software is infected with Steam. I didn't buy Mass Effect for the PC, I bought it for the 360, and that version doesn't have this idiotic DRM scheme. You can play the same copy of Mass Effect 360 on twenty different 360s if you want, and none of them need to be connected to the Internet to work, either. The minute an EA game pulls this crap on me, I'll happily stop buying from them, too.

Oh, and please note that I didn't say I'd stop playing games from EA or Valve. The minute it's more trouble to get a legitimate copy working properly than it is to find a torrent link, I take that as a signal that the company WANTS me to pirate their games and is fine with me procuring a free copy of any of their titles that catch my interest. If they're going to treat me like a pirate, I'm happy to go ahead and act like one.

@Gilbert: Agreed, there are many people who pirate songs, movies, software, and games; with no reason but to save some money.

Personally, I feel I fall into another category - sick of buying things that don't live up to their expectations. I do download games and movies, and listen to albums, but anything I don't like, I delete, and anything I do like I buy. Many things get deleted, and I feel better for not wasting my money. Although, I'll be the first to say that I am still stealing.

@Gilbert: This type of DMR, just penalizes legit customers, like me. Their crap software slows down my computer, I've even had crashes due to crappy DMR. I just stopped buying games with DMR. Too much headache for me.

The funny part, there are several cracks to games, which basically allows you to run pirated copies WITHOUT any DMR attached. So right now, pirates are offering BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE, for the same games company cripples.

That's kind of funny.

This will just encourage pirating. I for one wouldn't feel guilty cheating a sleazy company like EA. If they try to pull the same thing with Spore I'll be much happier not giving them my $50 for a game I can only reinstall 3 times. Yay for torrents!

Electronic Arts: Pirate Recruiters' Best Friend.

@RedSonSuperDave: This sort of crap in Half-Life 2 pissed me off so badly that I will NEVER purchase another game from Valve as long as their software is infected with Steam.

I don't understand. You can install Half-Life 2 via steam on any computer you want as many times as you want and play it on any computer you want and uninstall it as many times as you want.

How is Steam doing what EA is doing?

So buy the game and get the no cd crack from any number of places. Or...dont buy them game and vote with your $$$

Bioware's probably bummed right now.

More DRM issues... I had so many problems with BioShock I swore to stay away from such games. You'd think they would learn. I do appreciate the need to get paid for one's product, but as someone else said, you reap what you sow. I personally am always testing new hardware and software, and sometimes do several clean installs in a week. Almost picked up Mass effect last week, glad now I did not.

@MustyBuckets: I can absolutely identify with your sentiment here, especially with respect to products not living up to our expectations. I guess your route is one way to live to parad0x360's (above) statement...

@Victo: I totally agree (though I'm curious if your reference to "DMR" is "DRM", but from another country's perspective).

One thing I'd like to mention is that a lot of crack software in and of itself contains even worse malware than most DRM. So, the old paradox: your damned if you do...

Not to play Devil's advocate here, but if you don't have to re-authenticate the game after uninstalling/reinstalling it, why do you need to re-authenticate so much? I understand if this is 3 years down the road, but the game came out a month ago.

@Phillip M. Vector: It's the verification/authentication process. That, requiring to go online every two weeks to reauthenticate, and the constant threat, that if for whatever reason, Valve decides you were cheating in game X, they ban you from game X,Y,Z,Thetha, even if game Y, Z, and Thetha are single player offline games (Think, PORTAL). OH, and if they don't like where you bought a copy from, they will ban you as well.

@Gilbert: I think DMR means Digital Media Restrictions.

@Victo: Good point. I'd also like to state that even if you don't mind intrusive Big-Brotherish DRM telling you what you can and can't do with software you bought, even if you want to be totally honest and not pirate anything, it's worth your time to download cracked pirate versions of software you legitimately bought, just so you can see how much your enjoyment is hindered by malware that comes with the store-bought version.

Use Fraps to see how many FPS you are getting in a particular section of a legitimate (DRM-infected) copy of a game. Then boot up a cracked DRM-free version and see how much faster it runs. On a P4 1.6ghz computer with a GeForce FX 5600 and 1 gig of RAM, Half-Life 2 runs about 5FPS faster when you're using a Steamless version.

But don't just take my word for it, try it yourself.

@Phillip M. Vector: I don't know what Steam's like NOW, but back when HL2 came out, it prevented you from installing HL2 without connecting to the Internet and downloading 80mb worth of files. As I had a dial-up connection, it was a major inconvenience to have to spend several hours "authenticating" software that I had just purchased, and there was no disclaimer on the box that said, "Warning, in order to use this single-player game with no online component, you will have to connect to our servers and prove to our satisfaction that you bought it, even though you might have your receipt sitting there next to your computer".

And this isn't a one-time thing. Any time you ever installed HL2, you had to do this. Maybe you don't mind a company telling you that you have to be connected to their server to play a game, I do. I bought that game, I didn't rent it.

@Gilbert: I have about 42 purchased EA games. 29 of them have been purchased AFTER I had pirated the game. The other 13 were purchased before I found out about emulators.

@Gilbert: You can scan cracks with anti virus, and eliminate those who are infected.

And I've noticed that a lot of Russian pirates sites offer ''no-hassle'' cracks and key generators.

Sad.

I'm old enough to have regularly bought vinyl records in high school. I still enjoy them today, having owned about 6 turntables in the interim. All the records sound just as good now as they did then. I'm also quite the gamer, and, for the life of me, I can't really see the difference in spirit between an LP record and a PC game -- both are pieces of software that I own -- and if I want to play Mass Effect 25 years from now on some compatible down-the-road PC, it seems like theft on the part of EA for them to say that I won't be able to, if I've played it on 3 other PC's between now and then. That's why I won't be buying any new EA games until this fiasco is cleared up. Which is a shame, because I had really wanted to buy a copy of Mass Effect, which I hear is quite good.

One would have to be insane to trust anything from a russian pirate, or even visit their website without disabling scripts first. There's one aspect about software piracy people don't think about and that is some cracks or copied software may contain viruses, trojans, botnet clients or all other sorts of nasty crap. Think you're virus scanner can find something buried in a cab file? Not necessarily.

The reason I brought up Steam in the first place is not because it was doing the same thing EA is doing here (it's not), but because both situations are examples of malware squandering YOUR system resources without your consent to tell you what you can and cannot do with software YOU bought, and in neither situation are there disclaimers warning you of this before you buy the software. You only find out after you've paid your money, opened the package, and started the installation process.

Of course, as the *ptoo* EULA says, you have the option to choose not to be bound by these restrictions. You can always return it to the store where you bought it for a full refund. (By "return it to the store", I mean "throw it out the window" or "use it for a coaster".)

By all means, go in Wal-Mart or GameStop and tell them that this PC game that you just bought works perfectly, but you don't agree with the restrictions on its use, and therefore you would like a refund. Tell them that despite what their store policy says (in big red letters on a sign directly behind the cash register), they'll just have to take your word for it that the game's licensing agreement says that they should give you a cash refund on an opened PC game, and that that third-party licensing agreement trumps their written store policy. Do me a favor and get a friend to make a video of this exchange and then post it here so that I can see how that works for you.

I myself don't consider myself bound by *ptoo* EULAs. I don't buy licenses, I buy games, and I'm not bound by any agreement except "I get your game and I get to do whatever I want with it and you get my money and you get to do whatever you want with that." If they feel differently, they need to put the entire set of terms on the back of the game box so that I can know what restrictions exist on my use of a game before I buy it. A EULA is just so much digital wind that is literally worth the paper it's printed on.

@RedSonSuperDave:

Steam is the best thing to happen to PC gaming in years. Truthfully, it has gotten a hell of a lot better over the years and is well past the point where I would prefer buying something over steam instead of dealing with boxed retail copies. HL2 activation was pretty terrible on launch, I had to wait an hour before it would validate myself. Since that though, I haven't had any issues past a slight quirk of a couple seconds where it looked online for an update that wasn't there.

I have not bought anything from EA over the past 6 or so years, and will continue my boycott. They plowed many of my favorite developers into the ground, and despite their recent leniency of developers, they're a prime proponent of crippling DRM. Screw them.

I play games on my PC and Wii.

I never abide to any games that has DRM in it because I often find myself moving from one computer to another.

No money from them if they are gonna stick it to me by making me play to my limits.

This is the exact same DRM used in Bioshock. When you uninstall the game you DO NOT get an activation credit back. 2K put a bandage on the issue after much public outcry by releasing an "Activation Revocation Tool" that the user must run BEFORE uninstalling the game in order to deactivate it and reclaim the activation token. Bioware/EA has not done the same

Ah yes, BioShock. Anybody remember when that guy contacted 2K's customer service and the customer service technician told him that if his brother wanted to play the same game on the same computer that he should have to buy another copy of the game?

According to 2K, they fired that technician, but mark my words, GECs would LOVE to change the entire model of gaming as we know it. They don't want you buying games, they want you to rent the right to use their games as they see fit.

You can contact the maker of the game and return it to them for a refund. Just send in a copy of your receipt and the game and they'll send you a check in a blazing fast 6-8 weeks. I've done that before.

Is it any wonder that piracy is on the rise?

Why do they insist on punishing legit customers with nonsense like this? I'm pretty sure there's already a crack up on the pirate bay...

I was on the fence about buying this game to begin with, leaning slightly towards getting it. After Kotaku ran the story about EA's original plan for activation I decided against getting it.

EA screwed themselves out of a sale

Could've sworn I tipped this a week or so after ME came out...

Thank hackers for run-time debuggers!

@RedSonSuperDave: They don't want you buying games, they want you to rent the right to use their games as they see fit

This is true, but the exceedingly frustrating part of that is that they're also then charging you out the wazoo for the ownership of the plastic disc as well. Say you spend $60 on a game but, thanks to the license, you're essentially paying a $60 fee to play the game. Given that, it seems like you should be entitled to unlimited replacement discs in the event of a scratched or broken disc.

I know you're not a fan of Steam from reading your messages, but at least that's one thing they did right on that front. You're paying for the right to play the game, and you can download it as many times as you want. I've built two computers since I first started buying stuff on Steam, it's really nice to just get the machine online, hook up to Steam, and tell it to start downloading all of the games I own. No complaints, no muss, no fuss, just waiting for downloads (which, even without the fastest computer in the world, is still usually quicker than it would take me to find the old discs lying around somewhere). Never have to worry about a scratched disc either...Steam is the only medium so far where I've never had to buy a game twice.

As if "PC" gaming wasn't dead enough, they strangle PC gamers even more.

Thanks for treating me like a criminal EA! I'm almost ready to root for the pirates now.

@buyer5: That's what I was just thinking too. I stopped gaming on my PC years ago. The game market is so stagnent now too. NVidia should start worrying about that. No more $700 video card purchases from me anyway.

@MustyBuckets:
I tend to agree. Just last week I downloaded my first cracked game. Why? A scratched CD.
I looked for a legitimate way to replace it before installing torrent software and downloading all 3 GB of it, but no dice.
I'm totally happy with my cracked version right now, and there's no more pesky game disk to insert in order to play it.
I'm not saying I WILL download games I don't own, but now that I know I CAN, easily, it's more of a temptation.

PC gaming isn't going anywhere. Nobody wants to play crippled versions of games on xbox or ps3. I have a xbox 360 for games that play best on a console like fighting games, racing games, and unique games that just wont make it on the pc. PC trumps consoles for FPS and always will. No clunky controlers, full keyboard and easy interaction with other players.

I generally buy games that I am interested in playing and pirate games I would never have bought anyway.

Ironically, I almost always download the no cd cracks for my legit games because it is a pain in the ass to always have to put the stupid CD in everytime I play a game.

I think the whole idea of having to activate a game you've legally purchased is lame, but given the situation, how many activations would be a more "reasonable" number? Who wouldn't have already beaten the game way before they'd reach a point where they've done a complete format/clean install three times or have gone through three new computers? I doubt they'd even still have a server set up years from now for authenticating new installations, so the point would be moot. Anyway, by then technology will have probably advanced so much that you'd need some kind of emulator for the game to run at all, much like I had to use to bust out some original Oregon Trail a few months back.

This sounds to me like the same Verification that is in most of Microsofts software. Windows and Office.

You install it and activate it. And if you reinstall it on the same machine the activation still goes through as the same. (It wouldnt use a new activation.)

This allows you to install it on up to three machines. Or to activate up to three times in the event of MAJOR hardware upgrades (motherboard and processor).

This kind of tight-knit DRM is why I quit using Adobe Indesign CS3 and downgraded to PageMaker. You can transfer your registration off a computer and onto another one, but there's no explanation of what happens if there's a hard drive failure. NO DAMN WAY am I going to find myself without access to my layouts because of a hard drive error.

I'd like to see a list somewhere listing the DRM scheme for each software product that there is so I know what to avoid.

Will pirate this on principle. I own it for 360, but this is ridiculous. Same reason I pirated Bioshock. It's a magnificent game, but I won't pay them to be told how to use my software. Cost isn't so much my concern as availability a convenience. I hope they lose a boatload on this venture.

Guys, do you know that a Russian version of the game is actually free of DRM, and Internet requirements. Meaning that you can do install, reinstall, uninstall and install it again and it will never ask you for the internet connection. I bought English version from EB Games to show support to Bioware, but also downloaded Russian version of the game and enjoying it a lot more because apparently, Russian version has less bugs in it compared to the DRM messed up English version. Same thing for Russian PC version of the Assassin's Creed.

@donkeyjote: Couldn't have said it better myself.

Valve's Steam system (commonly associated with Halflife 2, TF2, Counterstrike Source, and a myriad of other titles) functions more fairly than this, at least in my experience with HL2, HL2DM, and TF2. I purchased HL2 legitimately, activated it with the serial #, and played for awhile. When I decided to do a full reformat/reinstall of my system, I merely reinstalled Steam, entered the serial, and downloaded all 4GB of game files. No CD swapping headaches. I've done this at least 5 times starting in 2005 with no warnings about limitations. When TF2 came out, I bought it without any qualms because overall, I am satisfied with the system. They make their $, and everything still functions conveniently for me.