I was reading about the new game Spore. Heard a lot about it but I never knew what kind of game it was and I afound this...
Spore uses a modified version of the controversial[46][47][48][49] digital rights management (DRM) software SecuROM as copy prevention, which requires authentication upon installation and when online access is used.[50] This system was announced after the originally planned system met opposition from the public, as it would have required authentication every ten days.[51] Additionally, EA released the game under a policy by which the product key of an individual copy of the game would only be authenticated on up to three computers.[52] In response to customer complaints, this limit was raised to five computers.[53] After the activation limit has been depleted, EA Customer Service will reset the activation count on a case-by-case basis.[54]
As a result of the protection scheme, out of 3184 of the reviews on Amazon.com, 2671 individual reviews have given Spore a one star, the lowest rating. Electronic Arts cited SecuROM as a "standard for the industry", and Apple's iPod song DRM policy as justification for the control method.[55] Former Maxis developer Chris Harris labeled the DRM a "screw up" and a "totally avoidable disaster".[56]
The SecuROM software was not mentioned on the box, in the manual, or in the Software license agreement. An EA spokesperson stated that "we don't disclose specifically which copy protection or digital rights management system we use [...] because EA typically uses one license agreement for all of its downloadable games, and different EA downloadable games may use different copy protection and digital rights management.”[57]
Despite the use of DRM, Spore has been cracked, bypassing the copy protection mechanism. The game was illegally distributed over BitTorrent file sharing protocol four days before its retail release, and has been downloaded over 500,000 times - and is now on its way to becoming the most online-shared game in history.
In response to reaction over Spore's DRM, Frank Gibeau, president of EA games, announced that maximum install limit would be increased from 3 to 5 and that it would be possible to de-authorize and move installations to new machines, citing the need to adapt their policy to accommodate their legitimate customers.[59][60]
On September 22, 2008, a global class action law suit was filed against EA, regarding the DRM in Spore, complaining about EA not disclosing the existence of SecuROM, and addressing how SecuROM runs with the nature of a rootkit, including how it remains on the hard drive even after Spore is uninstalled.[61][62][63]
Well to be honest, I don't buy much into the randomness factor of it, it just doesn't pass the common sense test.. the running processes for those programs are the same across the board, if SecuROM scans for them it shouldn't really be hit and miss. There was a CloneDVD pirate release for Fallout 3, which basically has no executable crack but requires the disc image be run in virtual ide mode in the virtual drive. I suspect that's what SecuROM actually checks, whether or not it's running from a physical or virtual drive and complains if the game/installation/whatever is being run from the blacklisted software.
But that's just my guess, neither here nor there.
You're right. I was doing some more research to find out for sure. There is a Wii version, but it is apparently still in the early stages of development and no one knows when it will actually come out. There is also the Windows, Mac, and DS versions, as well as some sort of strange spin-off for the iPod.
well first of all you don't even need to reinstall games if you buy a new computer. Theres a little thing called ghosting, it's a program a lot of gamers use even me to just transfer all the files over. About a year ago i bought a new rig and i didn't have to reinstall any games or files. I just sent my old rig into a guy i knew and he transferd all the files over to my new pc. man people don't know anything any more...
Well, I'm not talking out of my butt on this one. I own the game and that's how I know what's on it.
SecuROM will run if you start the game from the launcher (it does the disc check). If you start the game from Fallout3.exe, it does not run. (This is how you can play without the DVD in the drive).
Thanks. I'll keep an eye one this game for the time being.
Sorry Annatar, but Spore isn't doing that hot. Spore Creatures for the DS maybe. We have access to real time tracking of their account list, which is buyers plus people that got a version of the creature creator but not the full game.
Total number of users: 2081589
They're down to only a few thousand new members in the last 24 hours.
It came with a major ad campaign, a massive following from The Sims, years of hype. It's stalled. They've seriously sucked out for what it should have been. Even if that's a solid two million copies of the actual Spore game, they've seriously sucked out for the budget they had, Sins may have better returns than this, and Sins is as niche as a game gets.
Not all of us are blind. I'm seriously hoping they go bankrupt, but this isn't wishful thinking on my part. They had no idea how popular their game was. The massive influx of users when they put out the CC demo crashed servers. They had to upgrade the systems to handle the input they were getting because it was more than ten times what they expected by release in just the first week. They lost that massive draw between the letdown of the actual gameplay and the idiotic DRM.
Current top post on the Sporum.
@Annatar11 - You have known me for some time and all that time and before I have always been beating the Anti-DRM drum aimed at EA, Ubi and Acti and I will continue to do so even if you doubt the effects it is having and it is having effects. The HP delay is just an excuse to be frank. Even the analysts are now starting to see things our way (somewhat) just look at the quote from them I posted and they are the ones the company really listens to.
Anyway for those of you not in the fold below are a couple educational sites I suggest going to for an enriching experience. Remember change starts with YOU.
defectivebydesign.org
www.drm.info
Ultimately, what EA does has little bearing on Stardock.
The market for EA games and the market for Stardock games don't overlap much. Nothing to worry about here.
The market may not overlap much (I think otherwise) but we are all gamers and what hurts one of us hurts all of us.
Fear the herd mentality. Since they have no actual proof that piracy hurts them, but can see the numbers of pirated copies, you need to worry that all the other morons will switch to the same idiocy the first one does in an irrational attempt to alter reality. EA can just be the first tard publisher, not the only.
Well if the current stock price trend keeps going and I'm doing my best to see to it maybe EA will vanish soon enough. Hell even a Wall Street analyst thinks EA executive management is crazy and went on record saying so. So who knows...
We are already putting the word out to Amazon bomb Dead Space and RA3. Several dozen have already acted. Hopefully soon we will be joined by dozens more then maybe hundreds. After that maybe the news services will pick up the story (great follow up after Spore methinks) and maybe change might happen at EA finally.
Fight tha powa!
http://www.gameculture.com/node/759 Also I predict that in the near future EA will lose Maxis and several other companies that it owns. Also EA ain't the only ones hot water right, Nintendo is in hotwater because they announce that they are abbandoning core gamers, Microsoft is also is in trouble thanks to their newly defective Xbox 360's which they possbily knew where defective.
Further info, NPD statistics show Spore as having sold 406k copies in September.
securom, does it automatically screws up your system. I mean EA probably forced Maxis to rigged Securom to allow a max of 3 activitation. I do know Fallout 3 has securom, but to what extent it is intrusive to a computer system after installation or uninstallation, i can't say. I would love to hear more about the issue.
I am happy to say i am 100% currently piratign SPORE for the sole reason of the DRM. So to their attemp since this will be game number 2 that i pirate. The othe rbeing Gangsters 2 wich i only pirated because the game was no longer available anywere else.
I own a number of games that use SecuROM and my computer runs no different now than it did before. The only things affected by SecuROM, as far as I can tell, are the games that use it. Even then, it might as well not even be there as far as I know.
Nintendo is abandoning core gamers? That's news to me.
As bad as anti-piracy methods are that don't stop pirates and irritate legitimate consumers, the whole Amazon fiasco was just that.
There's no possibility that those are all unique individuals who bought the game and are upset about SecuROM, without some sort of coordination to flood the site, or we'd see this phenomenon all the time. In fact, it's just some people acting rather immaturely and vandalizing a game review page. What is the point of a 5-star rating system when several of the reviews comment that it's fun and entertaining, but they're going to give it the lowest rating because of one feature they didn't like?
Draconian DRM schemes are a problem. Acting like a bunch of petulant hooligans in the face of them isn't doing anything to help bring about a solution.
Yes it wil when they start seeing all the money they are lousing becaus of DRM. If our little movement here and the gamers bills of rights gets more populer DRM crazy compagnies like EA will start to feel the squeze eventuly.
@Mazuo - One man's freedom fighter is another's terrorist. Is that the fundamental argument? If so just call me Osama...
Change always comes to a society when enough people get together, get organized and take action. To make a blanket declaration that exercising such political freedom is tantamount to petulant hooliganism is absurd. Attacking EA employees and destroying EA property would fall into that category.
@Mazuo - I'd have to disagree completely. If people bought the game and wanted to give it a one star rating for whatever reason, that's their vote. Securom is enough of a reason. It's the one reason I'm not buying a single thing from EA. As a consumer, I appreciate knowing what's going on.
As a former customer, I'm not joining the Amazon rating thing. That's because I learned what EA was doing before I made the mistake of buying Spore. Had it not been for people like Spartan and Solam, I wouldn't have known.
I've been an EA customer since the mid 1980s, but no more.
I can't go as far as agreeing with EadTaes, though. If you don't like the DRM, don't buy the game. But don't pirate it either. If you really want to make a statement, have some self discipline.
I disagree. While it's true that most of the reviews are by people that didn't even buy the game, the 'carpet bombing' of the review page certainly serves a purpose, and that's to show how much people dislike this type of DRM on games and to make other people aware of what they're buying. It's just another avenue of protest. As Spartan noted, it's hardly petulant hooliganism.
Or they'll assume they are losing money to piracy and try to come up with more effective DRM.
Or they'll just stop publishing games for the PC.
If the former, then they'll be deliberately ignoring the evidence.
If the latter, then so be it. Beats accepting this type of DRM, and there will always be another company to fill the void. As long as there are PCs there will be a market for PC games.
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