EA: Making DRM Disappear in One Easy Step

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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Son of a ***** - I ordered C&C4 yesterday too! Why the hell didn't the escapist report this so I knew just to go to Youtube and watch the videos that way? The damned thing's already shipped too.
 

Cannorn

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Jan 27, 2010
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SullyE said:
It's been given a bad name by pirates, though, and that bad name's spread to legitimate users. It's often not as bad as it seems.

Look, Securom? Works fine for most people,
think it was Starforce? Turns out it actually does none of those things and is fairly benign. It also went uncracked for ages..
Ermm..Staforce DESTROYED my PC when trying to install X3 as it did to a LOT of people hence the uproar on the X3 forum, no I'm not a freetard or a pirate whining because of lack of cracks etc.
Yeah sure it slows down piracy sometimes, but is it worth annoying, or in some cases causing down right RAGE with legitimate users who PAID you for the game, only to have your DRM mess up machines trying to install crap on your machine, or leaving legit players with a game they can't play when their net goes down?
They removed starforce from the game due to issues people were having not just being unable to play the game they PAID for, but with peoples machines getting messed up severly, with Starforce providing bugger all support via their webpage which is of course no good to people who suddently CAN'T GET ON THE NET ANYMORE since installing their damn software.
Yes I still harbour hatred for Star force for the pain they caused me.
I still love x-3 though!


Sims 2, I don't remember the DRM method exactly but it P****ed me off as I installed the game...then couldn't play it as it kept complaining I didn't have a valid CD inserted...ended up cracking it to play the damn thing, had that problem with a couple of games through my lifetime.

DRM Is a PAIN IN THE ASS when it goes wrong, but only for LEGITIMATE USERS.
Pirates are uneffected, now days I crack most games almost imediatly after buying them because it means
a) I don't have to have a half dozen disks lying about to swap.
b) I can play even if my net connection goes down
 

Asehujiko

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Feb 25, 2008
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dochmbi said:
Great, only problem: C&C 4: Cracked and fully playable.

Assassins Creed 2: Not cracked and missions aren't playable.
Asscreed 2 works whenever the ubi servers are down. Which is quite often. You just checked at a bad moment or something.
 

aaron552

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SullyE said:
Starforce? Turns out it actually does none of those things and is fairly benign. It also went uncracked for ages.
So the dead DVD drive on my shelf is a coincidence then? Until now I'd though X3's Starforce was what killed it, and unless you can offer an acceptable alternative explanation for a perfectly good drive to die after playing a specific game, that's the what I'll continue to believe.
 

Skratt

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As an rabid supporter of Valve's online authentication system Steam, the UbiSoft / EA if your internet connection goes down your game goes down is bullshit. I can be playing a Steam game and as long as I am not playing an online game, I can pull my network cable and keep on playing.

I support the online communication method of DRM, but the one hiccup and you're toast is ridiculous. What do they think you are going to do, hiccup 100 copies and keep playing them forever?
 

lomylithruldor

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I'm boycotting outside because i bought a soccer balloon and i can't play outside when I want because it's raining now. On top of that, some guys are always hiding the nets so we can't play. And people praise them for what they do!

The city really suck. They should not have built soccer courts if they can't build a roof over it so people can play when they want.

I won't play any sport again because it can rain and i can't play. Who's stupid enough to buy something they can't use whenever they want? I payed MONEY for that!

Also, it rains more often than a server is down (well, except if it's constantly attacked, but then blame the people that attack it, not the victims!).
 

TheMadTypist

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Eclectic Dreck said:
TheMadTypist said:
Great, another company to add to the "Do Not Buy" list. Well, it's EA, so no big loss in quality. Speaking in terms of quantity, however, it is a blow.

So, developers, if you want my money, do not publish with:
Ubisoft
EA
You are aware that most major publishers deal in DRM right? This would include Valve (Steam IS DRM along with being a handy retail channel, and many games distributed on that system have additional measures added.) Activision ought to be on that list too, as should Sony, Microsoft and any other multibillion dollar sofware company really. To be fair, I'm only aware of one company that NEVER used DRM and that's Stardock. Also, Stardock makes awesome games.
It's not really about DRM, it's about an internet requirement while playing. Even steam has an offline mode. Sure, the other methods can be irritating, but this is sort of the breaking point for me. So no, the others should not be on that list, because for all their intrusive DRM crap, they let me play my game whether my internet is working tonight or not.
 

mjc0961

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Nov 30, 2009
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Yeah, that's pretty stupid of you, EA. We all know damn well that it's still DRM.

You know what's fun? Buying games for consoles. With the exception of that Leap Year bug Sony had earlier this month, even without an internet connection I can still play all my single player games without any bullshit. Don't need the internet connection, don't need to verify my purchase, don't need it to install some kind of malware before it will run... I just put the damn disc in the drive, maybe have to do a mandatory install if I play on the PS3 (skip this for 360 and Wii), and then simply fucking play!
 

Richard Allen

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Mar 16, 2010
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You can play all those steam games offline. Thats the big difference.

Edit:Thought reply would include a quote. Was in response to someone comparing this to steam and lost it in the tread.
 

BlicaGB

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Jul 10, 2009
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You'd figure the whole Ubisoft servers down and so no one can use AC2 fiasco would be enough to put a damper on this 'no net, no work' thing... but, at least you can download from the CD as much as you want now. I always thought that 3 dl minimum thing was trash. And if it doesn't install any ridiculous programs on your system. It's better than poop, I guess is what I'm saying, though still bad.
 

Kinichie

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Jun 18, 2008
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Yes EA, it's not DRM but it's still fucking annoying to the common mug who actually purchases your games. I wonder how the pirates will get around it this time.

I was going to get Tiberian Twilight but i'm without stable internet so this news just prevents me from buying your game full stop.

Actually, I can't remember the last time I actually bought an EA game. Guess i'm not missing much.
 

Chipperz

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Keslen said:
Putting aside all the obvious crap related to this topic, much of which has been touched upon ad nauseam in previous posts, there's a really interesting idea at the core of this that says volumes about society as a whole.

In a nutshell, had it not been for Ubisoft's debacle, EA would have probably gotten away with this.

That's right, if Ubisoft had not recently shipped popular games with an always-connected-to-the-inernet requirement labeled as DRM, this exact same announcement from EA would have likely been welcomed with open arms by the vast majority of the population, even those in "a position to know" and definitely myself. The recent coupling of that feature with that label is the only thing that brought the footnote of the internet connection in that announcement to the forefront of anyone's attention, except possibly those who didn't have a near constant internet feed active and (no offense intended to anyone here) wouldn't have been willing or able to make enough noise to sway the general population.

Don't get me wrong here, I recognize this for what it is - a thinly veiled DRM that will give pirates more benefits (jubilation at cracking the tougher system) than detriments (hours, maybe days, extra time for fully functional cracked versions are readily available to the public) and cause the actual paying customer with nothing but inconvenience as thanks for actually shelling out their cash. But that recognition is only because of the education that Ubisoft afforded me when they helpfully labeled the feature for what it is. I'd have missed it otherwise.
This was pretty much my first thought. I'm more impressed that EA tried to spin it. not as much as I would have been if they'd said something like "yeah, we fucked up. We thought it was a good idea but Ubisoft showed us the light" or something, but this does sound like something they put in ages ago and then saw how badly it went for Assassin's Creed 2.

I'm really beginning to feel sorry for PC gamers. Constantly screaming "BOYCOTT!" at everything has got to be making them hoarse right now...
 

RhombusHatesYou

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Chipperz said:
I'm more impressed that EA tried to spin it. not as much as I would have been if they'd said something like "yeah, we fucked up.
I'd have been impressed if they'd tried the jedi mind trick.


I'm really beginning to feel sorry for PC gamers. Constantly screaming "BOYCOTT!" at everything has got to be making them hoarse right now...
Invasive, inconvenient DRM will eventually end up on consoles. All the bad parts of PC gaming end up on consoles as well, except the upgrade cycle (can't really see console manufacturers openning that up).

Not to say that I think much of the constant calls for boycotting everything. We don't have the solidarity to make it workable in the first place.
 

captain_Bubblebum

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Mar 19, 2010
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Ahahahahahahahahahaaawwwwww.....

That laughter is both happy and sad. Why? Because both EA and Ubisoft have now begun the death of the publisher.

This is the beginning of the end of publishers. They are not going to serve a role in the future of gaming which is good but also bad.

Why Good? Because now fucktards will not be able to mess with a game.

Why Bad? Because now new developers will have to take out bank loans or something in order to start up their business and pay the salary of their employees which is quite hard when starting up but this can be fixed as there are always solutions to be created.

Developers who are clever can find a way to thrive without publishers.
 

Fenixius

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theultimateend said:
Well the good news is there is absolutely no DRM on Pokemon.
Sure there is. You can only play it on a proprietary, closed system. You need the game's physical media there to play it. These are forms of digital rights management.

...mind you, they're forms of DRM which aren't actually oppressive, in this case, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking we're free to do what we want with the software.
 

RoboPenguin

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Apr 14, 2009
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Gee wiz! I ain't buy this game now. My brother was all interested in it too. He most likely won't buy either.

That's stupid. Let me play my game how I want. Sometimes, I like to turn off my wireless switch (I'm on a laptop) because I'm weird like that. Not to mention our phone service is done through the internet. I don't need to be yelled at for playing a game just because my mom needs to make a phone call and it sounds funny.
 

Fenixius

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RhomCo said:
Invasive, inconvenient DRM will eventually end up on consoles. All the bad parts of PC gaming end up on consoles as well, except the upgrade cycle (can't really see console manufacturers openning that up).
#1 - Yes, they will have nasty DRM. See any Bioware game on console in the past 12 months. Hell, even Mirror's Edge needed you to use their proprietary, external account system to play. It's fucking ridiculous.

#2 - Let's be clear. Consoles are DRM. They are closed systems where you cannot do anything the manufacturer says you can't. And if you do, they just take away your console. Or at least your account. Which bricks a lot of games these days. It's pretty ridiculous how they've moved all this shit in without even seeming to care about privacy, or convenience.

It is -not- more convenient to have to play my game on the TV, away from my own music, messenger, internet browser, and so on. I can't back up my saves. I can't mod anything. I can't download skins or custom maps. It -is- a form of digital rights restriction.

...on the upside, they're cheap and do local multiplayer -really- well. So I do understand why people choose them.