SimCity 2000 Special Edition is currently free 'On the House'

[HEXUS]

EA's Origin store is gifting the city building classic game, usually sold for $5.99 / £4.99.

Read more.

[Brian224]

I shudder to think how many hours I spent playing Sim City, sometimes at home on my Amiga but mostly in the office. I wonder what it will be like returning to it?

[Saracen]

.... but you do have to use the Origin platform to play your game.

And that's why my reaction is "thanks, but no way."

For instance, Origin's Privacy Policy ...

EA understands the importance of keeping your information safe and secure. EA will make commercially reasonable efforts to protect your personal information and ensure the security of our systems. When you enter sensitive financial information (such as a credit card number) on our order forms, we encrypt the transmission of that information using commercially reasonable methods. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however. We cannot guarantee that your information will not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. We cannot assume responsibility or liability for unauthorized access to our servers and systems.

Uh huh. Right. "Commercially reasonable, eh"?

So, no. Hell, no.

Origin require use of their platform, which includes ad-serving technology, based on personal information. They require us to agree to that info being transferred to the US, and therefore outside UK/EU data protection laws, because they want to market to us, and serve ad's, INCLUDING, in their own Privacy Policy, in-game ads.

No. Oh, hell, no.

Free or not, as far as I'm concerned, I know precisely where EA can stick their games. I have NO interest in any online aspects of games like this. I'm 100% content to play it absolutely offline. Which, indeed, in the past I have done, buying many EA games. But the deal was, I provide money, they provide a game to play. And fair enough.

What I'm not prepared to pay with is access to my personal information. Money, yes, my privacy, no way in hell. Any bright 5 year old could drive a battleship through the holes their Privacy Policy puts on protection of our personal data, which is dressed up to sound good, if read superficially, but in fact allows them to do exactly what they wish with our personal information, including changing their privacy policy any time they wish.

I'm not providing EA with personal information for a 'free' copy of EVERY game they have, including current releases, never mind a 15 year old one, any more than I'm selling my soul to Tesco for points on a reward card.

If I can buy a game and play it offline, with NO private data going to EA, then fine. But the EA client, with all it entails? Never. No way. Hell no.

[Brian224]

When you enter sensitive financial information (such as a credit card number) on our order forms, we encrypt the transmission of that information using commercially reasonable methods. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however.

Can you name a commercial organisation that uses any form of encryption greater than that which is commercially reasonable? I am sure their shareholders would like to know about it.

Personally I am fairly relaxed about giving out a limited amount of information; age, a unique to vendor e-mail (I like to know where spam comes from), an IP address and where necessary to make a payment a credit card number. After all, fraud and security risks are nothing new and our names, credit card numbers and expiry dates used to be available in plain text on carbon-paper slips in retailers' dustbins. Somebody opened a bank account in my name and obtained £000s credit over 30 years ago using less information than was needed to post this comment.

[Saracen]

Can you name a commercial organisation that uses any form of encryption greater than that which is commercially reasonable? I am sure their shareholders would like to know about it.

....

The point was that it's wide open, for them to determine what's "reasonable", based on THEIR commercial interest, to how secure MY personal information is.

I.e. any subsequent assurances are pretty meaningless.

Being online, or giving them ANY information, is not necessary to play that kind of game unless you want to interact with others, online. I don't. If it could be played entirely offline, with no need to give them any info, I would. And that's entirely viable for the game itself, just not if you want online interaction. But EA won't permit that. Their "platform" is mandatory, but not necessary for the game.

[Saracen]

.... Somebody opened a bank account in my name and obtained £000s credit over 30 years ago using less information than was needed to post this comment.

What personal information is required to post? We don't know your name, which may or may not be Brian. We don't know your age, gender, or location, not even country. We have no way to indentify you from an email adress or an IP address, without access to the account data from your service providers, which we won't get without a court order, even assuming you're not using throw-away email addresses and an anonymous proxy.

Nor, as far as I know, does HEXUS even attempt to store personal data .... unless perhaps, you win a competition and have something delivered. HEXUS certainly don't have my name, address, phone number or credit card details, though the owner has (or had) my name and phone number, 'cos he's a friend. A few others do, too. But, they're certainly not necessary for me to post.

[MrCanzine]

I take "commercially reasonable" to mean what's currently available and standard for most corporations, rather than going overkill and contracting out DARPA to work on their encryption and storage methods. I assume their servers are probably about as secure as Sony, Microsoft or Target, which means not completely secure, but not wide open.

Though I'm probably wrong. I just don't give them any valuable information aside from my e-mail address, the only reason I have Origin installed is to get the free game every few months hoping for a half decent game.

[mud_z]

@Saracen
The more we are going Digital, the more we are losing our personal information. It is going to happen sooner or later. To avoid all this just stay with methods/techniques of old age.

[Brian224]

What personal information is required to post? We don't know your name, which may or may not be Brian. We don't know your age, gender, or location, not even country. We have mo way to indentify you from an email adress or an IP address, without access to the account data from your service providers, which we won't get without a court order, even assuming you're not using throw-away email addresses and an anonymous proxy...

I wasn't referring to the very limited personal information needed to sign on to HEXUS but to that which was necessary to connect in the first place. My ISP requires address and financial details, and the same applies to my mobile phone contract, where a credit reference agency was probably involved as well. Even if I went to my local library to use their computers I would have to offer proof of identity and address - perhaps including a recent utility bill, which is probably what the fraudster used to steal my identity long before it became fashionable.

[Saracen]

I take "commercially reasonable" to mean what's currently available and standard for most corporations, rather than going overkill and contracting out DARPA to work on their encryption and storage methods. I assume their servers are probably about as secure as Sony, Microsoft or Target, which means not completely secure, but not wide open.

Though I'm probably wrong. I just don't give them any valuable information aside from my e-mail address, the only reason I have Origin installed is to get the free game every few months hoping for a half decent game.

Maybe that's what they mean, maybe it isn't. It comes down to how commercially valuable it is to them to spend money protecting data that, individually, is FAR more valuable to me than to them.

In any event, if you use Origin, you've agreed to it, in a legally binding agreement. As far as I'm concerned, doing so is wholly unnecessary for any offline play, which is all I'm interested in, so it's a price I'm not prepared to pay. Which is why I no longer buy any EA games .... or would accept them, even as a gift.

[miniyazz]

The point was that it's wide open, for them to determine what's "reasonable", based on THEIR commercial interest, to how secure MY personal information is.

I.e. any subsequent assurances are pretty meaningless.

Being online, or giving them ANY information, is not necessary to play that kind of game unless you want to interact with others, online. I don't. If it could be played entirely offline, with no need to give them any info, I would. And that's entirely viable for the game itself, just not if you want online interaction. But EA won't permit that. Their "platform" is mandatory, but not necessary for the game.

So don't give them any information?

It's not exactly hard to set up a second email account, ± forwarding to a legit one, and picking up a free game every month or so (not purchasing anything) means you don't need to give a real address, name or credit card details.

[Saracen]

I wasn't referring to the very limited personal information needed to sign on to HEXUS but to that which was necessary to connect in the first place. My ISP requires address and financial details, and the same applies to my mobile phone contract, where a credit reference agency was probably involved as well. Even if I went to my local library to use their computers I would have to offer proof of identity and address - perhaps including a recent utility bill, which is probably what the fraudster used to steal my identity long before it became fashionable.

Got you. Regarding ISPs, yeah, you have to give them enough data to validate service provision, It's especially hard to install broadband without them knowing where to install it.

It is not possible to prevent any personal data being given to anybody. Well, short of living as a recluse it isn't. It is possjble to heavily restrict who you give it to. For instance, my bank(s) have name, address etc, and passport copies thanks to anti-money-laundering legislation. They DON'T have either mobile or domestic phone numbers. Or my IP address. Nor do utility companies have my phone number. I'm VERY selective about who gets that. Not that sales calls get through any more, due to a call blocker on the line.

Supermarkets don't get credit/debit card details, either. I don't use reward cards (because of privacy, mainly), snd cash is king. More than a couple of times, when placing telephone orders, I've been told a phone number is "mandatory". Nearly always, it turns out it's mandatory right up to the point where I point out they can't have the order without phone number, or not get the order.

Mind you, one national double-glazing firm wouldn't send someone out even to quote, unless I gave them a phone number. Fair enough. I got quotes elsewhere, and they lost out on a quote for every door and window in the house. But, their choice. They refused to come without it, and no way was I giving it. So, end of contact. Someone else's gain.

All told, I'm pretty selective about who gets my personal data, and even fundamental services, like my bank, get no more than is necessary.

Sometimes, some personal data is necessary for service provision. It is NOT necessary for a games company, and nor is a game, any game, a fundamental service. What they want it for is primarily to market stuff at us. Well, I don't want targeted marketing. I don't want junk through my door, marketing texts, marketing email, certainly not ANY incoming sales calls. I don't want "push" services to my phone because I walk past a shop. And I don't want any of these, no matter who it's from, what the product us, or what deal, offer or discount they're peddling. And I especially don't want ANYBODY tracking what I do, where I go, what I like or what I buy, for marketing purposes. Not anybody, for any reason, ever. So I do what I can to avoid it, and that precludes giving carte blanche to the likes of EA, so I can play a game.

[Saracen]

So don't give them any information?

It's not exactly hard to set up a second email account, ± forwarding to a legit one, and picking up a free game every month or so (not purchasing anything) means you don't need to give a real address, name or credit card details.

And the origin platform analyses your PC and reports back. You cannot opt out of that. Remember the German gamers catching origin accessing their tax accounting software, etc?

It's not about the email addy, Yazz. It's about the Origin platform, and what you agree to allow.