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Thread: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

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    DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    I seem to be in the minority here, but EA's DRM for Spore, Crysis warhead etc don;t actually bother me that much, but they both have a major flaw:
    You can get your activations back by uninstalling the game.
    What for those of us with 30 odd games that need to do a rebuild?

    Why should it be urgently addressed?
    Because the fix is simple. Release a program that breaks all games on computers without going through the full uninstall and de registers them. The way it breaks the games is irreleavant provided it means they can't be used again without cracking them.
    In fact why don't the games publishers get together so they can release one utility that does all games by this DRM?
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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    Cynical mode on..

    Because it's not in their best interests.

    Think about it -- you run out of activations on Crysis, Spore or whatever, so you ring the developers. "Oh you can't run out of activations in normal use.. you must be a dirty, dirty pirate. Go buy a new copy."

    In their MBA-class thinking, you're going to go straight out and buy another copy of the game. £40 more profit for them. Though I suspect the number of people who would actually do that is a number that can be counted on one hand. Once bitten, twice shy.

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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    You don't have to buy a new game if you run out of activations..you call up EA and ask them for more. They ask why, and you tell them, then you get more activations. Should be as simple as that - its the same way it works with windows really, you get a certain number of re-installs gratis, and then have to ring up microsoft to activate after that point.

    The key word there is should - as I have no personal experience of calling EA to ask for more activations, so only time will tell there really.

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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    Quote Originally Posted by Spud1 View Post
    You don't have to buy a new game if you run out of activations..you call up EA and ask them for more. They ask why, and you tell them, then you get more activations. Should be as simple as that - its the same way it works with windows really, you get a certain number of re-installs gratis, and then have to ring up microsoft to activate after that point.

    The key word there is should - as I have no personal experience of calling EA to ask for more activations, so only time will tell there really.
    Yep

    And so many people bitch and whine about the spore activation, less than 1% of the sales have called up to re-activate, I dont think they are that bothered when more than 10x that pirated it in the first place
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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    Quote Originally Posted by finlay666 View Post
    Yep

    And so many people bitch and whine about the spore activation, less than 1% of the sales have called up to re-activate, I dont think they are that bothered when more than 10x that pirated it in the first place
    both spore and warhead have just been released recently. this time next year that 1% wil be more like 40-50% calling for activation if not more.

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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    And that would likely mean they have had to phone up Microsoft for more activations of XP or Vista too.

    I really can't believe people reinstall their machines that often. I guess people need to get used to it or just not play the game.

    I can't see it changing at all, if anything we'll see more and more moves towards this type of activations in my opinion.

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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    Quote Originally Posted by j.o.s.h.1408 View Post
    both spore and warhead have just been released recently. this time next year that 1% wil be more like 40-50% calling for activation if not more.
    Really?

    Given that Bioshock they recently relaxed the DRM ~ 6 months after release, and they will with the other games too over time

    My old version of XP I never had to call to activate once when I reinstalled, I didn't do it that often.
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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    Quote Originally Posted by TiG View Post
    And that would likely mean they have had to phone up Microsoft for more activations of XP or Vista too.

    I really can't believe people reinstall their machines that often. I guess people need to get used to it or just not play the game.

    I can't see it changing at all, if anything we'll see more and more moves towards this type of activations in my opinion.

    TiG
    and more and more people wont buy games and/or pirate. its a lose lose situation if they carry on with this attitude. if crysis warhead was a ps3 title i would get it on that in an instance. i like many people dont have any problem buying games. its the fact that where buy a game where infact renting out and can mess up our pc's in the process. no thanks its not me losing out, its EA that is

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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    My friend has just got spore for his 9 year old son.
    The son installed it on his soon to be binned PC then took it round his friends to play on there PC.
    They had no idea about the three installs till I told them.
    In a years time how many game buyers are going to boycott EA because of this ?
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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    Quote Originally Posted by SteveP1tts View Post
    This kind of nonsense bothers me on so many levels it is difficult to express coherently.

    I don't have a single piece of hook software on any of my PCs (three desktops and a laptop), with everything either being bought and paid for or freeware. Shareware is tried and either purchased or uninstalled. I've even been known to switch from free (or ad supported) versions to the paid ones (examples would include Opera v6 and v7, AVG AV) simply in order to support the companies that I feel are worthy of it.

    Such copy protection mechanisms not only treat me as a thief and force me to prove that I'm not - contrary to any reasonable justice system - but they also have no appreciable effect on anyone other than the genuine purchaser (for whom they are almost always a negative). The games will still get cracked and will still be available that way for those that care to do so, but I would be prepared to bet that such games will not earn more revenue than they would have done had they been released without such copy protection.

    The sad thing is that the industry as a whole seems intent on taking itself down the copy protection blind alley probably right down to the death of gaming on the PC, which bugs me hugely. One sensible voice amongst all the nonsense is Brad Wardell of Stardock - makers of Galactic Civilizations, amongst others - and some might find a recent blog entry of his enlightening in many areas:

    http://draginol.joeuser.com/article/...racy_PC_Gaming

    For those that can't be bothered to read the whole thing, a couple of statements caught my eye in relation to this thread:

    "The reason why we don't put CD copy protection on our games isn't because we're nice guys. We do it because the people who actually buy games don't like to mess with it."

    "Blaming piracy is easy. But it hides other underlying causes. When Sins [Of A Solar Empire] popped up as the #1 best selling game at retail a couple weeks ago, a game that has no copy protect whatsoever, that should tell you that piracy is not the primary issue."

    It is also worth bearing in mind that Brad's opinions in this area are not simply a recent development. I found the above article, and read it for the first time, whilst looking for a much older article:

    http://draginol.joeuser.com/article/209

    The other thing that worries me about such activation based mechanisms is what happens when the company selling the game go out of business. Their servers get taken down and ten days later I can no longer play the game?? Doesn't make sense to me and EA, if anyone is listening, I will never buy a version of FIFA (or any other game) that has such a copy protection mechansim built in to it.
    Another great thread i found that completely states why DRM is a waste of time

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    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: DRM and something that really should be urgently addressed

    I don't see why the person you quote would mind?? Before he would have to buy 4 copies of each game to install on his 3 desktops and laptop, as games were only licensed for installation on one computer. Now he only has to buy one. That's a fantastic saving.

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