BF2142 to ship with spyware?

[Lowe]

This is one game i wont be buying!

Ditto

[chuckskull]

Does EA actually have a PR department? They manage to end up looking like money grabbing scum all the time, c'mon not even microsoft has as bad a rap as EA.

[noTHINGface]

What I'd really like to see is a full analysis of this feature to understand exactly what it is doing. If its just feeding back IP information and the amount of time I look at an in-game ad then I dont really care - but - if this thing is searching through my machine, checking browser cache, scanning cookies or accessing any information/data outside of the games base install directory and sending this data then, by my estimation, this is spyware (could argue its adware since its feeding the user ads too!) and I will choose not to purchase the game.

I can only see this situation getting worse in the future. If EA are able to coin users in this manner, and that is what they're doing - they are using your information to sell adverts then you can bet as sure as eggs is eggs that others will jump on in too and this will become the norm.

[Tom Scott]

The information that is gathered is specifically related to the ingame ads themselves and not anything personally related to you.
There is no additional spy ware software installed secretly to your machine.

Data will only be gathered from in game. Web browsing and other profiling data is not being gathered.

The purpose of the gathering is to determine if an ad is viewed by players.

Question is do you honestly believe him?

[noTHINGface]

Question is do you honestly believe him?

Depends - where did you get the quote from? I'd be interested to read that.

[Tom Scott]

Here and Here

[noTHINGface]

Thanks - well if our man from DICE-EA is telling the truth then.. Well, doesnt sit right with me still but it aint toooo bad!

<Thanks for the links man>

[mcmiller]

the thing that also bugs me about this is that there making even more $ and yet pasing none of it back to the customer, do the games get any cheaper do they heck, do u get any more features game modes etc no again , they should at least start including more features for ppl's money rather than 10 maps and i extra game mode

[Steyr]

The biggest problem I have with this, is the vagueness of everything, like the wording of the paper EULA insert. All this "Advertising Data" and "other anonymous data", no specifics on exactly what it harvests. If it was just how long I look at billboards in-game (not gona happen anyways), I wouldn't like it, but I'd be able to put up with it. It's all the dodging the actual details and transferring data outside of my country of residence I'm not too happy about.

the thing that also bugs me about this is that there making even more $ and yet pasing none of it back to the customer, do the games get any cheaper do they heck, do u get any more features game modes etc no again , they should at least start including more features for ppl's money rather than 10 maps and i extra game mode

Yup, any decent company would be looking to support its fan base, but this is EA so don't expect anything less than being continually shafted.

[altitude2k]

I reckon in-game advertising means a 100ft long picture of Ronald McDonald pasted to the underside of one of the Titans...

[chuckskull]

After a day of merciless slaughter... Drink Coke

[mcmiller]

how anoynmous is your ip as well they dont give any info about which companys they are really selling to, supposing some random blokes decided to buy the this list of ips and then attack ppls computers, theres probadly still loads of ppl out there with no firewalls

[noTHINGface]

If you play, surf, download, sniff, shuffle or even cough on a website they can get your IP, thats not such an issue imo. I agree though, if this is exploitable then there is a risk, mitigated to some point that the feature doesnt harvest information outside of the app but there may well be opportunity to alter this behaviour. The thing that surprises me is the laxer attitude to this whole affair. Remember the crap Sierra got into with SWAT4? There was a sh1t storm! This time round it the complaints seem much lower key. Im a little surprised by the number of people rolling over and accepting this... Perhaps I think too much.

Either way. When was this title released? Today? Yesterday? Either way, get yer patch on, its started already! First patch for BF2142 ladies and gents...

ftp://largedownloads.ea.com/pub/patches/BF2142/

Hands up for QA testing...

[GoNz0]

so if we surf pr0n b4 entering the game, we get billboards with ladies exposing there fun bags ?

[Steyr]

IGA's Worldwide CEO On BF2142 In-Game Ads

[chuckskull]

Interesting read. I feel sorry for anyone with a lower end CPU, sounds a bit processor intentsive. The angle it's viewed at... does that mean level redesigns every patch to get better angles on the ads?