EA Sticking With SecuROM

[Deadly_Nightshade]

EA Sticking With SecuROM (Though Red Alert 3's Will Go A Little Easier On You)

 

Because it includes Draconian DRM program SecuROM, Spore's taking a bit of a pounding at the moment. Same thing happened to Mass Effect, same thing happened to BioShock. The message is fairly clear: people know what SecuROM does, and they do not want. EA's response to this? To let you eat cake. They're sticking with the software, whether you like it or not, and upcoming RTS title Red Alert 3 will be coming bundled with it. This time, though, they're going a little easier on you, allowing you five installs (and a few other minor tweaks).

 

Like the other games, though, spare a thought for the dev team. It's not their decision to implement SecuROM, it's EAs, and the following plea from the team makes clear just how polarising a topic this has become:

 

 

Red Alert 3 is shaping up to be a world-class RTS game that will give you many hours of enjoyment. I think it would be a shame if people decided to not play a great game simply because it came with DRM, but I understand that this is a very personal decision for many of you and I respect that. As you might imagine, I

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Oh well, I'll not buy EA releases until they re-think their DRM.

[Hurlshort]

Somebody kick the jukebox, it's stuck on the same song.

[ramza]

You know, I have a very BAD feeling concerning BIO's future. I love that company's game and I have been a loyal consumer up to recently. I was about to buy Mass Effect for the PC until I heard about this DRM thing. Thus, I am not buying the game (even if I would love to) till they remove it in some later edition. Now, I am very afraid they will do the same with Dragon Age. I have been waiting patiently for that game for 4+ years. I like everything I have read and seen about it and I have the suspicion I will never be able to play this game.

 

It's just a matter of principle for me. I refuse to buy a game that limits the number of installation I have. I like to tweak with Ini files and other files and it has been many times where I have re-installed the game twice or thrice in the same day. I have always bought original copies of BIO's games and I hate being treated as a pirate. I wish to have "full" control over what I can do with my copy of the game.

 

I have heard that NWN 2 uses Securom: does this work the same way as Mass effect or is it different? I have heard different people encountering problems with it.

 

Concerning Mass Effect, is it possible to bypass the Securom limitations with some kind of crack? I really want to buy this game but this will only happen if there is a way to get rid of this DRM thing...

 

Bye Bye Bioware... I really liked you as a producer and always tried to support you by buying your games...

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I have heard that NWN 2 uses Securom: does this work the same way as Mass effect or is it different?

 

It's signifigently different, mainly because it does not require on-line activation and has no installation limits.

[mrmud]

SecuRom is a "copy-protection" suite.

Alot of games use it but the vast majority dont use the limited installs feature.

[Gorgon]

How about just creating a contract between you and the company that states you paid for the game, you own it and that it cannot be played on more than one computer at the same time, through online activation. I could live with those terms.

[Gorgon]

Professional workstation software often uses a USB dongle, USB sticks are dirt cheap, why don't they try something like that. It's supposed to be 'impossible to crack'. Well, hard at any rate.

[Killian Kalthorne]

I bought Mass Effect PC, and well DRM has caused more problems than it is worth. Gae it a shot, but I won't do it again. Until EA changes policy on DRM I won't be buying any future EA games that uses it. If they release games that don't use it I snag them up, but otherwise its a deal breaker.

 

What? Use a USB slot just to play a game? That is just silly.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Killian Kalthorne

[Hurlshort]

I bought Mass Effect PC, and well DRM has caused more problems than it is worth. Gae it a shot, but I won't do it again. Until EA changes policy on DRM I won't be buying any future EA games that uses it. If they release games that don't use it I snag them up, but otherwise its a deal breaker.

 

What? Use a USB slot just to play a game? That is just silly.

 

Yes, but you've already admitted to pirating games, so your opinion is moot.

[Magister Lajciak]

I am not interested in Spore given the Securom DRM and would have had only limited interest even without it, but it makes me worried about Dragon Age. If it is present there too, I will have to pass on buying one of the games I am really looking forward to.

[Gorgon]

How is it different than having to have a CD in the drive 'just to play a game"

[Spider]

Concerning Mass Effect, is it possible to bypass the Securom limitations with some kind of crack? I really want to buy this game but this will only happen if there is a way to get rid of this DRM thing...

 

It should be. The problem is that finding a crack could be difficult without downloading the entire game. Since the game doesn't need the cd to play after it's installed, sites that usually post cracks for backup purposes aren't doing that.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Spider

[Killian Kalthorne]

Yes, but you've already admitted to pirating games, so your opinion is moot.

 

I admit I try before I buy. If I absolutely have no intention of buying then I have no intention in trying.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Professional workstation software often uses a USB dongle, USB sticks are dirt cheap, why don't they try something like that. It's supposed to be 'impossible to crack'. Well, hard at any rate.

 

Theyre not harder to crack than software that requires the right disc to be in the dvd drive, but its only a very small portion of release groups that crack high-end software so the crack produced can be quite difficult to use at times. I know of this guy who was one of the first to crack Maya back in 99 or 00, and although it worked, the crack was unstable and as unser-unfriendly as can be.

 

 

But big software companies like Adobe and Autodesk have accepted piracy long ago and are actually using it to their advantage. People dowload these programs and learn how to use them, then they go to work at companies who actually buy the software. A large pool of knowledgeable users is also a goldmine for a software developers to have, wether theyre using legal copies or not, because companies.. a freck it.. I cant explain the whole thing but its an unspoken truth. piracy = more users who attract and help out other users

[Gorgon]

You can write to a USB stick, allowing companies to change protection algorithms along the way. As least that's what I heard.

[random n00b]

This is what you are talking about, right?

 

I could live with that, but it's not really any more effective a scheme than any other, against piracy. It would perhaps take more time to reverse-engineer, but once the "scene" became proficient at it, it would become a trivial matter.

 

It's obvious that the industry is fighting a losing war against piracy, and I think it's na

Edited September 10, 2008 by random n00b

[Nick_i_am]

Somebody kick the jukebox, it's stuck on the same song.

 

haha

[Dark_Raven]

This is one of many reasons why EA sucks. Lets keep using lame SecuROM to drive our customers up the wall.

Edited September 10, 2008 by Dark_Raven

[ramza]

Bye bye bioware...

[CoM_Solaufein]

No more Bioware games for me. Or C&C games either.

[SirPetrakus]

I always buy the games from the companies I like. Companies like Ubisoft, Black Isle, OBSIDIAN, but game companies I don't like usually don't make games I like. I might dl a game to test it and if I like it, worth the 60 euros it costs in Greece, I will buy it, otherwise, I won't bother with it, it's like renting it for a day at the video store. I couldn't even stomach Oblivion for more than maybe 10 hours, and it was on sale for 70 euros here, equivalent to about 90-100$, why waste that much money on a game I played for 10 hours?

 

SecuROM is a real test of faith and, frankly, really spoils it for me. I might have gone off to buy Red Alert 3 if it didn't have it but now, definitely not.

Edited September 10, 2008 by SirPetrakus

[Hell Kitty]

I couldn't even stomach Oblivion for more than maybe 10 hours, and it was on sale for 70 euros here, equivalent to about 90-100$, why waste that much money on a game I played for 10 hours?

 

Um, because you played it for 10 hours.

[SirPetrakus]

That's exactly my point! It's not a game liked, it's not a game I enjoyed, it would just sit there on my shelf, looking at me, reminding me of my failure and that would turn me emo. Considering that my salary is near 700 euros and the game cost 70 euros I would have bought a game that cost 10% of my salary and I FORCED myself to play for 10 hours. It felt empty, repetitive and void of feeling. It just wasn't my type.

 

On the other hand, I bought NWN2, MotB, Fallout 1 & 2 AND Tactics, Planescape Torment, games actually worth my money, regardless of cost. I own Heroes of Might and Magic 2,3 and 5 along with all the expansions and I am truly sorry that I don't have the original Disciples 2 Gold edition because it can't be found in Greece a.k.a. it isn't licensed, therefore I can download it through the internet.

 

You don't have to be offended because I didn't like Oblivion, just like Halo 3 fans shouldn't be offended when I say I think MGS4 is a better game for me, it's MY taste.

 

That's a cool Dr. Manhattan btw.

Edited September 10, 2008 by SirPetrakus

[SteveThaiBinh]

This time, though, they're going a little easier on you, allowing you five installs (and a few other minor tweaks).

Which wouldn't have happened if people hadn't raised the issue and complained and threatened not to buy EA products. It's movement, albeit slight, and just means we need to keep applying the pressure.