EA Releases Tool To Bypass SecuROM Limitations

[ramza]

http://kotaku.com/5192830/ea-releases-tool...rom-limitations

[Purkake]

Yeah, I know. I was going to mention this in the Mass Effect thread, but couldn't find a link.

 

All I can say is too little, too late. It should have been included with game in the first place. If someone is not going to buy the game because of DRM, I don't see this changing anything, it's nothing more than a cheap band-aid for a much bigger problem.

 

Bottom line is if you want to play the game you either play it once and forget about it or use other methods to play it if you want to install it more than three times.

[Gorth]

I don't know, now I might actually grab Spore and Mass Effect some day, at the very least when they hit the bargain bin

[alanschu]

I agree with Gorth. If someone was concerned about the install limit, this seems to resolve the issue they had.

[Purkake]

Also, there's no reason why they couldn't just remove securom like they have done for other games(IIRC). Everyone who has ever wanted to pirate it, probably already has and securom didn't even help against that in the first place...

[alanschu]

EA obviously feels otherwise.

[Purkake]

EA obviously feels otherwise.

 

Obviously...

 

I was just pointing some stuff before everyone will declare the final victory over DRM.

[Aristes]

It actually makes sense, from what I understand. As I've heard, the piracy problem hits companies hardest right when the game ships or even a little before. If the game's out now, then this might add on sales or simply make life easier for legitimate customers. Cheap ploy or not, it might be beneficial.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

If someone was concerned about the install limit, this seems to resolve the issue they had.

 

Not all of the issues, but, yes, this is a good step in the right direction.

[Purkake]

It actually makes sense, from what I understand. As I've heard, the piracy problem hits companies hardest right when the game ships or even a little before. If the game's out now, then this might add on sales or simply make life easier for legitimate customers. Cheap ploy or not, it might be beneficial.

 

And removing it completely might be even more beneficial.

 

This is still a half-assed solution. Why wasn't it on the disc or available when the game originally came out?

[Aristes]

Dude, I don't have much of a stake in the DRM fight. I'm just saying that offering the tool this far out from release lets them use their DRM piracy solution for the most critical time period and then allows folks to bypass at a later date. I guess you can take my statment to the effect of, "IF they use the DRM solution, THEN this isn't a terrible idea at some time after release."

[ramza]

So, does the 3 activations-limit remain or not? After re-reading the official announcement, I admit that I am a bit confused...

 

As long as they are not removing it completely, I am not buying the game (unless there is a way to bypass it by using a crack)...

[Deadly_Nightshade]

So, does the 3 activations-limit remain or not?

 

Yes, it is still there but now you can get your activations back via this tool.

 

(unless there is a way to bypass it by using a crack)...

 

There are several ways of doing that, not all of them involving cracks.

[alanschu]

This is still a half-assed solution. Why wasn't it on the disc or available when the game originally came out?

 

If they feel that its purpose is best served at the early part of the release, it'd be absurd to put it on the disc or make it available when the game originally came out.

 

 

So, does the 3 activations-limit remain or not? After re-reading the official announcement, I admit that I am a bit confused...

 

As long as they are not removing it completely, I am not buying the game (unless there is a way to bypass it by using a crack)...

 

 

It's a tool that allows you to increase your de-authorize an install so that you can install it again without using an activation. This is not removing it completely, so if that's important to you don't buy the game.

[Purkake]

This tool will just let you get your activations back when you uninstall the game. The Kotaku title is misleading as usual...

 

If they feel that its purpose is best served at the early part of the release, it'd be absurd to put it on the disc or make it available when the game originally came out.

 

This sentence makes no sense what so ever. It's absurd to be able to get activations back when you uninstall the game?

Edited April 14, 2009 by Purkake

[alanschu]

This tool will just let you get your activations back when you uninstall the game. The Kotaku title is misleading as usual...

 

If they feel that its purpose is best served at the early part of the release, it'd be absurd to put it on the disc or make it available when the game originally came out.

 

This sentence makes no sense what so ever. It's absurd to be able to get activations back when you uninstall the game?

 

 

If Electronic Arts feels that casual piracy (which isn't stopped by people de-authorizing a game and then giving the disc to a friend...it just means that only 3 people can have it installed at any given time) is best combated shortly after release, then yes.

 

For better or worse, releasing it at the time would have effectively made the DRM pointless from the very beginning.

[Purkake]

This tool will just let you get your activations back when you uninstall the game. The Kotaku title is misleading as usual...

 

If they feel that its purpose is best served at the early part of the release, it'd be absurd to put it on the disc or make it available when the game originally came out.

 

This sentence makes no sense what so ever. It's absurd to be able to get activations back when you uninstall the game?

 

 

If Electronic Arts feels that casual piracy (which isn't stopped by people de-authorizing a game and then giving the disc to a friend...it just means that only 3 people can have it installed at any given time) is best combated shortly after release, then yes.

 

For better or worse, releasing it at the time would have effectively made the DRM pointless from the very beginning.

 

That is a sad and flimsy argument. The "casual pirates" probably wouldn't know about the activations, much less about the de-authorization program. They probably played through the game once or twice and shelved it.

[alanschu]

That is a sad and flimsy argument. The "casual pirates" probably wouldn't know about the activations, much less about the de-authorization program. They probably played through the game once or twice and shelved it.

 

An equally flimsy argument.

[Purkake]

I'm sure EA though it was prudent to have such strict copy protection. I'm also sure that if they could they would have had just one activation or had you pay by the minute. I don't see a point in defending them though.

[alanschu]

Slippery Slope.

 

 

I "defend" them because I think people's ire is misplaced. I am upset at the pirates for forcing companies to think that DRM is necessary.

[Purkake]

Slippery Slope.

 

 

I "defend" them because I think people's ire is misplaced. I am upset at the pirates for forcing companies to think that DRM is necessary.

 

Okay, this ends here. This is material for the DRM thread and has probably been discussed already.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

For better or worse, releasing it at the time would have effectively made the DRM pointless from the very beginning.

 

The DRM was always pointless seeing as it was bypassed right after the game was released - if not before, I cannot remember exactly when Mass Effect's was defeated.

[Mamoulian War]

For better or worse, releasing it at the time would have effectively made the DRM pointless from the very beginning.

 

The DRM was always pointless seeing as it was bypassed right after the game was released - if not before, I cannot remember exactly when Mass Effect's was defeated.

 

less than 24 hours after official NA release the game without securom and few bugs was hosted on internet, and two more days after russians released some tools which squashed all the bugs, and made the game 100% playable without online authentification...

[alanschu]

EA and other companies disagree.

 

For all of the evils of how money mongering people demonize them to be, if they felt they didn't get any return on investment, they wouldn't do it.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

EA and other companies disagree.

 

Sure, that's obvious. Still, that does not change the fact that the DRM was broken almost immediately and created a large amount of negative backlash - something that might have been taken into account when they decided to make The Sims 3 use SafeDisc* and a simple disc-check instead of on-line activations.

 

 

 

*I think it was SafeDisc, I might be wrong though.