Amazon users drub Spore's aggressive DRM

SecuRom from another EA game was causing explorer to crash everytime I right clicked an exe on my desktop. I've never heard of it stopping anyone from playing pirated/cracked games though.
While I'm happy to pay money for any good game, I'm reluctant when it comes to anything with the EA logo

i hope they listen, any limitations on installs is beyond a joke, what happens in 5 years time when you want to play that game again install it contact EA and they turn and say sorry we don't support that any more/the drm servers are shut down, go purchase a new copy. You can tell this DRM is created by an avid MPAA/RIAA member!

was that the SecuROM context menu for windows explorer flaw kiwi1, what do you expect from the masters of rootkits, aka sony.

more flawed malware code, thanks a bunch eh.

let me suggest some basic apps for looking what malware is installed by legally purchased software!

AutoRuns

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

Process Explorer

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Tcpview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897437.aspx

A sphinx level mystery why EA keeps giving the three-fingered salute to paying customers. Did SecuROM work for Mass Effect? Bioshock? Spore? All were cracked within a week (I think Bioshock took 8 days). All they're doing is raping the customer, preventing him from re-selling to places like Gamestop, eBay, and Craigslist.

i think it's ridiculous for people to complain about the DRM since it's their way of making the game available for purchase only. People should just get the DVD version, leave the DVD in the drive, and stop bitching about the 3 install limit.

Originally posted by trevermah:

---

i think it's ridiculous for people to complain about the DRM since it's their way of making the game available for purchase only. People should just get the DVD version, leave the DVD in the drive, and stop bitching about the 3 install limit.

---

What happens if you have two computers and at some point you need to reformat both of them? You will have to buy a brand new ($50 USD) game to play on the second computer...doesn't seem fair right?

Originally posted by trevermah:

---

i think it's ridiculous for people to complain about the DRM since it's their way of making the game available for purchase only. People should just get the DVD version, leave the DVD in the drive, and stop bitching about the 3 install limit.

---

Trolling.

-1

Quote:

---

"I came to Amazon to buy it, but clearly the DRM is repulsive and malware in nature. I will not buy it," wrote one reviewer.

"Fantastic game, gets 1 star because of DRM. It was pointless anyway, since the game was leaked 4 days before the release date."

---

All that is needed to say...

Originally posted by windsong:

---

A sphinx level mystery why EA keeps giving the three-fingered salute to paying customers. Did SecuROM work for Mass Effect? Bioshock? Spore? All were cracked within a week (I think Bioshock took 8 days). All they're doing is raping the customer, preventing him from re-selling to places like Gamestop, eBay, and Craigslist.

---

rental services will never work, nor will forcing us to change formats all the time with the "new improved format" trollop, but they keep trying to get the masses to accept this bull.

another bad move by EA allowing sony's intrusive malware onto this game..

RE: Second hand game market.

we all know what sony planned before the launch of the ps3 seems like they have supporters for ripping off the masses of gamers around the globe.

Quote:

---

http://itvibe.com/news/4063/

Sony to make it illegal to sell second hand PS3 games

At the start of the year Sony filed a patent that could threaten the second hand games market and independent retailers alike.

The patent would allow Sony to lock a game to the first console that it was played on, meaning that if you sold the game or lent it to a friend they would be unable to play it on their console.

Sony stated at the time that the aim is to protect itself from counterfeit software, but were aware that the same technology would also prevent the re-sale of used games.

At the time many people shrugged it off not really thinking Sony would go through with the idea as it would kill the second hand games market, the games rental market and seriously hurt independent retailers. All of which could damage PS3 console and games sales.

However retail sources have revealed to GamesRadar that "high street games shops have been told by Sony that there will be no PS3 pre-owned sections in their stores as it will be illegal for customers to sell any next-gen PlayStation games that they've bought"

It seems that Sony intend to do this by adopting a licensing scheme which means that gamers won't actually own their games, instead they will merely be purchasing a licence to play them.

---

It does go onto refute this but why file the patent, and then try to hush it up? why were retailers told NO second hand games by sony, and why is their SecuROM doing just what they said would never happen, or are they just killing of pc gaming for now? If you read all of sony's response all they actually state is that ps3 titles will not be locked to one console, they did not deny the patent maybe the patent was intended for their secuROM DRM that resides on spore.

Quote:

---

Sony debunked the first round of rumours about locking games to a console by saying "this is false speculation and that PlayStation 3 software will not be copy protected to a single machine but will be playable on any PlayStation 3 console."

---

I was reading reviews on Amazon, which currently has 991 reviews (92% of them are 1-star ratings) and Erich, who wrote the "most helpful" view, basically said that:

1. The game gives you 3 activations and if you want more, call EA who will accuse you of piracy.

2. Eventually the "activation" servers will be shut down by EA, it is only a matter of time.

3. The game, from all its hype, is all stat-based. A single-legged creature can outrun a four legged creature, as long as the single-legged creature has higher stats, even if it is only a point or two higher.

I hope EA learns a lesson from this, you can't stop piracy and using DRM techniques will not only alienate your consumer database.

The DRM will also probably drive them to pirate the game instead of buying it because, as some reviewers pointed out, the game was pirated about a week prior to release and the group that released it removed the DRM limitations.

This is why we have de-secure rom.

Too bad there is no drive today quite like Plextor's PlexWriter Premium, that back in the day could back up SecuROM and SafeDisc protections without the need for emulation...Oh how I miss those days...

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/240450

'course that's also when protections were not quite as bastard-rific as they are today.

Actually, reminiscing about that post almost 3 years ago, I would have to say that while technology has improved markedly since then, the means to cripple those products has also gotten much more pervasive Draconian, and really annoying. Good point about the lessons not being learned from the whole BioShock fiasco. I mean really WTF...

Like it's been said before a million times here, and elsewhere...DRM limits the vast majority of people in such a way that they don't even know what the F just happened to their computer, while continually evolving new DRM schemes is like putting newer and newer permutations of Rubik's cube in front of someone who can't wait to get their hands on it and dissect the s*it out of it.

Sigh......

Makes steam look like a really good alternative now does it...

I think kanes wrath was last ea game i will ever buy. They screwed my game registeration so that game was registered to account that i haven´t used since generals. Maybe page had some cookies that made it to register game to my old account or something but thats now excuse for not transfering rights to play online to other account and delete the old one. i will buy all my games for steam now on and i pity the fool who buys ea games =).

wow, all the reviews keep getting removed and the star ratings reset over at amazon.co.uk the reviews have been reset and deleted many times today.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-...20976784&sr=1-1

I will never purchase a single item from them again.

This is a blatant consumer rip off being covered up by amazon, who also fail to mention the game specifications, the SONY made SecuROM DRM on their product page, nor does it inform customers that an internet connection is required.

Does anyone know the legality of not displaying the DRM information in the UK as i'm sure this is a requirement with our consumer regulations?

Shame on you Amazon.

Maybe this will hurt EA a bit. Surely the low rating is costing them sales.

Yes, the low ratings probably are hurting them, but there are enough clueless people out there that will buy it nevertheless. These peeps will find out only too late that DRM took a huge dump on theit rights, and EA took a huge dump on them.

It would be interesting to see if a retail store would accept an opened box for a refund, since most stores' policies on opened software and movies are that they are non-refundable, because you have probably copied the contents. However, technically you could say something like:

"Ummm...well how would I ever make a copy with the f-ing SecuROM on there huh? So I just want a refund cause I found out that EA took a dump on me... =)

This title is malignant.
Either they should remove the DRM or give it a decent burial.
Before we do it for them.

lol all this bad publicity has made me look into the game now.

Going to download it tonight.

Who said bad publicity was bad all the time

Now that there's a practically effortless crack for this, it would serve them right if people ran it just to spite them. Or put it up as a torrent.

I refuse to buy malware.

I got the scene release of Spore and it's an awesome game, that could have done well in sales and reviews had it not been packaged with malware.

This is the clearest example yet that malware/DRM is killing the industries, not piracy. An that if anything, the malware/DRM is what drives customers to pirate in the first place.

Originally posted by SuckRaven:

---

It would be interesting to see if a retail store would accept an opened box for a refund, since most stores' policies on opened software and movies are that they are non-refundable, because you have probably copied the contents. However, technically you could say something like:

"Ummm...well how would I ever make a copy with the f-ing SecuROM on there huh? So I just want a refund cause I found out that EA took a dump on me... =)

---

lol i realy laughed out loud at that. you should fully try it

WARNING:
EA's going to do an end-run around the negative reviews on the single game listings by dropping the price on its deluxe editions. At some online retailers, it's already started.

So I'd say if you have the time, and you've lodged a negative on the single, you might want to go back and pan the others, too.

Sounds like Mac users got the worst of it. The second time you play the game you find the DRM has destabilized your OS! Lovely.