Games May Want Validation To Play
Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: game, registration, piracy | Themes: Digital Entertainment
Bioware, makers of Mass Effect and Spore, will be implementing heavy-duty security measures to protect the franchise from piracy. The security measures may threaten the game’s popularity more than protection from piracy. According to Bioware technical producer Derek French the PC versions of Spore and Mass Effect will implement copy protection that requires the games to be activated through their Bioware’s server. Afterward the games will automatically dial into servers to validate the CD key every ten days for the games to continue to work. Both CD key and computer must match the original data submitted when the user first activated.
The activation scheme is similar to BioShock’s requirements utilizing SecuROM, a method that many users deemed frustrating. However, BioShock did not require users to constantly validate.
“SecuROM settings are for up to 3 activations,” said French, “There is no banning or such if you go beyond the 3 activations, it just won’t activate. If you run into any issues with this, you will be able to contact EA tech support and they will help you resolve any problems you have getting your game to run.”
Initial reaction to Bioware has been overwhelmingly negative with many gamers going as far as proclaiming a boycott of the titles. It appears Bioware is adding fuel to the fire that PC gaming is dying or at least on life support.
Earlier this month Crytek, makers of Far Cry and Crysis, revealed the studio would no longer support PC exclusives. Cevat Yerli, Crytek President, pointed his finger towards piracy and claimed the company was “suffering” from the huge piracy stemming from its recent Crysis release. EA Sports president Peter Moore also revealed recently that Madden NFL 2009 would not be slated for the PC platform. The decision marks the first time Madden will not be available for the PC since the inception of the title.
Game publishers have been focusing seriously on consoles in the last recent year or so. On the console, it is far more difficult to pirate games, and with the growing popularity of such systems as the Wii, it makes sense for these companies from a business stand point. The video game industry is proving itself to be as big or even bigger than the film industry.
I was going to buy Spore but if this is true i'm not going to bother. i don't need the game that badly to bother with complications of it.
I disagree haha, it will be cracked before it is released for general consumption not two weeks after
To yarr ...I disagree haha, it will be cracked before it is released for general consumption not two weeks after The paying public will as you say be stuck with the DRM. I like the take from INQ "Piracy the Better Choice (TM)(C)(R)" ....
Look at The Sims Online. EA is shutting the servers down, probably because the game is not profitable enough for their tastes, leaving the players who spent good money without even so much as residual content - now we are expected that they are going to leave a new activation server up indefinitely? Once their tastes/wallets are satisfied, what stops them from shutting the Spore activation server down, especially with the "decline of PC gaming" and its loss of profitability? The games published on Steam's entrepreneurial style attracts indie gamers and profits from it - not to mention the system's highly-visible built-in but unintrusive advertising. Steam has a bright outlook and new ideas going for it - EA's developers are doom-sayers, putting profit first and creating dozens of expansions resulting in the same, beaten gameplay.
They say the issue is piracy - How did Valve develop Half-Life 2, succeed, then develop Team Fortress 2, succeed, and are now going on to develop Left 4 Dead - all marking major sales on the PC? Most of Valve's games have been pirated, yet it appears they are excelling in the market, especially in fame. If I recall correctly, Team Fortress 2 is one hell of a game, so piracy of Half-Life 2 couldn't have been absolutely devastating to Valve.
Personally, I see the possibility of a rootkit as a hard incentive for people to pirate the game to avoid system instability etc. This hardware is mine; I didn't pay hard money for someone else to put their *stuff* on it.
Perhaps quality and originality is a more effective way of generating legitiamate sales, not hype. Call of Duty 4 outsold Halo 3 despite all the hype. Why should Crysis outsell The Orange Box?
Stupid.
It'll be cracked but I don't think anyone will bother wasting their time supporting a company that installs malware\spyware\virus on your computer.
My thoughts exactly. This kind of behavior only makes me WANT to pirate the software. At least then you get it without the BS.
I haven't bought ANY game, Japanese or American, with this kind of 'copy-protection' on it... at least not until I have been able to find a crack for it that removes the copy protection or the company in question removed the copy protection themselves.
Think of all the strange press releases by previously PC friendly people, now under EA's control, feverishly abusing gamers.
They want you to buy consoles: more hardware sales for them, more DRM for them, more micro-transactions for them, more cookie cutter titles for them...crap for you.
Think of all the strange press releases by previously PC friendly people, now under EA's control, feverishly abusing gamers.
They want you to buy consoles: more hardware sales for them, more DRM for them, more micro-transactions for them, more cookie cutter titles for them...crap for you.
Crysis just sucks. I haven't played such a boring game for a long time and I'm not going to play anything like that anytime soon.
I play to enjoy the game (storyline/content), not to watch some movie-like effects (that's what Hollywood movies are for). When I beat a game I want to have that feeling of satisfaction and Crysis (and many contemporary games) fails utterly at this. If I bought the game I would sure feel scammed and cheated and I might even hurt somebody...
They make a sh*t game and now they blame piracy because it doesn't sell. What losers!
Seems an easy crack to just point the packets somewhere else...
And if i own more than 1 pc i have to buy more than 1 copy? Or if my hardware changes, i can't play any longer? I wonder if monitor, keyboard and mouse are included in that "hardware?" Don't go changing that cpu speed! no game for you! 10 days!
These are intelligent people, making some brilliant software, and securom has not been that answer.
If developers think there going to escape piracy by switching to consoles there smoking something whack... I can go to any newsgroup and see all the latest xbox 360 and ps3 games sitting there ready to be d/led...
They want to have laws so that we have to buy their crappy games based on false hype and over the top advertising only to be dissapointed by the drab reality that is the game they released...but then when it comes down to it they can just shut down their servers and leave gamers in the dark without taking any responsibility of any kind.
I think we need to pass some laws that if a gaming company decides to shut down a server for a supported game there needs to be a certain notice time-frame and the server source code legally becomes property of the gamers that purchased the games. That way at the very least you could have open-source servers and could have other people continue hosting, rather than not have any hostin at all.
If we are to be held accountable to buy the game, the developers need to be held accountable to continue supporting it.
I will still buy SPORE even with stupid DRM, but I am extremely upset that they would go that route...whats next...shutting down the SPORE servers in 1 year due to poor sales.
Crysis had poor sales because you needed to spend $3000+ on a computer to play it and enjoy it. I think Will Wright should walk from EA with his team and release SPORE freelanced
And I don't own a console, so no Bioware for me. In fact, no EA empire, period. Why would I want to support a company that assumes I'm a thief?
And yes, I love Steam. I consider it value added, and I've seldom had a problem with it.
"Bioware, makers of Mass Effect and Spore, will be implementing heavy-duty security..."
When the hell did Bioware start developing Spore?
I don't see Bioware anywhere on the Spore website: http://www.spore.com/
Answer: They aren't developing Spore. Maxis is still developing Spore.
EA is publishing both games and owns(essentially) Bioware and Maxis.
My guess is it isn't the developers as much as the publishers who are pushing DRM(though I am sure the developers dont mind too much). Most of the money earned by a game goes to a publisher anyway as they are the ones who generally pay for the development of a game.
The two problems I have with DRM of this type are as follows:
1. I don't want rogue programs roaming around my computer hogging my resources and hurting my performance/reliability. No matter how you slice it or spin it resident DRM are glorified spyware.
2. I want to be able to play my games after the studio closes, after the publisher goes belly up, and after whoever owns the rights to authenticate MY GAME(and it is my game to play if I payed for it) decides they either want to hold MY GAME hostage or just don't care anymore(printer/scanner drivers in Vista anyone?)
I don't pirate games. I haven't bought a game since the expansion for Rome: Total War came out as I haven't been interest in many games since then. I was looking forward to playing Bioshock. I was looking forward to playing Spore.
I have HL2(legally) as it was a gift from the uninitiated and share the same concern with with it. I would not have bought it (and if my game goes belly up for whatever reason I wont buy a replacement).
It seems to be very popular these days to blame a lack of pc sales to piracy instead of looking inward and see what perhaps is (and was) wrong with the game. As for games on consoles not being pirated, I have seen (when IU've searched for something else related to this game tech help) the Xbox version of Bioshock on torrent sites. Note that I in way shape or form condones piracy; I just feel it necessary to say that console games can, is, and will be pirated as well. (not be me obviously, but by other people).
The big problem for me is that EA (bioware) is treating their loyal fans and customers as criminals; they just automatically assume that you are a thief, or at the very least want to be one - just waiting to pirate the game. Most legitimate consumers that buy the game won't pirate it at all. They are tired of being treated like they have stolen the games they play - or being under suspicion for doing so. And to prevent maybe 1˝-2˝ percent (or even 5-10%) of people from pirating games, EA/Bioware installs this on MEPC and all other EA game titles. This seems to me to be 'to build the church for Christmas Eve' since on Christmas Eve, at least here in Denmark, the churches are filled. The point, of course, is not to take dramatic and drastic measures against a very small problem. Or to make a mountain out of a molehill - as the saying goes.
Everyone seems to want to say "oh drm, thats why you dont sellz no gamz f00lz!". Do you think they add drm because there was no problem? the sales of pc games are so poor now. Crysis has shipped about 1 million copies... 1 million lol. That is the most hyped game I can remember in my 15 years of pc gaming, think back to quake 2 and 3 which shipped millions and of copies back when far fewer people had pcs.
Of course, if you dont want to believe something you can just say "oh, no one could run it, so they wanted to test it" (of course almost every game has a demo which is more than adequate for that or "there are so many games now, and consoles to compete with".
But when you look at the facts, any shitty shooter sells a million on consoles, do only gamers use consoles now? *cough*.
Crysis was aimed at the hardcore gamer, and they are the ones who download the most, you look at the sims which such a wide appeal, people who don't even know what pirating means. It sold 20 million. If you dont want to see any truth in it, you dont have to, but you might as well buy a console because its the only thing games will come out on before long.
If you dont believe it you must not have owned an amiga where for years that game market exploded. Shelves packed with quality game titles, but it pretty much imploded under piracy no company could turn a profit and it just died. I have to say, using those damn books with words on page 223 line 14 char 3 or colored swivel things was more annoying than most my drm hassles i have now.
thurauh1 - "It seems to be very popular these days to blame a lack of pc sales to piracy instead of looking inward and see what perhaps is (and was) wrong with the game."
Its seems very popular to pretend its all their fault, oh games are so shit now. Well, why do you even play them then? You could go read a book or anything else. If people yell we are getting pirated to shit, it seems obligatory to say its bullshit lol. I think the future is going to be big games on consoles and maybe just more boutique pc games. Might actually get some more inovation then because you wont have companies too scared to lose 20million on something that isnt a doom clone.
Just because you don't like something about one side doesn't mean you can just say "f*ck them!" and feel as if they get everything they deserve. Before movies / games could be so easily pirated I never could really remember too many people saying complaining the entire pc game industry or hollywood was shit and everything is not worth buying, well some people did, ones who didnt game or watch many movies anymore, but thats not who complain now.... the phrase cake and eat it too seems to come to mind
The reason Sims and World of Warcraft MMO do so well is because there designed to be played on the majority of computers and not just the hardcore audience with there $3k-$5k gaming rigs...
Right now were starting to see a trend of games being designed for consoles first then ported over to the PC... I think this will pretty much be the future of PC Gaming, especially once they get RTS and MMO's running smooth on consoles...
The big losers in this will be Intel, Nvida, AMD/ATI, Logitech and all the other companies that sell hardware for PC Games... As high-end CPU's and Graphic Cards will not be required to just surf the next and use Word and Excel...
R.I.P. PC Gaming (maybe not yet, but its just a matter of time)