On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 9:42 PM, Max Battcher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I've heard that they have updated the limitation to 5 installs and added an > ability to delist a (dead, old, whatever) system to regain an install. > Supposedly EA has been listening and responding to the complaints. 3 installs, 5 installs, I'm not impressed. If your hard disk dies (like mine just did) or you change your hardware you still lose an install. And even if it was 20 installs, I object to it on principle. I purchased the game and should be able to do with it as I wish and not have to worry if their activation server will still be functional if I want to reinstall the game 5 or 10 years from now. Or give it to a friend when I'm done playing it. Or trade it in for another game like console gamers can freely do. The reality is that the draconian DRM really doesn't stop piracy at all. A cracked version was already available on the torrents the day before the game was on the store shelves. The pirates, of course, have that version and are never troubled by the DRM system. Only the actual paying customers who bought the game have to deal with the hassle and restrictions. So what the DRM is actually doing (and EA has more or less admitted this) is stomping the resale/trade-in market - pretty much the equivalent of if record companies tried to prevent you being able to sell your music CD's to a used record store or to donate them to a library. > > > I'm not that interested in Spore as a game, but may pick it up when the > price drops or if it winds up on GameTap or Steam. > As far as I understand it, the Steam versions of the install-limited games have the same limits, plus the Steam DRM on top of it. At least, that's how it was with Bioshock on Steam. And I think Crysis Warhead is, also. If they remove that, I'd probably go that route also. > > I've delegated my DRM concerns to digital distribution networks and my > consoles at this point. I've been buying much fewer games in retail, > partly > due to a loss of confidence in what amounts for games retailers, and what I > do buy retail is generally (360, Wii) console discs. I've been a GameTap > member for a while and I've been a Steam member for far longer. I'm on the > mailing list for Greenhouse, which is slowly and carefully building a > catalog, and I'm keeping an eye out for interesting content to come to > Stardock's Impulse, and debating moving my CD key of Sins of a Solar Empire > to an Impulse account. GOG.com looks interesting and I'm waiting on an > invite. > I like Stardock Central/Impulse and I've even come to appreciate Steam. They also have the effect of preventing trade/resale, but at least they offer the alternative benefits of not needing to preserve your game disks and some CD key printed on the back of a manual or CD sleeve, etc. And they don't presume to tell you how many times you can install the software you bought. > I believe that all of the above services have better DRM and DRM policies > than SecuRom and other DRM du jour products used in individual games and Agreed. > > often nowadays the same games with weird on disc DRM can be found in a > digital distribution network with better DRM. > I wish this were more often true. For example, I'm still waiting to see Mass Effect as a download without the install limit crap. -Bryon _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
