The First of Many Spore DRM headaches... Well, I stumbled onto this posting about Spore and it's ill effected DRM. It sounds like we're going to be in for a long series of DRM headaches...with more to come. It's posted by a gentleman named "BigNik" Sigh....might need to purchase some aspirin while buying spore. We may very well need it.
And this is why I stopped buying EA games after I bought Bon Voyage which then infected my computer with SecuROM and caused a major headache for me in removing it and eventually reformatting. I have now re-installed Sims 2 up to Seasons, and that's as far as I'm going with the Sims franchise. When SecuROM is removed from EA games, then I might buy them again but my trust in EA has gone so it will take a lot for me to take the plunge and buy their games again. No Spore for me, nor Sims 3. I'll happily continue playing Sims 2 up to Seasons but that's all. Absolutely nobody has the right to infect my PC with software/malware that I don't know about, nor authorise. No game is worth that loss of control or privacy.
But surely if game sales suffer because fans kick off about SecuROM, maybe these game companies will take notice and listen to their fans. Or that's what should happen in an ideal world where everything is rosy and the birds sing a song amongst the pretty flowers and sunshine. The view from my window is pretty grey at the mo, literally, and I don't hear any birds. Fans HAVE kicked off about SecuROM and our voices have been disregarded. A victory for the pirates out there who are laughing their butts off because they bypass that piece of rubbish on the game discs, and have broadened their pirate fanbase because many legitimate players have turned to the dark side to escape SecuROM. I won't do that, ever, so for me it means that Seasons brings an end to my loyalty to EA and The Sims - in fact, an end to my buying any PC game again. I'm staring at my Sims 2 games stacked in the corner of my desk and at the rest of my PC gaming collection inside my bookcase. I'm thinking that they will become highly sought after in years to come - relics of a past that were untouched by SecuROM. Ya know what? It's my birthday, and for the first time in over a decade I've asked family and friends to buy me nothing related to EA games or the Sims/ Simcity franchises. Instead, I've spent my birthday money gifts on NX cash for Maplestory, a worthy replacement for my gaming needs. I'll remember the SimCity and Sims 1/2 series with a lot of happy memories, and will still remain enthusiastic (for now) about the games I own and have played, but as for anything that's been released since last Autumn, I have no knowledge or interest. Good luck EA - if SecuROM keeps you going as a business, whatever. It's only a matter of time before your most loyal, die-hard fans finally give up caring about the games you make and find other interests. People will get married, have children, have careers and finally clean their houses/ dejunk. They will have time on their hands and will gain enjoyment from other sources. And as in my case, they will tell every member of their family/friends to steer well clear of anything made where SecuROM is an added freebie.
I have voted with mine, but the sad truth is it won't even make the slightest dent in EA's revenue. But at least I won't have to worry now about SecuROM. If others are happy to give up the control of their PC and potential loss of privacy for the sake of a game, that's their choice. I've made mine. SecuROM seems to cause no problems for some, on the surface, but for others like myself and the guy in the article above it's something that has caused an unacceptable 'side effect' from installing a legitimately bought game.
It will take a lot more than just one person to get EA's attention. More like an entire boycott get their attention. But more importantly, people who hate SecuROM is probably a very small minority. Probably most people who play Sims 2 never have it connected to the internet or use custom content or know there is a huge world out there focused and dedicated to The Sims.
Truth is...no matter what happens...SecuROM isn't going anywhere. Not unless some huge lawsuit forms with everyone who's been having issues supporting it. Gamers will not boycott because of it, they'll either bite the bullet and suck it up or be smart like you, Hugz and stay away. However, truth be told I and Josh are a part of the problem. While I do believe in fighting SecuROM, I'm in a bit of a pickle: I run a fansite, in order to properly run it, I need the games to troubleshoot problems and help those who need help. I don't play them much (Spore might be an exception), but I still purchase them to add to my collection. I don't want to give up the fight...but there is practically nothing that can be done at this time until some major ****storm happens that causes a huge majority of gamers to have and is the result of a SecuROM problem.
I hear what you're saying Jud - it's a difficult situation for fansites and fansite owners. Speaking on a personal level though as a long time sims/ simcity fan, given the choice of submitting to SecuROM or boycotting all games, I've made my choice. I'm not willing to sacrifice my PC's functions, nor give up control over my PC nor put my privacy at risk, all for the right to play a game. Maybe I'm going through some sort of life changes and gaming isn't as big a focus in my life now - maybe I'm finally starting to grow up, or as the saying goes, growing old (because we 'stop playing')? I accept that those who boycott are in a minority, so yup, unless a massive amount of people make a stand or the SecuROM debate becomes major news that filters through other means to those who are unaware of the internet fansite/custom content phenomenon, the game companies will continue to churn out this rubbish alongside their games, because they are seriously unopposed. All credit to the fansite owners who are still committed to providing a service to fans and developing online communities after many years of loyalty to The Sims franchise and Maxis/EA.
I've been sitting on answer this one for a few weeks now. The conclusion I came down to is this: "Fansite owners may be part of the problem, but we're also part of the solution." I think we're in a unique situation here. Not because we have the ear of Maxis, EA or any other major gaming firm, but rather, by encouraging gaming companies to pursue means of copyright protection that doesn't cause as many headaches would be ultimately the solution. By all means, we're actually on the front lines promoting titles of our choosing and free-will. We first as fansite owners need to encourage people to consider buying the titles and to minimize piracy in the first place. Encouraging fans to pirate games, content (even custom content) is only going to push gaming companies to consider tougher stands against piracy. From that standpoint, we also need to find solutions. For the moment, SecuROM is going to be around for a while. So let's think of ways we can go about living with SecuROM while at the same time ensuring it doesn't do funny things to our computers. I think there has to be a way where we could run Spore, but contain SecuROM where it can't install itself onto our systems. There's got to be a way. Emulation? False Systems? More than likely a modding community will be the source of where people seeking refuge from SecuROM will cause a surge of methods where people can run titles without the fear of SecuROM damaging things in their wake. That, or find ways to possible tinker with SecuROM itself to make it less lethal. Or a SecuROM Open Source Decoder? Or something. Either way, I think we fansite owners will need to take a step back and act as both advocates for the gaming companies and fans. We're going to need to properly strike a balance. If I've learned anything about human nature, what one person can do, another can undo.
