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Mass Effect and Spore for PC to self-disable after 10 days?
While nobody here is a fan of DRM, many companies certainly are. It comes in various forms, including one that is often overlooked – computer games. What began with simple copy-protection mechanisms eventually transformed into games that require online activation (such as Steam games). Annoying though that is, many people are willing to deal with it.
What if that game required itself to be re-activated every 10 days, however? That's the story with some software companies, who supposedly will be requiring that on their new games. Mass Effect for the PC and Spore, to name a few, are both being pointed at as the first titles that will employ this technology. The SecuROM these games are embedded with will require that the “owner” come online every 10 days to re-activate their game, or it will disable itself.
An interesting, yet controversial concept. Then again, when a cracked version of a game inevitably surfaces, you will see many people faced with two options. Get a game for free with no restrictions, legality aside, or pay $50 for a game that will disable itself if you don't maintain an Internet connection. Interesting indeed.
What if that game required itself to be re-activated every 10 days, however? That's the story with some software companies, who supposedly will be requiring that on their new games. Mass Effect for the PC and Spore, to name a few, are both being pointed at as the first titles that will employ this technology. The SecuROM these games are embedded with will require that the “owner” come online every 10 days to re-activate their game, or it will disable itself.
An interesting, yet controversial concept. Then again, when a cracked version of a game inevitably surfaces, you will see many people faced with two options. Get a game for free with no restrictions, legality aside, or pay $50 for a game that will disable itself if you don't maintain an Internet connection. Interesting indeed.
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User Comments (5)
Post a comment| black_adder on May 7, 2008 12:16 PM | Its like saying "Crackers!! Step right up! we're offering a
challange you cant resist!" They'll Crazk it, you'll go back to the drawing board... why not just save some consumer agrivation and not have any? Its just LAME anyway, What if I decide I need to save money one month and cut my net? I lose more than the net, I lose some games too... Yay!?
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| viperpfl on May 7, 2008 12:59 PM | To the people who say that the people who don't like this
new copyright are just pirates, you don't have a clue. I am
NOT a pirate and still don't like it. You can say if you
don't like it, don't buy the game. While this maybe true,
just think what happens when people don't buy the game. We
are talking about economics here. The more strict copyrights
they put on the game, the less people buy it, the less the
game makers will support the PC platform. All you people who
play games on your PC are going to be out of
luck. Just think about it for a minute. BioWare is telling you that you can't play the game unless the game can do a online check. Say if your away from and don't have access to the internet, your out of luck. So basically you just waisted $50+ for a game that is useless till you can find internet access. This is not enhancing the gamers experience, this is just plain stupid.
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| neurosys on May 7, 2008 1:17 PM | Activating it ONCE over the internet is bad enuff. Every few
days is an outrage and useless. You dont need to know that
much about me, you are not my doctor or sheriff, you are the
twat who sold me 1 video game. Get over yourself Software
Nazis.
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| rmdl51 on May 7, 2008 5:42 PM | I Agree with all previous comments, specially with viperpfl,
is already a bad time for PC gaming, adding this ridiculous
"activation" will just discourage more people, Starting with
me. I'm not a pirate, I don't download illegal games but the point of having to activate a game every 10 days is annoying, even for the first time, the results, well I start buying my games for consoles rather than PC, why? quite simple, I can take my game disc to my buddy's house and play it without the "illegal" part of the PC game if you do install it on another computer, activate it and all that BS! This just hurts PC gaming more than ever, and I'm always have a PC preference rather than consoles but that might be about to change. Gaming Companies in favor of DRM! step up! If a hacker is going to crack your game they will do no matter what! so don't hurt your legal customer with this annoying BS!
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| T0a5t3d on May 7, 2008 10:51 PM | I thought Bioshock's online activation system was bad - I
guess I was wrong. This weekly reactivation crap is like
getting a punch in the face every 10 days. When will they
learn??
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