Considering the massive hype that led up to the release of Spore, as well as the high ratings it’s received by most publications, you would think EA, the game’s publisher, would be in the money. They probably are, but not as much as they should be, due to a massive grassroots backlash against the DRM protection that comes with Spore.
To break it down, EA decided that the best way to keep people from pirating Spore would be to install a DRM system that only allows for three installations before requiring the legitimate buyer to phone into EA to order an extra activation. So in essence, you’re not really buying the game, you’re buying three installations of the game, after which, you must hope that EA will believe your story as to why you needed to install it more than 3 times. This is especially hurtful to PC users who upgrade their systems a lot, as this often tricks the DRM into thinking it is being installed on a new system.
As one unhappy customer put it, getting that 4th activation key is “not as simple as it sounds, since when you reach that point EA will assume that you, the paying customer, are a filthy pirating thief. You will need to provide proof of purchase, reasons why the limit was reached, etc, etc.”
As some critics point out, EA, like most businesses, will eventually go under, or change ownership, or shut down their registration servers. It might not happen anytime soon, but it’s pretty much inevitable in the long run. After this happens, all the legitimate Spore buyers will be stuck with a $50 coaster. Definitely not cool, especially considering that pirated, DRM-free versions of Spore have been making the rounds all over BitTorrent.
EA, the RIAA is calling. They want their ridiculous customer-abusing business plan back.
The outcome of this decision is turning ugly for EA, as frustrated gamers have overwhelmed Amazon with 1 star reviews for Spore. As of now, a whopping 748 out of 812 customer reviews are one star reviews, bringing the average customer review for Spore to one star. This, obviously, is very bad for EA, since the casual gamer may not necessarily look at the reason behind the poor rating and just assume that it’s a terrible game.
EA is going to have to address this situation. They’re keeping themselves from thousands of potential sales, and encouraging would-be legitimate buyers to turn to illegal downloads to avoid the crippling DRM inherent in the legit version. Hopefully they’ll release a patch that will stop this madness. Nobody wants to pay $50 for a rental.
Hey, it's not just the THREE installs per game purchase. You only get ONE on-line account. What about families? I've got three kids. The only Spore account we can access is the first one to play the game. The other two can't use their accounts and the content they created with creature creator.
EA might go out of business? Come on, most companies last a lot longer than a game. I can't play any of the games I own because I bought them back in the Classic days. Your Spore CD will be a coaster long before EA closes its doors.
@Dave-O: No company lasts longer than a game, because a game lasts forever, just like a music CD, or a movie. You can't play your classic games because you don't have a classic system. Lots of people still enjoy their original Nintendo games. I still enjoy playing my original copies of StarCraft and Fallout 2, both of which are over 10 years old.
I, like most gamers, appreciate knowing that my games will work as long as I have the capability of playing them (in my case, an old, old Windows laptop).
Knowing that EA will force its games to stop running either by going under eventually, or discontinuing online registration support (which it is bound to do after a certain amount of time), is a big deal for someone thinking about dropping $50 for a game.