Unusually high numbers of illegal downloads attributed to EA’s strict DRM measures
A report showing that EA’s PC hit Spore is suffering from unusually high numbers of illegal downloads has been blamed on the fact that EA has implemented stern digital rights management restrictions on its game.
Spore’s DRM prevents the game being installed more than three times – a problem for those who might need to wipe and re-install owing to a technical problem, or to those who change their PC. EA is also only allowing one Spore account per house, meaning any family with more than two players is unable to have multiple game profiles.
Forbes reports that Spore has been illegally downloaded over 170,000 times since September 1st – a high number in just two weeks. Eric Garland of peer-to-peer research firm Big Champagne said of the number: “The numbers are extraordinary. This is a very high level of torrent activity even for an immensely popular game title.”
Opponents of DRM say that the pirated version of Spore has proved so popular because it grants users the freedom to use the software as they wish; they believe that EA’s strict DRM encourages illegal downloading as the pirated version offers benefits compared to a legitimately purchased copy.
A poster on popular BitTorrent download site The Pirate Bay stated: “By downloading this torrent, you are doing the right thing. You are letting EA know that people won't stand for their ridiculously draconian DRM viruses. You have the power to make this the most pirated game ever, to give corporate bastards a virtual punch in the face.”
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EA, however, has defended its DRM measures, stating: “EA has not changed our basic DRM copy protection system. We simply changed the copy protection method from using the physical media, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to one which uses a one-time online authentication.”
Comments
oh dear
Plus 2,215 one star reviews on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1221387184&sr=8-1" onclick="window.open ( this.href ); return false;" class="comment_url" >http://www.amazon....r=8-1
"EA, however, has defended its DRM measures"
Then piracy of this scale will become the norm on the PC. Gamers upgrade and change their PC's all the time and usually have more than one account user.
Use STEAM.
Re: oh dear
May be piracy of this game is high as lots of people want to play it?!
But don't wanna pay EA's stupidly high prices, the SRP is £39.99!
Re: Re: oh dear
Just wait for it to come down in price when it's second-hand ...
...oh wait...
Re: Re: Re: oh dear
save your money. its an awful game that is short and pointless.
DRM is not the only cause
There is no way that vast number of illegal downloads is down to people who have bought the game and had problems with the DRM.
Re: Re: Re: Re: oh dear
I haven't done any research into what's going on here, but I wonder if legitimate owners are also using the pirate version to negate the 3 installs / 2 users limitations you mentioned?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: oh dear
Ahhh...according to post 5, apparently not. ^_^
Re: Re: Re: Re: oh dear
Gotta love watching EA shoot themselves in the foot... yet again.
Re: Re: Re: Re: oh dear
Gotta love watching EA shoot themselves in the foot... yet again.
Without DRM
How many times would Spore have been downloaded if it didn't have DRM?
More or less?
Re: Without DRM
Less.
Without DRM
ajmetz, my fault i know obviously i should have been clearer but i meant that number isnt exclusively people who are having problems with the DRM, id bet a fair proportion of that is just people who would rather just get it for free than pay for it like most other people.
Re: Without DRM
That's obviously true, but the point is that even for a really popular game it has an exceptional amount of illegal downloads. That means that the surplus is being caused by something other than ppl that want a free game.
Why not use a solution which is friendly to honest users
This is a terrible story for 2 parties - legitimate users who simply wanted to play Spore and couldn't because the activation servers went down and EA because Spore was cracked even before it was released.
Often developers walk a tightrope with the tradeoff between protection strength and the degree of impact on legitimate users but this was a failure on both dimensions! Is this really what the publisher wants to 'accomplish'? Why not use a solution which is friendly to honest users, has no impact on development time and the strongest available protection against crackers - see the whitepaper "Is Anti-Piracy/DRM the Cure or the Disease for PC Games?" which can be downloaded here http://www.byteshield.net/byteshield_whitepaper_0005.pdf" onclick="window.open ( this.href ); return false;" class="comment_url" >http://www.byteshi...5.pdf
Re: Why not use a solution which is friendly to honest users
Well I won't be buying it now. 2 of my kids want it and if I want to play it too it looks like that's not going to be possible.
With home PCs it's quite common to frequently change hardware or have to flatten and rebuild the OS. I think EA have made a mistake here.
Isn't economically feasible to buy it
It isn't economically smart, with multiple systems and multiple users in the same house...and one bloody income, to purchase the game and have it become a coaster.
Personally, I just replaced a system thanks to an insurance claim. Would EA take my word for it that I needed to install Spore a 4th time? Nope, if it's not worth it to them to protect the legitimate end-user, then DRM marks the death knell for future PC game development, which is sad, cause I'm really not a console guy.
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