Spore, Mass Effect to require online validation every 10 days

Damned be the damned!

My current gaming PC has no internet (curses to Vista). Guess I better get on trying to get my computer back on the internet before Spore comes out.

And, yes, I hate you now, EA. Very much.

I want to know what Will Wright thinks about this.

god, not again!

This ia a total non-issue. For 99% of people its gonna be totally invisible.. and its the same systems that has already been done on loads of games.

I hate restrictive DRM as much as everyone else... but this is totally NON-restrictive DRM. Its not evil and doesn't mess with your system like starforce. The requirement is clearly pointed out on the box.

Plus it lets you play the game without a DVD in the drive, just like steam.

All the people saying they won't buy it now, or will pirate it were obviously planning to do so anyway.. and using this as a transparent excuse it just pathetic. Grow up!

I'm going to make myself really unpopular and admit that this really doesn't bother me that much. As long as it works the way it's supposed to and their validation servers don't crack under pressure I don't see me ever caring that it's phoning home.

And for all you damn pirates who are complaining about this, I'm wondering if you're seeing the irony as THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.

And the viscous circle of crap fostering crap continues.

EA has just lost a customer. No Spore for me until they remove this online validation nonsense.

Count me as another lost customer. And to any and all pointing out that DRM titles sell better, do a search for Galactic Civilization or Sins of a Solar Empire. The producer of those games Stardock outright refused any DRM on the basis of their customers not wanting it. And Sins has been one of the best selling PC game in years.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080320-pc-game-developer-has-radical-message-ignore-the-pirates.html

Hold up...

If I'm a pirate, why would I give even a hint of a shit about this?

I typically buy the game, install it, then crack the shit out of it so I can play it without the disc/DRM/whatever. Downloading it takes too long (I'm impatient) and I hate having to swap out the disc for a disc check.

I am confused. I live in a place where dial-up is the only option due to no clear view of the southern sky. When I need to use the internet, I will use the library in my town which is 30 miles away from my house.

Am I to understand that I will need to sign up for dial-up to play a single player game that has no online gameplay element? If this is widely adopted, I will not even be able to play a single player PC game on my home computer?

I just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly, if I am wrong, I apologize in advance for the rant.

I was going to buy it (Mass Effect) looks like I won't be.. I will however still play it and enjoy it with the DRM stripped out. Good job BioWare! keep shooting yourself in the foot and blame it on piracy, you are forcing people to it.

Good thing this was resolved, at least in ME's case

I believe Jeremy from Pure Pwnage but it oh-so eloquently:

"EA can suck mah balls. The E on the right one, and the A on the left one."

I hate EA

It's BS like this that results in thousands (millions?) of people stealing computer games. This type of DRM is despicable.

I doubt EA is concerned about its loss of sales due to pirates, although they will tell consumers they are. They seem more concerned with loss of sales due to multiple home users using 1 copy to pass around between all the family members' PCs. If a family of 4 were to use the same 1 purchased game, the company thinks it just lost $180 in potential sales. The ideal future for gaming they've rigged up will be something like MS Windows only being able to run on 1 machine, with a hefty price tag attached.

They are free to do this. They are a private company offering a non essential service. We as consumers are free to NOT PURCHASE their crap for outrageous prices. The more we buy, the more we put up with, is the more we will be screwed by them.

If you don't like what they offer, don't buy,instead BOYCOTT. Buy from game makers that do not require internet connection to play a single player offline game. Take the time the make your voice be heard, and take the time to not hand over your hard earned cash so easily.

so, if im correct. Not playing this game for 10 causes you to never be able to play it again without illegally downloading it or purchasing it again 0.0'

and they expect to sell copies -_-'