Command and Conquer 4 requires constant internet connection

by Justin McElroy { Jul 14th 2009 at 4:05PM }

Writing on the Command and Conquer Den, community manager Aaron "APOC" Kaufman said that those who play the single-player campaign of Command and Conquer 4 will need to constantly be connected to the internet, in much the same way as players of MMOs. "As of right now, you need to be online all the time to play C&C 4," he explains. "This is primarily due to our 'player progression' feature so everything can be tracked. C&C 4 is not an MMO in the sense of World of Warcraft, but conceptually it has similar principles for being online all the time. While some may be taken aback by this, we've been testing this feature internally with all of our world-wide markets."

OK, indulge us in a bit of conjecture. What strikes us as weird is that, just last week, What They Play editor John Davison said on 1UP's Listen Up that he wouldn't be surprised for games to adopt a streaming model (read: no physical media) by the time C&C 4 is released. It seemed sort of oddly specific at the time, but now we're wondering if there might be more reasons that your computer has to be connected to play. Just saying.

[Via Voodoo Extreme]

Tags: command-and-conquer-4, ea, mmo, net-connection, online, world-of-warcraft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Cabal @ Jul 14th 2009 4:08PM

Well, they just lost a purchase.

Massmass @ Jul 14th 2009 4:26PM

And another.

There's no reason for this. At all. It's lame and obvious why they want to do this.

The reason why I care? I play any game I buy for years on end and I don't appreciate BUYING something only for it to be inevitably crippled later on due to blatant stupidity.

Make this game online only or scrap the "must be connected to the internet AT ALL times".

Ballistic H @ Jul 14th 2009 5:30PM

Guys, Steam requires you to be connected to be able to play. Do you guys have games on steam?

saregos @ Jul 14th 2009 5:38PM

@ Ballistic H

Actually... no. It doesn't. You can run it in offline mode and everything works perfectly well. It may be connected online a lot of the time, but does it *have* to be? No. And I'd suggest next time you do some research before you say something like that, next time.

Damian @ Jul 14th 2009 5:46PM

This game is REALLY going to sell.
/sarcasm

Charax @ Jul 14th 2009 6:39PM

Lost mine too. I've been a fan of the C&C games from the start (I bought many of them twice because I wanted the First Decade pack too) but my net connection is spotty at times and if C&C4's going to throw a fit because my connection dips during a skirmish or single-player game, it's not for me.

EA once again prove that they haven't learnt a damn thing

XGM @ Jul 14th 2009 6:42PM

Yup they have been going downhill with the series ever since EA bought Westwood... I just want a good RTS like the good old Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2, not that playing that stuff on LAN is getting old, but something more modern that is as good or better would be fun to have. As for this MMO bit, they better explain what the hell its all about, because right now im not planning to buy it any time soon.

BigD145 @ Jul 14th 2009 6:57PM

Lost another purchase here.

Skorpeyon @ Jul 15th 2009 7:08AM

Agreed. Single-player, especially since it'll likely require me to have the disc in the machine like every other C&C game, should not require an internet connection. I have a laptop, I want to be able to play my games anywhere, not just places that have wifi.

Meh @ Jul 15th 2009 8:43AM

"if C&C4's going to throw a fit because my connection dips during a skirmish or single-player game, it's not for me."
It just tracks your data, it's not going to exit your game if you lose connection!

Gibbeynater @ Jul 14th 2009 4:11PM

They say MMO-like play, I say the next level of DRM.

devilsei @ Jul 14th 2009 4:21PM

That's exactly what it is, just a different way of applying DRM. Instead of some restrictive install limit, hidden and un-uninstallable "spyware", requirement of CD and/or CDKey, or combination of all three, they instead chose this way. Many have an internet that's constantly connected, so no one will really think about it when they read that.

Yet what happens if your internet gets cut out? Will they just say "F*** you you're a pirate" and not allow those people to play? Be a bloody stupid thing to do, but hey, who ever said the Gaming Industry required common sense.

Zerokku @ Jul 14th 2009 4:25PM

This is just what I was going to come in and comment on. It seems like a convenient excuse to try and prevent piracy. While I applaud trying to prevent piracy, I'm not always connected to the internet when I'm gaming on my latop.

Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 14th 2009 4:31PM

Head of this nail be hurtin pretty bad.

You got it dude. They want to make sure the game you're playing is a legit one. That's all there is to it.

But I really feel sorry for the kids who take their laptops with them to "Internet-less" grandma's house and want to play to escape the boring. What will they do? Won't someone please think of the children?

deaftly @ Jul 14th 2009 4:11PM

My 56k is gonna be pissed!

Platinum_Skeet @ Jul 14th 2009 4:14PM

You can get high speed internet for $15-20 today... Get with the times...

Captain Planet @ Jul 14th 2009 4:16PM

You can get a blowjob from Luenell for half that price.

Mr Khan @ Jul 14th 2009 4:23PM

No you cannot. $30 a month in my area for minimum DSL coverage, upwards of $60 or so for Cable.

MystileArmor @ Jul 14th 2009 4:26PM

My empty bean can and string are going to get pissed!

Courtney @ Jul 14th 2009 4:26PM

I've recently moved to a rural location, and my only real internet solution is an EVDO modem. It's fine for everything I do, but it does lose signal and crash several times a day (imagine being on your cell phone for 12 hours straight, how many times would the call drop?). Would this mean that everytime I had to take five seconds to reset that modem, the game would kick me out, possibly costing me whatever progress I had made?

This is distinctly consumer unfriendly for a game that includes single player content.

Massmass @ Jul 14th 2009 4:33PM

Suburb of Chicago here and guess what? $40-$65 a month for Cable. $30-$40 for DSL when I last checked but the service is horrible.

Seems to me someone else needs to get with the times...

Sly @ Jul 14th 2009 4:48PM

i live in alabama and i pay $30 a month for 20Mbs cable.

Captain Planet @ Jul 14th 2009 5:12PM

WTF is an Alabama?

AerialAngel @ Jul 14th 2009 5:25PM

its a state

Captain Planet @ Jul 14th 2009 5:29PM

Further proof that sarcasm does not translate well over the Interwebz.

Matt Ferens @ Jul 14th 2009 6:26PM

Don't forget people in rural areas who can only get sattelite.

Jrinswand @ Jul 15th 2009 1:47PM

I also live in Alabama, but I haven't seen a 56k connection in at least 8 years. Hell, I have donkeys, horses and goats living across the street from my neighborhood and I still have a 20mb connection.

Platinum_Skeet @ Jul 14th 2009 4:12PM

EA's new anti piracy policy..

"Lets make games require to be played online only like Battlefield 1943 that way no one can steal our games..."

Omega2k3 @ Jul 14th 2009 9:14PM

Wow. Good one. You're so witty.

Jrinswand @ Jul 14th 2009 4:13PM

On the one hand that kind of sucks, but then on the other, I've already gotten used to staying connected to the Internet with every game that I play. Between Steam and FPSs, I'm pretty much always online when I play computer games.

MuToiD_MaN @ Jul 14th 2009 5:15PM

Thank you for your reasonable comment. Is this really any different from anything else we play these days?

EGOvoruhk @ Jul 14th 2009 6:24PM

Steam has an offline mode

MarioSpitza @ Jul 14th 2009 6:54PM

Likewise, if a game decides to implement this sort of thing, I wouldn't really mind either. I'm constantly connected anyway. It's not that I'm a Stream user, but I don't (or know anyone) who disconnects from the Internet, so I don't see it as an issue.

On the other hand, if they are going to implement this, I hope the game just doesn't instantly cut off if your Internet so happens to get disconnected (my router sometimes disconnect me for whatever reason), but go into a pause mode.

Anyway, during discussions of piracy prevention methods a while back, either I (or someone else) suggested this sort of method, but I (and no one as I recall) really gave it credit because it didn't seem like companies would have the balls to implement such a thing and piracy (at least PC) may be enormous, but it's not that bad to require such an extreme method.

Considering we're in a recession and companies have been releasing safe games for as long as video gaming as has been around, I still don't think they have the balls to implement such a extreme method unreasonably, so piracy must be a bigger issue than I thought (after all, I had been surprised before, especially when I heard Crysis/COD4/Sims 2's piracy rate).

Either that or maybe C&C4 really does have something special that requires constant Internet, but I doubt that as of this moment.

Wonderflex @ Jul 14th 2009 6:54PM

@ Mutaoid Man - yes, it's actually really quite different. I don't know of many games where I must be connected to the Internet to play single player mode. In fact, I don't think I own any at all. It doesn't mean they aren't out there.

Also, I have a large lan set-up in my garage without internet access. So now if I want to play I not only have to be connected to the internet, but to even due so I have to upgrade my entire secondary home network.

Snowblind @ Jul 14th 2009 4:13PM

I don't have a problem with games being completely digital, especially if it means it can be used to enhance the gameplay/experience.. It'll be interesting to see how it does that.

I don't understand the need some people have to own a physical copy, after the game is installed, I tend to put away the box somewhere to take up room and never be used again.

AsherR @ Jul 14th 2009 4:18PM

Some people just enjoy have a space in their home/room to display something that they love.

I used to do that, but I just don't want the clutter until I can get a room devoted to that kind of stuff.

Although, I do love Steam and with the savings from the many discounts Valve offers I can do things like buy TF2 posters and Hunters to display my fanaticism.

Jrinswand @ Jul 14th 2009 4:22PM

Yeah, it is just too bad that Valve completely gouges their customers with shipping and handling fees. I was going to buy a $15 TF2 baseball cap, but Valve wanted me to pay $13.50 for shipping and handling. I live in the same fucking country! There is no way I'd ever pay that much for shipping and handling on an item shipped from within my own country.

I've heard that it is even worse for Europeans.

I would really, really like to buy some of the stuff Valve has on offer in the Valve Store, but I refuse to give them any of my money until they charge less for shipping and handling.

AsherR @ Jul 14th 2009 4:30PM

Oh really? I actually haven't bought anything myself from there.

Seems like I now have a good reason....

LaughingMan @ Jul 14th 2009 4:19PM

Anyone who's ever used Steam shouldn't be surprised. Unless you jump through very specific hoops to set up Offline mode in Steam before your internet connection goes off, you can't access single player games like Portal or Half-Life 2.

Kleptomaniac @ Jul 14th 2009 4:31PM

Jump through hoops? I just click "File>Offline mode" and restart steam. Is that jumping through hoops?

Gibbeynater @ Jul 14th 2009 4:32PM

Don't forget, you have to play the games at least once before you can play them offline.

LaughingMan @ Jul 14th 2009 5:22PM

You have to be connected to Steam to enable offline mode for a game. That means if your internet goes out due to inclement weather, or whatever reason, you're SOL. You can't play those games until your internet connection comes back.

saregos @ Jul 14th 2009 5:41PM

Again, no. You only need to activate offline mode once. Maybe once per game, but I haven't even observed that. Anytime after that, if your internet connection craps out, it'll come up asking if you want to play in offline mode.

The only time you should have any issues is if it's in the middle of updating a game when your ISP crashes. Other than that, you're wrong.

Draimen @ Jul 14th 2009 5:50PM

From what I understand, you do not need to be connected to the internet to go into Offline mode at all.

MindTheGap76 @ Jul 14th 2009 4:23PM

I guess we'll see if gamers really are ready for an all-digital future. I think it is something that we'll regret when, 5-10 years from now, we can't go back and revisit old games because servers have been shut off.

It is something I don't mind risking for $10 XBLA-type projects that otherwise wouldn't exist. But I'm very nervous when $50-60 retail games are digital rental licenses rather than a product I physically own.

I hope this falls flat on its face, just like the draconian DRM on Red Alert 3 that EA wisely decided to reconsider.

Crusty Magic @ Jul 14th 2009 4:26PM

You hit the nail on the head.

"But I'm very nervous when $50-60 retail games are digital rental licenses rather than a product I physically own."

BigD145 @ Jul 14th 2009 7:04PM

I've been saying this for years.

AtomicPlayboy @ Jul 15th 2009 12:53AM

This is exactly the issue with this sort of copy protection scheme (that's really what it is), and I don't know why others here don't grasp this fundamental problem (see: "It's just like Steam", "Why do people even want discs?"). I'm playing the original X-Com right now, and if Microprose had used this sort of DRM, I'd have to pay for it again, through Steam or GoG or whatever, in order to be able to play it. Why should I have to pay for the same game twice just because the original company can't support it anymore? Anyone?