Oops. Seems the folks at EA pumped millions of dollars into developing and marketing Spore on every platform short of a pocket calculator, but perhaps they should have sunk a little more of the R&D fundage to combat piracy. Just days after its release, the game is already on the verge of becoming one of the most pirated games in history.
To make matters worse, and to finally get to the point of this post, Spore is getting the treatment on Amazon from disgruntled gamers who think they should get more than three tries to install the game, something forbidden by the SecuROM anti-piracy software. Several thousand one-star reviews have shown up almost overnight, and the trend doesn’t seem to show any sign of stopping. It’s nerd retribution of the dirtiest sort. Amazon has since removed all of the 1 star reviews, but the point was made.
Stupid.
Who? Both sides of this.
EA is dumb for trying to tell hardcore gamers than only 1% of gamers ever install a game more than twice. That’s horse dung and they know it. People who buy a game are buying a license to play that game on their computer. As much as computers are upgraded and tweaked these days, it’s nothing short of silly to put this pig in a dress and tell me it’s a chicken. Just because EA says we don’t reinstall doesn’t mean we actually don’t.
On the flip side, the Amazon ratings stunt is not screwing EA, but your fellow gamers. It’s dishonest and a cheap shot that’s really not going to hurt anyone but our fellow gamers who turn to these types of reviews for honest feedback and insight before making a purchase.
If someone hasn’t played the game, then leaving a one star review on it is lying. Making that person a liar.
In my house we have a mantra ever since my first Xbox controller ended up in the toilet and my son tried to blame it on a “stranger.” When you lie you lose.
But its the same stuff over and over with PC gaming, and it’s one of the reasons that its growth has at the very least been stunted over the years.
Wah Wah! They’re making it harder for me to steal this game! ATTICA!
Wah Wah! People are stealing my game so I am going to screw the people that actually pay for it! ATTICA!
Can’t we all just grow creatures and watch them do it? Is all of this drama necessary?
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15 responses so far ↓
1 Ricochet // Sep 15, 2008 at 11:34 am
Amen brother!
2 Unpro II Bruce // Sep 15, 2008 at 11:56 am
I brought this game and i feel good knowing im helping to pay for spore 2 the people who made this game deserve money for this great game nearly pooped my pants on the space stage of spore well worth £25 and no pissing about with cracks and download time
3 Eddiemilz // Sep 15, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I don’t condone piracy, but when gamers have the option to spend £30 ($60) on a game stuffed with DRM and limitations, or just download it overnight for free… lol you can see what i mean.
The only thing they’re missing out on is the online play.
I personally havn’t picked up spore yet, ‘cuz (even though i doubt i’d go over the 3 install-limit) i just think it’s wrong on EA’s behalf. If i gave them my money i’d be letting them get away with it
4 SpiralGray // Sep 15, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I just went to Amazon and there are 2,134 1-star reviews for the game. I read last week that they had blamed the removal on a ‘glitch’ and the reviews were back up.
5 Strandli // Sep 15, 2008 at 12:30 pm
personally, I don’t want to play Spore, I just play the good version of the stages. If I want to build a civilization, I get Civilization. If I want to conquer other tribes, I play AoM or C’n'C… The only think which impresses me with Spore, is the creaturecreator… No money from me EA!!
6 jjmac383 // Sep 15, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I want to play this game but i won’t because of the draconian DRM it’s ridiculous and a blight on the face of games everywhere. I’m not big into piracy but this is the one game i’ve seriously considered pirating only so i could actually play it, of course then I would actually buy it so i didn’t feel bad but then there’d be no DRM
7 Awoll SGF // Sep 15, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Alright, Doc… It’s taken me years to admit it…
Sorry about your Xbox Controller.
I NEVER thought you’d look there…
8 SWSilentkiller // Sep 15, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Why is it that game devs or the publishers anyway don’t seem to learn that the more piracy protection you put on something the more it is going to get pirated. I mean look at Stardock, the guys behind Sins of a Solar Empire. They put little copy protection on that game and it is hardly pirated (please correct me if I am wrong).
9 FlintSteelton // Sep 15, 2008 at 5:05 pm
DRM is killing the platform in my opinion. Here’s a site with lots of info about the subject. http://reclaimyourgame.com/
10 Granite // Sep 16, 2008 at 4:00 am
The other thing is that the extremely limitin copy protection [i]didn’t work.[/i] Most developers will admit that copy protection only works for a week or two at most. With Spore, there was a cracked version circulating on the internet three days before the UK release, and 6 days before the U.S. release. The DRM does absolutely nothing to restrict piracy, it only restricts legitimate users.
11 LC // Sep 16, 2008 at 4:11 am
They’re all hypocrites and thieves! If there so opposed to drm then they shouldn’t bought the game or downloaded it illegally.
When they choose to steal the game they give ea and other companies who make bad games or implement restrictive software an out.
When these companies talk about lost sales, the key component of that argument shouldn’t be piracy, it should be your game sucked or your game was anti-consumer.
Anyone who pirates this game or any other game is a thief and a pussy!
12 slik1000 // Sep 16, 2008 at 6:24 am
I think it is right to put a one star review of the game on Amazon (if you paid for the game, which I did). I figure that it’s rating the experience that you have, and my experience is ALREADY growing short, because I installed a driver! A DRIVER! I can’t reccomend this game to anyone, and I think it is the right of people to be told that they are basically buying into a scam.
EA seem to put copy protection on their games because they are a public company, and their shareholders want it. What they don’t seem to notice (or even care about) is that DRM doesnt work, and that it causes a PR nightmare.
13 Samer // Sep 16, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I gladly put a 1 star review up. This is for EA and their BS DRM. We’re not going to get anything done buying the game and politely discussing the DRM on message boards how we don’t like the fact we only have 3 installs. We have to hit them where it HURTS! Strike at the audiences that EA was trying to capture by guiding people away from the game who wouldn’t know any better. And if that means they can’t play a good game, then that sucks. No one said there wouldn’t be any casualties.
14 Doc // Sep 16, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Okay, well its official. I am in the minority here.
I think both sides are ridiculous and need to chill the hell out.
15 sp4ngle // Sep 17, 2008 at 2:31 am
“EA is dumb for trying to tell hardcore gamers than only 1% of gamers ever install a game more than twice.”
You’re right, but for the wrong reason. I think the statistic is true - I don’t believe, out of the millions of copies sold, more than 1% will be installed more than twice. I’m not a hardcore gamer. I get bored of games quickly. If I uninstall a game, I seldom get round to reinstalling it unless it was very special. I’ve all ready moved on to the next thing.
However, EA is dumb for trying to use that as a persuasive argument against the complaints of hardcore gamers. Hardcore gamers mix in hardcore gamer circles, and would find the quoted statistic pretty unbelievable. Even Doc doesn’t believe it, and I wouldn’t consider him to be a “hardcore” gamer.
The bottom line is 1% (probably less) of the copies won’t be reinstalled more than twice, and EA isn’t really bothered about that 1%.
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