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stories filed under: "securom"
(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick

Fri, Dec 5th 2008 6:30pm


Filed Under:
downloads, drm, piracy, securom, spore, video games

Companies:
ea



Spore's DRM So Effective It Was The Most Downloaded Game Of The Year

from the nice-work,-EA dept

It never really made sense for EA to be so insistent on having draconian DRM on games. Before the company even launched Spore people made it quite clear the plan would backfire, but EA went forward with it anyway, creating a PR nightmare. And all for what? Turns out (not surprisingly) the DRM didn't do squat to stop unauthorized file sharing. Spore has now been declared the most downloaded video game of the year. And, even though the year's not over, no other game is going to catch up. And, it's worth noting, the game only launched in October, so this is only over a couple of months. In other words, EA's "antipiracy strategy" backfired almost completely. The company got a huge PR blackeye which probably only encouraged more people to download the game via file sharing. Can someone explain, again, why any company thinks DRM works?

75 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Dec 1st 2008 3:53am


Filed Under:
drm, grand theft auto, securom

Companies:
rockstar games



Rockstar To Use SecuROM DRM On Grand Theft Auto

from the not-smart dept

Given the incredibly negative reaction that many video gamers have been giving any video game that uses the rather draconian SecuROM DRM system, you would think that most video game companies would think twice about using it. Yet, apparently, Rockstar has decided to move forward in using it on the PC release of Grand Theft Auto IV. It won't be quite as draconian as Spore in that there won't be a limit on the number of installs, but the whole thing makes very little sense. The DRM won't stop the game from being pirated -- and once a single copy is available, it will be available everywhere. While Rockstar also claims that cracked copies will have some hidden easter eggs that make the game somewhat unplayable, it's quite likely that folks will figure out ways around those changes as well. In other words, it's not actually going to stop any piracy, but it may serve to annoy legitimate purchasers. So why bother?

58 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
Legal Issues

Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Nov 10th 2008 1:39am


Filed Under:
class action, drm, lawsuits, securom, spore

Companies:
ea



EA Sued Repeatedly Over DRM

from the don't-piss-off-your-customers dept

We had already pointed out one class action lawsuit filed against EA for its use of SecuROM DRM on the game Spore, but it appears that others are getting in on the act as well. GamePolitics has news of two more class action lawsuits filed against EA over its DRM choices. At some point, you have to wonder if this is just people piling on and hoping to win a cash settlement out of EA -- but again it does demonstrate how short-sighted the DRM decision was on the part of EA.

Considering that the game is available to download as an unauthorized file on various file sharing systems, it's pretty clear that the DRM did absolutely nothing to prevent any piracy on the game. However, it did significantly harm the company's reputation, and now they have to spend time and money fending off lawsuits. My guess is that the money spent on these lawsuits, combined with the revenue not recognized from folks who planned to buy the game but didn't because of all this, will actually greatly outweigh any real "losses" from piracy.

86 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
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