Let starcraft 2 be DRM-free

as many of you know, spore has been release on september 7th. but to many gamers horror the game has been smashed for having terrible Digital Rights Management. What this means is that when you buy the game, you can only install it a total of 3 times. after that, in the case of Spore, you have to contact EA and ask and in some times BEG for another authentication. you need to have proof of purchase and a feasible reason for another activation. this was made in order to prevent pirates from pirating the game. which is funny, its been torrented a couple nights prior to release.

to add more to this, the game installs a spyware-type program into your computer that monitors system specs, IP address, and a few other things and if you change any of these, (like if you rebuilt your computer or reformat your computer) you need to reauthenticate by reinstalling the game. so people who actually pay for the game are stuck with a rented/leased copy of spore but the pirates get a spyware free version of spore for free.

now i didnt come to talk to you about spore. im just saying that Starcraft 2 could be next, and heres why.

- starcraft 2 has been in developement for a while, just like spore
- starcraft 2 has millions of dollars spent in developement

after all this time and money went into Starcraft 2, Activision Vivendi (Blizzard) will want to maximize profits by taking pirates out of the picture.

BLIZZARD, please dont do this to us!!

I forgot to say that the spyware program stays on your computer and is always running in the background, constantly monitoring ur computer and slows down your system as a whole.

 

Hey there, dude. I strongly agree that Blizzard should not torture us like this - another example of this is Halo 2 for Vista. I'm sure Blizzard won't screw us over, though.

PS: Please use the edit button, do not double post!

 

First thing's first: DRM's never stop pirates. EVER. If anything it encourages it while punishing legit customers (Thank you EA). In fact, games with without DRM happen to have more favorable reviews and are more popular than those with strict DRM's (Sins of a Solar Empire is a good example). This is Blizzard we're talking about. I trust they know enough about their customers to not put a DRM on SC2.

 

I really, really don't think blizzard with implement anything near as horrifically stupid as DRM. However EA (and all companies with any relation at all with the gaming industry) should realize that by putting out these "fail safes" all they're really doing is turning away legitimate customers by spamming them with completely useless attempts to stop piracy. The DRM system (and anything like it) are doing nothing but encouraging piracy by making it actually more advantageous to download the game via torrent than buy it.

 

Really I never download pirated games. Just music for full albums but I really do think that its really stupid how they have implanted Spore with that kind of stuff. Like seriously you paid for the game, and its useless doing that. People could just hack the game and make up some serial (Crack). I'm not sure how it works but cracks will go right through their plan to prevent pirating.

I also hope Blizzard won't back stab us and spit on us. I know they are smarter than to torture their customers. I hope.

 

im pretty sure Blizzard will not do this to us. they will probably let you install it just like starcraft 1.

-Zerks

 

Even though i don't think EA was particularly smart putting this system in place. PC game piracy is damaging the industry a fair bit. The company that made COD4 said that they have detected a very large amount of illegal copies on their network which they predicted dropped revenue from the game significantly.

Companies need to find a way of stopping piracy, i don't care how much crap they put on my system if it means they are able to keep making games. Of course EA's doesn't work so its total craap.

 

It is true that no matter what, Pirates will ALWAYS be able to bypass these systems. If there ever happens to be a good system to prevent pirating, i'm sure some hackers or something would find a way to get around it.

End point: We all love Blizzard, Blizzard loves us all. Blizzard wouldn't do this do us,

 

Not necessarily. Just look at World of WarCraft. Anyone who tries to pirate World of WarCraft'll just get stuck at the login window because it's the account itself that's needed, not the game. Anyone who plays it has to have an account and therefore has to pay. It's the perfect system. Obviously this only works for games where you pay per month, and you'll always find people who play on private servers, but the system does work.

Also it's a sweet deal for people who run internet cafe's. All they gotta do is get a single copy of World of WarCraft and have internet connection and people'll pay them to play a game they're already paying to play.

 

There's already ways to play spore without ever using your first "credit" for this rental.. All it does is anger the fans and punish the people who bought the game and don't know about cracks.

 

Im pretty positive that blizzard won't put this on the game, why? because their fanbase is huge, they make millions of sells even with pirates, plus the cd-key to get on b.net is good enough...

Im sure blizzard won't disappoint us.

 

I see what's going on with Spore. I did buy the game but I think what EA did with it is wrong. The rotten slimebags. And if I am renting the game from them. Then when do I have to give the game back? As rentals aren not for ever you know. Just like the video store.

And about SC 2. I think Battle.net is the way Blizzard should be going with this. Of course everyone knows that is the way most Blizzard games are played. Online and through that. They should just clamp down on those things and it really hard to get a game on Battle.net wothout purchasing the actual game. Like having to register the game on there with rego number needed before you could play there.

But single player would be fine without it. And that'd be ok as there wouldn't be that many players who's play single player only.

And for the thing about you can only install the game X number times. X being 3 in the case of spore. If I saw the person in EA who thought of that idea I'd hit him in the face. Yes I would. That's just idiotic. I don't think Blizzard are that silly to do something like that.

I bought Spore cause I really like the Maxis team. But I always hated EA. So to help a nice guy I'm helping out an idiot as well. Oh well.

I think Battle.net and loyalty to Blizzard for doing the right thing should be enough for enough people to buy the game. I just hope Activision don't screw over Blizzard like EA did to Maxis with the whole DRM issue.

 

Does it really matter that you can only install it three times? I mean, how many computers do you want this thing on? I haven't bought it yet, 'cause I'm in the middle of my exam block, but I couldn't care less if they only let you install it once. Why do you need to be able to install Spore an infinite number of times?

 

Why should you have a finite number of installs? When (Not if.) you use all of those installs.. What will you do then? Buy the game again?

 

So you install it once, then you have to call them to let you install again. Well, what if you have an issue with that computer and you need to reinstall Windows, or even better, SCII has an issue and you have to reinstall it! That will become a frustration real fast. Why do they feel they need to limit it, anyway? There is a reason DRM is a very....small idea that not many companies are jumping onto. It just pisses people off, and they end up pirating the game and installing cracks to bypass the DRM feature. Might as well try to appease your customers instead of putting them in a maze with only 1 *or 3* ways out.

 

i had to reinstall WoW 4 times so far, due to virusses and errors

 

Well, guys, I see valid points here but I don't think this applies to Blizzard at all.

DRM is a terrible solution to pirating but EA is part of the RIAA which endorses this technique. For some reason the people at the RIAA refuse to believe that the system doesn't work and still think it's a good idea. Why? No one knows.

Blizzard has for a long time backed a separate system of CD keys. EA does not. Part of the reason, I believe, is that EA enjoys collecting your data without your consent. Blizzard, as you will notice when you install their games, always ASKS for your non-specific information.

Blizzard = asks
EA = takes

I have discussed the verification issue with Blizzard and the sense I have gotten is that they will approach the issue with a CD-key per account style. Each account you have will be linked to your CD key much as it is in WoW and WC3. You can change your name all you want and/or delete the account and create a new one, but you still need one valid key per account.

This is truly the best way to do it. It also allows you to play games with your friends over LAN as there is no limit of installs.

So fear not, I'm very confident that this is the way Blizzard will approach it and they will continue to separate themselves from the idiocy of their competitors like EA.

 

Yes.. I know Blizzard is better than EA. But, I feel sorry for Spore and Command & Conquers fans right now

 

@ TychusFindlay. If you do manage to burn through three installs;

Provided you've got a legit reason, which you should, and proof of purchase, which you should, just contact them.

@ CyberPitz. I never said that I feel there should be a limit, I just said it doesn't really matter that there is. If you have to reinstall Windows three times before you're finished with the game, I don't think your Spore account's your main problem. StarCraft's a completely different game. If StarCraft1's anything to go by, StarCraft2's going to be around for a long time, and it's understandable that you might need to reinstall it a fair few times over those years, but that's not really the case with Spore. You're right that it pisses people off, but it pisses people off for no reason.

 

the reason why it pisses me off is that we are buying a rented/leased version of the game. if i buy a game there should be no limits to the amount of installs i get because well, computers arent like XBOX's. your always having to make mods and adjustments to your pc, and the spyware that gets installed into your computer when you install the game is very sensitive and will detect if youve messed around with your computer and you will have to reinstall spore. plus, i should only need proof of purchase to return a game in the event of a defect, not to reinstall my game a 4th time.