Slashdot Mirror
Battlefield 2142 to Bundle Spyware?
An anonymous reader writes "Kotaku reports on a Shacknews Post. Battlefield 2142, the new Electronic Arts game, is expected to include mandatory spyware in the retail package. The software will apparently monitor web browser and other computer usage; this information will be used to deliver targeted in-game advertisements. Other popular game titles have included spyware in the past to aid anti-cheating measures. Is spyware acceptable to the public when it comes with a game, or has EA made a PR misstep?"
I always love to have as many backround processes running as possible!
no
Now, it will have to be rated 18+
Because a game that does something I would never let a game do dang well better be free. Not to mention the computer I use to play it (or whatever system it's on). Because I sure as heck am not wasting good money on this. Yeah, it's a good idea, but I don't need another avenue for anyone to throw their products in my face. I get enough of that already.
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
So this is why they need dualcore for the new games.
and paid for 2142 via EA's downloader - and the EULA made no mention of this.
Now either the kotaku is imagining bits of paper, the online purchased version is magically pure or EA are about to get themselves a huge class-action kicking.
I loved BF2, shelled out for the hit-or-miss expansion packs and already felt slightly narked off. I think this is the final straw - wish me luck on getting a refund.
Interesting to a point - I really could care less about in-game adds, but monitoring all of my internet traffic and placing in-game adds?
3 thoughts on this:
#1 - It probably won't be long before someone develops a web browser wrapper that 'fakes' site visits.
#2 - How explicitly does EA describe what they're collecting and how? If they're scanning my cookies, that's one thing. Directly monitoring packets is another level of bad.
#3 - How long do you think it will be before some adult site that daddy was visiting gets into Jr's game because everyone logs in on one account? I can see the laywers salivating......
What? You can't be serious! Oh wait.... You are?
/.ers, is this the starting of the end of privacy? Whatever happened too good old gaming.
Now really, who will get all this money for advertising? The consummer still needs to buy the game, right? So what, all this spyware and ads revenue is a "bonus" to the game developer? If the game would be offered for free upon installation of this spyware, I would then accept it. I would get myself another HDD with another Windows installation just for that game.
My fellow
The hip way to get your IP. No ads, ever.
Is spyware acceptable to the public when it comes with a game, or has EA made a PR misstep?
It's only a big PR misstep if the general public is informed that this is a horrible idea. If it's just a couple of geeks muttering, it's not a problem at all (since most of /. hates EA already).
Therefore, I suggest telling all your friends that EA will be watching their every step online and they'll be open to identity theft. Come to think of it, would EA have pr0n ads in game if that's what your browsing history indicated? Now that would be hilarious.
"Billy! Why is there a naked lady in your game?!? Someone get me Jack Thompson on the phone, because it's time to sue!"
So EA/Dice has a really unstable, memory- and processor time-hogging bastard of an engine that'd barely run well even if it had exclusive hardware access, now they want to run more and really nasty stuff too? They just could have made a new game instead of an overhyped, overpriced and unnecessary mod. That's one more copany I won't be buying from anymore.
This crash was brought to you by Dodge. Buy bigger cars.
Fight hunger. Filet a politician and send him to a 3rd world country of your choice.
Heck, will the game stop functioning if the spyware server is shut down sometime in the future? What a great way to stop secondhand sales, just remote-disable all copies of the software from your end by not allowing it to authenticate.
Firstly, I hate spyware, but don't we all.
It seems to me that this is a bit of a double dip on their end. I could see putting up with this if it was actully financing "free" content that I could receive down the road. Professional caliber add-ons for example.
Some Questions remain
1. Can you turn off the spyware?
2. If so will it still be feature complete with the spyware turned off?
3. Will it uninstall when the game uninstalls?
4. What new security holes does this open?
5. Will the upfront purchase price be subsidized by this spyware?
-Lemur
I stopped buying EA games a few years ago after bizarre experience interviewing with Maxis. I was going for a high end programming job and everyone I interviewed with posed a question that was clearly straight out of their current task list. I gave good answers to everything and everyone seemed happy and impressed. I even exchanged some followup emails with one developer about a particularly odd math algorithm he had been working on. They seemed eager to have me onboard. Then the HR dept stepped in. Clearly they were still chained to EA and disconnected from Maxis. She determined that I was a low level system admin and even though we had discussed salary in the 120-140 range she said because I was just a system admin they could only offer me 40k. Cue twilight-zone music. I tried to explain to her that I was a senior developer and had just spent two days interviewing with all of the other deveopers there. Apparently this pissed her off something awful. I tried to contact some of the people I had interviewed with and she had forbidden them to speak with me. Real nice. So I figured that if HR runs the shop, it must be hell to work for. I have never heard anything positive from any EA owned shop's employee. I joined the developer's boycott of EA at that point and chalked it up as a lesson learned. Despite the fact that the Battlefield series of games looks really pretty, I still won't support EA. They do dirty business and destroy small studios. I wish there were some way to support the developers who bleed for them without contributing the the hateful machine that the conglomerate has become. Just my $0.02
Spyware is malware, if it installs without the user's consent, and then silently phones home with your usage information in the interest of forcing advertisements on you. If this game is really going to do this, then I'll boycott it.
/* No Comment */
I think a company should release a "game" where the point of the software is to monitor how the computer user, uses their computer. At the end of the day the "game" reports the results to the maker of the software, and gives the user points, based on how much porn, violence, and YouTube the user consumed. Sending emails to family decreases the score, while sending emails to people you meet online increases your score. The user's score could be displayed in the corner of the screen at all times, and the rules of the game wouldn't be made known to them, they could only see the result of the score after they take an action, and thus act how they think the game is supposed to be played.
That wouldn't be spyware, that would be "fun".
Oh You POS
The representatives of DICE (the developers, EA is the publisher) have now clarified on the forums that it only records what ads you look at and for how long you look at them - it does not monitor your browsing habits, your cookies, or your hard drive.
Or so they say...
But even if it's not spying on my pr0n, I still have problems with paying full price for a game and having it be supported by ads. If they want to knock off $10 and give me in-game ads, that's fine by me. I consider it a fair trade. But the recent ad craze in the video game industry is not lowering prices, it's just creating more revenue for the game publisher.
And since EA is not only charging for cheat codes and adopting **AA tactics on torrents I've decided to stop buying EA products - even Spore.
I just called GameStop and cancelled my preorder.
I was all excited to pick it up and play, too. Just itching to order a new video card (over instead of buying a new Mac) to play this and a handful of other gems on. Guess I'll be sticking with the 360.
The line must be drawn here. Not even this far, certainly not any farther!
Business practices such as these really are an insult to the community. 'You're going to take our crap and like it!' - and the shitty part is that people do, over and over again. Stop cramming advertisements up my ass - I don't care about your shitty product. If I get my arm blown off in 2142, I don't want to see an advert for Bandaids. I certainly am not interested in a Dodge Neon.
I hope the lack of my sale takes money out of your pocket twice. I'll be encouraging all of my friends to cancel their preorders, now, and some of them are significantly more paranoid about Crapware than I am.
Informatus Technologicus
The Software may incorporate technology developed by IGA Worldwide Inc. ("IGA") (the "Advertising Technology"). The purpose of the Advertising Technology is to deliver in-game advertisements to you when you use the Software while connected to the Internet. When you use the Software while connected ot the Internet, the Advertising Technlogy may record your IP address and other anonymouse information ("Advertising Data"). The Advertising Data is temporarily used by IGA to enable the presentation and measurement of in-game advertisements and other in-game objects which are uploaded temporarily to your personal computer or game console and changed during online game play. The Advertising Technology does not collect any personally identifiable information about you, and EA will ont provide IGA with any of your personally identifiable information. The servers used by the Advertising Technology may, from time to time, be located outside your country of residence. If you are located within the European Union, the servers may be located outside the EU.
By installing and using the Software, you agree to: (i) the transfer of the Advertising Data to servers located outside your country of residence and, if applicable, outside the European Union; (ii)the collection and use of the Advertising Data as described in this Section; and (iii) the delivery of advertising and marketing content by the Advertising Technology. IF YOU DO NOT WANT IGA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, OR TRANSMIT THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, DO NOT INSTALL OR PLAY THE SOFTWARE ON ANY PLATFORM THAT IS USED TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET."
slashdot troll = you make a compelling argument I do not like the implications of.
And the software is only activated when you are not playing the game and only while surfing the web.
Phew! What a relief! It sounded like spyware for a moment there.
Maybe I'm just naïve, but a firewall should be able to block the program from accessing the internet. Sure, you still have a background process running on your machine, but at least it's not invading your privacy. On the other hand, if it accesses the 'net through BF2142 you're gonna have a problem.
/. story says though, it may be a big PR misstep. If gamers experience lag or their computer crashes because of this new software, there's going to be hell to pay for EA. Therefore, EA better make damn sure their software is bug free and totally unobtrusive. Even then, gaming sites may make such a big deal out of it that they'll back off.
On another note, this trend of adverts in games is becoming alarming. Is this the "next-gen" of ad placement? As the
I hope they do, because if EA is allowed to do this it could set a very bad precedent.
-Parallax
They're all offensive, none more so than one that leaks my personal data to a company just because I bought a VIDEO GAME they wrote? Why should I accept that!?
Seriously, what the hell?
If i buy BF2142, which I won't, then I've already given my share to the developers and anyone else that deserves to get paid. It would be a whole other matter if the game was free, or significantly cheaper, but it's not.
Basically, I PAY lots of money to GET ads, and there's not even a way to pay MORE to get RID of them!
Blog -
Yes Starforce is EVIL, yes unskippable cutscenes are EVIL, yes doctored screenshots are EVIL, yes Ads in agmes are totally EVIL, but this the bullshit you get from what I laughable call the 'triple A' industry.
Most indie games have none of that crap. I am very loud and blatant about not pulling any stunts like those for my games. Plus theres no console approval board between me and my customers, and no console licence fee either.
Dont lump in the good old indie dev with the scum who pull stunts like this.
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
Oh, you mean in this post, where he refutes this entire story, directly and succinctly ?
6 6802&postcount=27
/. editors to add an Update to this story with a link to this post.
http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/showpost.php?p=
I hereby call on the
Companies will scream "free speech" if states try to outlaw "mandatory, up-front-in-your-face-we-told-you-its-here" spyware.
BUT if states use the "minors don't have full rights to engage in contracts" logic, they CAN restrict purchase of such software to people over the age of 18 and withstand court challenge.
THAT is one way to curb such evil.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
From the actual box disclaimer (linked in another's post) it appears that the software is used to monitor and/or distribute how often the in-game ads are viewed, not the browser etc. This bring a few questions:
a) Does said software run when the game isn't running
b) Does it connect on a specific port or to a specific IP (can I block it)
c) Where is this info located besides in-box. If a user has opened the box, most outlets will not accept a return
d) Can somebody give a working link/email for EA's complaints department
Battlefield 2142 isn't Vista only. How about even trying to find out facts before start rantting about MS's Evil Empire.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a MMORPG deserve neither Liberty nor a MMORPG."
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/ojibewa/214 2ads.jpg g
Scanned straight from the paper in the box.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/7315/igavy2.jp
Another good shot with the box.. Way to go EA....
Maybe they could change the TK punish system so instead of subtracting 6 points, it makes you watch a 30 second advertisement. Now that would be a punishment.
I Heart Sorting Networks
I believe this software already exists, it's called AOL, comes on a CD.. maybe you've seen it?
No, what will be illegal is all the people who don't buy it, then download the torrent with the spyware removed/disabled. Way to go EA, encourage people to illegally obtain your product because the legal version sucks...This is like the online music/DRM argument all over again. When are companies going to learn - people will not pay extra (or anything) for software that comes with undesireable features, if they can get the same software elsewhere without said features.
"But this one goes to 11!"
Spend $50
Hell if it has ads on it then I want the game for free. Why should I pay for the game when they will be generating money from ads geared towards me?
Can I bum a sig?
"I see you've been 'pwned', would you be interested in Viagra(tm) so you can feel like a man again?"
"I see you've been playing for over 4 hours, would you be interested in a coupon for Preperation H?"
"Your browser is open in the background to 'www.HornyTeenSluts.com', could I interest you in singles available in your area?"
"I was scanning your email while you were playing and found a letter from what appears to be your girlfriend who is breaking up with you. Could I interest you in a special at 1-800-FLOWERS? No? How about those available singles I mentioned before?"
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Here is my quick and dirty translation of the salient parts:
From that post: "Data will only be gathered from in game. Web browsing and other profiling data is not being gathered."
What data can be collected "in game" that would be useful to advertisement in game?
"The purpose of the gathering is to determine if an ad is viewed by players."
When he says, "viewed by players" does that mean viewed in game, or with a web browser?
Yeah, and then the chinese ex-WoW-Gold-farmers would start spewing spam offering to "surf you long time" to drive up your score.
And neither do I...
However I do have an issue with information about what I use my computer for (even when I'm NOT playing the game!) being gathered!
If they want to serve me in-game ads... well... blizzard's been doing that for years with Diablo 2 (well when you're on battlenet in-between games at least) and you haven't seen any firestorm of complaints raised there.
It's not the in-game ad issue that ticks me off, it's the spyware.
Also, from the insert in the BF2142 case: (Their caps)
I smell a class-action suit. Can you imagine all those hapless people who buy this not knowing about the spyware, and are confronted with a piece of paper telling them not to play the game they paid $50 for, unless they want their browsing habits picked at by marketing bots?
Honestly, I don't really care. I mean, I do... It kinda bugs me, but I figure there's no way EA is getting out of this unscathed, and they will have to make amends. (On top of removing the spyware.) In the meantime, I like the game, so what the hell?
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
Look, BF1942 was the best thing I had ever played. BFV kind paled in comparison-- mostly because I couldn't find any decent mods for it... and frankly there weren't any good maps. Then I went out and bought computer so I could play BF2. I litearally pulled the BF2 specs and made sure they were covered in my purchase. I am very disappointed w/ BF2. Why? Because I had to login to their servers in order to play the full game. I paid full price just so I could play part of a game. That urked me to no end! And they didn't have any good maps... unless you registered. It's only saving grace was the Modding community. They had maps, weapons... and they made the game play a lot better than what EA could do. And now they want to spy on me when I'm not playing the game? I'm already miffed that game play sufferes when the net is down... what the J.H.C. am I supposed to do when I'm waiting on the cable guy?!?!? Now EA expects me to pay to let a third party on to my computer just so I can probably play a half of the game? No thank you! Isn't this like an auto sales man selling you the car and then saying, "Oh, you have to drive my grandmother to work, so we can better serve you". That's CRAP.
Have you actually read the disclaimer? It specifically says "in-game". The quote on shacknews omits that, and adds other (scarier) words that aren't actually in the disclaimer. Pure FUD.
So according to that post on the BF2142 forum, the IGA code will record the amount of time a player has an advertisement in their view? Eventually players will try avoiding looking at ads, perhaps because there's a slight framerate loss, perhaps because they just dont like looking at ads. EA will get annoyed with low ad view counts and hire ad snipers to hide in the ads, forcing players to constantly have to look at ads as they walk through town. **over ventrillo** Guy1: Sh!t, there's a sniper in the Maxi Pads billboard! Guy2: Maxi Pads, wtf? I only see a Krispy Kreme billboard **bam** Guy1: Yeah that's the guy. Guy2: Sigh.
If you play the demo, you come to realize that Battlefield 2142 is just a full-conversion mod to Battlefield 2.
* Engine is almost exactly the same - don't even think they added HDR.
* Gameplay feels like BF2 with the addition of a couple mechs on the map, and "hover-style" vehicles stolen from Tribes.
* More unlocks than BF2. At least in BF2, you started with a full arsenal. You have to UNLOCK GRENADES!
* Significantly less classes, which I think takes away from the game.
Titan mode sounds good, except that the corridors are too damn dark and compact to have been designed by anyone competent. Playing inside the Titan is no fun, especially in a game known for it's extravagant outdoor battlescapes. It's like they purposefully took a step backwards.
Speaking of taking steps backwards, the infantry combat really suffers compared to the the improvements made in BF2. With the mechs and agile hover vehicles, infantry combat now seems even less important. Also, the cap points on the demo map are really spread out, so it you can't get a vehicle at spawn, the game turns into "find a vehicle." In BF2, by contrast, the cap points are typically close enough that you could reach most of them on foot. Perhaps if you gave all the infantry jet packs....no, wait, then you'd have Tribes.
In fact, the more I look at the game, the more I want to call it Tribesfield 2142. All the vehicles and base-killing of Tribes without a single jetpack.
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.