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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?"
Now, it will have to be rated 18+
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.
Wow...I realize that we are on the slippery slope of losing any semblance of privacy, but I did not realize that gamers were headed toward a cliff.
Spyware to monitor your non-gaming behavior to better target advertising? Can you imagine the other uses for this information? The secondary market for this information may yield a revenue stream that eclipses their software license revenue...especially since this spyware will be, in some perverted sense, legitimate.
Count me out EA. This is one frog that is jumping out of the pot of water.
The community has already started to lash out at this: http://www.gamersradio.com/games/battlefield_2142/ top_13_reasons_why_i_am_not_buying_battlefield_214 2.html
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
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.
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.
Hey man, if EA Games wants to advertise for reality porn and hentai anime in their video games, by all means please install spyware on my system. For extra points, include free 7-day trial on each site advertised.
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....
"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
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.