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EA Denies DRM Problems With Sims 2

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the typical-mmo-company-response dept.

Fizzlefist writes "For the past 2 weeks there has been an uproar on the Sims 2 forums concerning the inclusion of Sony's SecuROM DRM software in the latest expansion pack, Bon Voyage. It seems paid customers have been having problems since day one of release, but EA is only now, 5 weeks later, issuing an official statement on the matter. A lot of what's in the statement is outright fiction with proven reports of issues with disabling of disc burning software, optical disc drives, printers, cameras, system slowdown and even system crashes. Fan responses have been cold to say the least. Interestingly enough, the expansion pack was cracked and up on the internet less than 24 hours after its release."

14 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. It sounds to me that they want to help. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It also sound that there is a lot of bashing here:

    "But of those 7,122 messages we can track, 2,976 have been authored by just 32 individuals (41.8 %). Each of these individuals has posted more than 40 times on the subject."

    "Since that team was set up 2 weeks ago, we received only 12 calls to EA's North American Support Center from players looking for help with their PC's, suspecting a conflict with SecuROM. Sony DADC received just 29 calls about The Sims 2 Bon Voyage and SecuROM."

    I didn't really notice an outright denial in the "offical statement". I read that 'problems happen' and if you want it fixed you need to call support.

    Looking at the replies and the response, it 'sounds' like they want to help:

    quote:
    Guys-

    If you really want to make a difference, you need to file a support ticket with Customer Support to explain what is going wrong with your PC and try to get help. Those numbers about the few number of calls to Support are not made up. I looked them up myself. There's just not enough people calling to cause change. We've received 4 times more calls with people with flashing red walls than any of the PC destruction calls about SecuROM. (and, btw, about those walls...don't forget to update your video card driver).

    We want you to call. I want you to call. I work on the team that makes the game. The last thing we want to do is to make you unhappy.

    To get support, follow the instructions in MaxoidVanquish's post above. The thread is here:

    http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=c7bc28ba7df0b19335a3d8edb3ec9919&directoryID=211&startRow=1&openItemID=item.211,root.1,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127,item.23

    If you create a support ticket and don't get the help you need, I want you to do this: send me a note in my SimPage guestbook. Click on "View My Sim Page" right above my post and you'll find my guestbook. Tell me what happened, and if you can, cite the Incident Number you were given so a supervisor can track what happened on your case (those numbers look something like 123456-789012. Write it down when the support person gives it to you). Also please give me your email or phone number and a good time when you can be reached, so a support supervisor can get back to you.

    unquote

    And to the thought of "interestingly enough, the expansion pack was cracked and up on the internet less than 24 hours after it's release."

    I wonder just how many of the folks that 'cracked' the pack are having the problems and are bitching?

    Of course I could be wrong and DRM could just be the cause of global warming.

    1. Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. by Bo'Bob'O · · Score: 5, Informative

      I highly recommend you check out Demon Tools: just download the image from your favorite torrent, or rip it with another program, and be done with CD requirements. I buy a game, rip it to my drive, and put the disk safely away on my shelf never to be seen again. Plus not having to worry about which versions of a game are 'cracked' and keeping up with hacks is worth the few extra bucks in hard drive space.

      If you do any sort of laptop gaming in down time on the road, or the occasional LAN party or such, I can't imagine being without it anymore.

      It does install some sort of crap ware if you get the free version, but since I don't use IE, it doesn't much bother me, and you can just buy it and avoid that trouble, anyway.

    2. Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. by Robotz · · Score: 2, Informative

      The IE search bar software that comes with the free version Demon Tools is optional. You do get the choice of selecting to not install it.

    3. Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      dAemon tools http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php

    4. Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Games companies don't use DRM to try to prevent counterfeiting or cracking online after the product is released. DRM is used to prevent counterfeit distribution before it's officially released. It just remains on there because re-issuing the product later on would be prohibitively expensive. We aren't under the illusion that we're trying to make more sales by thwarting the crackers, we just want to make sure it's the box that we published which ends up on the shelf - the bad press and image of thousands of users with counterfeit disks is worse than the current situation. We know that DRM in 99.99% of cases isn't going to make a difference to the person who just BitTorrents it.

      I'm a software engineer at a major game company, and I specifically asked this question (because I hate DRM), and that's the specific answer I got - it does make total sense for the business.

    5. Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. by juventasone · · Score: 3, Informative

      There's a much better way of doing this. Game Jackal (from the people who make CloneCD) is way easier to use and doesn't require you to store entire cd/dvd images on your hard drive, nor have virtual drive letters, nor temporarily remove registry keys to hide it's existence from copy protection. It's dedicated purely to allowing you to start your legitimately purchased games without a disc.

    6. Re:It sounds to me that they want to help. by Fallingcow · · Score: 2, Informative

      OK, obvious troll, but I'll respond anyway:

      The graphics look fine. They don't look state-of-the-art, and didn't when they came out, but that's OK. I'm currently playing and enjoying a couple of old RPGs on the SNES. I obviously don't think that killer graphics are the most important thing in a game.

      What I don't get is why a game with such low-end graphics takes much, much longer than, say, GTA:San Andreas, Half Life 2, or Oblivion to load on the same machine, and has so much in-game lag and so many other long loads. A game like this should be aimed at the "pick-up-and-play" crowd, and should appeal to people who just want to put the occasional 15-20 minutes in to it, but with the load times anything under an hour seems like a total waste. Want to go to a different "neighborhood" or go check on the University? Better consider how much longer you want to play, first.

  2. Re:yep. by thejynxed · · Score: 4, Informative

    Why bother even coming up with a creative name for it. Just go get the crack from Gamecopyworld or something, problem solved.

    --
    @Mindless Drivel: 100% of Twitter posts ever Tweeted.
  3. An EA Astroturf? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    How can a call to EA fix a crashed PC? Their help desk does the following:

    1) Is your PC plugged in and turned on?

    2) What version are you on. Yes, that's the latest one.

    3) Run Windows Update.

    4) Do you still have problems?

    Contact your PC manufacturer. It's not our game. All you guys are proving is that it's better to pirate games than pay money to EA.

  4. Re:Class action suit... by DustyShadow · · Score: 3, Informative
    Whoever modded you down obviously has a motive. This has lawsuit written all over it. And you are correct, if EA is purposely trying to damage your computer, then criminal charges should be filed against them. Intent may not even be required. And for those thinking "yea but it's in the contract/EULA" . . the contract would be immediately voided if it allows illegal activity.

    The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

    "Subsection 1030(a)(5) prohibits transmitting "a program, information, code, or command" that causes damage to a computer system. Those with authority to access the computer are criminally liable only for intentional damage, while those without authority are liable for any damage that they cause.
    . . .
    Penalties under most of the provisions can be up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a first offense, and up to ten years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine for a second offense. The Act also authorizes the victims of computer crime to maintain a civil action for damages and other equitable relief."
    http://www.brownraysman.com/index.cfm?section=articles&function=ViewArticle&articleID=1393
  5. Re:no patience for this by DustyShadow · · Score: 2, Informative

    EVERY game on Steam.

  6. Not the first group to have issues with SecuROM... by Darundal · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...being in a game. And I am not just talking about Bioshock, either. A bunch of people had issues with SupCom having SecuROM, and when the SupCom community told GPG to get rid of it, they did. With WIC, there was a petition started on the forums that was eventually locked (look http://www.massgate.net/read.php?3,29121,page=1). Bunches of other games have had issues with SecuROM as well.

  7. Insane Moderators too by crossmr · · Score: 4, Informative

    The summary failed to cover the moderator who declared martial law banning so many people and locking so many threads that for once EA actually stepped in and publicly turfed them. With diplomatic language but for anyone paying attention it was quite obvious. Essentially anyone who dared post information based on fact that contradicted their opinion of the glorious cosmic orgy that was securom was due for a banning.

    Some might say "The system works". However this moderator had been displaying this behaviour for longer than most people can remember yet EA looked the other way even with user complaints until she finally went off the deep end and banned too many 12 year olds who could dial the customer service line.

  8. Re:What the DRM providers don't want you to know.. by IronChef · · Score: 2, Informative

    Mister Wiggles Magical Adventure in Sugarland II is fucking awesome so shut your mouth.