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EA Won't Use DRM For The Sims 3

Posted by Soulskill on from the learning-from-their-mistakes dept.

After taking heavy criticism for the use of SecuROM in Spore and other games, EA has made the decision to go back to simple serial code authentication for The Sims 3. EA's Rod Humble said simply, "We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future."

20 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by iYk6 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Serial keys are an improvement over more draconian DRM, but it is still DRM. And it is just as effective as other forms of DRM. In other words, the pirates' copies will have been already cracked to not require a serial key, or will come with a serial key generator.

    1. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by Dryesias · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think serial keys are necessary. They stop casual copying from being prevalent. Many people are not willing or knowledgeable enough to go through the time/effort to download a torrent, mess with keygenerators and/or no-cd cracks, and then possibly still be blocked from online pay. Without serial keys, anyone could just buy say, an RTS like AoE3 and install it on all your friends computers real quick so you can play together online. There has to be a balance, and I feel serial keys are a nice compromise, since it really doesn't require additional effort on my part, and I can even resell my software, because it is truly mine.

    2. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree with you on a theoretical level. But the reality of the situation is much different. The fact that EA has realized that treating their customers like criminals is not good business practice is a vast improvement and I can only hope that other developers follow suit.

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
    3. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Serial keys aren't all that bad. Are there any activation server overloads you have to worry about (ala: Half-Life 2)? Can you install the game in 10 years? 20 years? Heck, even 250 years if the media lasts that long?

      It only inconveniences casual copiers. Pirates will, of course, have it cracked, but what does it matter to you?

    4. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by Vectronic · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Depends on the system.

      (semi)Oldschool games like Soldier of Fortune, with PunkBuster etc, is sort of a self-serializing system, where you can toss in any key you want (thats legit) for offline play, but online play may not work if there are multiples of the same serial found.

      Expanding on that, you could have it sort of like DHT or the Kad networks etc, where the serials get checked against found game servers online (player connects, serial is registered, and propagated to other users on the server, through them to a "known list" of servers, etc). It's not perfect since it uses resources/bandwidth in the background, but basically as long as there is at least one server online, it can continue after the "Official" servers disappear.

      On the plus side, you can have subnets with cloned/illegal serials running in a tournament, because to that network they are all legitimate serials.

      On the downside, resource usage, and also sort of (anti)idealistically, it makes the DRM viral, sort of feeding off the user-bases computers like a fungus or something. And also, someone can connect with a stolen serial while you are offline, and you wont be able to play online, which leads back into tying it to hardware, or an offshoot of Kad, a sort of GPS location based on ping times, neither really works unless no one abuses it, ie: almost impossible.

      Although somewhere in the middle-ground, if it only applied to the servers you were currently playing on, not all known servers, it might be enough of a pain for the devs/dists to consider it viable DRM, and still be quite usable from the users perspective because the servers can take care of their own sort of CAPTCHA to see if it's the user they are familiar with, if not, then boot the cloner etc... and at the same time, really popular servers might make more people buy the game so they can play on those servers.

      I'm not really trying to promote the idea, but it is possible, but i've already babbled on too long... all in all DRM sucks, but "simple serials" including it's problems, is far preferable to shit like SecuROM, serials can (usually) be bypassed just as easily as SecuROM nonsense, except it iliminates the the (direct) fascist shit that SecuROM and the likes do to your hardware and software.

    5. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Their best strategy is to discourage loaning, which has been a side-effect of hand-held console cartridges for some time. Carts have a finite amount of space for save game slots, and as a result you don't want to loan your cartridge to someone careless who will overwrite your "hard work" with their own progress.

      So let me get this straight -- you want to discourage, not copying, but loaning?

      Since these are so often compared to physical objects, let's compare. With a console game, no one really minds loaning them -- the biggest concern is that you won't have it while they're borrowing it, and it might get scratched.

      But if anything, this opens up new markets -- game rentals, and used games. And it does drive up the value of a game, if you know it can be re-sold.

      It's only very recently that content providers have even toyed with the idea of "selling" a book, or a movie, which couldn't be transferred.

      The supposed purpose of DRM is to "keep honest people honest", by preventing things like actual copyright infringement. But your comment does tend to indicate the true purpose of DRM -- to prevent people from doing perfectly honest things (like lending) that you'd rather be able to charge for.

      This could be implemented in a similar fashion by moving storing saves online, and limiting the amount of slots available.

      If you're already forcing them to be online, why do you need to limit the number of saves? Just don't allow more than one person to be online at once.

      The customer loses some flexibility by being unable to save locally,

      and by having a limited number of saves,

      but benefits by not losing progress when reinstalling, or transitioning between different computers.

      That is a benefit. I should point out that it is one of the benefits of Steam.

      And hey, I can lend games on Steam. I just have to lend the whole account at a time, and if I lend my account credentials, I risk losing the account. That's really all the incentive I need -- to limit the number of saves on top of that really serves no purpose, other than to save you disk space. And with all the data Steam gathers about me, disk space clearly isn't an issue.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    6. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by phoenix321 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seriously, a serial code is the most simplistic and effective means of copy protection.

      One key = one install

      If you implement measures, that online / LAN multiplay is restricted to valid and unique CD-keys and executables cannot be cracked easily is one of the most reasonable methods to balance between players and publishers available.

      It serves the following purposes:
      - prevent non-paying customers from using unpaid-for online servers
      - (inofficially) let people (via keygens) rather freely test-drive the full software, offline on their own machine with the option to buy a key and make your installation legit and online-enabled in seconds.
      - ban detected cheaters from online play and introduce a financial risk to cheating (you have to buy a new key when you're caught) which deters non-hardcore cheaters from trying
      - prevent mass copying of your software: if the same key is encountered online in the thousands, disable the key
      - all this encourages defined and responsible ownership of the software: if you give out your key, you possibly cannot play online anymore

      - and inofficially: limit the resale-value of a used key: as a buyer, you cannot be sure if the key is not banned for cheating or shared with the entire school/workplace of the reseller.

      I don't know of people who been hindered from doing legit things with their paid-for software because of a cd-key. But I know several people who "test-drove" dozens of pirated games with a keygen who found out the game was so crappy that even downloading it was a waste of money and time.

    7. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by phoenix321 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Dongle checks present pretty much the same downsides as optical-media based copy protection and is probably worked-around as easily.

      Unfortunately, companies complain about these dongles to be too expensive. But I like the idea of these, simply because USB-sticks are pretty tough.

      You could also contain the entire game AND the copy protection ready-to-boot on a write-protected USB stick, making the game easy to re-sale, play, legitimately loan out etc. - if you have the USB stick, you have the game, the serial key and the means to run it in an instant.

      Losing a USB-stick attached with a keychain is much harder than accidentally scratching the surface of a delicate optical disk, where every bad sector is an important input to the copy-protection mechanism. I personally bought two or three copies of Starcraft-Brood War because the copy-protection used there is non-standard and incredibly vulnerable to even the tiniest scratches.

      Now that 4GB USB sticks cost less than 10USD retail, I'd thought we finally get ready-to-play sticks which include all and everything.

    8. Re:It's great that they lightened the DRM load. by Rich0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Used game sales aren't good for the original developer. If a game is bought for $50, then resold four times for $10-30 each time, how much does the original developer make? $50. Epic Games has voiced their opinion on the issue, and has taken measures to discourage the practice (unlocks/DLC).

      Yes, but people are more likely to pay more for it if they know they can turn around and sell it and get some of that money back when they get tired of it.

      My concern isn't that killing the used market is better for devs. My concern is that it shouldn't be legal whether it is better or not. There needs to be a balance between consumers and publishers. TPB probably isn't it, but neither is Spore...

  2. Believe it when I see it... by Dryesias · · Score: 4, Interesting

    EA's track record isn't the greatest, but if they go through with it, it's a step in the right direction. Getting everyone pissed off with DRM then suddenly reversing your stance is good PR too.

    1. Re:Believe it when I see it... by Starayo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Damn straight. I put down a preorder for this game as soon as I heard the news - my sister loves these games, but I'll be damned if I install any SecuROM crap on my computer.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Believe it when I see it... by ultranova · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I put down a preorder for this game as soon as I heard the news - my sister loves these games, but I'll be damned if I install any SecuROM crap on my computer.

      Maybe I'm too cynical, but I'd wait until the game has actually been released and examined before trusting it to not contain malware. The word of someone who has intentionally attempted to cripple its customers computers isn't exactly trustworthy to me...

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  3. Woo! by somanyrobots · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Could it be that EA's actually listening to their customers? This isn't a cheap publicity stunt like Ubisoft pulled with Prince of Persia; this is (arguably) EA's flagship product.

  4. Well, I hate to say it... by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4

    ...but good for EA, so long as they follow through with this. I think a simple serial code authorization system has worked just fine for much of the software I own. It's never felt overly onerous to me. I keep the serial code safe right along with the install disk, and I've often (years later) re-installed and replayed those games. Simple, and strikes a reasonable balance between some protection for the publisher / developer and reasonable use for the customer.

    And of course, I see a tag on the article "serialdrm". Seriously, no one is going to get much traction whining about "serial code DRM". At that point, I'm gonna call bullshit and figure you just enjoy complaining.

    --
    Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    1. Re:Well, I hate to say it... by Bieeanda · · Score: 3, Funny

      Have you seen the kind of people who post in these threads? If they're not complaining about brief inconveniences, then they're claiming that piracy doesn't exist, or whining about Failed MMO X not being open sourced.

    2. Re:Well, I hate to say it... by Dryesias · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't feel you can really consider serial keys to be DRM. It doesn't limit your number of installs, no matter how many computers you install it on, you can resell your software, it'll never cease to function, it is yours. I really only consider DRM to be anything that makes so that something I purchase isn't really mine, as if I rented it, when I was led to believe I was purchasing it.

  5. Voting with your $$$ works by Bonker · · Score: 3, Interesting

    After the Mrs. got stung with the various SecureROM trojans fubaring her system, she made the hard decision not to buy any more EA titles.

    I was excited about Spore, but refused to buy either it or the creature creator pack.

    Apparently there were quite enough people (who also spammed Amazon.com feedback, perhaps?) who made the same decisions that EA felt a bit of monetary sting.

    --
    The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
  6. Re:Manual DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The island of Dr.Brain... I never owned the manual, and the at the beginning it asked you for the coordinates to the island, which are given in the manual. Eventually you just figured it out.

    People will continue to figure out workarounds. It doesn't matter what form the hurdle is in, someone will jump it, and teach others to.

  7. its a way to decrease pirating by Blue+Shifted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    they probably recognized that the DRM actually encouraged us to seek out and download cracked versions....

  8. Re:ohhh come on! by oberondarksoul · · Score: 4, Insightful

    BUT WHY THE SIMS?!?!?!?

    Because it's one of their biggest-selling franchises. If it sells poorly than hoped, they can play the piracy card and ramp up DRM on all future titles with a smug "We told you so". If it sells well, it may encourage them to relax DRM on other games in the future. It's a game that's likely to sell well even with piracy, so relatively low-risk.

    --
    And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race