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DRM Broke Dragon Age: Origins For Days

Posted by Soulskill on from the hope-it-was-worth-the-pr-nightmare dept.

Martey writes "Ars Technica reports that a server problem with the DRM authentication servers has caused Dragon Age: Origins players to be locked out of any saved games that include downloadable content. Quoting: 'Thanks to a combination of DRM idiocy and technical and communications failures on the part of EA and Bioware, I (along with thousands of fellow EA/Bioware customers) spent my free time this past weekend needlessly trapped in troubleshooting hell, in a vain attempt to get my single-player game to load. The problem, it turns out, was the Bioware's DRM authorization servers.'" An update to the article indicates the problems have finally been resolved.

9 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. I too have resolved the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Even before it began, I just refused to buy malware laden FUD.

  2. Once again... by exomondo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...legitimate *customers* get screwed. What's the bet the pirated version didn't have this problem?

  3. "There is no right to play" by rumith · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The game corporations will claim that there is no right to play, and maybe even insert a clause that means roughly that into the EULA. It is their right: if you don't agree with their offer, don't buy it! There are more good games around than you can possibly play in your free time, and there is no lack of other entertainment options either, so please stop whining.
    There have always been (and there will always be) shitty or crippled products. Or even otherwise wonderful products that have one huge defect. There will always be stupid managers and lazy engineers. Just walk the other way, don't stick to them - life's too short. In this particular case, every single slashdotter knows that DRM is bad (if you don't, please hand in your geek card on your way out). Do we really need to revel in its failure every single time a major game studio screws its customers?

    1. Re:"There is no right to play" by MisterJohnny · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Do we really need to revel in its failure every single time a major game studio screws its customers?

      Yes.

    2. Re:"There is no right to play" by Sabriel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The game corporations will claim that there is no right to play, and maybe even insert a clause that means roughly that into the EULA. It is their right: if you don't agree with their offer, don't buy it!

      Don't know which country you're in, but mine has a law concerning "fitness for purpose" that overrides anything a business puts in its EULA.

      Do we really need to revel in its [DRM's] failure every single time a major game studio screws its customers?

      (a) Yes. It focuses attention on the problem.
      (b) No. But hey, schadenfreude.

  4. Re:Only affected the PC version by RoFLKOPTr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nuff said. Perhaps playing the game on the PS3 or 360 would be a better thing

    That's the stupidest thing I've ever read.

  5. resolved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    An update to the article indicates the problems have finally been resolved.

    It has not been resloved. They may have corrected the issue that brought down the DRM authorization servers, but the problem is still exists. They have *DRM authorization servers*.

  6. Yes, they do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I got the legit collectors edition but run a pirate version with ALL the dlc even the promotion offers from other shops that I can't buy from.

    Yes, truly the pirate version IS the supreme version. And thanks to Bioware lack luster patches, it is 100% up to date.

  7. Re:Only affected the PC version by arkhan_jg · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, he does have a point. I personally have largely switched to console gaming, despite the inferior graphics to my gaming PC, the imprecise controller and the noise, simply for less hassle.

    I can play single player games offline as much as I like. Even the DLC, bundled or not, works offline. I can even resell my game after I'm finished with it, instead of it being permanently associated with my email address! Imagine that. Legitimate PC gaming is absolutely riddled with DRM. Even steam games come with extra DRM on top, in addition to steam's stopping me sharing games with my wife while I also want to play.

    It takes real business genius to make the paid product worth LESS than the free version you can grab from the pirate bay.

    --
    Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.