New SimCity To Require Constant Internet Connection

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New SimCity To Require Constant Internet Connection

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday March 28, 2012 @08:12AM from the unnatural-disasters-turned-on dept.

eldavojohn writes "According to Lead designer Stone Librande, it has been confirmed that the next installment of SimCity will require a constant internet connection. Perhaps as a form of DRM, the 2013 edition looks like it will be the first to include online play but will also require you to constantly be connected to Origin to play — even if that wasn't your point of purchase. Add SimCity to the growing list." Update: 03/29 02:09 GMT by S : An online connection will be needed to start the game, but you won't be kicked out if your connection dies.

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Console games to follow by crazyjj · 2012-03-28 08:12 · Score: 5, Interesting

Publishers have already managed to kill the used market for PC games with stuff like this. Console games are next. A lot of new console games are already requiring online activation for certain features (like Mass Effect 3). It's only a matter of time before they require online activation to work at all, and then ultimately require an online verification check each time the game is started.
A requiem for the days when consumers actually owned videogames, and could still play them just fine, even ten years later, using just the original game discs/cartridges.

--
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
1. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:15 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  They're killing the new market for PC games too.
2. Re:Console games to follow by MasterMan · 2012-03-28 08:18 · Score: -1, Troll
  
  Now, I am completely saddened by this requirement because I am traveling and on a bad internet connection most of the time. I would really really like to play the new SimCity, but since my internet already breaks so often, I don't I am capable to. However, I don't think it's the publishers fault. I blame people who just pirate games for the hell of it for it. They made mine, and many other PC gamers shitty with that. Back home I have a good internet connection, and I can completely see the reasoning from publishers to require constant internet connection. I also understand that I am in minority, playing games while traveling the world. But the piracy rate is 90% on PC, even on indie games. The only way we can change that is to stop pirating. Publishers need to protect their investment too - so please, stop pirating PC games so we can have them in the future!
3. Re:Console games to follow by mhajicek · 2012-03-28 08:23 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Agreed. I will not buy games which require connection like this. No Starcraft 2, no Diablo 3, no SimCity 2013. The only way to keep this stuff from continuing is to show the game companies that they won't make money with it.
4. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:26 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Concern is that the mass public aren't even aware of this and won't be UNTIL they go to try it in few years and realise they cannot play.
  Then, eventually there will just by simply acceptance that this is normal.
  Boils my p1$$.
5. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  90% any documentation on that? seems absurdly high to me that 90% of all used software is pirated...
  or do 90% of software have at least one person pirating it, even if that figures to .0001% of everyone using it?
6. Re:Console games to follow by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-28 08:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Right, because every pirated game is a lost sale. Know what I remember? When games had demos. Demos that were playable. Demos that got you invested in the game.
  Know what I hate? When I buy a game like BF3 then realize the DRM makes it unplayable on my computer. Sorry, no returns when buying through Origin.
7. Re:Console games to follow by CAIMLAS · 2012-03-28 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  It's hard enough as it is to get many older games to work properly.
  What if this were books? "My favorite book as a child was $book. But, sorry kids. It doesn't exist anymore." Many games have stories which are as highly involving as a book and are, quite arguably, cultural art and highly influential (something like Modern Warfare or Max Payne comes to mind).
  
  --
  ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
8. Re:Console games to follow by Desler · 2012-03-28 08:34 · Score: 1
  
  What will show them is to both not buy it nor to download it. Rampant piracy of this game will only lead them to believe they need more DRM. On the other hand, noticeably less purchases and almost zero piracy of the game at the same time will show actually them their folly since they can't blame piracy for the failure.
9. Re:Console games to follow by spire3661 · 2012-03-28 08:37 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The war is over. either accept or go without. constant on DRM is here to stay. Jsut look at the shit Sony pulled yesterday with removing PSP games from PSN because they could be used to sploit the PS Vita. This means that people that bought and own the game can't redownload it. Its jsut gone.
  
  --
  Good-bye
10. Re:Console games to follow by tlhIngan · 2012-03-28 08:38 · Score: 2
  
  Publishers have already managed to kill the used market for PC games with stuff like this. Console games are next. A lot of new console games are already requiring online activation for certain features (like Mass Effect 3). It's only a matter of time before they require online activation to work at all, and then ultimately require an online verification check each time the game is started.
  A requiem for the days when consumers actually owned videogames, and could still play them just fine, even ten years later, using just the original game discs/cartridges.
  Funny thing is, it's really how the console gaming market is dying.
  The PC gaming market is "dead" to the traditional AAA publishers, however it's very much alive and thriving in the indie game market (no doubt helped by stuff like Humble Bundle).
  Consoles don't have many avenues for indie developers because of platform requirements (usually either established companies or security requirements), and thus only the bigger publishers and the small breakout indie games show up.
  And you see a lot of indie devs spurred to develop for smartphones and tablets as well - the Apple "consoles" being extremely popular. Hell, Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft may find an unexpected 4th contender soon enough.
  PC gaming has evolved into indie games - big AAA's are pretty much unpalatable on the PC. Big AAA's move to consoles, but their policies are going to kill gaming for it and consoles aren't in a spot to adapt like the PC market will.
  We live in interesting gaming times, though whether the future will continue to have those old AAA games or we'll be having a billion clones of Angry Birds, it's hard to say.
11. Re:Console games to follow by Barbara,+not+Barbie · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Considering that I bought Simcity 2000, Simcity 3000 Unlimited (for both the PC and the Nintendo Wii), and Simcity 4 + Rush Hour pack, they've just lost a loyal customer.
  
  --
  Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
12. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 0
  
  Rampant piracy of this game will only lead them to believe they need more DRM.
  Enough rampant piracy could have the opposite effect. DRM is a cost. It is not free to them to hire programmers to design and implement DRM systems nor to keep servers online etc. When they finally get the message that all the DRM in the world won't stop the pirates, the pirates will just view it as a chance to show off their skills, they may stop investing in DRM solutions. When even heavily pirated games still make millions for the game publishers I just don't see the business case for it at all. It seems like a religious belief.
13. Re:Console games to follow by mhajicek · 2012-03-28 08:42 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Amazon Kindle anyone? They did "unsell" certain books retroactively, and actively erased them from people's Kindle's remotely.
14. Re:Console games to follow by Applekid · 2012-03-28 08:47 · Score: 2
  
  Well, if no one buys SimCity 2013 because of this, the EA suits won't put two and two together. They'll just conclude that people don't like SimCity anymore.
  And then it'll just be a components of the cease-and-desists weapon to anyone who actually has a clue and dares resurrect the city planning simulation game.
  
  --
  More Twoson than Cupertino
15. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:48 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I'm an indie, my game has a demo, and my piracy rate for a $5 game is literally 99%. I know the number of people that buy it, I compare that to installs reporting high scores, so the error rate would increase the piracy rate (if pirates didn't submit scores I wouldn't know they pirated it). I've quite literally received email images from people showing they beat the game (showing their score/time) asking when the sequal would come out, I know quite well they didn't buy it.
  Yes, piracy is rampant, and its not only pc, piracy on the nds and psp were quite rampant as well. This is why sony flipped out over the ps vita homebrew access, if the vita gets pirate press nobody will develop for it, and it'll die.
  Stop kidding yourself that people are making up piracy as some sort of "scare".
  And no, I don't consider each piracy case a lost sale. I consider piracy a continuation of the welfare entitlement and generally degenerate mentality of the current generation.
  PS, caption for this was "unpaid".
16. Re:Console games to follow by Desler · 2012-03-28 08:50 · Score: 2
  
  Yes, books that they had no right to sell in the first place due to legal issues..
17. Re:Console games to follow by Charliemopps · 2012-03-28 08:53 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Not really, the pirated versions of all these games work just fine without an internet connection. The only people suffering are the paying customers, and who really cares about them?
18. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:54 · Score: 0
  
  Unfortunately, the companies making the games do not have a reliable and accurate way to measure piracy. If the game sells poorly, they will assume that either customers didn't like the game or piracy caused the poor sales.
19. Re:Console games to follow by nschubach · 2012-03-28 08:58 · Score: 2
  
  No, they'll blame piracy, like they always do. "We must have better DRM and laws protecting our IP!"
  
  --
  Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
20. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:59 · Score: 0
  
  Don't think it will really matter. They'll see the lack in sales and blame it on piracy, irregardless if it actually happening.
21. Re:Console games to follow by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 09:00 · Score: 1
  
  Killing the used game market is the sole reason for DRM I think. They seem to feel that if denied access to used games that players will naturally buy brand new games at full price. Instead many (most) of those players will just forgo getting the game altogether or resort to piracy (vastly easier to pirate a game than to legally acquire it second hand).
  Imagine if auto makers did this, only leasing autos and never selling them outright (not even broken ones). Just to have a bad analogy for slashdot... Many drivers would not mind because they only want relatively new models anyway, many people might even applaud this for getting older polluting vehicles off the road (and into landfills), but you'd be stuck with a huge segment of the population that could not afford vehicles or who are disallowed from modifying the vehicles that they do drive. Incentives to maintain autos properly would vanish, classic cars would only be seen in museums, etc.
22. Re:Console games to follow by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 09:02 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I am going without. It helps that there are so few decent games anymore anyway and that the used classics I have are more fun. My purchase of new games has significantly declined in the last 5 years, I'm probably getting less than 10% of the games I used to. I just won't buy this stuff, and I absolutely resent the ridiculous attitude that I'll buy the stuff anyway no matter what they do.
  I also resent the idea that I should just accept this like a sheep! The war is NOT over! I will continue to tell people to boycott this sort of stuff.
23. Re:Console games to follow by Githaron · 2012-03-28 09:03 · Score: 3
  
  They will most likely blame the latter. Otherwise, they have to admit that their game sucked.
24. Re:Console games to follow by afidel · 2012-03-28 09:05 · Score: 2
  
  Amazon reversed those actions under public pressure and AFAIR released a statement that they would not take a similar action going forward except for certain limited circumstances (like when someone ripped off an entire book that normally sold for like $9.99 and sold it as their own work for $.99).
  
  --
  There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
25. Re:Console games to follow by SuricouRaven · 2012-03-28 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  Well, it's certainly not stopping any pirates.
26. Re:Console games to follow by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  I suppose one could buy the game and then pirate it simultaneously. However it's a lot like buying drugs. Innocent people may not know where to go to get the illegal stuff, may not know how to judge between competing illegal suppliers, may not know how to avoid viruses, etc.
27. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:06 · Score: 0
  
  I buy the indie gala, indie royal, and humble indie bundle mostly now. No DRM, and most offer steam, desura, download, or a combination. I only buy bundles that interest me. I don't buy any commercial games anymore and pirate all the ones I want to play. There are probably more good games now than there was years ago. They just don't have the ad budget and publisher backing. You just have to do more leg work now.
28. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:08 · Score: 0
  
  I will fight this in 2 ways -
  1). I will not buy this game, pirate it, or play it.
  2). I will 1-star this garbage into oblivion on Amazon to warn others.
29. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:14 · Score: 0
  
  Me too...
  But for a different reason. My laptop which is my game machine these days has a flaky internet connection. Probably a loose wire. Doesnt really bother me much. Game over because of it would bother me quite a bit. I am not replacing it for awhile. So maybe after the pirates get done with it I will buy it then crack it...
30. Re:Console games to follow by BlueRaja · 2012-03-28 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  Can you imagine if the movie or publishing industry did this, so books and movies couldn't be rented/sold/checked out from a library? So why is the video game industry able to get away with this!?
31. Re:Console games to follow by DrGamez · 2012-03-28 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  They've said they have no plans on ever putting the content back up? I mean if there is an "exploit" on one of their store products I would think they have some kind of understanding with their investors that they will take care of this. They also have an understanding with the people who bought the game - I hope I'm not wrong but it sounds a bit ignorant to assume they will NEVER put the games back up on the store.
  Not a fun situation though, no.
32. Re:Console games to follow by Cute+Fuzzy+Bunny · 2012-03-28 09:28 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  We'll see how well the 'killing of the used game market' runs. I think its going to show a lot of signs of unintended consequences.
  For example, I can buy a new release game for $35-50 when it comes out. I know I can play that (or my son will) for a month or two off and on and when I'm done, I can get $20-25 for it used. Now if the game is missing content for a used buyer or requires buying a $5-10 code to make everything work, then the used game is worth $10-20, which means I'm not particularly interested in spending $50 on it.
  I also bought MANY used games, liked a franchise and bought the 2nd, 3rd or 4th game new.
  At this point, I've been jabbed by 4-5 used games I bought in the last quarter of 2011, which required a code to fully operate. As a result of my disappointment, I wont be buying any games produced by those manufacturers. While I would have bought several games a month in Jan, Feb and Mar, I havent bought any. Likely to continue since this 'strategy' is being widely deployed.
  So I wish the game manufacturers luck, they may find that they're going to need it. Because right now my plan is to buy 2 or 3 year old games new when they drop under $25 and never buy a release game again unless its free of codes and anti-resale tactics. The good news is there are dozens of awesome games for all of the platforms that are old, cheap and we havent played yet.
  These shenanigans will also do a number on the game rental places, since none of those games will be fully operational without the code.
33. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:29 · Score: 1
  
  The war is over. either accept or go without.
  
  Or buy games from DRM-free sources like GOG, Stardock, and Indie Bundles.
  Or buy games with less-intrusive DRM like Steam and console games.
  Or buy used games and crack the DRM.
34. Re:Console games to follow by spire3661 · 2012-03-28 09:36 · Score: 1
  
  I carefully avoided the use of an absolute like 'never', you drew that conclusion. You might have a better point if PS3 Linux had been restored.
  
  --
  Good-bye
35. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:42 · Score: 0
  
  Starcraft 2 does not require an internet connection to play. It does need to be "activated," but after that, no internet required. Multiplayer requires internet, so LAN parties off-the-grid are out of the question. But that is actually a different point.
36. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  Then you have to ask yourself: why is my game not worth $5 to 99% of people?
37. Re:Console games to follow by DrGamez · 2012-03-28 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  Pirate the ones you want to play?
  
  Is it really that hard to have some dignity and not play a game you don't support? I know this is an AC post but it brings up something that has been bugging me for a while when discussing pirating games. "Oh I'm not going to buy it but I'll pirate it for sure."
  How about instead of pirating it just... don't play it, you don't NEED to play this thing, it's a video game - there are hundreds of others out there and if your life is so empty you MUST play this game at all costs then you need to really restructure your "hobbies".
38. Re:Console games to follow by AdrianKemp · 2012-03-28 09:54 · Score: 1
  
  I've tried to get an answer to that question out of friends. I have absolutely no pirated music/games/video/software in my home and I can't imagine a reason to do so.
  But some (most) of my friends pirate constantly, and as a developer this pisses me off. When I ask them about it they seem to feel entitled to it somehow.
  It's nearly enough to stop being friends with them, but given the extremely small percentage of the country that doesn't pirate I think I'd be leading a lonely life.
39. Re:Console games to follow by yahwotqa · 2012-03-28 09:55 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  So it is no longer fr057y? What a shame.
40. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:59 · Score: 0
  
  Really? Show me someone who has hacked multiplayer play into their pirated copy of StarCraft 2.
41. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:01 · Score: 0
  
  thats ok, I'm sure the cracks will defeat this bullshit.
  the sad reality of DRM bullshittery is that I use cracks for software I OWN, because hardware dongles/phones home etc are just too much hassle.
  companies that do shit like this will get fucked by the community. people will warez the shit out of this just as a "fuck you" to asshole devs, or good devs who got wrapped up with cunty lawyers.
42. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:02 · Score: 0
  
  Hold on, Simcity 3000 was never avaliable for the Wii...
43. Re:Console games to follow by hairyfeet · 2012-03-28 10:12 · Score: 1
  
  And yet again the pirate version is the BETTER version. Why can't they take a hint from Gabe at Valve, or is he too busy swimming in his giant money pool going "Woo Hoo, I'm like Scrooge McDuck" to take their calls? Make it simple, make it easy, make it cheap. My Steam games don't care if I'm online or off, thanks to the sales my average steam game cost less than $10, and its as simple as 'push button, get game". Seriously how do you fuck that up? Oh wait a tick...origin? Oh, the shitty knockoff that does everything wrong..oops, my bad. Carry on.
  Sadly voting with your wallet only goes so far in these cases thanks to "PPT math" which is where they go to congress with a PPT and say "If you see here our sales were projected to be X because we got R on the consoles and we only got S which means it MUST be those ebil pirates argh! We need more draconian laws" and they get it. But at least you personally can make sure they don't get a damned dime of your money, just as i only buy games from steam and GOG.
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
44. Re:Console games to follow by Kelbear · 2012-03-28 10:24 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  What's even worse is that this DRM only affects paying customers.
  Pirates don't care about DRM, it's already been bypassed so it has no effect on them. Years from now when they take down their online authentication servers, the paying customers can't play anymore, only the pirates can.
  Also, when they split out on-disc DLC and try to wring more money from the customer after release day, the pirates still get all of that on release day. The pirates even get early access to a lot of games before the official street dates.
  To cut down on piracy they should take initiatives to reward those that pay instead. Give them all of the advantages listed above that pirates get to enjoy to start with. Then focus energies on finding ways they can reward customers over what pirates enjoy. Like multiplayer rewards for ongoing customers, added online privileges, sharing loot between friends. Small perks with little value individually, but they can add up to form an advantage for paying. The "stick" clearly isn't working, so try some "carrot". These aren't even good ideas, I'm sure they could come up with much better possibilities if they focus their creative energies in this direction instead.
45. Re:Console games to follow by fast+turtle · 2012-03-28 10:27 · Score: 1
  
  The only problem is that Steam is the same type of DRM as what we're talking about. you have to have an internet connection to play anything downloaded from them. It's because of the DRM crap that I've opted out instead. To me, this entire game industry has become an issue of overcontrol (just like our government) pushing people to consume just for the sake of profits instead of producing something I actually want to buy that'll bring me back to play it again.
  
  --
  Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
46. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:29 · Score: 0
  
  The war is over.
  No it isn't. I kinda suspect it never will be. Go ahead and curl up, though, if you must. We'll be waiting for you when you're ready again.
47. Re:Console games to follow by dririan · 2012-03-28 10:31 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Steam has an offline mode. As long as you've played the game once online, Steam > Go Offline... will let you play without an Internet connection.
48. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:33 · Score: 0
  
  Yes. Multiplayer requires internet. And how long have the brilliant crackers had to find a way to pirate LAN play or multiplayer? I'd say that's a sure sign that some DRM really does work. I guarantee you that StarCraft 2's sales would be far less if crackers had figured out how to pirate multiplayer!
49. Re:Console games to follow by SuperTechnoNerd · 2012-03-28 10:43 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Or their servers get hacked and forced off line for days or weeks.. :)
50. Re:Console games to follow by zoward · 2012-03-28 10:45 · Score: 1
  
  Ditto - skipped AC2, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and now Sim City because of the always on requirement. I bought all of their predecessors. Nothing would make Diablo 3 suck more than spending pounding on a boss and then losing the fight because of a hiccup in my wireless. Oh well, back to Skyrim...
  
  --
  "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
51. Re:Console games to follow by RobertinXinyang · 2012-03-28 10:46 · Score: 1
  
  I suppose one could buy the game and then pirate it simultaneously. .
  This is precisely what will happen in my house. My wife will buy it because she morally equates the piracy with stealing. Then she will run into some issue, like wanting to play when the internet connection is down; or, God only knows what.
  At that point she will tell me to make it work. I will tell her that to make it work in need to download a pirated version.
  She will give some vague answer that translates to, "I don't what to hear how you do it, I only want to hear that it is working!"
  This has happened before, it will happen again.
52. Re:Console games to follow by Lotana · 2012-03-28 10:57 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  When they finally get the message that all the DRM in the world won't stop the pirates, the pirates will just view it as a chance to show off their skills, they may stop investing in DRM solutions.
  I don't think you understand their view of the DRM solution.
  Every single deployer of DRM systems is 100% aware that it will be cracked. If you see any presentations of them talking about it, they say it upfront: DRM's purpose is not to stop the pirates, it is there to delay them.
  Looking at the profit projections, majority of sales happen at the game release before rapidly dropping off into the long tail. If for this first two weeks there is no easily accessible pirated version available, buyers will get the official version. After that the company doesn't give a shit if there are thousands of unlocked copies out there: They made the most they can out of the product already.
  Imagine that they release the game without any protection: the very first purchaser will make an image and post it on Pirate Bay. Thus all the others that want a copy of the game will have a free alternative to get it within minutes of the game release. Why would they pay money (There is VERY little appreciatioin or loyalty to the game developers/publishers in the real world) when they can get the perfect copy for free? Thus DRM is there just to make the initial amazing-cracker buyer spend this precious intitial release time cracking the system rather than making the game available.
  And the crackers are amazing. The protection schemes are broken within days. The battle is to make the DRM last as long as possible before the inevitable crack. Thus it becomes more and more invasive, bothersome and draconian. Legitimate loyal customers are discarded as collateral damage, since the very profits are on the line.
  Game development costs a LOT of money with huge risks. There is a real possibility that the game won't be liked even if there is zero piracy (Look at the commercial lack of success of Planescape Torment, Freespace 2, Phychonauts, Arcanum, Arx Fatalis. Awesome games, but completely failed to sell). On top of that it is software, thus easily copied and distributed without the developers seeing a dime for all their work, with the pirates doing this with pride and not giving a single thought to the people that made the product possible. Even Humble Bundle got pirated straight away even though you could pay only a single penny to get the package! With such a cutthroat environment it is hard not to see the method behind their madness.
  I hate the situation, but honestly do not know the solution to the industry's plight. One thing is to lower the cost of the product (New games in Australia cost 89 dollars with our exchange rate higher than american dollar). Sadly, seeng the piracy of Humble Bundle I am cynical. Apperently people pirate out of some spite rather than cost. It would be good to hear some opinions on how to ensure that developers/publishers see the full profits of their labours as well as respecting the customer.
53. Re:Console games to follow by marcosdumay · 2012-03-28 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  suppose one could buy the game and then pirate it simultaneously.
  Since that would still be illegal, why would someone bother?
  P.S. That's a shame. I was interested on the game.
  
  --
  Rethinking email
54. Re:Console games to follow by hairyfeet · 2012-03-28 11:23 · Score: 2
  
  Don't just NOT buy those games but please DO buy similar games that don't screw you on the DRM, hell there are plenty on Steam and GOG that don't require any extra BS. Sadly if all you do is don't buy they will use PPT math to say the lost sales were all pirates which will justify their getting even more SOPA/PIPA style laws passed, whereas if we can say "Look at the games which didn't have the extra crap and look at their sales" then it will be much harder to blame it on piracy.
  And please tell everyone you know to avoid such DRM garbage, and send them links to videos like this (warning language NSFW but who can blame him) and tell them that just because it don't bite you in the ass TODAY it very well could tomorrow. hell use me as an example, I've HAD to pirate damned near every game i bought before 2009, why? Because I switched to a 64 bit OS and their &^%^&%$ DRM doesn't work on 64 bit OSes! What is worse is there are many games with certain DRM (Starforce and SecurROM cough cough) that will FUCK YOUR PC UP HARD because it will try to jam their 32bit kernel hooks into your 64bit OS. With the rise of 64bit into the mainstream you'd be amazed how many "My PC is acting all weird and crashy" I've traced back to them installing some older game.
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
55. Re:Console games to follow by Barbara,+not+Barbie · 2012-03-28 11:24 · Score: 2
  
  On the Wii, they changed the name to SimCity Creator - but if you've played SimCity 3000, you'll recognize it's a port of SimCity 3000.
  
  --
  Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
56. Re:Console games to follow by lgw · 2012-03-28 11:30 · Score: 1
  
  Always assuming that the game you bought on Steam dosn't add its own non-Steam DRM on top of things. I like Steam's DRM, as DRM goes, but they could sure call more attention to what DRM a game actually has (at least they mention it somewhere).
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
57. Re:Console games to follow by dririan · 2012-03-28 11:33 · Score: 1
  
  That's true. But they have been getting much better with labeling external DRM on a game's store page these days. Anyone concerned about non-Steam DRM should check there first before buying a game. In the case of always-connected DRM, there's even a big fat orange warning above the "Buy Me!" box, I'd assume from lots of complaints.
58. Re:Console games to follow by Triv · 2012-03-28 11:39 · Score: 1
  
  Diablo 3 has a Real Money Auction House baked in - allowing the client to be run without Blizzard keeping tabs on item creation and the whatnot would destroy the market. In that case, an internet connection is the price of progress. It's also the thing that potentially lets you make a buck back from the game. Play or not, buy it or not, but that's why.
59. Re:Console games to follow by hairyfeet · 2012-03-28 11:40 · Score: 1
  
  Won't work and here is why: There is NO way for them to "prove' how much a game has or hasn't been downloaded so they'll just use "PPT math" which we have seen the insane numbers they have pulled out of their ass in the past, the "billions and billions" as if even 40% of those people would have bought it at all if they couldn't download it. Because P2P is this "phantom menace" they can simply say "If the console game sold X then the PC game MUST sell X+Y since there are more PCs out there" and there really isn't anyway to argue with their "math". I mean what do you count? TPB? Fastrack? emule? the thing one isn't supposed to say that rhymes with fusemet? Hell I've not downloaded a single song from the RIAA, and neither has anyone i know as we either buy a used CD or even better buy from local artists but you don't see the boycott of RIAA doing any good do you?
  The simple fact is they have a "heads i win, tails you lose" situation going where you either buy it or you're a pirate, that's it. you listen to those execs and their feces doesn't have an odor so you MUST be a filthy pirate if you don't buy their "Call of Warfare, Gears of Killzone with extra expensive DLC" because by God everything they do is perfect!
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
60. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 12:01 · Score: 1
  
  instead of generalizing on what "people" might do... I have bought games and then installed cracked version of them after bashing my head trying to get support for Steam(ing pile) failures. Heck I even bought the super extra box edition of Skyrim with the dragon (still in its box).
  DRM sucks, make a quality game and people will buy it/support it.
  Even crappy games get hacked not because there is a demand for the game but a just to hack. Humble Bundle is a perfect example...
  I considered not doing the anonymous post... but not today
61. Re:Console games to follow by another_twilight · 2012-03-28 12:01 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  People who pirate your game are not your customers. The number of people who, in the absence of an easily available pirated copy will instead purchase the game is vanishingly small.
  
  A number of games have been released with no DRM. They have been pirated, heavily. Some have even been available for free. Piracy is not tied to the existence of DRM or even the ease/availability of the original. Piracy exists as a social phenomenon independently (or perhaps, intertwined with) the material being copied.
  
  Finally, many games that have been released DRM free and/or at significant discounts to their launch price have shown an increase in sales - massive increases in some cases. From this, it seems to me that the key to piracy, the cost of development, DRM and customers is to recognise that chasing/preventing piracy is a cost with almost no return; that if you want to increase revenue by increasing customer base, then the largest group of potential customers are those who are currently not purchasing based on price.
  
  Will this save a non-selling but technically or artistically excellent game? Maybe. But increasing DRM on the same game most certainly will not.
62. Re:Console games to follow by HiThere · 2012-03-28 12:13 · Score: 1
  
  That they were able to take that action shows that they designed the feature into they system.
  I'll grant that, given that they had the capability, there were legal reasons why they should use it. But they shouldn't have had the capability. So I've refused to even consider purchasing a Kindle. (Every once in awhile I think about buying a Nook, but so far I haven't done so.)
  
  --
  
  I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
63. Re:Console games to follow by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 12:20 · Score: 1
  
  This way you resolve the moral dilemma of taking software without paying for it. It could be viewed as technically illegal but only under the odd DMCA laws (which don't apply in other countries). Technically just looking at contents of the files is illegal under DMCA as this could be reverse engineering... Whereas if you pirated it outright you'd be breaking other laws which are more common in many countries. By grabbing the second copy you're essentially doing fair-use allowing you to use the product you paid for in a slightly different way (almost always legal and definitely always ethical) such as running it w/o internet, running it when the company goes out of business, not being tied to only one computer, being able to transfer ownership to someone else, running it under a virtual machine or emulator, etc.
64. Re:Console games to follow by marcosdumay · 2012-03-28 12:39 · Score: 1
  
  There will probably be new AAAA games, made by different companies, that may or may not last longer than the current crop, but will start as nice indie companies with great games (just like the current ones did).
  
  --
  Rethinking email
65. Re:Console games to follow by rtb61 · 2012-03-28 12:49 · Score: 1
  
  This has nothing to do with security. It is a straight up sickening greed play. Computer game companies are going after childrens lollipop money by nickel and dime them with downloadable content, making them pay to keep up with their peers. Permanent connection, permanent sales line, permanent monitoring what sells, what doesn't sell all targeted at minors. Some really sick stuff. Want to win, they keep paying and paying and paying and paying, ad nauseum, all targeted at minors. Just think of adult corporate executives sitting in their office snorting up cocaine thinking of ways to scam more money out of children for bigger and bigger bonuses.
  
  --
  Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
66. Re:Console games to follow by sjames · 2012-03-28 12:57 · Score: 1
  
  Or, they'll ask online about it and they'll get links to the hacked pirate edition and told only suckers play the official version.
67. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:00 · Score: 1
  
  It's funny because it's partly true. Why would you keep buying the games? Piracy or not, why buy them?
68. Re:Console games to follow by Sowelu · 2012-03-28 13:33 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The answer is almost always "because the payment system is too onerous". Go put your game on Steam or something and people will be climbing over each other to buy it. Seriously, the difference between selling something yourself and putting it on Steam is like the difference between selling your book on Amazon and selling your book from your front porch twenty miles from nowhere.
69. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:42 · Score: 1
  
  This way you resolve the moral dilemma of taking software without paying for it.
  Only true if you believe there was such a moral dilemma in the first place.
  But the disadvantages to this approach is that you're still supporting companies who use DRM that screw over their customers. And their DRM could get much worse.
70. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:44 · Score: 1
  
  No one said that there is a "need" to play the games. However, the games are available for free, and it is easy to get them. Some people have no problems doing just that.
  I suspect they don't see it as a "need," but a way to get more entertainment for free.
71. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:50 · Score: 1
  
  Stop kidding yourself that people are making up piracy as some sort of "scare".
  Whether what you said is true or not, they are. I'm quite sick of people treating piracy as if it's some sort of national security emergency (rushing draconian bills through left and right). I'm quite sick of people who think the existence of piracy justifies harming all of their customers with DRM.
  
  I consider piracy a continuation of the welfare entitlement
  No entitlement is necessary. "It was there, I wanted it, so I downloaded it for free. If it wasn't there, I would get nothing." In that scenario, you're not demanding anything of anyone.
72. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:56 · Score: 1
  
  And? Books the customers thought were theirs, copies, were suddenly taken away. And for what reason? There was no shortage of supply there. Why take away the copies belonging to the customers?
73. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:57 · Score: 1
  
  And then tell me if harming your own customers to try to stop people from copying games is a good thing to do.
  Well, as long as most people don't care, it doesn't matter.
74. Re:Console games to follow by Nugoo · 2012-03-28 14:56 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Imagine that they release the game without any protection: the very first purchaser will make an image and post it on Pirate Bay. Thus all the others that want a copy of the game will have a free alternative to get it within minutes of the game release. Why would they pay money (There is VERY little appreciatioin or loyalty to the game developers/publishers in the real world) when they can get the perfect copy for free? Thus DRM is there just to make the initial amazing-cracker buyer spend this precious intitial release time cracking the system rather than making the game available.
  Sins of a Solar Empire and Galactic Civilizations 2 both sold very well with zero DRM, not to mention GOG appears to be doing pretty well. As for loyalty, Tim Schafer raised over 3 million dollars with just the promise of a new game. Gamers are disloyal to companies that don't respect us.
  
  --
  I explicitly release the above into the public domain.
75. Re:Console games to follow by geminidomino · 2012-03-28 16:01 · Score: 1
  
  Bollocks. That could have just as easily have been accomplished without screwing over single-players by using the same system they used in D2 which, AFAIK, was never broken to the point where SP characters ended up on BNet.
76. Re:Console games to follow by firefrei · 2012-03-28 16:48 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. I'll stick with the classics that I still find fun as well the occasional new game that doesn't have oppressive DRM which is also fun. But if it becomes the case whereby virtually all new games require always-on DRM and I end up not having control over my software any longer, then I'll give it up entirely and move onto something else.
  These publishers act as if people HAVE to play their games, as if it's an insatiable need rather than a want. Not all of us are so weak-willed.
  
  --
  I remember when Linux was good... too...
77. Re:Console games to follow by Jesus_666 · 2012-03-28 17:08 · Score: 1
  
  Luckily, some companies are getting it. For example, Gearbox made a page (unfortunately apparently offline again, although there are copies) that lists how many PC-specific features Borderlands 2 has. One of them is offline LAN multiplayer. We've gotten to the point where the more customer-savvy companies are starting to use "no always-on requirement" as a selling point, just like "no DRM" has become a selling point recently.
  
  I think this can be used as a basic gauge for how connected a company is with the gamers. Blizzard has done a full 180, treating every game like World of Warcraft (and angering everyone who doesn't want to play ladder all the time); Gearbox understands that always-on DRM is very unpopular and companies like GOG or indie developers usually eschew DRM entirely.
  
  --
  USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
78. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 18:05 · Score: 0
  
  It didn't work last May, I don't know why you think it would work now. Sony is still perfectly happy fucking its customers.
79. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 18:08 · Score: 0
  
  WTF. The "war" is not over so long as there ARE people willing to go without. All you need is enough people to actually get caught up with this shit and actually give a sufficient fuck to take their business elsewhere.
  It's only "over" when people like yourself conform to it and continue on buying shit even if you hate it "because it's here to stay".
  It won't stay if they won't make money off of it.
80. Re:Console games to follow by MagusSlurpy · 2012-03-28 18:15 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, my main time spent playing SimCity and Civilization games is when I'm at work on the weekends for OT, and I'm stuck in the QA lab. During OT, typically there is only one of the twelve production lines running, which means I only actually work for about half an hour of the eight-hour shift. I get a lot of single-player gaming done, as the 'net is restricted by MAC address. I normally just put Steam in offline mode and fire up Civ or Torchlight or another timesink game that has insane amounts of replay value, but requiring a connection puts the kibosh on that plan. Sorry, Maxis, I'd love to give you my money, but EA just doesn't want it.
  
  --
  My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
81. Re:Console games to follow by Carewolf · 2012-03-28 18:57 · Score: 1
  
  Since that would still be illegal, why would someone bother?
  Downloading a game you have bought is not illegal, why would it be?
  It is illegal for people who doesn't own it, for those that do, it is just a valid back-up mechanism.
82. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 19:00 · Score: 0
  
  You don't need a connection to play SC2. If you don't have one when you log in it just states you wont get any achievements
83. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 20:01 · Score: 0
  
  The high sales numbers the first two weeks are the early adopters buying the game, because they think they need to have it. Then when they find out how crap the DRM is, rather than recommending the game to their friends, they warn them about it. That's the drop you see.
  I got a legal copy of Star Craft 2. I wish someone had warned me, and told me to wait for the pirated version. Their privacy policy is horrible, and though it has a clause about allowing to have your personal information deleted, as I read it, that will also get your game account deleted, ending up having paid $$$ for a useless box.
84. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 22:00 · Score: 0
  
  Is it really that hard to have some dignity and not play a game you don't support?
  Your version of "dignity" helps nobody. Not the gamer who wants to play, and not the company that wants money. At least pirating it gives one part what they want.
  Another solution (which I have personally used) is to pirate AND buy the game. Put the box on the shelf, install the pirated version. But as paying for the game supports the DRM, this solution may be a problem for some (including me, but in this case, it was a choice between not supporting the DRM, and supporting the people who made the best game I've played for years).
85. Re:Console games to follow by L4t3r4lu5 · 2012-03-28 22:05 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Concern is that the mass public aren't even aware of this and won't be UNTIL they go to try it in few years and realise they cannot play.
  
  Then, eventually there will just by simply acceptance that this is normal.
  Oh they're aware. Steam gamers are very aware.
  
  Currently, the only way to access Steam games offline is to go into "Offline Mode" while you're online, which caches your auth token or something. If you don't do this, your games are inaccessible when offline.
  
  This is the third time I've posted this, but it's important. If your connection goes down, Steam servers are on the fritz, your network card / router / modem dies etc. your Steam games are inaccessible. This applies to any and all online authentication DRM (some Games for Windows, Origin, many EA titles, to name some of them). After being burned by this issue for 3 days when BT "upgraded" my home connection, I don't buy any games on Steam, not even on sale, and I've told Valve as much. I'm also creating an archive of downloaded installation images and cracks for the games I've bought through Steam. I thoroughly encourage anyone else who values the products they've bought to do the same.
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
86. Re:Console games to follow by L4t3r4lu5 · 2012-03-28 22:24 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, no returns when buying through Origin.
  Caveat emptor. This DRM doesn't affect me, as I don't buy games through Origin. Nor EA, Games for Windows, and no longer through Steam (posted about Offline Mode twice on the thread already, not explaining again).
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
87. Re:Console games to follow by cbope · 2012-03-28 22:50 · Score: 1
  
  Correct, but if a game needs to phone home to launch, that's not going to work. Valve may tolerate letting their own single-player games run in offline mode, don't expect that games from other publishers will allow it even if they use the Steam platform for distribution.
  Remember, Steam is really nothing more than a content delivery system. Individual game developers are free to add their own draconian DRM on top, and many have done so. I can't now recall which games, but one or two in recent history even needed Games for Windows Live installed, even though they were purchased and downloaded through Steam. Yes, GfWL is not technically DRM, but the fact that it provides a similar service to Steam shows that developers and publishers are free to tack on whatever they like even on Steam.
  With this said, Steam is still in my mind a tolerable system. I have rarely had issues with it and I have been using it constantly since ~2004 or so. The worst thing that has happened to me was losing my progress in a casual game after a Steam cloud sync problem. Other than that, it's rare to see any problems and I like the idea that I can play my games anywhere I can access my Steam account.
88. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 22:55 · Score: 0
  
  Since that would still be illegal, why would someone bother?
  Downloading a game you have bought is not illegal, why would it be?
  It is illegal for people who doesn't own it, for those that do, it is just a valid back-up mechanism.
  Copyright. It's illegal to distribute software if you don't have the rights to do so, which puts the sender of the file in the wrong. From here, laws vary from place to place. Where I am the receiver would be considered to be participating in the sender's offense. In the US I think only the sending part is illegal, except that the receiver has run afoul of the DMCA.
89. Re:Console games to follow by thejynxed · 2012-03-28 23:25 · Score: 1
  
  In the case of the publishing industry, several large name publishers are doing exactly this when it comes to eBooks. They are of the mindset that since eBooks are a different medium, etc, etc, etc, that libraries have no right to lend them out without buying one copy of the eBook each time it is "lent" out. Some are even of the mindset that libraries may not have eBook versions of their dead-tree books period.
  
  --
  @Mindless Drivel: 100% of Twitter posts ever Tweeted.
90. Re:Console games to follow by JohnnyMindcrime · 2012-03-28 23:29 · Score: 1
  
  I think major games publishers are now flogging a dead horse anyway.
  Microsoft, deliberately or not, initiated the slow death of commercial PC gaming by fragmenting DirectX versions over Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 and there's no denying that the number of new PC game releases has dropped over the past few years as a result. With fewer new bleeding-edge games coming out, the need for PC upgrades has also dropped which has meant that hardware manufacturers have gone over to newer products like netbooks and tablets.
  I personally believe we are approaching a renaissance in computer gaming, whether or not the PC ultimately survives as a hardware platform. One of the best things to happen to gaming is the rise of lower-powered platforms and more simplistic and independent games, meaning that huge game production budgets are becoming less important and smaller teams of programmers, or even individual programmers, can now get back in the game and produce good games. This goes back to the Golden Age of Computing in the days of home computers like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga, as well as many others.
  The best thing that can happen is that big publishers continue with their greed - they will ultimately kill themselves off, or at least move away from developing on the PC completely - paving the way for the "little guys" to come in and get a "piece of the action" in programming games on what is essentially an open platform anyway.
  
  --
  Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
91. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 23:33 · Score: 0
  
  It would be good to hear some opinions on how to ensure that developers/publishers see the full profits of their labours as well as respecting the customer.
  Basically, in information dealing business, you own information only until you release at least one single copy of it. If you are not payed completely at that point, anything you get afterwards are in reality just voluntary tips from sympathetic strangers.
  So, it boils down to two options: a single sale, or pre-sale with two sub-options.
  Single sale: Sell just one single copy at fixed price or to the highest bidder, who can resell a handful of copies to willing highest bidders who can ... etc. until copies can be bought for affordable price or someone altruistic put them up for download for free.
  Pre-sale: donations option - Kickstarter - the public knows that ultimately it will get the product one way or another, if it gets made at all, so they can do something about it and help, if they care.
  Pre-sale: subscription option - all paying customers must apply and pay the same price prior to release.
  In this way the hardest part to swallow is that you have to decide for yourself on limits of your profit. It is easy to sell too cheap, or to demand unrealistically high price and fail to sell at all. Also, note that although with pre-sale approach copyright enforcement becomes unnecessary for protection of your earnings, it could still apply (while the single sale approach is absolutely contradicted to copyright, unless licensing allows copying and resale of copies - e.g. copyleft), but it would be regarded as greed by your customers and lead to diminished profits in the future.
92. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 23:44 · Score: 0
  
  I too bought all the previous versions and that's the very first thing I said to myself after reading about the "required" internet connection. Can't play it on a plane or at my rural property (no Internet connection).
93. Re:Console games to follow by Digital+Vomit · 2012-03-28 23:59 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Tim Schafer raised over 3 million dollars with just the promise of a new game. Gamers are disloyal to companies that don't respect us.
  Brian Fargo also got a million and a half dollars in less than two days from fans in order to make a sequel to Wasteland (the predecessor to the first two Fallout games).
  There is *far* more developer loyalty and appreciation among fans than the OP thinks. The publishers made the same mistake in their thinking. For a decade they refused to help Brian Fargo get a Wasteland 2 game made, thinking it would not make money. Then someone gave Fargo the idea of raising money via Kickstarter and *boom*.
  The *publishers* deserve the little to no appreciation or loyalty they get. They only get in the way of the gamers and game makers who want to make each other happy. They are the ones who insist on ridiculous DRM schemes, DLC scams, and such.
  
  --
  Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
94. Re:Console games to follow by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-29 00:33 · Score: 1
  
  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well, I won't be fooled again!
95. Re:Console games to follow by mhajicek · 2012-03-29 01:36 · Score: 2
  
  I played Mechwarrior 4 Mercs last night. Still works on Win 7.
96. Re:Console games to follow by mhajicek · 2012-03-29 01:41 · Score: 1
  
  They also offer something significant in exchange for operating online. You can log in from any computer anywhere, download and play your games.
97. Re:Console games to follow by Glothar · 2012-03-29 02:02 · Score: 1
  
  From what I understand: No, they weren't owned by the customers.
  In order to own the book, it needs to be obtained legally from a seller who had a legal right to sell it. If Amazon didn't have the right to sell it, they didn't have the right to make a copy to sell to a customer, and the customer never purchased a license to use that copyrighted work. Since Kindles on a service model where you can distribute multiple copies to different devices, allowing the book to exist on the customer's account is a continual violation of the author's copyright.
  Now, this does mean that those customers should absolutely be refunded the cost of the book that was taken away.
98. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 02:05 · Score: 0
  
  i've not tried with origin but i have received refunds from steam and impulse when requested.
  though i do make sure to point out UK distant selling laws... (basically we can get a refund if asked for within 7 days regardless of the reason as long as we return (uninstall) the product)
99. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 02:26 · Score: 0
  
  I go back even further to SimCity SNES and SimCity Classic, and the more recent failure SimCity Societies.
  I've since purchased Cities XL, Cities In Motion, Anno, etc.
  EA's greed let Will Wright's genre-defining series fall by the wayside.
100. Re:Console games to follow by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-29 02:41 · Score: 1
  
  But here's the thing: those books were digital. As such, it isn't as if their supply was low.
  If anyone should be punished, I think it should be seller who sold the books, not the customers who bought them. I believe those customers should've been allowed to keep the books.
  There is absolutely zero point in removing the books from the actual customers. That just punishes them (and since the books can be infinite in number, it's quite pointless) rather than the one that actually sold them.
101. Re:Console games to follow by webheaded · 2012-03-29 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  You actually bring up some good points. So then issue me a patch after 2 weeks that disables all the DRM. Or the people working at these companies are real people...when they see pirated copies show up, the gig is up, release the patch then. I think I would be willing to put up with some of this shit for a few weeks but to have to deal with it forever urks me.
  
  I think this would be the best compromise. If your DRM is cracked then really...fuck it. What's the point anymore other than frustrating your customers?
  
  --
  "Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
102. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 03:19 · Score: 0
  
  Galactic Civilizations II
  Your argument is invalid.
103. Re:Console games to follow by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-29 03:19 · Score: 1
  
  The benefit of Steam over other constant connection systems, however, is that if I know I'm going to be going on a trip I can switch to Offline mode beforehand and I'm fine. Can't do that with Origin.
  The fact that there's a way to /shut off/ the internet connection requirement is good enough for me.
104. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 03:20 · Score: 0
  
  Suppose piracy was physically impossible. How much copies do you think you would have sold, realistically?
  Piracy rates may be huge, but it doesn't magically reduce the amount of money people can spend on media. It just increases the number of games/films/songs they have access to.
105. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 04:52 · Score: 0
  
  Nope, still illegal. In fact, it's just exactly as illegal as downloading it without buying it.
  So, why would anyone do this? It's stupid, just pirate the damn thing. Don't give the game companies money for fucking you, it's rewarding bad behavior and they'll just do it again.
  And don't just not play it - some industry shills on here would say that you should just go without - but going without sends the wrong message. The message the game companies need to get is "We like your games, we want to play them, but we're not going to give you any money for fucking us. So We're going to play the games anyway, and fuck you."
106. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 04:58 · Score: 0
  
  Or the servers are just offline for weeks, without any hacker intervention. See: The Settlers 7.
107. Re:Console games to follow by dririan · 2012-03-29 04:58 · Score: 1
  
  I was talking about games without extra DRM tacked on. I figured that was implied, because games that require an Internet connection have a big fat warning on their Store page, so people should know what they're getting into there.
  
  Yes, some games on Steam use GfWL. They also warn you on the Store page that it has it. "3rd-party DRM: Games for Windows Live" Of course, GfWL also lets you play single-player games offline, as well. I think it's fair to make you be online to play a game online.
108. Re:Console games to follow by Bengie · 2012-03-29 05:35 · Score: 1
  
  "UNTIL they go to try it in few years and realise they cannot play"
  We need a legal way to punish companies who do this kind of stuff. Any game that has a single player mode should be required to have a permanent offline mode that does not require activation, unless there is some game-breaking feature that is absolutely required for the core game-play that requires an internet connection. Achievements, friend's list, etc do not count.
  The sales company should have some amount of responsibility to the customer past the sale. One could argue malicious intent or a bait an switch style thing. "here's a game that won't work". Like a car explicitly designed designed to kill itself. LEMON LAW!
  Obviously my idea needs to be refined for words, but the "spirit" of the idea is understandable. There should be no "self destruct" mechanism. "My bicycle lost internet connection, so it refuses to work"
109. Re:Console games to follow by Bengie · 2012-03-29 05:40 · Score: 2
  
  Steam is a convenience for control trade-off. For most people it is not an issue, but at least your point makes sense, unlike most other people just going "ZOMG DRM, Steam is horrible"
  As much as you hate Steam's DRM, I hate purchasing physical media. To each their own.
110. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 05:52 · Score: 0
  
  Considering that I pirated Simcity 2000, 3000, and 4, I completely understand their logic.
111. Re:Console games to follow by Carewolf · 2012-03-29 06:23 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, still illegal. In fact, it's just exactly as illegal as
  downloading it without buying it.
  Not anywhere I live. It is still illegal for those distributing to distribute it, but it is completely legal for me as an owner to download it.
  Also I usually don't have to download the game. Just the crack, a user-mod for a game I already own. Are user-mods illegal, huh?
112. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 06:38 · Score: 0
  
  Ummmmmm....
  Just because there hasn't been a SimCity game, doesn't mean the genre just went away.
  http://www2.citiesxl.com/ is chugging along just fine.
113. Re:Console games to follow by Jesus_666 · 2012-03-29 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Wrong. You're thinking that the issue is "people might use hacked characters in ladder games". The real problem they tried to solve is "people might not be optimally exposed to the marketplace". They want every character to be ladder so that every character will constantly have that marketplace in reach so that the number of purchases is maximized.
  
  With Diablo 3 you are no longer the customer, you are the product. Which is a big reason why I'm going to buy Torchlight 2 instead.
  
  --
  USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
114. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 07:39 · Score: 0
  
  Not exactly. Bliz is more acting like PayPal or being an App Store, getting a cut of the transactions
  Bliz selling items and other stuff (buffs, trinkets, etc) themselves would make it micro transactions akin to F2P (free to play) models, or WoW selling pets and trinkets. Whether this turns the game to P2W (pay to win) is depends on the exact nature of what's sold
  It's not everybody's cup of tea, but the users/players are still the end customers.
115. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 07:54 · Score: 0
  
  Bullshit. The PC gaming companies have no choice but to implement DRM; otherwise they'll lose millions to piracy.
116. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 10:43 · Score: 0
  
  Irrelevant. Consider the dead-tree analogue of this situation: They enter my home without permission and remove the book from my bookshelf. Is that acceptable to you?
  - T
117. Re:Console games to follow by toddestan · 2012-03-29 13:37 · Score: 2
  
  The bad thing about Steam is when my internet connection unexpectedly goes down, I can't play my (single player) Steam games while I wait for it to come back up.
118. Re:Console games to follow by Jesus_666 · 2012-03-29 21:20 · Score: 1
  
  Well, they're both. Blizzard doesn't sell the items but the game still seems to be optimized towards the the number of marketplace transactions being maximized. I can see no other reason for "let's force all players to play online and by ladder rules all the time".
  
  Okay, there is another explanation, namely that Blizzard doesn't understand how to make a game that isn't a MMORPG but I don't really believe that.
  
  --
  USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
119. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-30 02:47 · Score: 0
  
  Saddly I'm a Diablo fanboi ... saddly I'll buy the game no matter what :(
  Sometimes it sucks to be a fanboi ...
120. Re:Console games to follow by jwhitener · 2012-03-30 05:38 · Score: 1
  
  Do you think that you are purchasing less because of DRM / game quality, or just because you might be getting older?
  I work at a college, and half the laptops I see are playing some online game. I wonder if younger generations are buying and playing just as many games as we did when younger.
121. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-30 09:55 · Score: 0
  
  Which means i will just break the law and pirate it and instead get a fully working game for free.
  Some people might actually like to play games where there are no internet connection as well, like for example on a trip.
  And what will happen in lets say 10 years from now when EA decides to shutdown those servers?? Then I will no longer be able to play the game I spent my hard earned cash on.
122. Re:Console games to follow by geminidomino · 2012-03-30 19:20 · Score: 1
  
  No I'm not. I'm calling bullshit on the "hacked characters" excuse.
123. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 00:12 · Score: 0
  
  Wrong.... It doesn't matter how many times you've played the game. You need to "Go Offline" while still connected to the internet. If you try to "Go Offline" while not connected to the internet, you get an error that says "cannot connect to the internet." I kid you not. I got burned trying to play games on my laptop on a long train ride. I will never buy a steam game again.
124. Re:Console games to follow by Coren22 · 2012-04-03 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  Which is what happened with 1984, and is why Amazon had to pull the book and refund the money. The publisher that put it out on Amazon's store didn't have rights to the work, so Amazon had to reverse the sale.
  
  --
  APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
125. Re:Console games to follow by Coren22 · 2012-04-03 03:10 · Score: 1
  
  polluting vehicles off the road (and into landfills)
  Just so you know, this is bunk. Cars are almost entirely recyclable, and are one of the most recycled items on the planet.
  Here is an article where Ford says their cars are 85% recyclable:
  http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20003169-54.html
  
  --
  APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
126. Re:Console games to follow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-10 02:32 · Score: 0
  
  I'd like to point out that Sins of a Solar Empire, which I bought over the holiday during the sale, now appears to require online activation prior to running.
  Not sure about GalCiv2, I was so disappointed in Sins' DRM I got too despondent to install it.
Limited use by guspasho · 2012-03-28 08:14 · Score: 5, Insightful

Can I get my money back when the service is inevitably cancelled?
1. Re:Limited use by gcnaddict · 2012-03-28 08:16 · Score: 2
  
  Worthy case for small claims, actually.
  
  --
  Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
2. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:17 · Score: 0
  
  No.
3. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:17 · Score: 0
  
  Just make sure you go ask, in small claims court. everyone.
4. Re:Limited use by pclminion · 2012-03-28 08:22 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  No, and why would you expect it? When the United States banned leaded gasoline in cars, did they federal government offer to buy your leaded-fuel vehicle at fair market value? Time passes, shit changes, life goes on. If it seems like a risk you don't feel comfortable taking, don't take it. It's not like they're being deceptive about it, it's right here on Slashdot.
5. Re:Limited use by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · 2012-03-28 08:25 · Score: 1
  
  Worthy case for small claims, actually.
  Unless of course you've given up your rights for legal action in exchange for arbitration...
  
  --
  "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
6. Re:Limited use by Desler · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  And by 'worthy case' you mean he'll be 'laughed out of court and will have his case dismissed', right?
7. Re:Limited use by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-28 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  There exist additives to support cars that require leaded fuel. The only support for no-longer-support games is the pirates!
8. Re:Limited use by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Or people could use the patch that eliminates the online requirement which will be released five minutes after the game. :)
9. Re:Limited use by cduffy · 2012-03-28 08:32 · Score: 1
  
  And by 'worthy case' you mean he'll be 'laughed out of court and will have his case dismissed', right?
  Only if they bother to show up. Which costs them money. Otherwise, he gets a default judgement regardless of the merits.
10. Re:Limited use by Oligonicella · 2012-03-28 08:32 · Score: 1
  
  State dependent. Some states will not enforce some agreements.
11. Re:Limited use by Petron · 2012-03-28 08:34 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Except for the fact that leaded gasoline cars could run unleaded gas with lead-replacement additives put into the fuel.
  
  A lot of DRM would be much more acceptable if the publisher guaranteed to put out a patch X months (or even years) after release to allow off-line play. In a game's life-cycle, the first few months of release are the most profitable. Trying to prevent copy-right infringement at that point is the most productive. If a company, say after 6-9 months would release a patch that removed the DRM, it wouldn't bother me enough to prevent me from buying the game.
  
  --
  if (it != oneThing) it = another;
12. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:36 · Score: 0
  
  Quite often when there is a shift in technology the government does offer you a grant or incentive to upgrade. This has happened a lot recently with solar panels, light bulbs & other forms of energy efficiency.
  Thats also what happened with the RIAA. The way people listen to music changed and they couldn't cope. The government changed laws to give them a massive grant and now they're dying away.
13. Re:Limited use by Nemesisghost · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  A lot of DRM would be much more acceptable if the publisher guaranteed to put out a patch X months (or even years) after release to allow off-line play. In a game's life-cycle, the first few months of release are the most profitable. Trying to prevent copy-right infringement at that point is the most productive. If a company, say after 6-9 months would release a patch that removed the DRM, it wouldn't bother me enough to prevent me from buying the game.
  No it wouldn't. The problem here is that you assume that if you purchase a copy after the DRM removal patch is out that your "new" copy won't have the DRM. Most likely, the DRM will still be apart of the retail copy and years down the road after they've stopped supporting the game you won't be able to find the patch that removes the DRM. A patch you need every time you need/decide to reinstall something you own.
14. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:42 · Score: 0
  
  Just a FYI
  An car originally requiring lead fuel can run just fine on unleaded so the switch had no impact on a persons ability to use their car. In fact they didn't start adding lead to petrol until around 1950.
  
  Side note: This was right around the time the catalytic carburetors used on Allied tanks in Africa to double their operating range , not anti-smog converters, were becoming available to the public. The lead gummed up the catalyst, just like the "detergents" in modern unleaded.
15. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:42 · Score: 0
  
  Can I get my money back on my combustion engine car when gas stations inevitably sell hydrogen fuel and electricity instead of gasoline? Can I get my money back on my leaded gasoline car because leaded gasoline is no longer sold?
  In both cases, workarounds of legacy products are either provided officially by government/company/service-provider, or unofficially by enthusiasts (leaded gas additives, selling legacy gasoline on e-bay in a hydrogen economy, or cracking the product to no longer need online servers, etc.), or not enough people even care about the legacy product then for it to even be relevant--in which case, why should you care either?
  Nothing lasts forever. Especially products that rely on other services. And other services empower the economy so that more products get made. Either don't buy any products or get over it and move on like the rest of us.
16. Re:Limited use by betterunixthanunix · 2012-03-28 08:45 · Score: 2
  
  It's not like they're being deceptive about it
  So if I go to a store and pick up a copy of Sim City, I will see something to the effect of, "This game can be played as long as we continue to operate our online service" written somewhere on the box?
  
  People generally assume that when they buy software, it will work as long as they maintain their copy of it; if EA is not being clear that that is not the case here, then they are being deceptive.
  
  --
  Palm trees and 8
17. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:47 · Score: 0
  
  No cars in the US required leaded fuel. It was just a cheap way to raise the octane. There were some claims that it "lubricated the valves" or something like that, but I think that was marketing BS. There was a study on how running leaded versus non-leaded affected the motor and found that running leaded was actually worse for the motor. Some studies did indicate that certain kinds of motors benefited from the lead, but it really only helped motors that were running at max RPMs a high percentage of the time. Think things like lawnmowers and outboard motors. There was some indication that some european cars that ran at higher RPMs more often might benefit from it, but this was a US study, so those weren't tested... YMMV. (heee!)
  Forgive the lack of a link, but I read about the study in Reader's Digest back when you could still buy leaded fuel.
18. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:49 · Score: 0
  
  Well i'm still waiting what happens to Windows XP after it's EOL in 2014 - will they simply turn of the activation servers, or will they provide a hotfix to remove that crap...?
19. Re:Limited use by Baloroth · 2012-03-28 08:53 · Score: 1
  
  Not a huge loss, since the pirates generally offer better support anyways.
  
  --
  "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
20. Re:Limited use by Stele · 2012-03-28 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  Not really. He'll sign away all of his rights by agreeing to the mandatory license agreement before installing the game. The not-so-fine print will be that they can shut off access to the game at any time for any reason, and he can't do anything about it (except download the inevitable crack).
21. Re:Limited use by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-28 09:01 · Score: 2
  
  The lead also buffered the valve seating according to Wikipedia. Modern (post-lead) engines have hardened valves to make up for this.
22. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:03 · Score: 0
  
  Did your leaded fuel car refuse to start that day? If you stored up a bunch of fuel so you could drive it for years afterwards, would the car set off a warning bell and refuse to turn over? Was it impossible to convert the car to gas (replace the engine) and then keep driving it because they welded the made-of-cobalt engine compartment shut? Did the car actively thwart your attempt to remove the engine? Did it or its makers want to call the police and put you in jail for it?
  No? It even kept running? It was just hard to get fuel for it? That's all?
  Tell me, when the servers for simcity turn off, will it be hard to make simcity work, or will it be literally impossible within the scope of the law? Will I be able to replace the engine that requires internet fuel with one that simply doesn't require anything without going to jail? Will simcity purposely try to make it difficult->impossible to replace that engine? Yes? It will?
  Your analogy sucks ass.
23. Re:Limited use by SuricouRaven · 2012-03-28 09:08 · Score: 1
  
  Activation? What activation? None of my images ever asked for activation...
24. Re:Limited use by X0563511 · 2012-03-28 09:33 · Score: 1
  
  Even better. Many such arbitration things let you write them a certified letter saying "no" to it and opting out.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
25. Re:Limited use by firex726 · 2012-03-28 09:38 · Score: 1
  
  The illegal patch, which they could still have action brought against them a decade after the game's activation servers were brought offline.
  Remember as part of the DMCA you cannot bypass copyright restrictions, so even if there is no always-on DRM, if you so much as use a no-cd crack you might find yourself getting a problematic letter in the mail.
26. Re:Limited use by petermgreen · 2012-03-28 10:32 · Score: 1
  
  With XP online activation was only used for retail and system builder copies. Big brand OEM copies use a bios lock system and volume license copies didn't have any activation requirements at all.
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
27. Re:Limited use by petermgreen · 2012-03-28 10:40 · Score: 1
  
  An car originally requiring lead fuel can run just fine on unleaded
  My understanding is (this is UK based, maybe US cars were different internally) that using normal unleaded fuel in a car without hardened valve seats will lead to premature wear of the valve seats in the cylinder head. To get around this you can either use a special additive in the fuel or you can have hardened valve seats fitted (which means removing the cylinder head and sending it off to a specialist).
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
28. Re:Limited use by Manfre · 2012-03-28 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  Having a judgement against a person/company and collecting on that judgement are completely different battles.
29. Re:Limited use by PsychoSlashDot · 2012-03-28 12:30 · Score: 1
  
  you won't be able to find the patch that removes the DRM.
  What? Google goes out of business and all we're left with is Bing? The future you describe is unthinkable.
  
  --
  "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
30. Re:Limited use by cduffy · 2012-03-28 12:47 · Score: 1
  
  Having a judgement against a person/company and collecting on that judgement are completely different battles.
  Sure, but for a company like EA, and a judgement that small? It's cheaper to just pay it.
31. Re:Limited use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 13:10 · Score: 0
  
  Didn't CD Projekt did remove the DRM for The Witcher 2 with a patch?
  Just get the latest version and you're all set to play.
32. Re:Limited use by Manfre · 2012-03-28 14:44 · Score: 1
  
  It's cheaper and not that difficult for them to just ignore the judgement, especially if they do not have an office in your state. Crossing state lines is a bit out of the local sheriff's jurisdiction.
33. Re:Limited use by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-03-28 15:28 · Score: 1
  
  I won't tell if you won't. :)
34. Re:Limited use by thegarbz · 2012-03-28 20:46 · Score: 1
  
  When the United States banned leaded gasoline in cars, did they federal government offer to buy your leaded-fuel vehicle at fair market value?
  Did they ban you and throw you in jail for modifying the engine to run on unleaded? Did the creators of alternative parts get sued into the ground? Not to mention that leaded engines run just fine with a fuel additive you're comparing something with plenty of legal alternatives to something which will essentially be completely illegal to be brought into a working condition in 17 years time.
  You should consider going to a classic car meet to see how the absence of leaded fuel has had zero impact on the availability and usability of some really classic and ancient cars.
35. Re:Limited use by Nemesisghost · 2012-03-29 01:52 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, because downloading executable software from a random website has always been a good idea. Even better is running this software on your naturally very secure copy of Windows. Yeah, not seeing a problem with that. Sorry for bringing up what obviously is not going to be a problem at all.
36. Re:Limited use by cduffy · 2012-03-29 03:55 · Score: 1
  
  It's cheaper and not that difficult for them to just ignore the judgement, especially if they do not have an office in your state. Crossing state lines is a bit out of the local sheriff's jurisdiction.
  EA has a lot of offices -- they have a presence in the state I live in now (actually, the same city), and the state I was in before this one as well. But even if they didn't -- it wouldn't be hard to use that judgement to generate bad PR worth more than its face value.
37. Re:Limited use by PsychoSlashDot · 2012-03-29 11:46 · Score: 1
  
  If only there was an Internet where people posted comments and reviews of things. If you're not looking for a cutting-edge crack, you're not really in any meaningful danger. There's not really much of a chance that if you were to look for a cracked version of oh, say, Wing Commander ][ today that you'd find it infected with cutting-edge undetectable 0-day rootkit technology that you can't deal with.
  
  --
  "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
This is great news! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:14 · Score: 0

Now I won't be tempted to buy it.
Well if you stopped pirating your software. by jellomizer · 2012-03-28 08:15 · Score: -1, Flamebait

If you disagree with the licence don't use it... It is a game. You don't need a game.

--
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
1. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by Xugumad · 2012-03-28 08:20 · Score: 2
  
  I'm not buying it. I'll probably buy something from GOG instead.
  Still disappointed though.
2. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by Desler · 2012-03-28 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  But...but I'm owed this game! How dare you tell me to just not get it rather than pirate it!!!
3. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by betterunixthanunix · 2012-03-28 08:33 · Score: 2
  
  Right, because fighting the market for used games did not factor into this decision at all. Gaming companies have so much respect for their users that they would only create these sorts of draconian DRM schemes if they were desperate to do so, because of the crushing weight of piracy, right?
  
  Get real -- this is because Maxis has no respect for SimCity players and sees nothing beyond a chance to make a little more money than they did before.
  
  --
  Palm trees and 8
4. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by CAIMLAS · 2012-03-28 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  What if 1984's publisher was able to put DRM in the book, and did so, at that time?
  Sure, you don't need it. But a valuable part of culture would've been unavailable to subsequent generations due to, uh, Orwellian restrictions.
  
  --
  ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
5. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by CAIMLAS · 2012-03-28 08:36 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I also want to add: I'm more likely to buy a game if I don't have to deal with the DRM. I can install it anywhere, just like I can read a book anywhere. Software has enough limitations as it is, I don't need the added restrictions of DRM to restrict my use of the game after a certain poorly defined point.
  
  --
  ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
6. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by jxander · 2012-03-28 08:37 · Score: 2
  
  If anything, DRM like this will cause *MORE* piracy, as the pirated versions will be cracked and able to play locally.
  
  --
  This signature is false.
7. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:43 · Score: 0
  
  Just like the suppliers are owed an income, right?
8. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by AdamJS · 2012-03-28 08:43 · Score: 1
  
  If you don't like Comcast and Verizon and AT&T and (insert monopolistic service provider here) violating net neutrality and grossly under-delivering on their promises, then just don't buy from them!
9. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by BobNET · 2012-03-28 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  I'm going to download it.
10. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:04 · Score: 1
  
  If only they had. Then all the fucking assholes around here who never read the book would stop with the "Orwell predicted this..." or "Right out of 1984..." bullshit.
11. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:05 · Score: 0
  
  But...but I'm owed this game! How dare you tell me to just not get it rather than pirate it!!!
  It's okay everyone, the strawman had it coming.
12. Re:Well if you stopped pirating your software. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:24 · Score: 0
  
  ^ Best. Post. Ever.
Don't like it, don't play it by pclminion · 2012-03-28 08:15 · Score: -1, Troll

Personally, I was mighty pissed in 1995 when I tried to install Might & Magic III and the program told me it didn't have enough memory to run. I mean the NERVE of those guys. They sell me a game but it turns out I need to have constant access to RAM in order to use it? What a load.
1. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:20 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Not sure if trolling or incredibly fucking stupid......
2. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:20 · Score: 1
  
  Not even close to the same thing, even when taking into account the global economy feature. Your post is bad and you should feel bad
3. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:21 · Score: 0
  
  Right, because hardware requirements (RAM) are obviously the same thing as needing an Internet connection for no apparent reason? Way to go for specious reasoning skills.
4. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by HCase · 2012-03-28 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  Did they also say that they would take away your RAM at some point if you did have enough? Among other important differences with you story is that an always on connection means that you lose the game whenever the publishers decides to turn it off.
  Publisher decisions like this are a perfectly valid thing to complain about. It expresses your displeasure to a company so that they make a product more to your liking, and it warns other people about the faults you care about.
5. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by pclminion · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: 0
  
  Did they also say that they would take away your RAM at some point if you did have enough?
  Huh? That's not even a sensible analogy.
  Among other important differences with you story is that an always on connection means that you lose the game whenever the publishers decides to turn it off.
  True, and that's a very good reason to not buy this game, if you feel that's a risk. Your point? I don't see your point. Unless your point is "Blaaaarhghhghgh, Hulk Mad!" Because that's what it sounds like.
6. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: 0
  
  Adobe CS had that same problem. I just modified the installation XML file, and it installed just fine. Try doing that with a game like this, and you're a criminal under the DMCA for attempting to circumvent DRM.
7. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by CanHasDIY · 2012-03-28 08:36 · Score: 1
  
  If I had to wager a guess, I'd say a little from column A, little from column B...
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
8. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Shompol · 2012-03-28 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  Let me fix this analogy for you:
  
  Personally, I was mighty pissed in 1995 when I tried to install Might & Magic III and the program told me it needed access to the phone line to call Mr Z. who sold the game to verify that he actually did sell it and it wasn't resold, copied, etc. I mean the NERVE of those guys. They sell me a game but it turns out I need to have constant access to phone line and Mr. Z. needs to be in business and still selling it, because as soon as he quits picking up the damn phone the game says buy-buy and bricks itself. ? What a load.
9. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Shompol · 2012-03-28 08:51 · Score: 1
  
  Typo: ... says bye-bye and you go to buy-buy yourself another game.
10. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by jellomizer · 2012-03-28 08:53 · Score: 1
  
  I remembered earlier when VGA only games started to come out. I had a CGA screen and most EGA games will run in CGA mode... However when VGA came out they dropped CGA. I was quite annoyed that they dropped CGA.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
11. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:01 · Score: 0
  
  Did they also say that they would take away your RAM at some point if you did have enough?
  Huh? That's not even a sensible analogy.
  It's as sensible as the analogy you used. You compare a hardware requirement that is necessary for for running the game, RAM, to a service requirement that isn't necessary, a constant connection to their servers. The publishers of this game can choose at any time to turn off their servers, and any time you go to play the game, you'll be unable to. Using your own faulty analogy, it would be as if someone came along and removed the RAM from your computer, thus preventing you from installing the game that you were once able to install and play.
  
  Among other important differences with you story is that an always on connection means that you lose the game whenever the publishers decides to turn it off.
  True, and that's a very good reason to not buy this game, if you feel that's a risk. Your point? I don't see your point. Unless your point is "Blaaaarhghhghgh, Hulk Mad!" Because that's what it sounds like.
  It may not be very clear, but his point is that this is a growing trend in the industry, and it is killing his hobby. Little by little, the pool of new enjoyable games is shrinking. To use another analogy, it would be as if a person living in a warm climate who enjoyed playing ice hockey were faced with the problem of rinks closing every year, requiring him to travel further and further to enjoy his sport. I'm pretty sure that person would grow rather bitter. He could move, or change hobbies, but wouldn't he still have a right to be angry?
12. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by dgatwood · 2012-03-28 09:28 · Score: 3, Informative
  True, and that's a very good reason to not buy this game, if you feel that's a risk
  A risk? It's practically guaranteed. The only thing that isn't guaranteed is the timeframe. It's like buying a computer knowing that it has a timebomb inside that will destroy the CPU after a random period of time. It might go off after a week, or it might go off after three or four years, but it will go off.
  Let's look at the history of DRM for a moment.
  
  DIVX
  Amazon PDF and LIT ebooks
  Yahoo! Music Unlimited
  Microsoft Plays for Sure/MSN Music
  Rhapsody RAX
  Ubisoft (multiple game titles)
  Fictionwise / Overdrive
  Adobe DRMed PDF files from Adobe Content Server 3
  Adobe Ad-supported PDF files
  Harper Collins ebook store
  CyberRead ebook store
  These are just a few of the types of content that have become inaccessible or are expected to soon become inaccessible because of the shutdown of DRM-related servers. In some cases, the content still functions on the original devices, but for most of the above list, it does not.
  Buying games that will stop working if they can't contact a server isn't taking a risk. It's throwing money away. Taking a risk is buying products that require activation on new machines; at least the continued operation of your own equipment is, to an extent, under your control.
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
13. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  Did your CGA games stop working then too?
14. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by jellomizer · 2012-03-28 10:51 · Score: 1
  
  Yes. For I have played them enough for them to not be fun anymore.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
15. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Gripp · 2012-03-29 06:37 · Score: 1
  
  hmm, not sure that I get what would stop people from sniffin the traffic and using etc/host to your own server to make the game *think* it is in contact with them. with that said, what's the issue again?
16. Re:Don't like it, don't play it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-06 08:17 · Score: 0
  
  A risk? It's practically guaranteed. The only thing that isn't guaranteed is the timeframe. It's like buying a computer knowing that it has a timebomb inside that will destroy the CPU after a random period of time. It might go off after a week, or it might go off after three or four years, but it will go off.
  Just do a bit of research on ADD and ADHD and think about how these games will not interest you a few weeks/months after your purchase - LONG before the "authentication servers are taken down".
  =)
  -AC
Sad to say... by Flipstylee · 2012-03-28 08:15 · Score: 2

But it's simple: I vote with my wallet, just like Assassins Creed 2, no sale.
What about old games in general? by MrEricSir · 2012-03-28 08:16 · Score: 5, Insightful

The other day I re-installed the original C&C Red Alert and had a fun time playing it.
Somehow, I doubt we'll be able to do the same with the new Sim City -- and many other new games -- seventeen years after their release. It's a sad future for old games.

--
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
1. Re:What about old games in general? by Red+Flayer · 2012-03-28 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  Somehow, I doubt we'll be able to do the same with the new Sim City -- and many other new games -- seventeen years after their release. It's a sad future for old games.
  Let me adjust my tinfoil hat here... maybe that's a bonus for them.
  
  Seriously... plenty of older games offer just-as-good, if not better, gameplay than modern reincarnations. For some subset of gamers, they're finee playing the old games, and unwilling to spend money on new games (myself included). DRM like this allows game publishers to force obsolescence.
  
  Sure, there will be cracked versions available. But I, and others I'm sure, either eschew cracked games or have some fear or ignorance of them.
  
  Long story short: forced obsolescence might be a motivation here for requiring always-on DRM.
  
  --
  "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
2. Re:What about old games in general? by Ihmhi · 2012-03-28 09:35 · Score: 2
  
  Yes we will.
  What DRM has there been that hasn't been cracked?
  Moreover (and hilariously enough), a lot of the same people who crack games are the ones keeping old ones alive. At least, people with the same mindset... you need to be a bit of a nutter to come up with stuff like WINE and DOSbox.
  We will always have our old games whether the publishers like it or not.
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
3. Re:What about old games in general? by forkfail · 2012-03-28 10:14 · Score: 1
  
  Uncrackable DRM is putting part of the core engine on a server that you have to connect to, like, say the enemy AI.
  
  --
  Check your premises.
4. Re:What about old games in general? by Jiro · 2012-03-28 10:29 · Score: 1
  
  Nobody's managed to crack the 3DS yet. The PS3 is basically only cracked for a certain firmware version. As far as I know the Xbox 360 is only cracked to a very limited extent.
5. Re:What about old games in general? by Ihmhi · 2012-03-28 15:43 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, but that's not the point. It's about older games.
  The PS2 is cracked through and through. When the PS4 is coming out, the PS3 will have stablized. They're not exactly releasing new firmwares for it.
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
6. Re:What about old games in general? by Ihmhi · 2012-03-28 15:44 · Score: 1
  
  I honestly think any particular sort of innovation in this sense on their part can be overwritten nevertheless with a little ingenuity and persistence (which crackers seem to have in spades).
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
7. Re:What about old games in general? by MrEricSir · 2012-03-28 17:01 · Score: 1
  
  Not all games are popular enough to warrant continued attention by hackers. (Hell, there's a handful of once-popular games that still can't be emulated properly.)
  I'm not saying all games are art, but it's a good thing Van Gogh, Shakespeare, etc. weren't forced to lock down their content with DRM.
  
  --
  There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
8. Re:What about old games in general? by MagusSlurpy · 2012-03-28 18:20 · Score: 1
  
  Except that there is always a different game to play. I don't like the cut of Diablo III's jib, but I'm damn excited about Torchlight II, which will function just fine on my laptop at work, where internet access is restricted by MAC address. There are plenty of publishers who are willing to take my money for fully-functional software when I am not sure about purchasing crippled software.
  
  --
  My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
9. Re:What about old games in general? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 22:22 · Score: 0
  
  Let me adjust my tinfoil hat here... maybe that's a bonus for them.
  Seriously... [...] DRM like this allows game publishers to force obsolescence.
  
  Interesting idea, and yes the tinfoil is appropriate. However, this was already addressed in one of the linked articles:
  
  "But Quigley added that he and Maxis know the power of a good mod community. "It's worth pointing out that the reason people are still playing SimCity 4 today, 10 years after we shipped it, is because the modding community essentially recreated it. They filled it with new content and fixed bugs, and made it as much of a hobby as a game. We're very cognoscente of that -- I mean, we're not idiots."
  
  I guess my worry is that even though the game won't kick you out if you lose connection while playing, if connectivity is down you still won't be able to launch it. I've often turned to SC 4 (even as recently as last week) to waste a little time offline while my ISP was rebuilding the coax cables for the city block I live on.
  For me personally, I will put up with the connectivity requirement, if they offer a guarantee that when the servers hit end-of-life they'll unlock the games through a final patch, and/or release server software so we can run them ourselves. This still isn't going to launch for quite a while, so hopefully they'll listen to the community feedback and re-think their approach a little.
what I have heard by alienzed · 2012-03-28 08:18 · Score: 1

is that the game will be multiplayer in the sense that your city will actually be located close to your friends' cities and possibly interact. That would explain the online component. Think World of Warcraft. It's not necessarily a piracy thing, but heck if it is, can you blame them? Besides, used game markets do just fine, you just can't continue to play it once you sell it. That doesn't mean ownership can't be passed along though.

--
Never say never. Ah!! I did it again!
1. Re:what I have heard by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:22 · Score: 0
  
  I most certainly can blame them if it's a piracy thing. I own a few of the other SimCity games. Looks like I won't be buying this one.
2. Re:what I have heard by Oligonicella · 2012-03-28 08:37 · Score: 1
  
  Rather than the pirates?
3. Re:what I have heard by Culture20 · 2012-03-28 08:39 · Score: 2
  
  not necessarily a piracy thing, but heck if it is, can you blame them?
  Yes. Group punishment is a civil wrong.
  
  Besides, used game markets do just fine, you just can't continue to play it once you sell it. That doesn't mean ownership can't be passed along though.
  I see you haven't been victim of some of the used games that require online activation. The games become useless for resale once installed on the original machine.
4. Re:what I have heard by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:43 · Score: 0
  
  That doesn't mean ownership can't be passed along though.
  Yes, it does. It's the same problem with Steam. When you buy a game through Steam, it is tied to an account. The only way to sell that game is to transfer ownership of the account. However, most people have multiple games on their Steam account. If you use some forethought, and are willing to deal with the extra hassle, you can purchase each game with a different account. If you choose to use the social features that Steam provides, you'll need to connect every one of your accounts with your friends' accounts. This become an unwieldy mess.
  This game will require a constant internet connection. That means you'll need to register the game with an account. Now see the above paragraph for all the problems associated with that, and transfer of ownership.
5. Re:what I have heard by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:47 · Score: 0
  
  I purchased SimCity/2000/3000/3000 for Linux by Loki software/4/Deluxe Edition.
  So far it doesn't look like I will be buying this one.
  The only features it requires for me to purchase:
  Must have multicore or OpenCL/CUDA support for the simulation engine.
  Must support whatever resolution the system can support (including 3840x2160 and 5760x1080).
  Must be playable offline. A disk check is ok.
  Nice to have:
  Import of topography data for a region for any area on the planet.
  Linux support
  It's sad to see the last real sim grind to a halt with the CPU sitting at 18%, GPU nearly idle, and two screens black.
6. Re:what I have heard by Baloroth · 2012-03-28 08:56 · Score: 1
  
  It's not necessarily a piracy thing, but heck if it is, can you blame them?
  Yes, I can blame them, and I do. By not buying that crap.
  
  That doesn't mean ownership can't be passed along though.
  It'll be tied to your origin account, so unless you sell that and all the games on it (or make separate accounts for every game), you can't. Also, that probably violates the EULA on the account and will result in the account being banned if they discover it.
  
  --
  "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
7. Re:what I have heard by arth1 · 2012-03-28 13:12 · Score: 1
  
  The only features it requires for me to purchase
  "Only"? You wish for the moon.
  My wish list:
  - A game that will work 15 years from now.
  - A game that isn't a console port.
  I spend a few hundred bucks a year on games. But due to the downright hostility towards paying customers, I will no longer buy EA and Ubisoft games.
  Yeah, I bought perhaps ten new high ranked games the last year, plus a bunch of indie ones. Yet, what was the last game I played? Trinity, a 25 year old game.
  And yes, I still watch 20-30 year old movies too.
  Will SimCity 2013 be playable 25 years from now? Hell, no. Most new games have less artistic merit than an Adam Sandler movie, so you probably wouldn't want to anyhow. But EA doesn't want to give you a choice.
  Fuck'em. Hard.
You know what else you need? by geekoid · 2012-03-28 08:18 · Score: -1

Continious power? can you believe? those bastard at the electric company always out to get us.
If you you want to use a battery, you still need to you 'their' electrons to fill your battery.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
1. Re:You know what else you need? by Xugumad · 2012-03-28 08:21 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I've had over a week's Internet downtime in the last year, and absolutely no power outage. You can understand if perhaps I'm more concerned about one than the other, then?
2. Re:You know what else you need? by pclminion · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: -1, Flamebait
  
  The fact that you are "concerned" at ANY level about the possibility of not being able to play a game for a little while is difficult to understand, especially when you have the free choice of not purchasing said game.
  "They made it, but it's not what I wanted, so I'll stand over here and catch on fire." Ok, feel free to do that, I guess.
3. Re:You know what else you need? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:34 · Score: 1
  
  And you're concerned that he's concerned. That's even more confusing. You say this can't affect him, how does this not affecting him affect you, to the point you had to post?
  No idea what your point is, other than generally being upset people might have the audacity to care about things different than the things you care about.
4. Re:You know what else you need? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:36 · Score: 0
  
  The moment they require an always-on internet connection its no longer purchasing a game but renting a license to use the game.
5. Re:You know what else you need? by Chemicles · 2012-03-28 08:39 · Score: 1
  
  I think there's a huge difference between something which is necessary and therefore required, and something which is not necessary but the publisher is choosing to require anyways.
6. Re:You know what else you need? by Culture20 · 2012-03-28 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  The reason people are catching on fire about it is it's a growing trend, and one that allows for abuses ("we sold you a game, but we decided to close the authentication servers two weeks after the initial release. You agreed we could do that in the EULA. No refund for you!").
7. Re:You know what else you need? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:55 · Score: 0
  
  That would be silly, though. The "consumers" are going to buy the game, and they'll keep the servers up until people stop buying that game and the next one comes out. The only people they have no further use for are the ones who don't buy the newest game.
  It's hip and trendy to say "the EULA let's us do [some unreasonable thing]" but they won't do that because it's not good business sense.
8. Re:You know what else you need? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:58 · Score: 0
  
  Is this actually sarcasm IN FAVOR of DRM enforcement through Always-On spyware?
  Did I read that correctly?
9. Re:You know what else you need? by AnonyMouseCowWard · 2012-03-28 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  The point is the electric grid is so much more stable than the Internet, for most people?
  
  Having no offline mode in a game that I can play single player is like having your kitchen faucet stop working because the electricity is down. It sucks, and the user sees no practical reason for it.
10. Re:You know what else you need? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:13 · Score: 0
  
  apples and oranges.
11. Re:You know what else you need? by Bert64 · 2012-03-28 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  With my internet connection out for a week, i think i'd be playing more games in my spare time since i wouldn't be able to read slashdot or do many of the other things i pass my time with.
  
  --
  http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
12. Re:You know what else you need? by Xugumad · 2012-03-28 09:22 · Score: 1
  
  > The fact that you are "concerned" at ANY level about the possibility of not being able to play a game for a little while is difficult to understand, especially when you have the free choice of not purchasing said game.
  You clearly speak as someone who has never tried to connect Steam over wifi to an Android phone, so they can get it into offline mode, to give them something to do while while the Internet is down...
  Seriously though; when the Internet is down is more or less exactly when I want to have computer games readily available to play. It's almost like it's fine tuned to be as annoying as possible.
13. Re:You know what else you need? by WraithCube · 2012-03-28 11:34 · Score: 1
  
  There are a lot of people out there that travel around for work or otherwise and would like to spend some of their downtime playing a game. That gets harder when every game released requires an internet connection completely unrelated to how a user intends to play. Sure you could simply not purchase the game, but it doesn't hurt to try and tell the game company "hey if you would just let me play it offline I'd hand you money" and hope they actually listen.
You people crack me up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:19 · Score: 0, Insightful

If you are that angry about it, don't buy the game.
What...going without video games will make you go crazy? You can't play a board game with your friends instead? Or read a book? Or just buy from indie publishers who don't do this?
The technology to require this level of tracking exists, and the only disincentive publishers have against using it is market tolerance. If most of their market is ok with this deal, they are going to move forward and leave whiners like you behind.
1. Re:You people crack me up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  If you are that angry about it, don't buy the game.
  But ... but ... but ... don't you know that this counts as piracy?
  The game doesn't sell good, must be because of all the illegal copies!1!eleven
2. Re:You people crack me up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  I don't have friends you insensitive clod.
3. Re:You people crack me up by Shompol · 2012-03-28 08:37 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  If you are that angry about it, don't buy the game.
  Unfortunately, even if all slashdotters stopped buying, the effect on video-game market would be almost zero. On the other hand, if we raise stink about it and manage to educate a significant portion of buyers managements will think twice before crippling their offerings. And that is exactly what we are doing here.
  
  If most of their market is ok with this deal
  Most of their market does not realize/give it a thought that their acquisition will kick the bucket as soon as it is not profitable to maintain those DRM servers, which could happen after a few years or as soon as tomorrow. And at that point they will need to go to the grey market looking for hacked version and punch themselves for shelling money for it in the first place. If the DRM locks the game to hardware, they are out of luck with the next hardware upgrade as well. Meanwhile those who have a hacked version can enjoy a DRM-free experience for years to come. This is called "defective by design". Look it up.
4. Re:You people crack me up by Desler · 2012-03-28 08:39 · Score: 0
  
  You might have a better point if not for the hundreds of thousands of people downloading these new games at any point in time. If you want them to be unable to blame piracy... stop pirating the game and do without it entirely. It's not like you'll die if you don't get to play it.
5. Re:You people crack me up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:42 · Score: 0
  
  Unfortunately, even if all slashdotters stopped buying, the effect on video-game market would be almost zero. On the other hand, if we raise stink about it and manage to educate a significant portion of buyers managements will think twice before crippling their offerings. And that is exactly what we are doing here.
  Just to be clear, you intend to educate a significant portion of non slashdotters by.... posting on slashdot? I think I may see a small flaw in your plan.
6. Re:You people crack me up by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-03-28 08:50 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  If you are that angry about it, don't buy the game.
  Or, you could do something effectual, and not buy the game AND tell them why... just like 'whining' on a forum like Slashdot is accomplishing.
  Millions of people don't buy games, just a little over a thousand got EA to change its DRM policy. Look up Spore.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
7. Re:You people crack me up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:54 · Score: 0
  
  This is about as useful a piece of advice as telling everyone to boycott mass media so that we will stop getting straight up raped by insane policies and lawsuits.
  It wont happen because 90% of the people don't care about the health of the market or the industry. They want their shit.
  I say pirate the fucking game, crack it and enjoy it. People will pirate no matter what. Nothing will stop that. Why deprive yourself of the game that will be pirated by millions regardless of whether or not you personally go without playing the game.
  Pirate it. Crack it. Enjoy it. Pay for it if you want them to keep doing this. Otherwise, lament the industry that once was...because it's completely fucked now and it will not go back to the way things were.
8. Re:You people crack me up by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:16 · Score: 0
  
  even if all slashdotters stopped buying, the effect on video-game market would be almost zero
  I remember when a slashdoting was something to fear...
9. Re:You people crack me up by StikyPad · 2012-03-28 09:22 · Score: 1
  
  Unfortunately, even if all slashdotters stopped buying, the effect on video-game market would be almost zero. On the other hand, if we raise stink about it and manage to educate a significant portion of buyers managements will think twice before crippling their offerings. And that is exactly what we are doing here.
  But the maximum effect of preaching to the choir, by your own logic, is almost zero. Go forth. Spread the bad news.
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
10. Re:You people crack me up by Shompol · 2012-03-28 10:05 · Score: 1
  
  While I don't believe that Slashdot readers make up a significant portion of video game shoppers, the hope is that interesting ideas will network their way out to the rest of them. And that is the logic behind why it is better to speak out rather than quietly "boycott" the wrongdoers all by yourself.
11. Re:You people crack me up by AmberBlackCat · 2012-03-28 10:40 · Score: 0
  
  If you want to get a message out to people, you have to be on Facebook or Twitter, where the people actually are. But Slashdotters hate those sites because you can't mod people's comments away when you get upset.
12. Re:You people crack me up by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-28 13:53 · Score: 1
  
  People will pirate no matter what.
  I think I see a problem here. It seems to be an example of wasted votes syndrome. You and people like you are hurting your own boycotts. "Well, no one else will stop, so I'll pirate it anyway." Suddenly, you have one more pirate. And then other people who feel the same way do the same thing.
  But definitely don't buy the garbage. I would rather people pirate it than buy it.
Cool! by NIN1385 · 2012-03-28 08:20 · Score: 1

Another game that I wont be purchasing. Glad I still own all my old games.

--

If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be fucked up. - Comedian Mitch Hedberg R.I.P. 03/30/68-2/24/05
1. Re:Cool! by i+kan+reed · 2012-03-28 08:26 · Score: 1
  
  Yep. I was interested, until this article came up. Now? I'll buy something else from some publisher that's not horrible. And I'll recommend against a purchase to everyone I know. I'm a frequent game buyer, but not for crap like this.
2. Re:Cool! by firex726 · 2012-03-28 09:41 · Score: 1
  
  My wallet thanks them...
  Now when is the next Steam sale?
Failout: New Payus by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:20 · Score: 0

Yeah, steam and whoever ruined Fallout: New Vegas with their "You can not play unless you are online and logged into our lame steam "service" which will force updates and make the game literally unplayable". I threw the disk in the trash and never even got a chance to play the game past a few days. Total waste of money and ruined my Fallout expierience (and no I'm not talking about the other game changes).
If I see "Internet Connection Required" or anything that wont let me play offline with just the disk and no updates, I will not buy your game.
1. Re:Failout: New Payus by Enderandrew · 2012-03-28 08:39 · Score: 2
  
  Steam does not require you to be online to play. Steam works just fine offline. I believe Steam games just need to be activated online once.
  I've played Fallout: New Vegas offline. And I think it is funny that you choose to call that game specifically "Payus" when the developer basically didn't get paid on that game.
  https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555
  
  --
  http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
2. Re:Failout: New Payus by QuantumPion · 2012-03-28 09:03 · Score: 1
  
  Well, almost. Steam works offline just fine if you tell it you want to go offline while you are still online. If you have a power or internet outage or some such, you cannot play your games offline because it does not have the offline key. Also, you cannot be permanently offline, you have to go online at least once every 30 days to re-validate they key.
3. Re:Failout: New Payus by firex726 · 2012-03-28 09:44 · Score: 1
  
  Minor thing, Steam games need to be prepared for offline play.
  You cannot suddenly loose your internet connection and just play in Offline Mode, you'll need to download some needed files first to enable the offline play. So if you're going on a trip and wont have internet access or planning to move and it'll be a few days till the internet is on at your new place; THEN you can prepare beforehand and play in Offline Mode.
4. Re:Failout: New Payus by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 12:21 · Score: 0
  
  Uh. My home PC is in Ontario. My 'work' PC is out in the middle of nowhere Alberta. I've now been running in 'offline' mode on my work PC for 45 days, and there's been no request to reauthorize once I went into offline mode. Seems to be working just fine, speaking of which I'm off to play some SC4.
5. Re:Failout: New Payus by L4t3r4lu5 · 2012-03-28 22:33 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, this is correct. However, you set your work PC to work in Offline Mode while you were online, caching your authentication token. If you hadn't done this and tried to launch Steam in Offline Mode, it will bomb out. This happened to me when my connection was down for 3 days, and is widely reported on the Steam forums.
  
  Try it yourself; Go online, unplug your network connection, exit and restart Steam. Your games will be inaccessible.
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
6. Re:Failout: New Payus by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 04:02 · Score: 0
  
  Steam games need to be activated repeatedly. Offline mode is temporary.
Ubisoft, Sony, and EA - No thanks by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:23 · Score: 1

I was never really into EA games, but now I guess I'll be adding that company to my list of "Never, ever, under any circumstances, buy anything from this company." Heretofore, the list was [Ubisoft, Sony]. Now it's [Ubisoft, Sony, EA].
1. Re:Ubisoft, Sony, and EA - No thanks by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-03-28 10:26 · Score: 1
  
  It's not exactly the first EA title with this kind of crap. Did you miss the whole debacle where getting a ban on their community forums (which one guy got by having his nickname quoted by a different person in a post alongside several offensive words) also banned you from all their online game DRM, so you couldn't play games you've purchased?
  It's like they're trying real hard to get people to associate the brand "Origin" with "a particularly nasty form of DRM where you can end up being unable to play the game at any given moment with no reason at all".
Don't care I will still buy it. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:24 · Score: 0

I'm a huge SimCity fan and have been waiting for the next installment patiently for the past 8 years. I'll just grumble anytime my internet disconnects - and for the past months that was only for a total of 10 minutes, giving me an uptime of 99.977%. I think I could deal with that.
1. Re:Don't care I will still buy it. by MightyMartian · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 0
  
  File post under "There's a sucker born every minute". It's right next "My latest iPhone is still the greatest even though..."
  
  --
  The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
2. Re:Don't care I will still buy it. by the_Bionic_lemming · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 1
  
  I'm a huge SimCity fan and have been waiting for the next installment patiently for the past 8 years. I'll just grumble anytime my internet disconnects - and for the past months that was only for a total of 10 minutes, giving me an uptime of 99.977%. I think I could deal with that.
  Until - Like in my case, the city decides to put in some light posts on a street three blocks from you, then proceeds to drill thru the main trunk for your area - knocking out phone/internet service for almost two weeks.
  
  --
  _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
The Simpsons Tapped Out by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:25 · Score: 0

If it's Origin connection is anything like "The Simpsons Tapped Out", it'll fail to connect 75% of the time, and randomly corrupt your town 50% of the time... assuming you don't randomly end up with an "orphaned" town that doesn't quite work right.
OK, you win. I'm done with gaming. by BLToday · 2012-03-28 08:27 · Score: 1

I don't need to play games on my computer or console (see SONY story from earlier). I still have a back log of 40 games that have never gone through.
Game Killer by pubwvj · 2012-03-28 08:27 · Score: 1

Constant Internet Connection is Not an Option.
CIC NO
Guess I won't bother upgrading.
Blah blah blah by MightyMartian · 2012-03-28 08:27 · Score: 2

"Add SimCity to the growing list..."
of games I won't buy.

--
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 0

Guys, guys, we all have the internet, we can play this and deal with it like grown-ups.
1. Re:Who cares? by mhajicek · 2012-03-28 08:38 · Score: 2
  
  You're missing the point. Any authority which grants permission can also not grant permission. Services are sold off and shut down. Games and ebooks can be and have been "unsold" retroactively. If you want the software you buy to remain functional, it must operate without the need to call home for permission. There was a recent article about PSP games becoming unavailable for download, even if you already paid for them. No refund was offered. Similarly, you could buy this new version of SimCity only to find that the publisher has decided to discontinue it, rendering your purchase inoperable.
2. Re:Who cares? by firex726 · 2012-03-28 09:47 · Score: 1
  
  And in five years when they take the servers offline? (Didn't EA take a sports game servers down after like four yrs?)
  We would have zero legal recourse to continue to play a game we may very well enjoy and invested hours playing, not to mention paid for.
  I personally still play quite a few old games, going back 10+ years from studios which are no longer in business.
  My GF's truck is over 10 years old, still runs well; would you say Mazda should be able to come and remotely disable her truck when they felt like it?
EA! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh! by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 5, Funny

I hear this SimCity has an actual ending. Vishnu shows up in the form of Justin Beiber, and kicks your city into the sea. But you get to choose which sea.
1. Re:EA! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:57 · Score: 0
  
  Strangely, that'd be quite feasible in the past, given Maxis's former sense of humor (that is, BEFORE they were bought by EA)...
2. Re:EA! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:28 · Score: 0
  
  That would be:
  a) Red Sea - All roads disappear, no more disasters occur, all citizens die
  b) Blue Sea - All roads disappear, you merge with the sea the only disasters are water based disasters, all citizens die
  c) Green Sea - All roads disappear, the seas boil away and the only disasters are land based disasters, all citizens die
3. Re:EA! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh! by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-03-28 11:07 · Score: 1
  
  Vishnu, maybe, but not even post-EA Maxis would never stoop to the Beiber.
Wife is heavily into Cityville... by Immostlyharmless · 2012-03-28 08:28 · Score: 2

I had heard this was going to be coming out soon and was thinking about picking it up for her. Looks like we can scratch that. Cityville already requires a constant connection and makes you reload and lose all your shit when it drops for a few seconds. Why on earth do they think I want to pay 60 bucks for that same privilege? I assume they think we're made of money AND stupid?
Requires Constant Internet Connection by need4mospd · 2012-03-28 08:29 · Score: 5, Funny

No it won't.
-pirates
1. Re:Requires Constant Internet Connection by Ben174 · 2012-03-28 14:47 · Score: 1
  
  This is just another thing to turn normal consumers into pirates.
  
  --
  Here is my home page.
Pic sums up what heppens to developers with EA by mykos · 2012-03-28 08:29 · Score: 5, Funny

http://i43.tinypic.com/1pghep.jpg
1. Re:Pic sums up what heppens to developers with EA by Enderandrew · 2012-03-28 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  That comic left off Origin.
  
  --
  http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
2. Re:Pic sums up what heppens to developers with EA by AlamedaStone · 2012-03-28 15:38 · Score: 1
  
  That comic left off Origin.
  Also left out EA's first victim: Electronic Arts.
  
  --
  "All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares."
This is the least of our worries... by prezkennedy.org · 2012-03-28 08:30 · Score: 1

...considering what EA did to the last SimCity game. If this is the only flaw, then we got off fairly easily. They still have plenty of time to ruin everything else though, just like they did in SimCity Societies. "Let's make SimCity for the casual gamer!"

--
It started back in Team Fortress Classic
Wow... by bmo · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: -1, Troll

So much corporate cock sucking in this thread.
"Herp derp, don't buy it then"
Well of course. That's the point. But likening this to the equivalent of the mandatory removal of leaded gasoline and then saying "deal with it"?
Bullshit.
Stuff like this needs to be voted down in the free market by customers buying competitors' products. Oh wait, the free market only matters when it fattens CEO wallets. Customers don't count. Right.
--
BMO
1. Re:Wow... by Dutch+Gun · 2012-03-28 09:03 · Score: 1
  
  So much corporate cock sucking in this thread.
  "Herp derp, don't buy it then"
  Well of course. That's the point. But likening this to the equivalent of the mandatory removal of leaded gasoline and then saying "deal with it"?
  Bullshit.
  Stuff like this needs to be voted down in the free market by customers buying competitors' products. Oh wait, the free market only matters when it fattens CEO wallets. Customers don't count. Right.
  --
  BMO
  I'm not sure why you mock "then don't buy it posts", and then proceed to tell everyone how it needs to be voted down by the free market? Granted, you included buying competitors products, but I'm under the assumption that people who post in this thread are actually interested in games and purchase them in some regular fashion...
  That being said, yeah, totally agree with you. And btw, they don't give a shit about places like Slashdot - it's not really a gaming site... more a site for tech fans that also covers a few gaming stories that happen to coincide with Slashdot interests (i.e. anything DRM-related is ALWAYS picked up). They'd only start to care if the general gaming media and public started to vocally complain about it and also stopped buying their products.
  
  --
  Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
2. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  >obvious, angry whining
  I bet you wear tshirts with slogans and think you're changing the world.
3. Re:Wow... by bmo · 2012-03-28 10:05 · Score: 1
  
  >I'm not sure why you mock "then don't buy it posts"
  Maybe I wasn't precisely clear. I'll clear up my rant a bit.
  What I'm really mad at is the stuff after "That's the point."
  The whole thread, when I wrote that, was non stop "get with the times, old man" nonsense.
  Primitive copy protection in the late 80s early 90s was beaten by people who refused to buy software that was encumbered by artificially bad sectors, keydisks, codes in books, etc.
  The descendant of this, DRM, can also be beaten the same way if people stopped being complacent and "dealing with it" and just refused to buy.
  --
  BMO
Origin? Persistant connection? by RyoShin · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: 1

Huh. For some reason, I just lost 100% of my interest in SimCity 5. Good thing there are lots of other games that don't require the worthless Origin service and can be played offline--such as most of my games on Steam, for instance.
The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by DJ+Jones · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: 5, Insightful

Sim City destroyed their brand with Sim City 3000. Like many simulation games, they focused too much on graphics and 3D imagery and compromised usability and basic game play. Sim City 2000 is still their best version and it was built in 1993. IMO they should return to a basic tile-based game engine and start over.
1. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:49 · Score: 0
  
  What?
  SimCity 3000 was 2d. Definitely 2d. You're thinking about SimCity 4 or whatever it was called.
2. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:07 · Score: 0
  
  I thought Sim City 4 (w/ Rush Hour) was terrific, poor performance aside. They greatly increased the importance of good infrastructure, the usability was all there, and the Region-based gameplay was fun.
3. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by prezkennedy.org · 2012-03-28 09:20 · Score: 2
  
  Considering the fact you don't even know which version of the game you're talking about, I can see why it would be too complicated for you. SimCity 3000 is isometric, just like SimCity 2000. The complexity level is about the same. Bonus: SimCity 4 (the version *I think* you're talking about), while 3D was a fixed trimetric orthographic projection, not a fully 3D world.
  
  --
  It started back in Team Fortress Classic
4. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 11:14 · Score: 0
  
  Bullshit, SimCity 4 was great and improved upon SimCity 2000 in every way. You said everything went to shit at 3000, so that implies you think 4 was shit, too. I'm not commenting on 3000.
  Still tile-based in 4 and graphics improved without compromising usability as you say. Much bigger maps and regions, for fuck sake. You'll never fully populate a region and connect everything. Real routing on roads, etc. and new transportation options. And easy mode gave you enough money that you never had to worry about it. Don't like? Play it on medium or hard.
5. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 12:52 · Score: 0
  
  SimCity 3000 was not 3D.
6. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by Suddenly_Dead · 2012-03-28 15:40 · Score: 1
  
  SimCity 4 was hybrid 3Dish; buildings and other objects were 2D, but the terrain and vehicles were 3D. It was definitely "tile-based" though, as was SimCity 3000. Maybe GP is thinking of (the unnumbered) SimCity Societies?
7. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by way2slo · 2012-03-29 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  Have to disagree. I had a lot of fun with SimCity 2000, even bought Streets of SimCity. But I am having more fun now with SimCity 4 + Rush Hour. Jumping into a police car and turning on the siren and racing around town while the citizens pull over, climbing into a tank and blowing up a building or two (hopefully the right one), that's FUN. The rest of the game is generally better too, more road types, zone types (like agricultural).
  If you are a SimCity fan and don't have SimCity 4 + Rush Hour, you are missing out big time.
8. Re:The Sim City franchise jumped the shark by toddestan · 2012-03-29 14:13 · Score: 1
  
  My biggest complaint about Simcity 3000 was that I had to spend to much time micromanaging things like each water pump or police station, instead of focusing on the big picture stuff like planning out and building my city. I think I spent about 10 hours playing SimCity 3000 before I shelved it. And this is after spending countless hours playing the original (mostly on the SNES) and Simcity 2000 (on the PC).
  I do seem to remember at the time I thought SimCity 3000 was a bit heavy on the system requirements, though I was trying to play it on a K6 which was outdated even when the game came out. I don't remember the graphics being too improved over SimCity 2000 which ran quite happily on a 486 DX2.
"Add simcity to the growing list..." by emuls · 2012-03-28 08:31 · Score: 1

Add simcity to the growing list
Of games I won't be playing.
bandwidth check much? by BetaDays · 2012-03-28 08:32 · Score: 1

I wonder how much bandwidth will be sucked up by this.

--
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
Boycott EA, Others by CanHasDIY · 2012-03-28 08:33 · Score: 1

Seriously; we will not see real change in the media marketplace unless we hit the content controllers where it hurts: their bottom line.

I propose a boycott of any company or industry who attempts to impose draconian measures to disable consumers from owning what they paid for.

RIAA suing grandma into oblivion? Boycott the music industry.

MPAA trying to coerce the government into passing unconstitutional, anti-privacy laws? Boycott Hollywood.

In this rare case, collateral damage is a good thing; Those who work in these industries but aren't members of the "bad guy"groups will have incentive to pressure their peers into doing right by consumers.

--
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
1. Re:Boycott EA, Others by GoodNewsJimDotCom · 2012-03-28 08:38 · Score: 1
  
  We tried to boycott EA, but RIAA sued my grandma into Oblivion. I agree with boycotting EA, they make the game production scene worse by eliminating competition, not better.
  
  --
  God spoke to me
I was going to buy this by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:34 · Score: 0

I was going to buy this. Now I will pirate it when its cracked.
My name is Legion by fallen1 · 2012-03-28 08:35 · Score: 0

I, for one, will be following the (hopefully) masses of gamers who shun any and all games that require a constant online connection to play - even if you want to play the "single player" version. Furthermore, I will be writing each game company (as in real paper and a stamp) explaining to them why I am no longer purchasing any of their products. I will not be using any vitriol or hate-filled speech because I want to get my point across, not just lash out. I will, of course, follow-up my paper letter with an e-mail to multiple departments or persons within that company (sales, marketing, the president/ceo, and so on) - NOT spamming the letter, but making sure it gets to key personnel or is seen by them.
Since this is not my letter to those companies and people, I do have one thing I'd like to say:
FUCK THEM IN THEIR MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLES!
Thank you.

--
Dream as if you'll live forever.
Live as if you'll die tomorrow.
~Anonymous~
and.... by heezer7 · 2012-03-28 08:36 · Score: 0

I was actually looking forward to this game too. :-(
Okay by pseudofengshui · 2012-03-28 08:36 · Score: 0

I don't have an issue with this sort of DRM. It's better than all other forms of DRM, in my opinion. I've got a business-class internet connection (read <1% downtime) so a required connection doesn't really affect me.

I understand why some people might have a problem with this sort of DRM but they should feel free not to purchase a product with such a requirement just like how I'm not going to buy any more Ubisoft-published games. Which sucks because Far Cry 3 looks pretty awesome but I'm prepared to stick to my guns on this one.

What I'm not doing is loudly opining how horrible everything is and how much people who do choose to purchase Ubisoft games are somehow lesser human beings. Chill out, angry folks.

--
[Text goes here]
1. Re:Okay by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:41 · Score: 0
  
  You may have connectivity but when their server goes down from DDOS you'll be shit out of luck trying to pay your newly rented game from EA.
2. Re:Okay by Megane · 2012-03-28 08:59 · Score: 1
  
  You may have connectivity but when their server goes down from the bean counters deciding that the old server is a cost center they can no longer afford after the next sequel comes out you'll be shit out of luck trying to pay your newly rented game from EA.
  Fixed.
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
3. Re:Okay by Megane · 2012-03-28 09:03 · Score: 1
  
  Oops, I forgot to add the part about "or you post something on their forums that they don't like (such as complaining about the DRM?) and they kill your account and even the single player mode won't work anymore, for every game you have registered with them"
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
In future news: by Mojo66 · 2012-03-28 08:38 · Score: 1

Just 4 weeks after the release of their latest AAA title, SimCity 2013, EA today complained about millions of downloads of the illegal, but DRM-free version of the game from P2P sites after a server malfunction made playing the game impossible for hours. Hackers had removed the need to be always online from the game earlier this week. "They are stealing our intellectual property!", a unnamed EA spokesperson said.
Recouping the cost of game development by AcidPenguin9873 · 2012-03-28 08:39 · Score: 0

Pirates obtain the game for $0, which makes recouping the cost of developing the game impossible with a single sale to a consumer. So game producers say okay, instead we'll recoup the cost of making the game with what amount to microtransactions (via monthly payments via the Internet connection) over the course of any person's gameplay. I don't see what the problem is. The free market works both ways folks; if pirates figure out how to not pay game developers for the game that they should be paying for, game developers find a different way to get paid.
1. Re:Recouping the cost of game development by Megane · 2012-03-28 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  How does "game refuses to play in single-player mode without an online connection" equate to microtransactions?
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Horseshit deflection. by AdamJS · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 1

You could say the same things about usurping, gouging and destroying the interests and consumerism of ANY technology or ANY hobby or ANY interest. "just don't buy it" and "they're a business so it's OK" and all variants of these statements are bullshit non-responses and nothing more than flakey attempts to avoid valid criticisms and contempt of abhorrent business practices.
Works For Me by Rie+Beam · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 3, Insightful

Fine by me -- interacting with other people's cities has been something I've been looking forward to in the series for a long time. I imagine a world where one country's low industrial taxes suck away all of the factory jobs from your online neighbors, but everyone lives in another region and takes that neighbor's super-fast rail to world, while yet another neighbor develops a coastal resort for this population of transit workers to relax at on their days off, all the while a struggling farm community sits on its hands with a "World's Largest Llama" display...
Count me baited. DRM or not, I'm on board, assuming this enhancement is at least somewhat more than a simple statistical one.
1. Re:Works For Me by prezkennedy.org · 2012-03-28 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  Cities XL 2012 models this fairly well. The regional play in SimCity 4 still has more interaction than Cities XL does though.
  
  --
  It started back in Team Fortress Classic
2. Re:Works For Me by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:37 · Score: 0
  
  Tough I agree with your statement, it's not an argument for _constant_ Internet connection.
3. Re:Works For Me by jfbilodeau · 2012-03-28 10:12 · Score: 0
  
  Tough I agree with your statement, it's not an argument for _constant_ Internet connection.
  
  --
  Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
4. Re:Works For Me by HiThere · 2012-03-28 12:29 · Score: 1
  
  Your money. Your choice.
  I think it's an incredibly bad decision, but if you want to...well, your money.
  FWIW, I won't even play games that use Steam, as I find it too restrictive. So my views are clearly in a minority here. I used to buy one or two games a year, but I haven't bought any for the last decade. Partly because I can't find anything that I find both acceptable and interesting.
  
  --
  
  I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
5. Re:Works For Me by tbird81 · 2012-03-28 20:45 · Score: 1
  
  Good on you.
  I recently got Starcraft 2. You don't actually need to be logged in to player single player (you can play as a guest) but you need need a connection to play under your account and get achievements, and more importantly to play against other people.
  I knew this when my girlfriend bought me it for Valentines Day. And I accept it. If I didn't have internet I wouldn't have let her buy it.
Well, that'll be another game I don't buy then by Sycraft-fu · 2012-03-28 08:40 · Score: 5, Insightful

I am not a zealot, I'll meet publishers half way on DRM. I'm ok so long as it doesn't mess with my gameplay experience. Steam is fine, activation on install is fine. I prefer no DRM but I'm not going to be an absolutist dick.
However I will not accept always connected DRM for single player games. Part of the reason I have single player games is for when I don't have net access like when I'm on a plane, or when my Internet dies (and please let's not pretend like that never happens) and so on. That means they'd better work without it.
As such I've not bought Settlers 7, Assassin's Creed 2, or Heroes of Might and Magic 6. All games I wanted, all which I was willing to pay for, none that I have because of the always on DRM.
Thing is, it really isn't a big deal. There are SO MANY good games these days. Not just big studio titles, but indy as well, and digital distribution lets me get them easy. I have a backlog of games that I've bought, and haven't even installed. Time is my limiting factor, not games to play.
As such I can give some titles a miss, and will. I encourage others to do the same. Don't pirate, just don't buy. If they want always on DRM, just give it a miss and get something else. There's tons and tons out there. You can't be a zealot about it and demand NO DRM EVAR! If you do that you'll find your selection fairly limited, however if you meet them half way and say "Only DRM that doesn't mess with my ability to play," you find a whole lot of games.
1. Re:Well, that'll be another game I don't buy then by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:09 · Score: 0
  
  You can't be a zealot about it and demand NO DRM EVAR!
  Of course I can. Game developers must compete for my attention with Real Life, my wife, my kid, my guitar, my books, ...
2. Re:Well, that'll be another game I don't buy then by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:17 · Score: 0
  
  Well, this isn't exactly single player now is it? There is a 'global' market and you can effect the cities of the people near you (other players). It basically turns the regions of 4 into an online world.
3. Re:Well, that'll be another game I don't buy then by firefrei · 2012-03-28 10:28 · Score: 2
  
  You can't be a zealot about it and demand NO DRM EVAR! If you do that you'll find your selection fairly limited, however if you meet them half way and say "Only DRM that doesn't mess with my ability to play," you find a whole lot of games.
  Please don't label those who are wary of companies who employ any form of DRM as zealots. It's not helpful and disregards any legitimate concerns they might have for not wanting DRM at all. For example, I no longer use Steam because although the DRM is generally reasonably fair (and we're talking stock Steam-DRM and not any addition 3rd-party DRM), I cannot resolve to my satisfaction the lingering concern about what happens if my account is locked/suspended over an issue with a game payment, or a mistake at Valve's or PayPal's end that results in said suspension, or VAC makes a mistake and bans me from VAC servers by accident and I have no resource, etc. I agree they're basically "what if's" but they do bother me, funnily enough. I cannot see myself having a large 100+ games Steam account without continually concerned that the keys to accessing all of my games are with Valve and not in my hands.
  Apple now sells DRM-free music. Movie studios are still living in the dark ages but I'm slightly hopeful they'll come around, maybe. Game developers are mixed though, so why would I be a zealot for not wanting DRM? It's generally shown to be cracked after all and it only causes problems for paying customers and not pirates, so I don't touch it. I don't have a problem with SERIAL NUMBERS though as a means of authentication, which are still used even with digital purchases in many cases, but at least I know they don't require activation which is still a bad idea (what if I want to play a game in 10 years and the activation server is no longer running? I still play the original Deus Ex from time to time, so don't tell me old games aren't worth playing).
  Just thinking long term here. Most indie games don't have DRM but they also don't have the lasting interest that something like Deus Ex: Human Revolution has. If this DRM trend doesn't turn around soon then I'll have to move onto another hobby. There's plenty other things in life to enjoy that I can have under my own rules.
  
  --
  I remember when Linux was good... too...
What about downtime by old_kennyp · 2012-03-28 08:41 · Score: 1

What happens when your internet connection is Broken? How the heck do you play while waiting for the Telco / ISP to fix your service. I suppose we can all go back to Mimesweeper and Solitaire :-)
I'm out by 12345Doug · 2012-03-28 08:42 · Score: 1

I liked the whole SimCity genre and still do today. I like city builders. That said I don't particularly like online games. I certainly don't want to have an always on internet connection to play them. When I'm traveling for business firing up a quick game before bed becomes a lot more of a hassle if I now have to rent internet service for it. Also I don't want to sign up for another service. Steam was pushing it, I just can't do Orion too. That probably means the next Dragon Age release is out for me as well. Oh well.
It Simply Wont Work by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:42 · Score: 0

Pirates will inevitably find a way to make the game function without such features/DRM - CitiesXL had similar aspirations in the genre for "inter-city connectivity" and was similarly dismembered and released by pirates, albeit without the online features. In games like FPSs where multiplayer has become a required feature for a high profile release that lack of online play can be a real detriment - I get the feeling that not a lot of people pirated BF3 because without an online activation code, the single-player was not even worth the bandwidth it would cost to pirate. Single player games like RPGs or City-builders don't have this defect when pirated, so developers are trying to add features that will justify tethering their products to DRM and the web. Unless these online features are really awesome, and I doubt they will be, many will see little problem circumnavigating the DRM and pirating it.
The paradox of course, is that the people who won't buy Sim City 5 because they lack constant internet connections, probably will have difficulty pirating it as well. If you can't manage a constant internet connection, pirating is harder as well.
simple by PopeRatzo · 2012-03-28 08:47 · Score: 1

Lead designer Stone Librande, and SimCity, and Maxis and Origin, are welcome to a constant connection between their lips and my ass.
You know, I'm starting to enjoy putting these companies on a permanent pay-no-mind list. It means I have more money to buy things from companies that are not hostile to me.
If enough of these companies get onto my pay-no-mind list, I may be able to get that little house in Santa Lucia that I've always wanted. And I will relish it all the more, knowing that I bought it thanks to companies like Maxis ensuring that I never, ever give them any money for another one of their products. Sweet!
I mean, when you add up the games I won't be buying and the Sony Vita I won't be buying, and all the Sony products I didn't buy, and the cable TV I didn't buy from Comcast, and the next-gen console I won't be buying and all the other products and services from all the other companies that are hostile toward me, it starts to add up to some real money.
I don't care if not getting my money doesn't really have any effect on these piece-of-shit companies, and I don't care what y'all do because the benefit is for me, not for them, but Maxis and "Lead designer Stone Librande" are dead to me now. And what kind of name is "Stone Librande" anyway? Why would anyone give their kid a name that sounded like a '70s gay porn star?

--
You are welcome on my lawn.
1. Re:simple by doston · 2012-03-28 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  How are they hostile to you? I like your posts.
Yep, and not hard to do either by Sycraft-fu · 2012-03-28 08:47 · Score: 4, Informative

There are tons and tons of games out there with new ones coming out all the time. So long as you are willing to be pragmatic and meet publishers half way and accept DRM that doesn't interfere, you can find a shitload of games. None of my games do always-connected DRM except for maybe the multiplayer ones in which case I'd never know since I have to be connected to play them (actually they don't bother, just saying) and I have a bunch of them. Many do have DRM, but it is DRM that isn't a big deal.
Steam would be an example. I do have to be online to get the game, of course, since it is a download. However I can run it offline just fine. So my net goes down, no problem I can play my game. Another would be some of the activation based systems. I install game, it activates, and then never checks again.
Companies are testing the waters with this and the easy way to put a stop to it is to not buy. If they sell Title X with always on DRM and they do 20,000 sales and sell Title Y with regular DRM and do 2,000,000 sales they'll learn quick enough.
Even Ubisoft who has talked shit like this up and was the first big on to do it is highly schizophrenic about it. They have done releases without it, even from the same series (AC2 has always on DRM, AC Brotherhood does not).
Just don't buy, or pirate, shit that has it, stick to the many, many other titles and there you go.
1. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by afidel · 2012-03-28 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  I buy games on Steam that do not have a notification about additional DRM because I refuse to play russian roulette with being able to play the game that I paid good money for (now or in the future). I would ask the other publishers if they believe that Valve has a significantly larger piracy problem than their own titles with more restrictive DRM and if they do whether they honestly believe that they are gaining enough additional revenue to continue the stupid arms race that is DRM.
  
  --
  There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
2. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by cayenne8 · 2012-03-28 08:57 · Score: 1
  
  I guess.
  Sad...I've not bought any games really in AGEs but I saw new SimCity advertised and saw the trailer and it looked fun. I was thinking I might buy the first game in ages and play since I liked the older versions...
  But if constant connection is required, that's a deal breaker for me.
  One thing fun about SimCity in the past...was great for playing while traveling, on the road...etc.
  No, I don't travel quite often enough to pay an additional $50 or whatever it is a month for a mobile internet modem...I can't justify the expense for what use I'd do it, BUT, I do travel around enough to like to sit and play a game during down times...or heck, even when going to the bar early before friends show up to goof off.....but if I can't use this for that well...not useful to me.
  I'm not planning to play the thing that much while at home at the internet connection...I'm usually busy doing other things there on it ( like working to earn disposable income to pay for shit like games, etc)
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
3. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by ThurstonMoore · 2012-03-28 09:02 · Score: 1
  
  Dont you have to be connected to Steam to play the games? I bought Fallout Vegas from the store and it requires me to be connected to Steam at all times or I cant play.
4. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 09:04 · Score: 2
  
  Steam is DRM. If you accept Steam then you are implicitly encouraging DRM and encouraging companies to put even more outrageous limitations on your rights. Even if you get flowers and chocolates when it's over you're still being screwed.
5. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by DroolTwist · 2012-03-28 09:12 · Score: 1
  
  I have not played that game, so I can't comment on whether or not that particular game has to have it. The only Steam game I have is Skyrim, and other than downloading it, I keep my client in 'Offline' mode to play. That way, if the Steam servers are having issues, I can still play my game. I could care less about the Steam client updates I miss.
6. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Githaron · 2012-03-28 09:13 · Score: 1
  
  Another thing to be mentioned about Steam is price. I almost always wait for the holiday sales when buying games from Steam. While the Steam DRM is not that intrusive, when you are getting games for a deeply discounted price, it is a lot easier to shallow the DRM that does exist on Steam. In my mind, the publishers need to either deeply discount the price of games or sell them without DRM.
7. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by nedlohs · 2012-03-28 09:14 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  And unsurprisingly a lot of people are fine with that. They don't have a fundamentalist attitude of "all DRM is evil". As long as it doesn't actually inconveniance them they're fine with it.
  It's just a theshold there's no encouragement for even more outrageous limitations. My threshold is somewhere before "can't play when offline", yours might be "has any DRM at all", other people's might be "doesn't come with source code", some people might use "doesn't come with copylefted source code". Your line is magically the universal truth.
8. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by ThurstonMoore · 2012-03-28 09:36 · Score: 2
  
  I have a really bad Internet connection and I always keep Steam in offline mode but for some reason it seems to"forget" and I have to connect to Steam, which has caused me issues.
9. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 09:38 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  True, there are different thresholds. It's not really a fundamentalist opposition to DRM per se, just a fundamentalist opposition to voluntarily giving up my rights granted to me by law. The threshold for me is in not being able to give a game away for free by handing over the box to someone else (Steam disallows) and in the game becoming absolutely useless if Steam goes out of business or being bought out. Give up some rights and you've opened the door to losing more rights.
  I can replay Arena today, or Morrowind, or Oblivion. If I buy Skyrim what guarantee do I have that I can play it in ten years or more from today? My threshold now is that a steam game must be under $10 before I buy it, which is what I'm willing to RENT a game instead of owning it.
10. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by nurb432 · 2012-03-28 09:42 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Just don't buy, or pirate, shit that has it, stick to the many, many other titles and there you go.
  I sort of disagree. I say pirate it like crazy, and be sure they know that they are losing sales because of it.
  
  --
  ---- Booth was a patriot ----
11. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Galestar · 2012-03-28 09:47 · Score: 1
  
  Just don't buy, or pirate, shit that has it, stick to the many, many other titles and there you go.
  Actually these games are the ones that are most desirable to pirate. The pirated (DRM removed) version of these games have added features (ability to play offline) than those who paid for the game will get. It strikes me as ironic that in an effort to discourage piracy, the studios have actually further incentivized it.
  
  --
  AccountKiller
12. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by afidel · 2012-03-28 09:48 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, I fire up steam games all the time while on vacation without an internet connection.
  
  --
  There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
13. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by AdrianKemp · 2012-03-28 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  In general, Steam requires you to connect once every 48 hours.
  So no, not constant at all
14. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:33 · Score: 0
  
  Open steam.
  File.
  Offline mode.
  It will ask to restart.
  Hit ok.
  Play game.
15. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:36 · Score: 0
  
  It's because people don't understand economics, but they do understand control. So if the economics don't look right, it's not their fault, it's the consumer/pirate/government/ESRB's fault.
16. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by vgerclover · 2012-03-28 10:37 · Score: 1
  
  For most apps you only have to be connected the first time you execute the game, and after that I think you have to connect to steam every couple of months to be able to play. Some games, which IIRC includes Fallout New Vegas, contain additional always connected DRM.
17. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:40 · Score: 0
  
  So long as you are willing to be pragmatic and meet publishers half way and accept DRM that doesn't interfere, you can find a shitload of games.
  And if you never accept DRM, you can also find a shitload of games. The only time it's ever pragmatic to accept DRM is when you're head-over-heels in love with some specific title which happens to require it, and how often does that happen? You can already waste a thousand years of lifetime playing games without DRM; adding the DRMed ones turns that into a thousand and five. You won't miss them; it's a buyer's market.
18. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Martin+Blank · 2012-03-28 11:08 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Valve has said that they would like to be able to resell games, but their license agreements generally prohibit it, so they've not implemented it. They have talked about it, though, in such a way as Steam, the publisher, and the original buyer all get a cut (with the largest going to the original buyer). It's not perfect, but the idea does open up the possibility of resale.
  
  --
  You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
19. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 11:53 · Score: 0
  
  > As long as it doesn't actually inconveniance them they're fine with it.
  You mean UNTIL it inconveniances them. That's the problem with people who claim to be "pragmatic" and shun ideals. Now I'm ok with real pragmatism where it fits, but most "idealism" is only long term pragmatism. Years later when people find out that they can't play the game sthey bought, when the multiple conflicting DRM schemes brick their PC and all your game saves are tied to facebook, which you must unlock with a fingerprint scanner, people may start to complain, but it'll be to late.
  On the plus side this opens the market for other less invasive games. This IS one of those things the free market can fix, doesn't mean it won't suck.
20. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by sixsixtysix · 2012-03-28 12:41 · Score: 2
  
  what about their own games then?
  
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  ...
21. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Darinbob · 2012-03-28 13:00 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not talking about reselling games necessarily but just giving away games for free to your friends when you're done with them. Too often people defend this "no resell" stuff by pointing to people like GameStop who resell a game for nearly full price but there are many other types of resellers out there and many other reasons to transfer ownership.
  And if Valve really did want to resell games, why do they not allow reselling their own games like Half-Life 2?
  There is no legal reason for the original publisher to get a cut of resale value. What other industry insists on such an idea? The only reason this exists is because we now have DRM technology that prevents resale. This technology gets around consumer laws that specifically allow resales. I know in the past that many software companies have disallowed resales and only licensed you software instead of selling it to you outright, but these almost always have required signed contracts as opposed to being retail products. But current off-the-shelf or off-the-net software gives the illusion that you're buying a product outright.
22. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 13:21 · Score: 0
  
  Heh, 'rights granted by law'. Such an obvious contradiction. Shame so few understand the truth of the matter and implications that follow from it.
23. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Zargg · 2012-03-28 15:24 · Score: 1
  
  Dont you have to be connected to Steam to play the games? I bought Fallout Vegas from the store and it requires me to be connected to Steam at all times or I cant play.
  Can you elaborate? I just disabled my network adapter and fired up NV. Blew that bighorner calf into bits...dinner time.
24. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by geminidomino · 2012-03-28 15:56 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  If I buy Skyrim what guarantee do I have that I can play it in ten years or more from today?
  SKIDROW's got you covered, of course.
25. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 16:15 · Score: 0
  
  Whether you believe them or not, I emailed Steam support back in 2009 asking what would happen to all of my purchased games if they were ever to go out of business. This is their canned response to such questions:
  =================
  Hello ************, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. In the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the Steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users still have access to their Steam games. If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
  =================
  Ideally their "oh shit we're going out of business" last week plan is to release a patch (via bittorrent if needed, or any other download site if they can't afford the distribution bandwidth) that permanently puts steam into offline mode. Of course people wouldn't be able to download the games again from them if they went out of business and their servers were shut down, but steam does allow you to make your own local backups of the games, and hopefully the offline patch would allow you to reinstall from your own backups when needed.
  That being said, how likely is the company to implement such measures if they're going out of business anyway? Who knows, but thankfully, it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. I've personally got over 100 games purchased with them. I don't like DRM either, but all of the games I buy will let me play in an offline mode if my connection is down. The only downside is I can't give the games away when I'm done with them, but then again, maybe I'll want to go back and play it again some day myself anyway.
26. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 17:25 · Score: 1
  
  but then they will take the easy out and blame piracy, rather than their own rubbish drm, and continue to stubbornly not learn the lesson we're trying to teach
27. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Martin+Blank · 2012-03-28 17:54 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not saying I agree with it. It's what Valve has proposed. It's the only way that publishers seem to be willing to even consider changing their contracts with Valve. But without widespread support, they're not interested in adding it to Steam, so they can't sell their own games, either. (Yes, I know it may be a weak excuse, but it's probably their view.)
  
  --
  You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
28. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by L4t3r4lu5 · 2012-03-28 22:12 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Steam would be an example. I do have to be online to get the game, of course, since it is a download. However I can run it offline just fine. So my net goes down, no problem I can play my game.
  
  Utter bullshit.
  
  I'm not having a go at you; It's a statement of fact. Simulate a connection loss while Steam is online i.e. pull out your network cable (real world scenario here; consumer grade connections drop all the time) and reboot your PC. That's a common fix for connection loss, right? Now try and play your Steam games.
  
  Oh look! You try and launch Steam in Offline Mode, but you get an error and Steam exits! What's that? Your games are inaccessible now? This is exactly what would happen if Steam folded tomorrow, or the servers were DDoS'd, or your connection went down for real?
  
  Offline Mode is for when you plan to be offline, e.g. You take your laptop on holiday. You set Offline Mode, you reboot Steam, you can use it as normal. Unexpected loss of connectivity, though, results in total lockout. It's utterly, utterly abhorrent, and I have no further part in it. Current Steam games I play, but I won't buy any more of them. I encourage you to do the same, and let Valve know about it.
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
29. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by wye43 · 2012-03-29 00:02 · Score: 1
  
  Steam is DRM. Steam is run by people. DRM is pure evil, thus people are pure evil. To kill DRM, we must kill people. All of them. Nuke them from orbit! With flower and chocolates, while being screwed! Someone think of the rights of our children!
  Logical fallacies are fun.
30. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 02:13 · Score: 0
  
  They don't have a fundamentalist attitude of "all DRM is evil". As long as it doesn't actually inconveniance them they're fine with it.
  Meaning that if it does not inconvenience them now they have no opposition to it and will hand over their money now. This is short-sighted. How many DRM-encumbered products (be they games, music, or even OSes) have worked fine for a long time until some server somewhere goes down?
  All DRM-ed products are booby-trapped, plain and simple. Sure the trap might not go off, and won't go off anytime soon, but the trap is still there. It might go off by accident (think Windows wanting you to re-activate it over and over). It is a feature of the software which can break, yet is totally unnecessary and unwanted by the buyer (me). Is it really "fundamentalist" for me to not want that, ever, or is it just good sense?
31. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by nedlohs · 2012-03-29 13:03 · Score: 1
  
  And that's all fine. It's the claim I'm being screwed because I happen to have a different theshold than you.
  Sure I wouldn't pay $60 for a steam game - I wouldn't pay that for a boxed non-DRM game either though.
  Yes Steam is a DRM system with the drawbacks of that. One day my steam games might all vanish but their just games and chances are there won't be many of them I'll even care about at the time. Those I do care about I'll get some other way.
  I've had this happen the other way around. I have a few games on steam that I bought on steam even though I already owned the boxed game. I'd ruined the media or lost it (maybe permanently, possibly just misplaced and it'll turn up) - spending $5 on steam didn't seem like such a terrible idea.
  So yes one day I'm sure my steam games will stop working. But non-DRMed (or at least games without internet connection style DRM) games have vanished on me already so that's not a new thing.
  You are probably much more careful than me - I have lived in 10 houses across 6 states and 2 countries in the last 7 years though, I've lost a lot of stuff :)
32. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-30 10:01 · Score: 0
  
  Then I have news for you.. Steam is basically DRM.
  If you somehow lose your account or they decide to pull the game, then no more game for you. I actually like being able to play the games i legally bought even years later.
33. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by trdrstv · 2012-04-01 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  I'll have to try that. I haven't had the issue you speak of, but I've never had an issue with my Steam games not working in a "fresh offline mode".
  I shut down my active connection on my desktop before a trip, and when I boot my laptop on a plane (with no connection present) It askes to go into offline mode, I say yes, and every single one of my games that I have installed on the laptop plays fine. I have never had to (or even thought of) needing to set it to offline mode in advance. In my scenario "it just works".
34. Re:Yep, and not hard to do either by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-05 05:51 · Score: 0
  
  Just tried it. To be fair, I didn't waste my time restarting my computer, but Steam was not already running, and it had not been running since I started the computer. When I opened Steam, it gave me the option of retrying or starting in offline mode. I selected offline mode and it came right up.
it isn just't games by Colin+Smith · 2012-03-28 08:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

This is what "the cloud" is all about. Why let people pay you once to own something when they can pay you forever to rent it?

--
Deleted
1. Re:it isn just't games by wye43 · 2012-03-29 00:23 · Score: 1
  
  Indeed. And its not only games, the applications follow already. Operating systems are next.
  The reason is simple: online requirement is just a too effective anti-piracy measure to not do it. Those 5% unlucky bastards without Internet can go screw themselves.
  Let me give you an example:
  Do you think Blizzard's initial success was because of their high quality blablabla? They make compromises just like every other company out there. There was plenty of good video games creators at that time, but most of them didn't bothered to implement a good online service protection. Their success was based on the fact that to play on the Battle.net 1.0 you needed to buy the original game, there was no way to bypass that protection - if you shared your unique CDKEY they disabled it. Sure, after a few years, pirated servers started to appear, but even now, the main original servers is where the real action is about. Pirated servers are slow/unstable/shortlived and only a few people are online there.
  In a world where any software protection gets hacked in a matter of days, this online requirement protection survived for even 15 years! One would be a fool not to do it.
Quickly! by paleo2002 · 2012-03-28 08:50 · Score: -1

Quick, everyone jump on their always-on internet connections and complain about needing an always-on internet connection to play this new game! How ridiculous to expect people with a computer or console capable of running this game to also have internet access in the 21st century.
1. Re:Quickly! by Khyber · 2012-03-28 08:56 · Score: 1
  
  Given North America's current 23% packet loss and multiple core pipelines out I think your sarcasm isn't warranted. That's not including the rest of the world, just my native area.
  
  --
  Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
2. Re:Quickly! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:08 · Score: 0
  
  I find people like you funny. Not because you make a compelling point but because you really don't understand why people make this complaint. It's really not reasonable to assume everyone has a constantly running internet connection. There are many people who still use dialup. There's also people like me who, while I have an "always on" internet connection, it is highly unstable and I frequently suffer from disconnects and will sometimes remain disconnected for upwards on 10 minutes before it kicks back in. However, thanks to the government granted monopoly broadband providers have, I am unable to go elsewhere.
  If this game is as ridiculous as the likes of Assasin's Creed 2 was, I won't be able to play for more than 2 minutes before being booted to the main screen for stealing their game.
3. Re:Quickly! by compro01 · 2012-03-28 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  My always-on connection will be working great when their cobbled together authentication "server" is down due to overload or the president of EA tripping over the power cord and will keep working when they disable said server the week after they release the next sequel.
  
  --
  upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
4. Re:Quickly! by CrashPoint · 2012-03-28 10:55 · Score: 1
  
  Quick, everyone jump on their always-on internet connections and complain about needing an always-on internet connection to play this new game! How ridiculous to expect people with a computer or console capable of running this game to also have internet access in the 21st century.
  Yes. And if the Technology Fairy came down to everyone's home and gave us all magical Internet connections with literally zero latency and infinite up/down, it would STILL be ridiculous, because there's no good reason that a game needs a constant internet connection if it isn't integral to the actual gameplay.
  
  Understand? The problem isn't that they expect us to have Internet access. The problem is that they think we should need permission to use the product we bought.
If this is what the industry wants to do, BOYCOTT! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 08:53 · Score: 0

Show the Gamer Industry that this is not acceptable. Don't buy any games that require DRM.
The Market will dictate which way the industry will go. If they don't make money selling games hooked into DRM, then they will stop the practice.
new trend by zerodl · 2012-03-28 08:58 · Score: 1

Publishers are making it harder for me to bother buying games.

--
- -= Napalm means serious BBQ =-
Meh by SpeZek · 2012-03-28 09:00 · Score: 1

It won't affect me. It'll get patched and released on the usual channels within a week or two.
It'll just affect everyone who bothers putting up with this shit and paying for it.
Tired of this trend. by flimflammer · 2012-03-28 09:01 · Score: 1

I really disagree with this strong-arm method of getting people into their digital distribution platform. I'm not going to sugar coat it and suggest Valve was any better, as all Valve titles after HL2 required Steam as well. It's a shame that services can't entice users based on their merits and instead resort to strong-arming legitimate users with these tactics. So if I was to purchase SimCity on Steam, I'd need both Steam and Origin running to play a video game? Talk about redundant.
I'm disappointed. I've been wanting a new SimCity for years. I have been a big fan of the game spanning all the way back to SimCity for the SNES. I'm not sure what my motivation I'm supposed to have to purchase the game with all these conditions attached.
1. Re:Tired of this trend. by ZeroSumHappiness · 2012-03-28 09:10 · Score: 1
  
  There is a significant difference between Steam and constant connection systems like Origin. Steam has a very simple to use Offline Mode that can be enabled easily and may stay enabled for as long as you wish. The only restriction is that you enable it while connected to the Steam service. (So it only works for planned vacations from the internet, unfortunately.) Origin does not. In fact, Origin requires me to connect to an EA website to launch my game to begin with.
  Also, with Steam in Offline Mode I believe I can still connect to non-VAC servers while playing multiplayer games. I should try that out later.
  Steam does still have the annoying problem of kicking you out of multiplayer if your Steam connection drops and I wouldn't mind them getting rid of that problem.
2. Re:Tired of this trend. by flimflammer · 2012-03-28 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  I think I implied much worse than I really feel about Steam. My mention of Steam was merely only in that both services started by essentially forcing itself on its users. I make no claim towards the functionality of the individual programs.
3. Re:Tired of this trend. by Arker · 2012-03-28 10:57 · Score: 1
  
  I was a big fan of the original simcity (and simant! anyone else remember that?) and certainly would have been a sure sell if they werent doing this. But if this is true - not a snowballs chance in hell I would give them one copper cent for the thing. You would have to pay me to install Steam on my machine, and the price would have to be enough to buy myself a new machine, before I would even consider it. And this EA crap sounds even worse.
  I am willing to spend about $100 on a computer game I really want. (More would be conceivable but it would have to be a truly extraordinary game.) If the game comes with some unsolicited crapware I dont want, and will have to manually uninstall, then I will mentally deduct a fee for that, based on just how much of a pain in my butt I expect it will be to correct it. Usually this will be ~$30-$60 for garden variety junk. It pretty much tops out at $70, because if it's too big a pain in the butt I can outsource the work for that price and go do something else while it's being done. So if I really like the game, and it's bundled with a ton of crap, I can still pay $30 for the game, and $70 getting rid of the junk I didnt want, and still fit in my budget.
  But what if it is the case that removing the malware breaks the game, hm? In that case the cost of the game has just exceeded my budget many times over, and I am no longer interested. That's the case for each and every game out there that requires Steam. The comment from zerosumhappiness just makes me shake with laughter, it's hilarious what you put up with for that 'service.' You can only play the games you purchased during an internet outage if you demonstrated psychic talent by predicting the outage beforehand? And that's supposed to demonstrate that Steam is good? Really?
  It actually sounds like Origin/SimCity may be a better deal than Steam, in fact. One of the articles said you would only have to login to Origin once, to activate the game. The implication being that at least it would be possible to remove Origin afterwards. If true, it's not as obnoxious as Steam, although still obnoxious enough I wouldnt consider it until it's remaindered.
  
  --
  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
  Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
This makes me sad by viperidaenz · 2012-03-28 09:02 · Score: 1

What do I do when my internet connection goes down? Play games? Sorry, you can't play a single player game because you're not connected to the internet.
What happens when the connection is cut while you're playing? Does it stop you playing?
Re:OK, you win. I'm done with gaming. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:09 · Score: 0

I don't need to play games on my computer or console (see SONY story from earlier). I still have a back log of 40 games that have never gone through.
Sounds like a ton of self-discipline backing up that vow.
That's it! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:13 · Score: 0

I'm not buying any more games from EA! ... not to mention that all they do is crappy, windows-emulated ports for OS X.
You mean new simcity requires a crack by Tyr07 · 2012-03-28 09:23 · Score: 1

If I buy it, and ever inhibited from playing by the DRM, I will simply fix the issue. /Endstory.
Always a way by Wingfat · 2012-03-28 09:31 · Score: 0

If i can play Diablo 3 Beta stand a lone with no inernet, i am sure I will figure this one out too.. really not that hard to set up a proxy server and set the program to point to home..127.0.0.1..
1. Re:Always a way by subanark · 2012-03-28 10:03 · Score: 1
  
  Having the code for the AI (which in sim city would be how the city reacts to what you do) completely off the client's computer would require reimplementing it if you wanted an offline only mode. For example, WoW one of the most popular games of all time has semi-functional private servers for the previous expansion. It lacks various feature, and the timing of NPC abilities is often off.
  If by "Always a way" you mean that you can play a game in its entirety, then decide to create your own clone of it, then sure there is "Always a way".
2. Re:Always a way by Wingfat · 2012-03-28 10:18 · Score: 0
  
  Did you read the full info on how they planned on doing it? Steam accounts...
  & lets say I want to play Need For Speed the Run with no internet connection.. done i beat that game in two days, glad i didnt pay for it
  also play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning standalone missions with no internet..
  hmm no i didnt play them all the way through.. and nope.. didnt create a clone..
Oh well by firefrei · 2012-03-28 09:37 · Score: 1

If publishers keep persisting with this anti-consumer push for always-on DRM, I'll have to find another hobby. Good thing I bought my first Arduino last week.

--
I remember when Linux was good... too...
only required in order to “start playing the by Joe_Dragon · 2012-03-28 09:40 · Score: 1

Origin was only required in order to “start playing the game,”
.
EA has since clarified to GameSpy Origin was only required in ordee to “start playing the game,” even if it wasn’t the service players purchased it from. Players will also not be kicked out of the game should they lose internet service..
http://www.vg247.com/2012/03/28/simcity-to-require-always-on-internet-connection-to-origin/
I wonder by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 09:43 · Score: 0

I wonder how many slashdotters actually read the article to understand what they're doing with that persistent connection, and how many said, "persistent connection? Rabble rabble rabble rabble"?
Oh hey look! by JustAnotherIdiot · 2012-03-28 09:46 · Score: 1

Another game you have to pirate to actually have.

--
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
1. Re:Oh hey look! by ThinkingIsContagious · 2012-03-30 05:25 · Score: 1
  
  1. DRM becomes increasingly difficult to circumvent. 2. It becomes easier to make a similar game than break the DRM and distribute cracked software. 3. Amateur programmers start making independent, DRM free games for fun instead of cracking corporate software. 4. Free games for all! Probably a pipe dream, but...
SimCity 2000 Anyone? by junkfish · 2012-03-28 09:52 · Score: 1

Anyone know where there is an available version of SimCity 2000 To play these days? Like on the web, or free to download? Or maybe it is now called minecraft.
1. Re:SimCity 2000 Anyone? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 16:34 · Score: 0
  
  Give LinCity a try.
How offensive! by mmmmbeer · 2012-03-28 09:54 · Score: 1

I hate any game that requires a constant internet connection, I don't care what reason they give. If I wanted to interact with other people, I'd go outside instead. Or probably I'd just play WOW or something. Anyway, in protest, I am going to emphatically not purchase this game. I wasn't going to buy it before, but now I will not buy it even more. I might even pirate it with the express purpose of not playing it. That'll show 'em!
So "buy" it with a credit card by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:06 · Score: 0

So just "buy" it with a credit card then do a chargeback. You were only "licensing" your money to them for a short while not paying them.
From a loyal customer : fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:10 · Score: 0

I've been loyal to that franchise for over twenty years. I've bought every version plus supplements. I was looking forward to the next version. This is a slap in the face.
The pros of online only by subanark · 2012-03-28 10:16 · Score: 1

1. By forcing people to play online, we can fight piracy (especially if some game mechanics are not present on the client).
2. Online only means more players online (those that prefer offline, but will play online if they don't have a choice), which forms a bigger community.
3. Players don't have the oppurtunity of making the mistake that their offline save data doesn't work in an online, no cheating, setting.
4. DLC can be a form of "pay what you want," but at the same time drives up piracy as players realize they would have to spend a lot of money to get a full and complete version. This ties in with #1. Offline games can't really go into the free-to-play model.
5. No need to update both the offline and online version of the game. Online patches can be done server side in some cases, and those bugs can "gone forever"
6. You can later dismantle the game, and not keep players hooked on the older version they bought and you aren't making money off of any more.
In effect...
1. Get a bunch of players to play a game where they notice each other
2. Allow someone to get ahead by paying you.
3. Profit!
SimCity 4 DRM is Reason I wont buy by fast+turtle · 2012-03-28 10:20 · Score: 1

It was 02/03 when I purchased a copy of SimCity 4 - Rush Hour because how much time I was spending at the universisty while she was in class - 90 miles one way, 3 nights a week and class on saturday. It wasn't worth driving back home as I would simply have to turn around and head back to pick her up and no, there wasn't anyone she could have car pooled with.
Wanted to make a backup copy as the optical drives in laptops have never impressed me with their robustness but due to their DRM scheme breaking the damn CD/DVD functionality (even attempted to use linux and make a mirror copy (bit for bit) and it failed. Gave up and decided it simply wasn't worth having spent the money (own both SImCity 2k/3k before) and decided that because of the DRM system selected, that I would never buy another EA product again. What actually happened is that I haven't bought any games since then because of a bad experience with DRM to begin with and then we heard about the Sony Root Kit issue. Put me off buying anything other then absolutely needed software for a long time. Because of that bad experience I started using OSS and became an advocate while refusing to purchase anything except absolutely critical software. Time change though and although still an OSS advocate, I've found myself buying stuff like Office and Nero as I've needed their functionality and running Windows instead of Linux. My main concern now is to keep food on the table, which means using what everyone else uses due to interoperability (Damn you M$). Of course on the OSS front, I'm finding myself using a GPL PDF creator based on Ghostscript and functioning as a Printer in Office. Saves me lots of agravation because it's something I know almost everyone has installed in the business world, so I can begin weaning myself from the M$ Office Teat though I love the functionality of OneNote.

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Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
Meh - Spend your money elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:25 · Score: 0

Here's an easy way to send a message about DRM: Don't buy this game!
Instead put your hard earned $$$ into games that don't have DRM...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2
(wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more)
Bye bye by SuperTechnoNerd · 2012-03-28 10:42 · Score: 1

I have been playing SimCity for years. No longer. Do you think they will ever get it?
Not for me by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 10:44 · Score: 0

None of my games require an internet connection or a CD. I started going to a different distributor some time ago when games started being complete crap and using draconian DRM. I don't remember the name of the place, but there was a picture of a ship with black sails on the main page.
thank you, designers by roc97007 · 2012-03-28 10:50 · Score: 1

You just saved me $50.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Fuck me... by JohnnyBGod · 2012-03-28 12:02 · Score: 1

...and here I was, getting all excited for it... :\
Dwarf Fortress by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 12:25 · Score: 0

Want a real sim, community & developer who cares?
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
See you there! :D
I'm Shocked no one Mentioned This Yet: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 12:26 · Score: 0

Simcity used to be a great game, but then it took an arrow to the knee...
What I'd like to know is.. by ausrob · 2012-03-28 12:51 · Score: 1

Isn't there a fairly broad market for offline, single player games? Or am I just amongst a small minority of consumers who actually prefers offline, disconnected play?

I've also noticed that local splitscreen support (offline multiplayer) has all but been pretty much abandoned in many games now. "Always on" might be a nifty mechanism for games developers/companies, but I think it has a fair amount of downside for the consumer - especially if/when we get the "server is full" experience. Or when the game is less profitable, and the company decides to pull down the servers (Star Wars Galaxies, etc).

Shame, SimCity might be a perfect candidate for a long haul flight. Civilization V was awesome on some long flights I had last year.. Pity.
High development costs are having many effects. by LordZardoz · 2012-03-28 13:23 · Score: 1

The game development market has become very competitive and very expensive.
Game became increasingly expensive to make because everyone was trying to add more and better content to their games in order to set themselves apart. As the price to develop went up, profit margins disappeared. Piracy and used game sales made the problem worse. To preserve the profits, the publishers and the developers are trying everything.
Games move from cartridges to CD's as much to bring down manufacturing costs as to increase available space to content.
DRM schemes were created, and they become increasingly draconian in an effort to diminish piracy.
Online pass requirements and Downloadable content are added to diminish the impact of used games sales (used games are great for retail sellers like Gamestop that buy used at $10 and sell used at $40).
Also, why do you think the publishers are chasing the iPhone / Android market so damn hard and going 'freemium' for everything? iTunes offers a huge install base, and being freemium kills the pirate problem (who is going to go to the trouble of jailbreaking a phone for a free to play game?). Users cannot resell an iTunes game, and they developers make a good profit by turning into spammers that constantly suggest their users buy freemium content on the device.
Personally I would rather deal with the DRM software then play a game clogged with nag popups asking me to spend more money on freemium content.
END COMMUNICATION
1. Re:High development costs are having many effects. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 20:23 · Score: 1
  
  The game development market has become very competitive and very expensive.
  Competition drives prices down and customer service up. Expensive and DRM is the opposite of this. No, what you have in the gaming industry is a few large companies patting each other on the back, whenever one of them turns even more customers away with draconian DRM and increasing prices.
  It is well known in economic theory that lack of competition creates a black market. And that's exactly what piracy is.
Penalise the honest, then steal their data! by RandomStr · 2012-03-28 13:42 · Score: 1

While like everyone I think DRM sucks, I do understand that piracy is still a bigish issue, but what I don't get why they inconvenience people that legitimately purchase a game, when the DRM is the first thing that is removed from any version on pirate-bay.

So the message they are trying to send is; "get a hacked version if you want to play off-line"? A bold move for what is traditionally a single-player(offline) game.

I jest though, the real reason I play Battlefield3(only EA game I play) on a ancient(by comparison) console instead of my PC, I wouldn't let Origin near my system with a ten foot stick! Not with those T's&C's; My data is MY data!

And the cheating... Punkbuster: the definition of irony...

The pricing is a bit hard to swallow too; your only getting a licence to access the game, rather than legally owning the game(i.e. no right to lend to friends).
It's a shame, I would have like to played the new SimCity; spoze I'll have to wait for Valve to buy EA, can't be long now...
My alternative to DRM frustration by MDillenbeck · 2012-03-28 14:36 · Score: 4, Informative

After leaving the tabletop gaming market for the electronics game market, I find myself slowly returning to the tabletop gaming. Sure, there aren't as many good solo games (Lord of the Rings "living card game", Arkham Horror, etc). Sure, the cost is about the same - $50 to $100 plus $25 to $60 per expansion - and many of them are designed to only work in multiplayer mode. However, I don't have to activate over the internet each time I start the game, I never have to worry about a service going down for a month and preventing me from even opening my game, and I never have to worry about servers shutting down and causing my game to become non-functional. True, sometimes when I buy a used game there are components that are missing that can render it non-functional, so I have to be careful and check that the game is complete. Still, the best part is being able to play my game when my power is out. (Wish I had gotten back into the tabletop gaming before Heroscape got cancelled - that one looked fun, but its pricey to buy it used.)
Seriously, I was looking forward to a real sequel to SimCity, but this DRM scheme is something I want to avoid. At this point I think I'd rather head down to my local game shop during game night and have several hours of fun that way. With game companies also churning out the boardgames with great visuals (plastic figures, sometimes painted figures, colorful map tiles, tons of chipboard markers, higher quality art work, etc), the lack of DRM in tabletop games is a welcome relief from the electronic game lockdown. Heck, as fun as video games are, nothing beats a nice tense game of Pandemic + Over the Brink with my wife - best coop play I've ever seen in tabletop or electronic gaming!
1. Re:My alternative to DRM frustration by JohnnyMindcrime · 2012-03-28 23:42 · Score: 1
  
  I've got a good bunch of friends who I have know for something like 25 years now and we actually met through a role-playing club that I started in my local town during the mid 1980s - these days we also meet socially and our various girlfriends and wives (yes, we DO have them!) have become a good circle of friends also.
  After about 10 years we started to move away from tabletop RPGs and board games to LAN gaming, then on to World Of Warcraft for several years (though not me, WoW did nothing for me when I tried a month's membership).
  However, they've now got bored with WoW and in the past couple of years we've now gone back to tabletop board games to the point where we now meet once a week to play games like Zombies!!!, Ravenloft, Star Fleet Captains and Thunderstone. We all still PC game but now it tends to be the occasional Left 4 Dead session or single player games like Skyrim, Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas.
  There does seem to be something of a revival in board games, especially those that provide a semi-RPG element where everyone these days is too busy to write "pen and paper" RPG campaigns. And rather than all sitting in our various homes in front of networked PCs on a server some where, it's now face-to-face board game sessions, the social aspect of which cannot be beaten in my view.
  
  --
  Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
gog.com by devent · 2012-03-28 14:52 · Score: 1

Anyone mentioned gog.com already? You can buy and download lots of games, all DRM free, for just 10$ or less. I have like 20 games already and will definitely buy more.

--
http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
1. Re:gog.com by devent · 2012-03-28 14:53 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, bad link. gog.com
  
  --
  http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
Always get the non DRM executable off torrent by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 15:20 · Score: 0

I NEVER use the games executables..
I always download the cracked exe which has the drm removed.
ubisoft tried that with assassin's creed and every version there has been a non drm crack within 24 hours.
I never use game default executables, most the time I just pirate the entire game anyhow, but when I do decide to pay for a game I always hop on http://demonoid.me or http://kat.ph and grab the crack for it.
then the games always run 100% better with drm removed, way less lag and cpu/ram useage with drm removed.
support your pirates and torrents, its the last bastion of pc gaming
added by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 18:00 · Score: 0

Added to the growing list of games I will not buy!
Will not buy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 19:19 · Score: 0

Pirate, maybe, but I shall not buy a solo game (I don't care for the community crap) which requires a permanent connection. EA can bite my shiny metal ass.
Again? Still not learned? by Afty0r · 2012-03-28 19:24 · Score: 1

Dear $publisher$ I will not be buying your new game, $title$, because it requires me to be connected to the internet in order to play it. A significant amount of my gaming time is spent on planes and trains, and in the outhouse while visiting family - during none of which I would be able to play your game.
This is a shame, as I would like to play it in order to take part in the inevitable conversations with my friends regarding the game, who will all have download a warez copy around 48 before your game hits the store shelves I won't be buying it from.
Yours,
Russ
Crack by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-28 20:49 · Score: 0

I just can't wait for the crack (a localhost server) to appear two days before the official release...
Defective by design by simplypeachy · 2012-03-28 20:51 · Score: 1

No Mass Effect 3 or Half Life: Ep3 for me, either. Fuck em. What I find most saddening is that they've stopped me caring about the story line and characters that I once so cared for. The last straw that broke the game-playing camels back: http://simplypeachy.livejournal.com/632013.html
Go buy an Indie Game! by BeansBaxter · 2012-03-29 01:04 · Score: 1

I remember when all games were indie games. I remember when Doom was shareware and id found a market. I remember an unknown company shipping Half Life Day One with a bunch of hardware just to get noticed. Thing is this market still exists. Anyone on Steam knows the huge library of indie games that get released every day. They sell for a fraction of the cost of a huge publisher game. They are of differing quality as with all indie markets. The thing is a game like Torchlight I played every bit as much as Diablo or Diablo II. They sold it for 20.00 brand new. They have announced Torchlight II as bigger in every way with multiplayer and no drm for 20.00. Yet all i hear about is Diablo III. Kind of pisses me off. Anyway rockpapershotgun is a great site. Steam store is an awesome place to find indie games. Humble bundle is a great way to get a drm free copy of games for under 10.00. Just stop buying the drm ladden EA / Blizzard / UBISoft crap. Problem solved. Play something else. The Indie devs are infinitely more grateful and will give you a lot more for your dollar.
Boycott Origin by backwardsposter · 2012-03-29 01:46 · Score: 1

Do not let EA do this. They tried it with Mass Effect. They made steam remove ME1 & ME2 from the market in the days leading up to ME3 so you had to purchase through Origin, but nobody was buying the games, so they put them back on Steam later. They want their own DRM nation, don't let them have it.
Origin is THE reason to pirate. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 02:40 · Score: 0

Does anyone actually plan on buying this garbage? I am going to pirate the shit out of it just because of the retarded DRM that EA keeps putting in their game. Laughable DRM, laughable copy protection. Congrats EA, you're killing your own business, one shitty game at a time! :P LULZ!
Then I won't buy it by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 03:07 · Score: 0

If I have paid for something then I want to use it in whatever way I like. I don't want any restrictions pirates (using cracked versions) do not face.
Just saved 60 dollars! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 03:58 · Score: 0

Thanks /. :)
It's not piracy! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 10:21 · Score: 0

Add SimCity to the growing list.

...of games I won't buy. It's not piracy that is killing the market for games, it's DRM.
Paid to post by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-29 11:07 · Score: 0

Are you paid to post? Just checked your history, yep.
Its wont effect pirated versions by bobjr94 · 2012-03-30 10:27 · Score: 1

Quite a few times on games Ive legally brought, either their registration sever was down, wanted to put the game on a laptop with no dvd drive, got a message this game has been registered more than 5 times, didnt want to pull the disk out every time I played, etc.....So I download a pirated crack or patch for the game, that I just bought, to fix overzealous or broken drm.
Oh Noes by TheSkepticalOptimist · 2012-03-31 14:10 · Score: 1

The 5 remaining people with dial up internet won't be able to play a game in the 21st century.

--
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
New Pirated Version of Simcity to NOT require this by Eightbitgnosis · 2012-04-02 09:18 · Score: 1

And once again the pirated version of a game will have greater functionality than the purchased copies