DRM and always on for a bright Gaming future - EA busted simcity release

[warpus]

I know what Steam is, what it offers, and what it requires of me. I have to pay them to play a game and I have to have internet to do it.

You are actually able to play most steam games offline, IIRC. Exceptions might be games that have more DRM overtop, such as ANNO. But yeah, you need an internet connection to download them in the first place. After that though, for the most part, as far as I know, you can set them up so you can play them offline.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Every game off a store shelf now prints 'internet required', if only for the patches that inevitable gets released to fix all the bugs.

Sims 3 from EA used Origin, and I didn't like it. IIRC, you did have the option of not using Origin (for every time you played) but then you missed out on some extras.

There was a bug though, that even if you didn't use Origin the option 'send EA information about your game saves' or something to that effect so they can supposedly gather statistics or something, even if you unchecked it then as soon as you close the window the box is re-checked (so the option is always on, no matter what).

Although I thought eventually they released a patch to remove all Origin requirements? (I haven't played it in over 6 months, and in no mood to find out) So I thought they were moving away from Origin, but I guess now they went back to it (temporarily?)

 

[schlaufuchs]

Blah blah blah, DRM. Blah blah blah, always on-line game. Blah blah blah digital distribution channels.

None of that matters.

Sim City topped the sales charts and remains near the top. EA produced a product that people will pay money for. A minority may shout that SimRome is burning, but EA will be very happy fiddling. As well they should given the sales of their products.

Nobody cares about Chicken Littles because they are wrong. The video game world isn't ending because of DRM or whatever.

Video games are onanistic anyway. Claiming someone is trying to jerk you around when you are doing it to yourself seems absurd.

It doesn't matter if they top the charts. John Carter topped the box office charts its opening weekend. Even so, the film was considered a flop because, in spite of being the biggest fish in the smallest pond of the filmgoing year, the movie overall still didn't make anywhere near as much money as Disney and John Lasseter were hoping it would. I imagine the same will be true of EA, and even if this doesn't hurt EA's sales of this product it certainly has the potential of doing irreparable damage to its image among the gaming community and be harmful to future sales, especially considering that its no longer just small-time gaming websites like RPS covering this. This story is getting coverage on yahoonews and the bbc

 

[warpus]

Yeah, EA stockholders are going to care about this because it paints EA in a negative light.. by gamers.. the people who are supposed to be the company's customers. This is going to impact their bottom line, if not now then in the future.

You can only screw with your customers so much. If there are alternatives, and if you're not a monopoly, your customers will consider them.

 

[Akka]

Principles are great and all, but we live in the real world, where ideology is trumped by reality.

Steam would have never been able to offer so many games for sale without offering some sort of DRM.

The very core of the point is that there is a wide difference between "some sort" and "the second worst possible".

Also, the "this is reality" part is wrong - laws are BUILT on principles (tempered by realistic possibilities, but it's actually surprising to see just how much it's all about principles at the core, and actually most loopholes we now need to close comes from this "realistic" excuse).

Eh, if you buy a game through steam you are forced to .. you know, use steam to play it. Aren't you?

Are you trolling me ?
You quote barely two sentences and manage to not even read them ?

they CAN be sold THROUGH Steam, but they don't REQUIRE Steam. There is a difference between Steam as an online distributor and Steam as a DRM, and you can use the first without the second.

Can't be simpler than that.

Akka, if your point is that we are all just blindly submitting to Steam without knowing they are walking all over us, many of us have plainly responded to this several times.

No, my point is that you "know" they are walking all over us, but you don't care. And that's the sad and depressing part - and, considering how ubiquitous and stifling copyright laws in general have become, such apathy it's even dangerous in the long term as it goes far beyond video games.

I personally don't think my rights are being trampled with Steam, since I know how incredibly unlikely it is that Steam is just going to decide to pull my access for no reason. (And how incredibly stupid it would be for Steam to do so.)

This sentence is contradictory. Your rights ARE being trampled regardless of if Steam pull the plug or not.
Again, the point is that it's not you "don't think", but you "don't care".

 

[Akka]

Yeah, EA stockholders are going to care about this because it paints EA in a negative light.. by gamers.. the people who are supposed to be the company's customers. This is going to impact their bottom line, if not now then in the future.

You can only screw with your customers so much. If there are alternatives, and if you're not a monopoly, your customers will consider them.

All that would be nice, but it's wishful thinking.

EA has been portrayed as the archdevil for years now. Look at their record, they basically spent their ENTIRE HISTORY buying great studio and destroying them by forcing them to churn out garbage to milk their previous licenses. It's like that since the 90's.
Doesn't seem to have impacted their bottom line that much, they are still alive, kicking and making tons of bucks.

As for "you can only screw your customers so much"... Well, Steam, this thread and EA history and benefits tend to prove that yeah, you CAN screw your customers over and over and they will bend over and take it, and many of them will even spend a long time DEFENDING those who screw them over.

Nah, I'd like for it to be true, but I never seen compelling evidence that customers can't be screwed over and over and won't forget it the next month to come back in drove for the upcoming marketting-heavy crap.

 

[cardgame]

Steam hasn't screwed anyone

 

[trader/warrior]

Nah, I'd like for it to be true, but I never seen compelling evidence that customers can't be screwed over and over and won't forget it the next month to come back in drove for the upcoming marketting-heavy crap.

 

[warpus]

As for "you can only screw your customers so much"... Well, Steam, this thread and EA history and benefits tend to prove that yeah, you CAN screw your customers over and over and they will bend over and take it, and many of them will even spend a long time DEFENDING those who screw them over.

So.. how exactly is Steam screwing me over? Please explain.

 

[CheeseWalrus]

And it happens so infrequently on steam that there should be no need for wondering why people are okay with steam. Stop wringing your hands over fringe cases.

It's always just "fringe cases" until it happens to you.

 

[warpus]

Let's look at some case studies then. Has there ever been anyone who got all his games taken away in a totally non-warranted move? I really have no idea, actually, so if anyone's got some info..

 

[Bamspeedy]

So.. how exactly is Steam screwing me over? Please explain.

I'm guessing it's not what they are doing now, but what they could do. They could ban you or they could start charging a fee, which now you will feel you will have to pay because you already invested so much (200+ games).

But that's a lot of 'could'.

I have some computer games that are 15 years old. I can still install them and play them on my computer without contacting and relying on a 3rd party to 'allow' me to play a game I paid for.

But if I did, I still don't see how that is 'screwing me over' unless that company was no longer able to be contacted (a problem I face trying to patch some of those 15 year old games).

Even though I never had a scratched/lost game*, I can see others who are more likely to get them scratched or lost would prefer the Steam method.

*I almost had half of them stolen and pawned off by a girlfriend until she confessed and showed me the stash in the trunk of her car.
And now my toddler is wanting to dig into my computer game collection, so I may get some of them scratched yet.

It's always just "fringe cases" until it happens to you.

And they would lose any future earnings from warpus, and warpus would tell all his friends and Steam would lose any earnings from all his friends and their friends, etc. There has to be a very good reason why Steam would want to piss off warpus.

 

[AlpsStranger]

I admit that Steam could be a problem. The reality, though, is that EA almost tries to be a problem at every opportunity.

So yeah, Steam should be watched carefully, but EA is already about as bad as it gets.

 

[Core Imposter]

Moderator Action: This thread isn't about abortion. Off-topic content deleted.

I simply didn't buy this game.

 

[RD-BH]

EA isn't laughing ...
... They've gone from near 70/share (Mar 2005) to near 17/share (Mar 2013).

EA customers shouldn't be laughing ...
... if/when EA folds, ALL customer's games are lost.

 

[Bamspeedy]

EA isn't laughing ...
... They've gone from near 70/share to near 17/share.

EA customers shouldn't be laughing ...
... if/when EA folds, ALL customer's games are lost.

Just so some don't think it was this new Sim City game that caused this......

It was at 70/share in 2004.

http://investor.ea.com/stockquote.cfm

 

[RD-BH]

Who's really to blame for this, though? EA or the pirates that force gaming companies down this path?

I've been thinking about this ...
... which usually means I've overthought it and turned it into something really silly.

EA is not to blame and neither are the pirates.

Congress is to blame.

EA is just a corporation ...
... don't buy their product and they close their doors.
... they fear loss on investment

The software pirates I understand the least ...
... they do what they want when they want
... IMO they fear the loss of freedom(s)

Enter Congress ...
... They pervert copyright law to benefit corporations and harm consumers.
... they fear loss of power/re-election/etc

Had Congress done their job ...
... consumers would be protected
... freedom(s) would be protected
... corporations would be profitable without becoming more fascist than they already are

Just my considered opinion.

 

[RD-BH]

Just so some don't think it was this new Sim City game that caused this......

It was at 70/share in 2004.

http://investor.ea.com/stockquote.cfm

I had the dated quotes in hand and decided to simply report the values.
I did not intend confusion. (dates added to post)

Sadly, the gap is only 8yrs: Q1 2005 to Q1 2013.

I wonder what they would be selling at had they treated their customers as kings rather than pirates?

 

[Akka]

EA isn't laughing ...
... They've gone from near 70/share (Mar 2005) to near 17/share (Mar 2013).

EA customers shouldn't be laughing ...
... if/when EA folds, ALL customer's games are lost.

That would actually be a good thing. If people are too dumb to understand when to draw a line, maybe being actually burned a bit will teach them.

But don't keep your hopes high, EA has already rebounded several times.

 

[warpus]

Even though I never had a scratched/lost game*, I can see others who are more likely to get them scratched or lost would prefer the Steam method.

I guess I'm not very good at holding onto CDs and/or keeping them clean, cause NONE of the PC games I've bought in the past have survived They are all gone. CDs are gone, or CD keys, or they're scratched, or on a spindle somewhere that I can't bother locating..

One of the reasons I stopped buying games, really. Now I don't have to worry about any of that - I get to keep my games forever, or at least until Steam for some unexplained reason decides to screw me and everybody else over.

But you know, I have a list of all the games I have on steam. It would be simple to re-download them .. from other sources. Not that I'm worried at all about this happening, but. point has to be made.