Spore: Most Pirated Game Ever Thanks to DRM
Written by Ernesto on September 13, 2008Spore was without doubt the most anticipated game of the year. The game itself has blown away the people who have played it, but the DRM encouraged thousands to get their copy illegally. Already Spore has been downloaded more than 500,000 times on BitTorrent, and this number is increasing rapidly.
Most critics agree that Spore is a great game. However, the users aren’t too happy with the absurd DRM restrictions that come with the game. EA decided that people who buy a legitimate copy of the game, are only allowed to install it three times.
The idea behind DRM is that it will stop people from pirating the game, but in reality, it often has the opposite effect. As Forbes points out, many commenters on various BitTorrent sites now legitimize downloading this game because the official copies include some heavy and intrusive DRM.
“You have the power to make this the most pirated game ever, to give corporate bastards a virtual punch in the face,” deathkitten writes in a comment on The Pirate Bay. He or she is spot on. Spore has been the most downloaded torrent on The Pirate Bay for over a week, which is unique for a game.
Since September 2nd when Spore first appeared on BitTorrent, it has been downloaded a little over 500,000 times across various BitTorrent sites according to our most recent statistics. This download rate exceeds that of any other pirated game in history, and in a week or two from now it will be the most pirated game ever on BitTorrent.
As a comparison, Crysis, one of the best-selling PC games of this year has only been downloaded 420,000 times since it was released in November 2007. The Sims 2 currently holds the record for the most pirate downloads. There are no accurate stats for this game, since it was released long before we started tracking downloads, but we estimate that approximately 1 million copies have been downloaded.
Of course the record breaking number of Spore downloads can’t be attributed solely to DRM, but it sure helped. That’s not all, it also contributed to making Spore one of the worst rated games on Amazon. Out of the 2,219 reviews, 2,018 awarded the game with just 1 star, all because of the strict DRM.
DRM doesn’t stop people from pirating a game, on the contrary. It only hurts legitimate customers since the DRM is removed from the pirate version. The same is true for music, movies and books. Let’s hope EA and other media moguls will learn their lesson.
Previously: Pirate Bay Boycotts Press after Public Witch-Hunt
Next: RIAA: Lobbyists or Law Enforcers?
180 Responses
Good to hear!
Well more power to P2P , just another case of the Big Cor4p a$$0 wanting to rake in more cash . Its same as M$ did with XP .
My sons been playing it for 2 days now :) quite happy with it he is .
I got it at http://www.fataltracker.com/
Im tempted to pirate AND buy the game, I’m not against paying for things I like (as long as they are not priced ridiculously) , but not if the real cop screws me, might leave original game in wrapper.
only 3 installs allowed? ahaha no wonder people choose to pirate!! Damn, they should have atleast made it like 12- That would stop most of the piracy and bad ratings….
How can they fail so hard eventhough it should have been obvious…
“Out of the 2,219 reviews, 2,018 awarded the game with just 1 star, all because of the strict DRM.”
rofl who cares. im glad all these morons took the time to do this just because of their pretentious “fuck corporate america” stance.
douchebags. wow.
(changed my mind)
I thought the game needed internet in that it populated the game from other user’s generated content….how can it be pirated without a large change of coding?
I know lets add a feature the make the game supremely frustrating that could be easily removed from a pirated version.
Then gamers will on only be paying for something they could get for free but it will be more frustrating if they do so!
Yah good idea that will keep pirate off out backs! that stupid idea Jack had with cheaper people are willing to pay is just stupid, look what that theory did for Portal! HA!
DRM = challenge to hackers. EA should realize this.
To be honest, I would have bought this one if it had been DRM free! As long as the spyware is on those discs, it will not be touching this game.
Related article:
http://ezee.se/articles-blog/2008/09/09/drm-may-sound-like-a-dream-but-its-not-ea-told-in-a-very-polite-way-to-go-f-itself/
@4 it dont matter how many times they resticted the instalss to 2 or 2000. crackers would still remove the DRM.. so no increasing the number of allowed installs wont stop crackers. it should all be DRM-free
Spore is a single player game. When you connect to the internet (required for activation, as well) all it does is populate your new world with ten creatures that have been generated by other users in *their* single player games. The current number of these creatures is around 15 million.
However, you can also download “packs” of creatures from torrent sites that can be applied to the cracked version of the game. The last one I heard of contained 2,000 creatures. More than enough diversity to entertain you until you become bored of the game.
I was someone who did buy the game. I even received it. I tried to cancel when I learned not only was SecuROM included but that they were limited it to one account per person and also three total installs (ever). Unfortunately, it had already been shipped. As soon as it arrvied, I handed it back to the UPS guy and said I refuse to accept delivery. It was sent back to Amazon so I’ll be expecting a refund early next week.
I could go out and get a cracked copy, if I wanted (please stop calling them pirated copies — pirating implies that someone is fabricating a product that they don’t have the right to create or produce and are distributing it FOR A PROFIT). I’m not going to use a cracked copy, however, becuase I don’t want to offer any support to them either through use and promotion of their game or by giving them an excuse to point at all of the cracked copies people used as justification for their lack of respect for customers and the gaming community.
That said, I did get a chance to play spore several days ago and found that it was nowhere near as complex and involved as I had expected all these years. It is best said elsewhere that spore is:
1) A mile wide but only an inch deep.
2) A very on-rails game where your decisions mean little, there is very little variation, no actual evolution gameplay and you spend the bulk of your game licking on fucking fruit.
I dig Will Wright. I believe Will Wright is one of our greatest gaming geniuses, ever. Period. I want to support him in his endeavors and give him all the respect in the world. But I won’t support EA’s draconian anti-consumer restrictions. And . . . while this game is a fantastic effort toward a new direction for gaming (like we often see from Will Wright), it just doesn’t quite do it for me. If I were a non-gamer or ten years old, I might think it was the best thing I’d ever seen, though.
they should have just made an account system where you have to login instead of that shitty 3 time install thing.
hahaha Owned, Im gonna download Spore just for the sake of it :D
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4375656/Spore-RELOADED
This is a perfectly legitimate point, I don’t play PC games much due to the Xbox 360, but back when I did, I would sample games through torrents, If I found it fun I would buy it, espically if it required a key to play online, that was a fair enough deal.
3 installs and your screwed? That would last me around 3 months then as I like to re-install alot, Windows isn’t designed to run continuously.
Comment #9 is on point
When I bought Bioshock I had to get a crack to make it work, like many others. Video game DRM is only introducing more people to piracy.
spore is just good, that’s why everyone pirates it -.-
@15, not really.. DRM is easy to kill if you know what your doing :P
Good article, actually I just bought the game on Amazon but just because I think it’s great and the developper deserve it, I’d much rather pay the developpers some money than some crappy EA DRM mazzafukaz.
Yeah, after the three installs you have to call EA and convince them you’re not a pirate and *hopefully* they’ll give you another install I’m not wasting my money or my bandwidth on this game.
And calling them costs money too, so that bites even more.
@19 Your a n00b
Brought the game and considering downloading to help with the numbers, although will have to wait till next month thanks to shit aussie internet.
Anyone considered burning through their installs to try and get it through to EA that it’s a bad idea?
“DRM = challenge to hackers. EA should realize this.”
They should also realize that hackers usually win.
They should take Stardock’s example and make games without ANY copy-protections. THAT’s user-friendly. And that alone may keep Sins alive for decades.
ahahaha 3 times.. AHAHAHAHa…. Hahahaahaha
ahahahaha
ahAHAHahahaha
ROFL LULZ kk..
YOU GUYS ARE IDIOTS!! ahahahahah!!!
ahahahahahahhaaha
aahaha
aahaha
omg seriously.. ahaa. omg.. are you fuckin retarded? AHAHAHAA… 3 installs LOL!
i think i broke a rib.. ahaha
How can a big company like EA make such a bad decision? Someone is gonna get sacked.
Spore aint realy “online”..
It just downloads other peoples work to your computer, so even if you have a pirated version you can get those “packs” anyway ;)
I bought both Bioshock and Mass Effect that has the same kind of DRM (although loosened up after mass complaints), needless to say the boxes are stored away and i ended up using pirate versions anyway.
Mostly to get rid of all the hassle, and i dont want backround processes and keys/folders on my computer that i cant remove without formatting. Another thing was also load times, its just frustrating having to wait like 2 minutes for the game to boot up because of protection, then have another minute of movies you cant click away before you can play the game.
Yet another reason is that i format alot, and upgrade hardware constantly (witch removes installs).
Its realy messed up and only pisses real gamers off, this kind of protection is not for protecting the game but to screw over real gamers.
They cant complain on pirates when they do stuff like this, their jsut being absolutely stupid.. They payed big money to securom to use the protection, now they pay the consequences..
I would hope noone listnens to Securom lobbyists anymore after this but since the industry is so fricking STUPID they will anyway, i bet next protection version will be even worse.
I wish developers would QUIT these big IDIOT COMPANIES that are ruining their games and make their own gaming alliance or go out and innovate/inspire and create real games once again.
Enjoyable games that lasts for years that doesnt intrude your privacy or hack your systems. Games that are games made for gamers that will game them and not “products” that are “property” made for “consumers” who “blindly buy” them and “gets screwed”.
Red Alert 3 will use this same protection and so will many many other upcoming titles..
Lets hope Piracy steers the greedy fat big idiot companies back on track, isnt that ironic? lol..
I made the mistake of buying 2 games with this crap, i wont do it a 3rd time with Spore or RA3 or any other future titles, but i will be playing them.
I wont be giving money for this offensive crapware, unfortinetly DEVELOPERS that are the good guys will get hurt, but thats more their fault then mine, i didnt join a stupid company, i didnt allow my game to be raped by that company and violated with crapware, i didnt allow my work to be f**ed upp, i didnt allow my work to be a victim of piracy because of ignorance, stupidity and GREED..
lol internet
26 gnoz
>>They should also realize that hackers usually win.
More like
Hackers always win.
@24
It would be “you’re a noob”
If you’re going to insult people, at least use correct English.
@ #32
I agree he should use correct English. That said “noob” is not a word either. -.-
Aaarrrrrrrr I be pirating this for meself.
@#3: you should never pay for anything when the $ will go to developers who introduce these kinds of restrictions because people who will cripple software like this are only looking at the numbers and their misguided notions of how to increase them. The only way to send a message is to make sure they don’t get that check from the retailers due to no demand.
DRM on Game… bad idea
Post linked on http://eng.fidgee.com – Feeds from the Geek Side
I have no interest in this game and likely won’t ever play it. I am, however, downloading it from TPB out of spite for EA. I am completely dumbfounded by corporations these days as they seem to have completely lost their collective minds.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=spore+reloaded&btnI=I%27m+Feeling+Lucky
test
It is a good kick in the ass for the money minded people. Without piracy nothing would have been popular as they are today.
Shame the game itself is terrible.
DRM succeeds at preventing legal purchasers from causually making a copy and giving the CD to a friend to try out.
That seems to be the goal. I can’t believe that corporate management would be so dumb as to think that cracked DRM-free copies won’t appear online and spread across the globe.
But then I made that same observation about the record industry a decade ago …
How do you record the downloads? The most popular tracker as you guys admit, TPB, doesn’t track downloads.
“@19 Your a n00b”
The word “your” is possessive. Example: “Your computer died.”
I forgot to mention that I don’t normally pirate PC games. I don’t really like having to deal with cracks and code that has been altered as this usually leads to bugs. I want to play games, not troubleshoot them. Honestly, I prefer to buy a game if the demo and/or reviews were good and I have giant stacks of original game CD’s to prove it.
However, I have found that over the past couple of years the number of purchases has dropped significantly. The reason is because I refuse to support companies that insist of treating me, their bread and butter, like I am some kind of low life criminal. I also own a console, so it is not like there is a shortage of alternative games to chose from, ones that I don’t mind supporting with my hard earned income.
Would you buy a music CD if you were only allowed to listen to it three times? Would you buy a car if you were only allowed to drive it to three locations? Thanks to the liberating nature of bittorrent, the message consumers are able to send is painfully clear. Hopefully EA and others like them will learn from this mistake.
why bother buying games anymore as we apparently dont own them even if we did pay for them…
no rootkit kthxbai
Keep leeching people, I put my seedbox on the pirate bay copy that got the 20k leechers downloading, pile up on this torrent everyone just fucking rip this shit to death, and fuck the DRM bastards lets get this for free!
this game was such a flop lol, space age is just crap, hate getting attacked every 2 mins.
child pr0n is most pirated :)
The game itself is awesome…but that DRM they implemented is a disaster…it means i can only install the game 3 times!!!…if my computer crashes, or the game gets messed up(as they all do) and you want to reinstall…you can only do it 3 times and then have to go and spend 50 bucks again!!
And not only that!…DRM also counts hardware changes!!…think about upgrading your computer…don’t forget to add 50 bucks to play this game again.
@31
You’re right ^^
@TorrentFreak,
Could you plz post the # of sold copies (when the #s are released) in comparison to what was exacted or to previous games?
Could you plz find out if there is an increase in torrent downloads after the official release date, indicating that ppl are dl.ing the cracked version because of DRM.
… and how has the whole circus affected “Sins of …” sales?
################################################################
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@everyone:
The cracked copy of SPORE was released Sep. 2nd as you can see here: http://www.torrentfreak.com/linklist/
################################################################
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################# http://explorecroatia.net/ #####################
downloading my pirated version now
@29
WORD!
Group hug!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsJyfN0ICU
Well if EA would open there eyes they would release a patch that would get rid of the DRM.
c’mon EA employees haz to feed there children!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noTvdpAYeHE
@TorrentFreak,
Could you plz post the # of sold copies (when the #s are released) in comparison to what was exacted or to previous games?
Could you plz find out if there is an increase in torrent downloads after the official release date, indicating that ppl are dl.ing the cracked version because of DRM.
… and how has the whole circus affected “Sins of …” sales?
I’ve enjoyed Spore Origins on the iPhone, but from all the personal reviews I’ve heard from friends and read online, the iPhone is as far as my Spore experience will go. I love how so many professional reviewers were still willing to say it was a good game and every friend I know who bought the full version regrets doing so (for non-drm reasons).
This is inevitable when everybody treats copyright like a trivial issue, and says that it is not important enough to warrant active protest. Why, protest is important, and this situation, already bad, can only get worse if there is no active protest to this copyright regime.
Why not simply copy some pirated copies of Spore, and leave them around in random locations where people can find them? It is simple civil disobedience.
I bought this game to support the developers as it is the morally right thing to do. The installation thing, is only the online activation anyway, and SecuROM sucks.
In my eyes they are tryin to say “hey pirate this people”. Spore has to be one of those games that i could still play for a while longer, as it doesnt require a cd even on the legit version, but people need to learn that good, great games need to be supported whatever the security involved!
MeH…
Mayhem excites Hell…
Wich is the most pirated child pr0n movie, torrentfreak?
PLZ answer and can I download it off the pirate bay.
it’s sad so many people are downloading it illegally because the creators need the money to warrant the last three years of development. Yeah I understand EA is rich and DRM sucks, but it is hurting the developers more than the publisher
Well, piracy may help sales in this case. I downloaded it early this week from bittorrent. But to actually use the best features (Sporepedia), you have to purchase it, which I did.
Seems like a non-controversy. The DRM should definitely go away, however the best anti piracy is an active online community
Fuck up EA retards, the assholes… download them as many times as you want give copies and all your friends and families… and also gift an extra pirated-dvd to everyone on new year and Christmas and thanksgivings.
FUCK UP ea (electronic assholes)
I’m gonna download a copy soon
“Well, piracy may help sales in this case.”
More like resistence.
“the best anti piracy is an active online community”
No, actual resistance than passivity is what is best. Just put CDs of pirated Spore in random places where people can find it, with a message on the cover, “The EA is retarded for DRM” or something like that. It is a simple civil disobedience.
Roze
Well, I’m one of the 500,000. But… Spore was just eh for me. Not totally my cup of tea.
…and thanks to torrentfreak there will be many more downloads of Spore.
@65
Hopefully, not more people buying Spore.
put up a brick wall to stop someone, and they’ll grab a sledgehammer. Then, you’re left with a hole in your wall and bricks all over the place.
It also came across as the most disappointing game. How it got 86% when its a horribly botched group of genres with only two possible routes of gameplay.
“only 3 installs allowed? ahaha no wonder people choose to pirate!! Damn, they should have atleast made it like 12- That would stop most of the piracy and bad ratings….”
In my opinion, any DRM that only allows a limited number of installs, or relies on remote activation, is unaceptable.
I often play old games that are no longer supported by the developer or publisher. If these games required remote activation, chances are that the company would no longer be providing it, especially as some of them have gone out of business.
Look at how Micro$oft was going to turn off its music DRM servers and leave everyone without a way to “authorize” the music that they paid for. Why do you think EA or any company is going to be any different? A decade from now, if you get the urge to play Spore again, you’ll have to download a cracked copy because I’ll bet you $100 that EA won’t still be supporting it by then.
TorrentFreak allows Child Pr0n
on their WEBSITE
,
Wich is the most pirated child pr0n movie according to TorrentFreak?
– - !
Thanks for the info torrentfreak, I was going to buy this game, but now, now way!
I usually get my games through steam, and because I travel a lot, using different computers at times, I download my games at different locations. Spore unfortunately, with their DRM crap is out of the question.
fags
spore is ok at best,the first two stages were fun,and thats about it,i got to the 4th stage and don’t feel like playing anymore,this could have been a great game
A friend of mine had his computer crash TWICE while installing Spore but had successfully installed it on his computer at work. Because of this, EA refused to give him the license and told him he would have to re-buy the game.
My boyfriend and I find this all fairly funny, we heard bout the DRM policy being put into effect by EA and predicted all of this would happen. Kudos to EA for making themselves look like grade A douchbags.
Wich is the best Ch1ld pr0on movie on the pirate bay?
I have heard that they have many! :)
loool DRM can hardly be called a challenge believe me i know people who can crack it. they not even of age yet. their (the hackers) are just trying to prove how ridiculous DRM really is…
I have no desire to play spore, it’s not my cup of tea.
Hell, I dont even have the HD space for it.
Or rather, I didnt, so I deleted some shit and am now DLing it, with plans to seed it for at least a month.
And I plan to do the same at work on a secluded box on a T1 line ……
you all realize u can install more than 3 times? u just gotta call EA after teh 3rd time…which prolly wont be for years
I spend a lot of money on my gaming hobby. I went looking for a place to purchase Spore online and was going through the checkout process on Electronic Arts store and when I was about to enter my CC info, I noticed that it had tacked on $5.99 for 2 years of “extended backup”. Normal price only allows for 6 months. Since I upgrade my system frequently I also re-format very frequently, so that completely stopped me from hitting the Checkout button that night. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on my gaming setup and countless hundreds more for the games themselves, but in situations like this it’s hard to not feel like it’s the software companies themselves that are giving the edge to gaming consoles such as the 360/wii/ps3.
Count me as another would-be purchaser of this game that was put off by the ridiculous rules of use put in place known as the DRM. I have NO pirated games on my computer, and I have dozens of games. My gaming handle is eXg. f0cus and I’m active on many gaming sites as well. I’ll be sharing this with those forums too, so this is just getting started.
Post #81
If I buy something that is helping give that company there paychecks I don’t want to have to call them and ask if i can download the game I already bought on my own computer.
viva la torrent revolution lol
I’m so glad I didn’t buy this game. It is horribly boring, beat the first three stages in a few hours… Too easy and this game HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EVOLUTION! ITS MORE LIKE A CREATIONIST GAME – everything is set out for you and you do the same things everytime you play it – no matter which role you take. The iPhone game is more evolution-like, cause you have the same controls the way through and have to change the way you fight, yourself.
“this game HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EVOLUTION! ITS MORE LIKE A CREATIONIST GAME”
Correct. Which is why its so ironic creationists are in an uproar about this game. In reality though, you couldn’t really base a game on evolution (by natural selection). What whould you do? Let it run for a couple billion years?
I’m considering not buying this game now, actually, since you’re paying around 10 to 12 pounds to install the game every time, what a joke.
My wife went out and bought this. Had I known, I’da told her. Ohhhh is she gonna be pissed. We live down the road (an hour). Ten bucks says she drives it to EA’s door, personally.
testes
I think I’ll download it and not play it. lol
Ea is acting just like the government. If they make it a pain in the ass to do legally that means fewer people will want to do it illegally. That’s government logic for ya.
i found it @
tehconnection.eu for some reason
“Anyone considered burning through their installs to try and get it through to EA that it’s a bad idea?”
I went through all three trying to resolve a driver issue. Called EA, got them reactivated after 2 minutes on hold and barely as long talking to a rep as it took to give them the information they needed.
Far from discouraging piracy, DRM does in fact do the opposite. And nowhere is this more evident than in the case of Spore. For the pirates, an epic win. And for EA, an epic fail.
i agree on everything if they didint put drm on it more people would have bought it!
Did they seriousely go through with this?!
Oh my fucking God!
Sorry about foul language.. but seriousely?
I actually bought this game in the belief that they didn’t go through with this after all!
If games could have been returned, I would have done so immediately!
I’ll download the game now just to get the numbers up.
Couldn’t you just rip the game from the disk(before installing it) and burn that off to a few disks, keep the original ripped file, and re-burn whenever you wanted to install it?
Treat your customers with respect and they’ll return the favour. Treating your customers like they’re pirates that will abuse your software…will turn people against you and become pirates just to spite you.
lulz.
Take that you DRM-loving bastards!
that’s a real shame that the developers of the game, who i know have been pouring a lot of effort into spore for quite a long time now, aren’t going to get the recognition for a great game. they won’t get the money either, it looks like. looks like just another case of EA royally fucking people over.
The pirates are ALWAYS, and i mean ALWAYS one step ahead of the game. There’s no stopping them and its funny that EA thinks they can with they’re feeble attempts. Please EA, if you are reading this, stop trying, it was just a suicide mission with the DRM.
Frankly this just strikes me as an excuse for people to justify being dicks. You’re going to download spore? Go ahead. But to pretend that you’re doing it as a protest is just laughable.
@ Gerard
Piracy is the only way normal global consumers can protest, until the ones with money or some organisation decides to step in for the consumers around the globe piracy is the only way for consumers to express their protest in an efficient way.
To think otherwice is naive, thats not how the real world works Gerard.
Consumers have very little “power” and its different for every country, the only united “power” or means to protest consumers around the world have is downloading.
A civil offence to show companies their doing wrong? Why not, happens all the time in normal protests why not here aswell?
United consumers can actualy do something, and piracy is the only way to unite global consumers aswell as give a clear message to the company.
A message that hurts the company is well deserved in this case.
@101
It is much more important to do it in a visible way. The message will not get across to people unless it is done visibly. Thus, a good way to do that is to drop CDs in random places of copyrighted content, where people can find it, bearing a message on it, “Down the the RIAA.” It is something simple and easy for anyone to do.
well you could buy it and download a no cd crack to bypass this and still be legal.
LOL, Power to the People man! POwer to the people! Spore ROCKS!
Jiff
http://www.anonymize.us.tc
to all you noobs
its called an eggpatch proggie
looks at program in various states.
YOU can never win against it and
for that GAMES INDUSTRY
FAIL
agreed have some spare blanks burn some copyrighted content and leave them in sleeves EVERYWHERE
SHARE NOW
For us to really hit home just like the amazon protesters we should nuke the rating but not to the point were 1 out 10 but really low, also to all you out there that are cracking things like this thank you
Power to the protest may game companies learn from EA mistake
fuck ea don’t buy this game please don’t we gotta fuck them up
#108 that site is ran by feds
This story is overrated. I bought the game and installed it without a problem. The only thing I needed to do was entering a key, what is easier than using a crack with a free Trojan inside.
now only that but u need the cracked version to play on Wine :D
-zanfr
http://kruhm.org/2008/09/why-will-wright-should-quit-ea/
Easier root to take would be to purchase and download from Direct2drive.com. It’s what I did. Instead of installing that nasty SecuROM and DRM all I had to do was download the download manager and then uninstall it afterwards.
Gerard said: “Frankly this just strikes me as an excuse for people to justify being dicks. You’re going to download spore? Go ahead. But to pretend that you’re doing it as a protest is just laughable.”
Feel free to believe whatever you want. It doesn’t change the fact that I truly will download this as a means of protest and won’t ever play it. It’s just not my cup of tea. If I ever did decide to play it, it would only be after trying the demo first, and even then only once it has hit the $5 bargain bin at a local software store (Staples, Futureshop, Walmart, EB Games, etc). Hell, I’d even consider buying it secondhand like I already do with music CD’s, but I would most likely end up being ripped off thanks to the type of DRM EA chose to use.
Man, I really hate apologists. It’s like the battered wife making excuses as to why she deserved to be beaten up by her husband. The fact is and has always been that if you let someone walk all over you, they’ll do it for the rest of your life. Not only that, the more they are allowed to get away with, the worse it all becomes. Better to take a stand now than when it is too late.
lolz, the only pages i’ve seen about spore since release are only referring to the DRM, looks like EA screwed themselves big time on this one. As for spore, even tho it looks kind of fun I won’t be playing it. I already got to try out the creature creator, which is the only part of the game I was even interested in checking out and the main game just seems like a big time waster, but still, funny to see the game collapse after years of hype all because they want to install some BS DRM into it (and of course the cracked (aka FIXED) version is already out and making the DRM completely useless anyway.
We enjoyed pirating your game.
Checkmate EA
i also brought and then downloaded it i have 3 ppl sharing 5 systems. EA you suck, DRM just hinders not helps. AMAZON pulled all the reviews.
DRM is the bane of our content existence. It makes everything run slower, is more complicated and now, it will eventually not run at all. And these large media companies expect us to pay for these terrible experiences?
Who are the real pirates here?
Reminds me of a novel called 1984, where those in authority use propaganda to try and reverse reality.
Why do people keep saying Amazon pulled the reviews? They’re all still there: http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000FKBCX4/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
@111: You’re one of the lucky few (Extremely few), who Spore actually worked for when it was first installed.
Check this out: Google for DasmX86Dll.dll – Spore was rushed out with references to debug code still in it, making most games unstable.
Idiots; you know what really hurts the developers? Not playing the game at all. Not buying it and not illegally downloading it.
@120
No, the best thing is taking matters into our own hands. Taking the game out of their hands, and spinning it our way to do what we want with it.
EA games take your DRM and shove it up your arse.
DRM only punishes the honest, when has it ever worked?
i agree @120 it takes discipline to go without in protest.
oooo yeah….MUAhahhahah
nabz want to protect games and make more money…NO CAN DO!!!
gogogo all download it one more time!!
yep, i got the game from some guy and it’s a lot of fun. just wish i could get user-content. but i saved $50 so woo
Come on, this is a ridiculous article. Like if Spore didn’t have any DRM a single person would have bought it instead of downloading. Bull!
see what you fuckheads aren’t getting by showing off and downloading the pirated/cracked versions. The reason DRM was implemented was because of past acts of piracy and they are trying to do SOMETHING to make up for it. Even though it was the dumbest way they could have gone about it. It all boils down to. They don’t want people pirating the game so the impose restrictions. Well, you guys really showed those corporate pigs. You just insured more restrictions on other games, maybe even more strict ones. Gratz!
The thing is, I make a CONSCIOUS effort to reward the artists that give me pleasure. I buy their CDs even if I have them ripped, I buy their games even if I have cracked versions installed. Same w/ deluxe (read: high margin, extra expensive) versions of DVDs.
I GET it – art deserves support. I feed the Commons so even better art will greet us tomorrow.
Wouldn’t even CONSIDER it for any media as horrific as SecureROM, and celebrate the destruction of business models of publishers that foist this on their best customers.
Arrrr!
@128
One thing missing is – we should choose who to support. If they make a crap game, or if they do something really hostile like DRM, then there is no need to reward them. Giving them support should take into account, not only how good their product is, but also how good their moral character is.
is spore really this good? i think i might buy^H^H^H^H download a copy now :)
I actually called up gamestop to see if they had in stock… then I read about all the crap… and just downloaded it… played for one day… realized it was crap… then thanked myself for not spending money and uninstalled the game.
You fuckheads would download games whether there was a DRM or not. any way you look at it, you are stealing. If you wanted to protest the way they handle their policies, you should choose not to buy the game or play it at all.
I stopped purchasing games after being fucked in the ass by BioShock.
There was one reason and one reason alone I didn’t buy this game and that is because of SecureROM. Furthermore I will not buy one game released with this piece of shit “security feature”
I support the gamers bill of rights
http://www.stardock.com/about/newsitem.asp?id=1095
I can’t wait to buy Demigods!
I still don’t see what the big fucking deal is with DRM? I mean really: if you’ve got more than one 3 computers to install it on, another 50 bucks to get a new copy can’t possibly be that much of a hassle.
Personally, I probably would have just downloaded it like so many others have, but didn’t feel like sludging through that shit, and had the extra 50 bucks. I have one computer and don’t re-install the OS often, if ever; My life isn’t so consumed by games that I feel the need to bitch about such a small problem.
I’ll agree with 14 on one thing, it’s very expansive, but very shallow. I was personally expecting a bit more out of the game, and knowing what I know now, probably would have downloaded instead of buying, but I didn’t loose much, if anything as I wouldn’t have spent the fifty in the first place if I felt like I was loosing much.
It’s just another game guys, that’s all it is and that’s all it’ll ever be.
The game itself is not bad, yet not perfect (In my oppinion), just the kind of game I’d play for a day or two.
But the DRM is indeed a problem.
I bought it, then installed on my friend’s comp. It crashed and rebooted, Then tried re-intalling and it worked.
The game kept crashing again after making a new game, so we decided to install it on his other comp which was somewhat a little better. The game worked fine this time.
But as soon as I got home, I couldn’t install it at all since I then looked up that spore uses DRM!
And that it is limited to 3 installations!!!
I played the game, it’s shit with a lot of bugs. Crashed twice on me. And to #62 or whatever, the developers got paid for their three years of work. It’s the company that suffered and I love it! Why you ask? because EA is a peice of shit and I am happy I left that shity company. I see this as payback to all the times they took advantage of us developers.
You think this is the first time? Think about this – there are some webmails that would not allow you to download your emails for free neither allow you to export your data for free so they think they would be able to retain customers.
Now think about Gmail – free pop access, IMAP access, import, export and how many actually don’t use the gmail webmail? Very few.
the game is so narrow what im going to do with 15kk creatures so much waiting nothing to impress me
@135
The game is not the issue here. It is the DRM.
I could care less about DRM “restrictions”. I never run up against their limitations. I do care if the DRM software will interfere with the rest of my system. Are there any real, significant problems with SecureROM?
Ha! I was going to buy spore too. I’ve read reviews and it sounds decent. But the reviews didn’t really met my expectation. I was sad but what the hell it had good ratings. Until I read the comment about the 3 installations crap. Good job EA & Maxis I ain’t buying any of your shit any time in the future. I’m contemplating if I should torrent the game now as a political statement of “FUCK YOU” to both EA and Maxis.
Reasons why this DRM sucks:
1. I have more than 4 computers and I often reset or upgrade my computers.
2. I mess around with my computer especially with Linux OS.
3. If I own a game then I should do play whenever on any machine I own in pass, present, and future.
4. The existence of such a DRM on a game is a big fuck you to me. Why should I have such an annoying restriction when I bought it legally? I bought the game for entertainment, as a stress reliever not a stress giving machine.
EA & Maxis
Go to hell. I’m never buying any of your games if I can help it.
EA & Maxis could have made so much money. The deter to piracy was so obvious: key validation for online play.
EPIC FAIL in the history of video games – Piracy: 1 DRM: 0
If people really wanted to pirate game you really think you can stop them EA/Maxis? Those people are the ones you’ll never get money from. But to punish the people that are willing to buy and support your game is a slap to their face. Now you’ve turn those very group, that are willing to buy your games, against you.
The easiest way to stop piracy is online game play and validation. If you have not learn anything from Spore then I am afraid your future is very bleak.
With its pedestrian game play, and lack of depth (ie: its stats based so design means nothing) it’s not worth buying anyways, the DRM is just the mayo on the shit sandwich that is Spore.
I wasn’t going to purchase or pirate this game… however, when I read about the ridiculous DRM they had in place, I felt it was my duty to add to the pirated numbers… however, having played it, I’m now willing to give EA my $50, but not for the 3 use trial they want to sell me… if EA admits they’re wrong, and eliminates the 3 install limit, I will buy this game… until then, I’ll just have to live without the community generated content (the only thing missing from the pirated game)
” ‘Out of the 2,219 reviews, 2,018 awarded the game with just 1 star, all because of the strict DRM.’
rofl who cares. im glad all these morons took the time to do this just because of their pretentious “fuck corporate america” stance.
douchebags. wow.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself, actually.
Downloading Spore now. I’ll never play it, tho – I’m just adding to the stats. =]
Mebbe I’ll make a few copies & hand them out – who knows..?
pirated already? seems like the corporations know what they’re doing. they probably seed the torrent and it mines your computer for information which is probably worth a lot more than the $50 they make from selling the game. It takes time to crack a computer code especially one as complex as one that includes DRM technology. Either way, the consumer lays on the floor bleeding from the ass.
I’m not a fan of pirating games, but paying $50 for renting a game? No, thank you.
I need to point out that the DRM on it only allows you ONE copy not 3 by EA’s own admission.
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/09/12/ea-just-one-spore-account-copy-despite-game-manual039s-claim-otherwise
http://kotaku.com/5049765/spore-only-allows-one-account-even-if-youre-playing-with-family
Reading the amazon.com reviews was entertaining. surprisingly not all of the 1 star reviews was drm-related.
i bought the game aswell, when i saw that reloaded had rlsd the game i went online and bought it and used the serial i got online for my game, although i don’t care much for the drm, i never buy boxed games, i didn’t dislike the game cuz of drm i dislike it cuz it gets so boring in space, same quests over and over again… and you get there way too quickly, life after sea was most fun imo
Excellent post on Spore. The more DRM is used, the more it is broken. It’s almost like soft drug use in Amsterdam. Ban it and it will go underground and rampant. Legalize it and it no longer becomes a problem. So DRM is the drug of the publishers that they have to kick is what I’m saying. Thanks for the post, I talk about it on my show today.
http://tinyurl.com/6avo37
DRM is a scam developed by unscrupulous organizations to bilk well-meaning multimedia companies out of perfectly good money. That is it’s only true and effective purpose.
I bought this on pre-order before knowing about the DRM. I suppose I will have to crack it once my 3 installs run out. Also I have to kill the DRM process sometimes since it inteferes with other games (e.g. Far Cry)
I was going to buy this game. I really was. I knew I could have downloaded it, but I decided that I was going to buy it and support the development of creative games like this (I’m a little bored of FPS)
Then I found out about DRM, so I downloaded it instead. Nice job EA. They made a pretty good game though.
First, fuck you EA. Second, fuck you Mr.Wright for selling Maxis and your soul to EA.
This is what happens when you show nothing but fanhating to your userbase. :)
Is this game really that good?
Lets not forget that it was prematurely released in Australia causing it to be downloaded by both legitimate owners and pirates alike due to lack of alternative.
I have not purchased spore, nor have I pirated it.
I am however at least mildly curious at how it plays out as I’ve heard mixed things about the game, though mostly bad. I was not a fan of the Sims series either, it just failed to hold my attention for more then a couple of hours.
However, I am a CnC fan….
If EA don’t drop this whole DRM bullshit then they can count me as another lost sale…
So give them hell ev1…
I want DRM Free RA3.
I got a legit copy of the game as a gift but I will not be downloading it; imho it’s a mediocre game at best and downloading a copy is giving it too much credit.
SecuROM has been cracked for a long time. It’s not even a challenge for crackers anymore. Spore was pirated and online days BEFORE the official release. Prevents hackers? rofl. It doesn’t even slow them down.
I personally love Maxis’ games, but no way will I buy something with krap like securom on it. And the 3 installs limit is just a joke.
Lets hope that this will teach EA a lesson, but I highly doubt it. EA don’t seem like the brightest bunch.
This is a game, like all other games you don’t have a God given right to play it. If you don’t want to pay to play then fuck off and stop crying about it. Get over yourselves pretending to be freedom fighters and sticking it to “the man” you’re just a bunch of pathetic thieves.
Well it’s sad that this is fucking over Maxis too….
FUCK EA
Wow, EA got a big virtual punch to the face from me.
Even though it isn’t that good of a game. Serves them right though. FUCK DRM!
,,,OJOBHUO
If you pirate this, DO NOT pay for ti at the same time. EA needs to go out of fucking business. I hope they go bankrupt. DO NOT BUY SPORE.
Theft is theft. If you don’t like the DRM, don’t buy the game, and the corporate fat cats will act accordingly. Now it just looks like their customers are thieves.
Bought it, and now for my hole life will not buy EA games.
Stupid move EA. With DRM i felt robed. So i will make my best for making them feel that way too.
And also, The game sucks, is not 1/10 of what has been said.
DRM isn’t that big of a deal for me. My brother bought the game and we downloaded it to our two computers. Just shell out 50 bucks if you have more than 3 computers, it’s not that big of a deal.
On another note, Spore was disappointing after all the hype for years, and the only fun stage is the creature stage.
Downloaded the game. Played for a day or two. It got boring, quick. You can get through the whole game in a day if you don’t have a job :P
And all your success isn’t very rewarding because when you decide you want to play around with other cool creatures… you have to start the game all over again. From the beginning. Meaning nothing you do ever counts for anything. The only time you have all creature parts unlocked is if you enter the creature creator before starting a game and even then you can choose what stage you wanna go to, with all parts. If you wanna walk around as a creature, you get 3 legs/arms/mouthes to choose from. That’s it.
MS Paint has more diversity than this game. A piece of sranje.
Hang on, DRM on books?
> Out of the 2,219 reviews, 2,018 awarded the game with just 1 star, all because of the strict DRM.
No. No, why would you ever get that idea? Read the reviews. It is more than just DRM.
DRM isn’t just about anti-piracy. It’s also about trying to kill the secondary market of you selling your copy to someone else or trading it in on another game. After all, who is going to buy a used game that may have it’s activations used up?
spore was a terrible game i actually bought it unlike a thief and played it all the way through so you can say i didnt give it a chance its like they tried to shove five different games into one and it was hardly enjoyable at all
u cn instal it as many times as u want! bt u cn only activate it online on 5 computers.
Spore is a just a regenerative copy of Ea’s release on the commodore 64 called mail order monsters from the 1980’s. Just better graphics. I played that game as a kid and made hundreds of copies on 5&1/2 floppies for my friends.lol! Then returned the game to federated! is not an original idea at all. I cheated ea then and will now. Fuck Them!
Amen!
I agree with the fact that DRM's only introduce people to pirating! If it wasn't for The Sims 2 having a limit, I never would have started, but alas =(
I bought the original games though, so It was okay, it was like I was simply expanding the install limit, that's all.
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