Isles of Scion

What they said is in quotations, what I’ve said is not…pretty simple.

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“A lot of people are flaming against the DRM procedure that EA has put in place to protect their investment. They argue that EA is punishing the ones that are paying for the game.”

Well considering that DRM does nothing to pirates (I’ve never had a game I couldn’t play regardless of how hardcore the DRM was) it does only affect one group of people. So it’s not so much an argument as fact. Deciding if accusing your customers of theft is a punishment is up to you as a person, I have my own feelings. (We’ll keep in mind I not only bought spore but I also bought the Galactic Edition of it, frankly I am disgusted at EA for being a stereotypical Juggernaut but I love Will Wrights work). I would ‘not’ have purchased this game if it wasn’t released by the team at Maxis; I haven’t purchased anything from EA in…Oh lord forever.

“I don’t get it. Doesn’t EA have the right to protect their investment? Surely none of us here would willingly leave the house without locking the door. No one is naive enough to think: ‘The city I live in is so safe that I am sure no one will attempt to rob my house of my belongings, that I paid with my hard earned money.’”

You know what is the equivalent of locking your doors? A CD-[b]Key[/b], you say “but people could make copies!” well so could they in real life. The way you don’t get robbed is by blind luck that is only bolstered by your community. You live in a nice community and you’ll likely live a nice life (as my family and everyone I’ve ever known has proven) however if you run around accusing everyone of being criminals you’ll find that when you really need their help they will not be around to help you.

“So if you are allowed to lock your house to protect what is yours from robbers, why can’t EA do the same thing? For some reason, because ’software, movies, music’ are not tangible objects, people tend to treat it differently.”

It’s not a matter of protecting an investment; DRM is not the equivalent of locking ones door. DRM is akin to putting out flashing signs that tell everyone within range that they are terrible and must be monitored. You know the music I buy? Good music, you know what it generally is? DRM free. I don’t see my mp3 player requiring I put in the CD of something I purchased and copied into it. Just like my house doesn’t require I keep the key in the door to be inside of it. Which by the way, Kudos on the no-DVD, one less crack to download :).

“Some will say: ‘EA should do like Stardock’s ‘Sins of the Solar Empire’. No DRM!!’ Guess what, it’s still being pirated! It’s not because it’s DRM free that people will go pay for the software.”

Oh you mean the Stardock that continually makes good games that I purchase and that seem to have completely reasonable sales and have even successfully and nicely asked sites to remove their torrents before and had their requests complied with? Oh yes I see how they are such idiots. Wait…who was it that attacked them and put torrents of their stuff online? Wait…that was Starforce a producer of DRM materials wasn’t it? Yeah…yeah it was.

I never once have felt that because I left my doors unlocked I’m asking to be robbed, if I live in an area with terrible activities (see being a game company that produces consistent crap) I am asking to get harmed, just like EA purchasing good companies and then inexplicably those same companies producing D grade material thus forward is what is causing them to be pirated.

Good games sell, bad games don’t, the only difference is that good game developers don’t bitch about pirating and bad game developers do. I’ve said many times before that Google confuses me, they are the only company that the larger they get the better their products get. Every other business works in a negative correlation.

Every time EA or a company like them makes a terrible game they blame pirating. Just like anytime an athlete loses they blame themselves but when they win they thank god for helping them. It’s a sideways logic that startles me.

“So, for all you flamers out there, instead of whining, propose a solution to this problem.”

The proper solution is exactly what I do. I get the game through whatever means necessary, I play it to see how it is, and if it is good I buy it. I’ve got a wall full of cases (oh god I love cases…I hope download doesn’t become the norm for games). Not once has pirating ever caused me not to buy a good game, it has saved me thousands in bad games that would of been un-returnable because of flawed business practices.

In the long run, EA could be an incredible force to be reckoned with. They could produce great games with deep designs and amazing stories that are only rivaled by the greatest in human history. What they do instead is create massive advertising campaigns to trick people into thinking something terrible will be pleasurable.

I have tried hard to fight the EA haters (you know the people on the internet) but as years have passed and they done things like consume Maxis and Westwood (and produce CnC3 and what will likely be the poo pool of RA3) I’ve become less forgiving.

I do like how they seem to shovel money at Will Wright and then shut the heck up but I have a strong feeling they put their foot down on a number of occasions and ruined otherwise innovative ideas that he’s had. Because I’ve never played anything he’s made that even slightly disappointed me, Spore ‘barely’ does in a few aspects and that is an earth shattering moment in my life (gaming wise).

I think instead of just pointing the finger you should look at what is causing the problem. People need to stop cutting costs in the game tester department and in support. I’ve owned a few games recently that has glaring bugs (on consoles oddly enough) and I was unable to reach their support lines or email (companies absorbed by Microsoft, another connoisseur of quality *cough*). I remember when you could always call a support line but didn’t need to, now you need to and one doesn’t exist.

Any who, enough nostalgia. Hopefully you will look back at what you said and maybe rethink reality. I highly doubt it though, we all have our shortcomings, and I imagine yours are similar to mine.

- Always willing to stick it to the kid defending the man -