Re: F**k me! Has anyone else seen the Spore reviews on Amazon?
Other websites are saying exactly the opposite of what you are saying here...
ANY three installations constitute an activation thus making the CD worthless...
Just food for thoguht,
Mike A!
I don't have Spore so I can't specifically state all there is to know about SecuROM used for the protection however I cannot believe it is much different than Mass Effect so I will quote some information I do know about.
First off I'll quote Jack Lamden who works in Quality Assurance for BioWare. I have snipped out irrelevant tidbits to save space. The thread this post is in can be found here:
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=649890&forum=127
Jack Lamden said:
[...]
The way it's set up is that you can have 3 activations. After you install on what appears to the systems to be a new PC, one activation is used.
So you could in theory install thousands of times on a single PC, and then upgrade your pc and install the game again to use a second activation, etc.
Or you could have the game installed on 3 different PCs at the same time.
On one of my test machines I personally have installed the game several hundred times with only one activation used.
[...]
See? It's tied to hardware and you can install it much more than 3 times. No one will admit to how much of a hardware change is necessary to trigger a new activation to be necessary on a system you've upgraded, however.
Now, refer to the BioWare Mass Effect Activation FAQ here:
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=629227&forum=125&sp=1
Key points---
•This solution allows gamers to authenticate their game on three different computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.
• Games are authorized to the machine when the player installs and launches the software for the first time.
• We’ve all had those times when the discs get lost or scratched and you can’t play a game you’ve bought because you need a working disc in the drive. With the new system players will no longer need the disc to play the game, but can instead simply retain the disc as back up for re-installation.
I am in no way defending EA. I am appalled at the use of SecuROM and the removal of the rights of the consumer. I'm appalled at being treated like a criminal when purchasing a game. As many have said in numerous other places, when it comes to SecuROM it is closer to renting than owning the game.
Anyway, I could be all wrong and they may have made things far far more restrictive with Spore but, honestly, I doubt I'm wrong. I think many of the people going bananas over Spore are right in being angry but I also believe they are exagerrating the 3 activation thing to the
nth degree.
Lastly, no, I'm no EA shill. I don't know if I will ever be purchasing another EA game or SecuROM protected games. I'm glad to see Take-Two walk away from any buyout by EA. It's a shame that Take-Two walking away made their stock plummet. It goes to show you how little investors actually understand about the industry, IMHO.