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BioWare removes 10-day validation from Mass Effect PC due to backlash


Jim Sterling \\ 05.09.2008	41 comments

A few days ago we posted an article about the PC versions of Mass Effect and Spore containing some worrying copy protection methods that would require users to validate each game online every ten days. While I expressed concern that such a move could go horribly wrong, others were more vocal -- chief among them the BioWare fans who absolutely railed against the somewhat harsh measures.

Well, BioWare has said it listened "very closely" to the fans (though really, you didn't need a hearing aid to register such fury from PC gamers) and has now opted to back away from the incredibly strict authentication methods. Mass Effect will now only require validation when you first run the game and when you download additional content. How about that, eh? Kicking your legs around and screaming actually works sometimes!

From BioWare's FAQ on the matter:

BioWare has always listened very closely to its fans and we made this decision to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience to them. To all the fans including our many friends in the armed services and internationally who expressed concerns that they would not be able re-authenticate as often as required, EA and BioWare want you to know that your feedback is important to us.

So there you have it. One of those rare moments of victory for the consumer, and an easier validation process for any PC gamers looking to buy Mass Effect. One can only imagine that Spore will similarly back out of this verification process, but that remains to be seen.

41 COMMENTS, LATEST BY Hexen525
It's not the "dialing home" every 10 days I care about, it's the 3 install rule. What if you reformat your system? HDD crashes? New computer? Not many games in my collection that haven't been ins... - view discussion

There are 41 comments about this post:

Mxyzptlk says:
05/09/2008 21:09

Good for them. Ball's in your court, Maxis.

brainderailment says:
05/09/2008 21:25

Yeah, that was bullcrap, though you can't blame them for trying to overcome the pirates. They should just know that it'll be cracked regardless.

Eschatos says:
05/09/2008 21:38

Hot damn. They've just earned a sale from me.

DaedHead8 says:
05/09/2008 21:43

Spore had better back out. I actually plan on buying that one.

Sasquatch says:
05/09/2008 21:50

ARRRR There be Pirates.....no wait.....Shit It's all our pissed off customers......run away run away

Jetsetlemming says:
05/09/2008 21:55

I think I might just buy a copy of Mass Effect. When's it coming out again?

Wookiee says:
05/09/2008 21:56

Damn. I dug my old torch and pitchfork out for nothing...

Neonie says:
05/09/2008 22:11

I know how you feel wookie, I have my Sythe all ready to go.

ajaxender says:
05/09/2008 22:18

Wow. Now all they have to do is make the NZ price reasonable (~$70) and they may have another sale.

unangbangkay says:
05/09/2008 22:18

Maxis, being owned by EA, has also put the Spore car in reverse, they backed out and the same scheme will be executed as for Mass Effect PC, with 3 licenses, a first-time online authentication, and a re-authentication when downloading patches or DLC.It's the same as the SecuROM a lot of people have been boycotting for a while now, but at least it's a victory...of sorts.

Personally I was never going to boycott the games, but that was the whole problem with EA piggybacking this bullshit with high-profile guaranteed sellers would've established a nasty precedent. So I and a lot of folks complained as hard as we fucking could. It seems to have worked, sorta.

Jiffylube says:
05/09/2008 22:45

This is a step in the wrong direction

Boolean says:
05/09/2008 23:11

So Bioware was behind the idea? I thought EA was the ones who cooked the copy protection idea up. Maybe all the "zomg EA ruins another company" accusations were a bit early.

(side note: EA still blows)

Dagerr says:
05/09/2008 23:17

The Only install 3 times is still there though, making this a non purchase for me, since I wipe my comp clean every 3-6 months to optimize performance.

Shin Oni says:
05/09/2008 23:24

Kicking your legs around and screaming actually works sometimes!

This so reminded me of Stewie in Family Guy bitching and whining on the airplane.

WhAAAAAAA! WHAAAA!

Sam Spectre says:
05/09/2008 23:26

Predictable. I don't think ANYONE who plays PC games was too happy about this.

KaL_YoshiKa says:
05/09/2008 23:29

Crisis Averted..but for how long?

Jetsetlemming says:
05/09/2008 23:51

@Dagerr: The activations are for three SIMULTANEOUS installs. When you uninstall the game you regain an activation. If your computer dies or something so it can't be properly uninstalled, there's a program that can regain the installations, and you can get the same effect through EA customer support. Just as long as you uninstall the game before wiping your computer and reinstalling everything, you'll be absolutely fine, and won't even use more than a single activation.

RJG says:
05/10/2008 00:00

This is good news. I still have to crack the SecuROM protection, because it doesn't work with my hardware, but at least Bioware are listening.

Hopefully EA don't whip Bioware too badly for going against their master's wishes.

Velt says:
05/10/2008 00:07

Look, i live in south america, I wont get it throught legal ways anyway... maybe if its realeased on steam: then i can pay for it.
But they will crack it anyway, we all know it, they know it, so then why make the consumer experience shit? The guy who actually payed for the game should not stand that shit.

PaperBowser0 says:
05/10/2008 00:10

Well, at least bioware is listening to what people are saying and trying to make it a LITTLE better, oh and Wookiee, put the torch away, you almost lit me on fire! >_<

unangbangkay says:
05/10/2008 00:26

@JiffyLube - "This is a step in the wrong direction"

How so? I understand that devs and publishers caving to community pressure may have repercussions for game design, but that's what focus groups and game testers do all the time, lol.

@Boolean - "So Bioware was behind the idea?"

Naw, it was an EA decision. It's the publisher that usually makes the decision regarding distribution and copy protection. The fact that this was extended to Spore revealed that. This is speculation, but EA likely let Derek French, Bioware's technical producer, make the announcement because they figured fans would be more likely to take it up the butt if their beloved devs trumpeted "hay guys, this is great, take our advice". Thankfully we didn't.

BlackSunEmpire says:
05/10/2008 00:56

Along with the recent 'pay for more guns' plan that EA had going, it seems they have an agenda for putting ideas into games which are going to have bad long term consequences once the precedent is set.

Also, @ajaxender, its a PC game, just import it, it will cost you less than $70 that way.

KamikazeTutor says:
05/10/2008 04:32

Very well done. If the game had a multiplayer mode, they would have a reason for such validation method.
But even that, a 10 day limit is stupid, basically do as every other online game does, validate it the minute it connects to the web.
I just hope that developers don't forget to, someday in the future, release a patch for that really old game, removing its copy protection. I mean, when most of the modern population and its technology is dissipated, if I survive, I still want to play my Steam games and BioShock for a bit.

AliasWyvernspur says:
05/10/2008 08:35

Yea, but will it still use SecuROM? If so, fuck 'em. Once or every 10 days, doesn't matter. I don't want extra software on my system and I'm not buying their shit.

Itchy says:
05/10/2008 09:29

I really hope PC gaming doesn't die because of piracy, and if this is what it takes? I'm willing to cooperate.

Wexx says:
05/10/2008 10:03

Itchy: It won't die because of piracy, much like the movie industry and the music industry haven't died because of piracy. Generally people who pirate a game had no intention to buy it in the first place, thereby not effecting the sales, and the company doesn't lose any money. The developers just don't understand that if their product is good, their hardcore fans will still buy it.

unangbangkay says:
05/10/2008 11:01

@AliasWyvernspur

Yes, it still uses SecuROM. If you're still boycotting it, don't stop yet. Or pirate, I don't care.

Timmeh says:
05/10/2008 12:00

I wish all the braindead morons that keep trying to force this DRM shit on us would die in a plane accident or something.

Honestly, anybody with access to the internet can see that, regardles of any copy protection, virtually every game is released in the warez scene either on or before the street date.

Now, someone of normal intelligence might conclude pissing off customers with ineffective anti-piracy measures to be fruitless and harmful. This in mind, why is it that people earning hundreds of thousands a year with a bunch of business degrees and shit can't see this?

solarmystic says:
05/10/2008 13:33

A rare victory for the consumer indeed... anyone remember the Bioshock debacle with Take 2 anyone?

EA better cut the crap and can the BS before the consumers engage in a mass exodus...

adultswim810 says:
05/10/2008 15:07

HOOORAY!! although there copy protection did work. beyond 48 hrs past release and still no torrent. nice job Bioware!

adultswim810 says:
05/10/2008 15:08

but i do wish that they released it on steam... simply because i love steam.

Timmeh says:
05/10/2008 15:36

HOOORAY!! although there copy protection did work. beyond 48 hrs" past release and still no torrent. nice job Bioware!"

Newsflash, they delayed the US version to 28 May and EU to 6 June, that is why there is nothing floating around the torrent sites.

So no, it didn't work. And it won't work, just like every other protection method ever.

Professor Pew says:
05/10/2008 15:40

Good news!

@adultswim810: it's not even in stores yet, why would it be 48 hours past release?

AlucardX24 says:
05/10/2008 16:03

<3 bioware

adultswim810 says:
05/10/2008 16:46

Nvm my bad i must've read an old post on the mass effect website. It said the seventh. -_-

Jiffylube says:
05/10/2008 18:30

@unangbangkay

EA/Bioware have a responsibility to their stockholders to sell as many copies of this game as they possibly can. Internet boycotting is all well and good, 'Sweet, I can send out anonymous blog messages and do my little part to change the industry.'. People who pay for Media should be crying for effective DRM. The real message the community needs to be sending is 'Piracy is insulting to the stockholder, the paying consumer, and the developing staff. I'm all for DRM, but this can't be our last option.'

Reallynotnick says:
05/10/2008 18:44

Makes perfect sense to me, install the game verify it, download additional content while and then verify it again (you are online so no big deal).
Though of course I would rather have no DRM at all so I can install it on whatever and not have to deal with this crap.

brainpower4 says:
05/10/2008 20:21

Is it just me, or does spore download "new content" every day, when you get access to other people's planets. So now, rather than checking ever ten days it checks every time you boot up the game?

Timmeh says:
05/11/2008 07:33

@Jiffylube

No we shouldn't be saying "I'm all for DRM" at all. You can just fuck off with that dipshit mentality, seriously.

All DRM does is inconvenience the end user and infringe on consumer rights.

What we should be saying is "Make your product appear more attractive than downloading a pirated version and going through the sometimes ballsachey process of getting it to work".

If, when buying CD (remember kids, you're only paying for a license to play anyway) you were given an MP3 version along with the higher quality CD track, or when downloading from iTunes ALL music was DRM free and didn't have stupid ass restrictions on what you could do, music piracy would start to become less prevalent.

It's a fucking joke that downloading pirated MP3's is LESS hassle than getting a legit version. We should be saying "Add value to your product", telling people "add restrictions to your products" is goddamn retarded.

GunnyHath says:
05/11/2008 08:57

The fact is, no matter the protection it will still be pirated. It adds up to an annoyance to the end user, the gamer and consumer, as Timmeh pointed out.
Even the most invasive protection (ie: Starforce) was broken eventually, and this SecuROM is even easier.

The only thing they can do (and only sometimes) is prevent the pirate copies from playing online, because of cd key checking. So unless its an MMO, it's going to be pirated, they just need to think about acceptable losses when they make a game, and give up with the copy protection, aside from simple protection to keep your average joe from burning copies for his friends.

I would have bought Mass Effect with the 10 day reactivation, because they would have to make it fairly transparent anyway. But it would suck badly for those with dialup or no internet. On the other hand, if you can afford a PC that runs Mass Effect, chances are you can afford 30-40 a month for broadband.

Hexen525 says:
05/11/2008 18:00

It's not the "dialing home" every 10 days I care about, it's the 3 install rule. What if you reformat your system? HDD crashes? New computer? Not many games in my collection that haven't been installed more than 3 times. Hell, I still run Diablo 1 and Deus Ex on all my machines(new computer every year, this year it was a new laptop). I don't want ot be told I am not allowed to play my game on my new computer.

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