So it finally happened to me. I've read the DRM horror stories and the tales of online codes not working, but I've always been mercifully spared the headaches. My codes have always worked, and other than a few instances of Ubisoft games stubbornly refusing to connect with the server for a few minutes, I never had major problems with DRM. Even the 2 weeks I was without internet last year happened when I wasn't playing anything with online DRM.

Alas, it seems my luck has run out. When attempting to register Spore, I get the message in the title, and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. I bought a copy Spore Galactic Edition long ago (January 2010), in a country far, far away (Australia), and never got around to playing it until now. Unfortunately, I'm not in the habit of saving game receipts for two years, so I doubt EA customer support can help me. Hell, I doubt they would help me even if I had the receipt and purchased it yesterday.

At least I can (apparently) play the game offline, so there's that. Still, it's pretty annoying I can't play online, and I keep getting a message helpfully informing me I'm missing out on several features if I don't register and play online. What might these features? Would a kind Spore fan please tell me what am I missing out on? Thank you!