So how the fuck is this meant to discourage pirates? Seriously? "I'd better not download a torrented version, otherwise I'll miss out on this bullshit..."

Looking forward to this and AssCreed being pirated up the arse.

So, all they've done is give the pirates a few extra days of delay while they create a hack that removes the DRM. Then even more people will go and pirate the game.

And they were doing so well in rebuilding their image, too.

Oh well. So much for that.

@mario actually:
Not only will you have to stay connected to the internet even while you're not playing, you'll have to re-enter your serial number every other week or the authorities will be alerted.

Wow. I am not getting this game.

I've said it before and I'll say again.
Lost sale here.

This DRM crap is getting ridiculous.. It only slaps costumers in the face and in the end it will get even more people to pirate the game.

If i had a PC that could play any C&C newer than Generals (which I'm loving right now) I would just pirate this bitch and avoid this bullshit.

It goes without saying, but DRM like this is fucking ridicutarded.

Off topic - Jimbo! Where you been?! I've missed you the last day or so.
It was like drop controversial, yet honest and entertaining review, then have to justify your position and show some of the stupid fucking hate you got then poof, Jim's disapeared! i was like, who are these posters? Oh yeah, it's the OTHER dtoid writers.

Welcome back there is only one fat Princess. Much love bigman. x

I'm seriously hoping EA smartens up about this bullshit soon and patches it out or something. I seriously don't want to deal with obtrusive DRM. To think I assumed EA learned it's lesson after the SecuROM debacle...

geez it was bad enough before...

are they trying to kill PC gaming?

this is just bullshit, there is no doubt about it. No one can make excuses about piracy or anything, this is pure 100% customer only torture straight from the developers and publishers.

Because this kind of DRM only punishes the paying customer. This 'you need to be connected to the internet to play' bullshit is something pirates don't need to deal with, yet the consumer does. And that consumer will ask why they're paying for the game when they can get for FREE and with less hoops to jump through.
This is idiotic and counterproductive. Plain and simple.

@Xelviar: Yeah i have both :).

Yeah these are the reasons that made me cancel my SP: Conviction pre-order, not only the $10 price jack but this too.

ah well, i may pick both up when they become $20, or not at all.

Seriously, who saw Ubisoft's DRM scheme and thought "Oh hey, that's a GREAT idea let's add it to our games ASAP!"? Look at the backlash this is receiving in the community. Is there even one site singing the praises of this DRM?

I understand it's effective. At least, until you consider the pirates. Then the game's off and all you're doing is hurting your customers. Sure, the same can be said of all DRM, but even Ubisoft's wondrous device puts your game in a suspended state of play where you can pick up where you left off (er, right?). Who was behind the bright idea to have it wipe your current progress even in SP?

I know you're supposed to save often, but this is outright ridiculous. The best part is that this doesn't affect me at all. I have no interest in C&C, and even if I did, my computer certainly could not run this at all. But boy do I fear when this thing starts becoming the norm instead of the shunned outcast.

Adding to what @pokota said maybe we should *cough* invade IGN and GameSpot and give it 1.0 (or even 0) out of ten there!

Anyone remember the old days when you could buy a game and just play it?

Westwood, forefathers of the RTS, and now look what they get. Trashed by EA, spat on by EA, and regarded as trash.

I'll never forget those miserable curs for doing that. I enjoyed all C&C games, up to Uprising, but after playing C&C 4 yesterday, it was the most lamest campaign I've ever had. Fishy huh? how they make all these mind-ofusing changes at the end of the game. Way to fucking go to devour and shit out the once Legendary Title of Command & Conquer, EA.

You're not getting my 2 cents.

Not paying for this game. The lack of customer friendly logic behind this is just astounding. I hope pirates raep the shit out of this game :)

Why do they continue to think this is ok? They are oblivious to the fact that their customers are their number one priority. This kind of thing better not make it around to every platform in the future for the sake of "profit" or any other reason.

Know the sad part guys. If it got to this point, that pretty much means that both Ubisoft(the publisher) and EA pretty much gave up on PC gaming as something lucrative. Once the sells drop and piracy on their game goes up, they may just as well drop PC gaming altogether and focus on consoles where piracy is less of an issue.

I´m not intimately familiar with EA´s policies, but can´t the DRM as used at this point of time be considered a tool to protect the initial sales?

The backlash from the community will always be there, but as seen by games released earlier, the DRM usually lightens up after a couple of weeks.
As I understand it the first couple of weeks are the time frame where you shift the most units, repurchases of the same product are rare in this industry so those first week(s) are the lifeblood and subject to the power law distribution model as seen in normal retail. When it's only a temporary measure I don't really see any harm.

But then again everything is based on presumptions and suppositions, so perhaps they're just being "agressively defensive" i.e. inconsiderate profiteering commercialists.

This is a slap in the penis.
I mean, Im a pc gamer, I feel outraged by this. I buy my games on STEAM, but I dont want and I didnt ask for this crap. I get "grounded" because I pay for the game?
Whgo thought this was going to change anything?
Who thought they were going to change the landscape of piracy with this?

Pirates will find a way around this one, as they allways do. Maybe they will remove the DRM in a later patch, but until then this is a no buy for me, I will pay my money to another developer who deserves it. No someone who is screwing with me.

They are going to loose sales, a lot of sales, more sales that without the DRM. Pirated dont buy games in the first place.

This madness will require legislation to protect the consumer. Much like the trans fat situation.

Seriously? I thought this would pass off as a bug, but this was intended? Fuck.