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Dirty lies: Spore manual says multiple accounts per copy, reality disagrees photo

Oh Electronic Arts, how we facepalm at thee. Hot off the heels of the Spore DRM shenanigans, it seems that SecuROM has another nasty surprise in story for fans of Will Wright's latest opus.

It would seem that, despite the game's manual claiming that multiple accounts can be created per copy, Spore's DRM actually forbids it:

EA's DRM spyware on the long-awaited game Spore turns out to have an added side-effect: if you live in a household with multiple players, you all have to share the same account. The game's manual says otherwise, but after repeated queries on the EA forum, a company spokesperson confirmed this.

That's right—if you're in a household with several potential Spore players, and you want each of them to have their own account, you will have to buy multiple copies of the game.

Oh dear, oh dear. According to an Electronic Arts rep, page 52 of Spore's manual actually contains a "misprint" where it states that multiple accounts can be created. Quite the misprint. Considering that multiple accounts per game is a very standard practice, this looks incredibly shoddy. A DS game couldn't have the capacity to store three times as many accounts as a PC game. This level of forced control over one's gameplay experience is, quite frankly, despicable.

EA, will you ever learn?








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29 comments | showing # 1 to 29
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whormongr's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 08:29
whormongr
People at EA(vil) need to get fired
SourGr8pes's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 08:32
SourGr8pes
As if things couldn''t get even worse...
Kyosji's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 08:49
Kyosji
Hmm. I'm not sure the whole workings of the law when it comes to this matter, but doesn't this leave an opening for lawsuits against EA? Physical hard proof that came with the game that you had purchased. I barely follow such things as it is, but I can see EA being forced to a bid by what they wrote on their guide. It was their fault and they need to eat it.

I remember successful suits filed against SOE for pulling similar crap with Galaxies.
Triox's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 08:57
Triox
@Kyosji - there is usually a disclaimer buried within either instructions themselves or the EULA. Small print, dam you...

And Jim... point :)

Thats three, not that I'm counting... *whistles innocentley*
Kyosji's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 09:03
Kyosji
Either way, i could see EA having to pay for quite a bit of returns. Since you cannot return a PC game with it being opened, and EA flat out lied, oops sorry, misprinted something like that in their manual, would that not hold EA liable for it? You cannot promise people a game, and when they buy it go "HAHA, sorry guys, we were joking. You actually don't get this, but instead you'll get that!"
Zeno's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 09:06
Zeno
And yet for all this garbage that they're doing to honest customers, they'll still make a shitload of money and people will continue to buy their DRM-ridden games. EA laughs at the knowledgeable consumer - their demographic has become the ignorant.
Radius Zero's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 09:31
Radius Zero
This problem actually happened to my girlfriend, who bought the game and let her roommate register it first.
It's really sad to think that if Maxis hadn't been taken over by EA none of this would be happening, and SPORE would be an even better game without all of this DRM shit.
Nictel's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 09:38
Nictel
EA makes no sense. The DRM is obviously not working, it does nothing against piracy. Worse it is giving them bad PR and costing them sales. Why keep it?
Triox's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 09:39
Triox
Well, this is were it gets horrible...

The only way to see the EULA is to open the box, and by opening the box you agree to the store policy. They could then give you credit/return at thier descretion. What you can do, is ask to see a copy of the EULA before purchasing the game. By law, there has to be one available but you wont be popular at the store.

Online purchases, covered by the Distance Selling Regulation - in UK at least. This gives you 7 days to return the product for whatever reason, however, I thing the store can offer you credit if the product is not faulty (ie broken) and will only give money back on false selling/trade descriptions/incorrect product/not fit fo purpose etc...

In regards to this one though, EA supplied the game that you did indeed purchase, however, features present within that game have been removed. If these features are non-critical and do not change the scope or alter the experience, then they are classed as "non-functionary" and can be done away with as the developer/publisher sees fit.

As the game is still playable, and the main functions haven't changed, I think that the multiple accounts would come up short for any type of legal argument. So yeah, I doubt that EA would break an EULA *stifels laughter*, in this case, it looks like a kosher rogering of the customers instead.

*Disclaimer - get a real laywer, dont trust internet anonymousousousous for advice*
Kyosji's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 09:48
Kyosji
Or be an ass and send a bill to EA and hope they get a laugh out of it.
parrothead's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 10:02
parrothead
Just another reason not to buy a game that is really not that good anyway.
TurboSpaz's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 10:12
TurboSpaz
Oh for fucks sake. Die in a fire EA, die in a fire.
Leathersoup's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 10:37
Leathersoup
I had a tiny bit of interest in this game. I might have bought it except that I'm afraid of its DRM.
Thank you for getting me to save my money EA.
faultymoose's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 10:42
faultymoose
I disagree with EVERYONE. You're all left wing liberal pot smoking tree hugging hippies. All this "DRM harms the legitimate consumer bullshit" - grow a set, you crybabies. THE PIRATES WILL NOW HAVE TO DOWNLOAD MULTIPLE COPIES OF THE GAME! This will eat up their bandwidth and force them into bankrupty due to excess downloads, and then they'll have to go out and buy the game legitimately with their welfare cheques. ARE YOU ALL REALLY THAT DENSE?

Get a fucken clue, seriously.






*cough*
PhazonYoshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 10:54
PhazonYoshi
I don't want the game. I never did.


But I am fucking pirating it anyway.
TehBoognish's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 11:37
TehBoognish
They have shut down the spore forums to new posts, replies.
am I the only 1 this is happening to?
stemot's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 12:10
stemot
Good this is getting covergae finally, I've been fighting a losing battle with EA over this for a week now.
Saying that, I did just get an e-mail back from PCZone uk about an e-mail I sent them concerning this very subject. They are going to try to get it into the next issue somehow ;)
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 12:19
mix
BWA HA HA....EA are such losers

I won't be buying anything from anyone that involves shit like this, ever...and I really want Red Alert 3.

EA = Death of PC gaming? Stuff like this makes me GLAD I have consoles!

Couldn't you just make your own "copy" of Spore and load it up on another computer in your house?
HiDefLoMein's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 12:35
HiDefLoMein
@TehBoognish:

They have moved the Spore forums to forums.spore.com - the old ones on the EA site have been disabled.
Ogu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 12:42
Ogu
Wow. One game per person. Fuck that shit. Spore was supposed to be a really breakthrough game, and it was fucked because of greed and DRM.
Unicorn's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 12:50
Unicorn
all i have to say is this:

Knigge's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 14:53
Knigge
Sounds like a classic bait and switch to me. Which, as we all know, is fucking illegal.
Syn's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 14:55
Syn
Yep, glad I didn't buy this. I was talking to a friend of mine in Scotland that bought it and she's disappointed too. I guess it doesn't take long at all to go from single-cell to traveling through space. I think everyone should pirate it, even if they can't or don't want to play it just to show EA how much hate we have for them.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 14:56
Jetsetlemming
Wait, accounts as in saves? As in, you can't have multiple separate creatures running under one copy of the game?

Seriously?
Iceciro's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/12/2008 14:59
Iceciro
Massive fail. Massive fail. I've put up a comment in the Sporums and the CBlogs regarding this crap, not that EA will care, but it's the customer's viewpoint, I believe.
ZServ's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/13/2008 02:20
ZServ
And my friends wont believe me when I tell them about this, either.
Satsumomo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/14/2008 03:22
Satsumomo
All games I've ever purchased carry a legend stating that whatever's written on the manual may be changed in the actual game.
abbigliamentoonline's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/16/2011 09:30
abbigliamentoonline
I played Spore... it's great!
Abbigliamento
Hamburgerman's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/31/2011 08:03
Hamburgerman
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