Hmm... DRM always sucks, but at least that is half manageable.

That's no different than what EA promises, at all.

It's slightly better than what EA promises but still, the only good DRM is a dead DRM. Errr, something like that.

I like DRM.

Do I buy it for 360 or just forget the whole thing? Decisions decisions...

Kinda dumb, but I'm getting it for the PS3 anyway since my computer sucks balls.

"I understand that people don't like the principle of DRM, but for all practical purposes, I really don't see this inconveniencing anyone."

That depends on whether or not third-party programs (which have created significant problems for consumers in the past) are involved in the regulation of these installs. I hate SecuROM.

That's pretty fair, IMO.

A little better, but crap is still crap no matter what it smells like.

It's not the install limits that annoy me, it's there stupid fucking secuROM bullshit that prevents me from playing my games because I choose to have Daemon tools on my computer. After I installed Spore it messed up Crysis, Mass Effect and Gears of War on my PC.

I had to uninstall all of the games, including Spore, then reinstall my games for them to work; luckily Spore was boring enough that I didn't care about finishing the game after getting to the space stage, so it now it's jammed in my shelf.

They refund an activation if you uninstall it, so it's not THAT bad - unless your system dies and you can't uninstall it. So, I guess that's the only issue.

Aside from that, it seems pretty fair. I don't think people have the right to install it on, say, 20 computers, 19 of which are their friends.

You can say that people should stop piracy - but think about this. If Piracy was completely rampant, and everyone stopped buying because they could download it, say goodbye to high production values. These people make games to MAKE money. They don't do it for fun. People who make flash-games you can play in your browser - they do it for fun. People who spend millions of dollars and YEARS of their life programming a game do not do it for fun - they do it for profit. That's capitalism. If people don't like it - I invite them to go live in Cuba where everything is almost free.

You can't blame people for trying to stop piracy. Some form of DRM is GOING to happen - you will never be able to stop it. This seems as fair a compromise as any. As long as you uninstall, you get your activation back - and it can't take more than 10 minutes to uninstall a game, nor is it very hard to do (you click a few buttons - OH THE HUMANITY!). Yes, people who have system failures are going to get hurt, but I haven't had 3 computers fail on me. I haven't even had one completely fail - and even if that happens, as long as it's not your hard-disk, you can just swap it into another computer (these days, its incredibly easy to remove and replace harddrives).

More Fail.

How can these companies go on wasting money on DRM schemes when they are completely ineffective against piracy. It defies logic.

Hey publishers, IT DOESN'T FUCKING WORK!

Hey Ubisoft, thanks for saving me from buying this game. I'll use that money to pay for Castlevania:OoE and probably Little Big Planet now. Thanks!

i really cannot understand the reaction of 'i'm not going to buy the game because it has got DRM'. i appreciate SecuROM concerns but this hasnt even been mentioned yet. just seems as if folk will let crap escape from their arse whenever this subject comes up.

sheppy: I expect DRM provides more benefit by blocking second-hand sales and game trade ins at retail outlets. The publisher sees no money from these transactions.

My solution to these DRM shenanigans is to buy the game, then the second it stops working for whatever reason I pirate it.

I dislike DRM as much as the next guy\gal but if they are going to protect their profits using an activation limit there needs to be some guidelines!

#1. Create a single universal authorization and deauthorization program (preferably by someone other than Sony DADC) to give and take the activations so you never run out because your HDD dies or something similar.

#2. As a part of this program when you decide to resell the game you can do so and the buyer can check the number of activations left either online or by phone. Do NOT try to limit the resale value of any games, PC or console.

#3. Have available online help as well as FREE telephone technical support to discuss or troubleshoot the activation issues or problems you might have.

#4.Only phone home to activate the game once upon each first install\run of the game. Do not use this activation method as a pretense to mine data, anonymous or not.

#5. NEVER bitch about PC piracy again!

Unfortunately this will never work because just like the MPAA\RIAA they can never have enough. They will always push it a little farther. Even if we gave them everything they want it will never be enough!

IMO let shitty game companies like Ubisoft and EA leave the PC market and focus their time and money on the consoles. If they did do that I'd bet a year or so later they'd be bitching about the rampant piracy on the XBox360. I'm tired of half assed games that need 500Mb patches. All the decent games they release will never make up for the hundreds of crap games they repackage year after year.