Let me also add my voice of concern to the list.
Spore is a game I have been looking forward to for years, and before reading up on the aggressive anti-piracy policies I would have rushed to buy it on day 1.
I do want my liberty to install and play it on all my computers (I have 4 at home and 2 at work), in the years to come, without EA's involvement. Purchasing a computer game should be identical to purchasing a tabletop game - it always needs a table (computer) to play on, but I can use any of the tables I have available, and it will work even if I decide to paint my table a different colour or polilalalalas legs.
I find the 10-day timeout period abusive (if indeed it is true). For a game with an integrated online component as Spore, validating only when loggin in should suffice. Pirates will not have unique keys and thus will only be limited to the offline functionality, while paying users will get to enjoy the online facilities greatly enhancing their experience. Still, should something happen to my internet, Spore's servers or whatever, I expect to be able to be able to enjoy spore offline *always*, even when a windows pc is a museum exhibit.
Before jumping to any conclusions on whether to abandon Spore or not, I will be eagerly waiting for official clarification on EA's part. I am sure they read the criticism, the internet is abundant with it. There are non-intrusive methods to deal with piracy, but offering a worse deal to paying customers due to draconian security measures is going too far.
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