Sadly, although I had planned on getting two copies of this game (one for myself and one for a present for my mother) I shall not be - due to this 3-activation limitation. I like to revisit games (heck... we have two copies of Transport Tycoon that are still used on old computers even now, on occasion) and I really dislike games that insist on you going online to activate.
I tolerate it from Windows, because 1) it's a primary OS and 2) I've yet to have problems despite activating our own installs on numerous occasions. I've never installed pirated games and resent being treated like a criminal just because, as someone else says, EA cannot recognise that their software is usually bugged due to pressurising the developers, instead of letting them polish the game as it needs to be.
I will not be tolerating it any more - I bought all the BF games, starting with 1942 and going through vietnam to 2 and 2142... (I would hope that the main server would be written out of their programs before they close it down). The line has to be written somewhere and I'm afraid this is where I'm drawing it. I refuse to rent software - I will only buy it, even if that purchase is only for the current version. I understand that I don't own the rights, but I do own the right to use that install as many times as I like.
I really feel sorry for anyone who suffers more than 2 hardware failures in their machine, because it sounds like it'll stop them playing.
I would ask EA to reconsider what, in my opinion, will be a public relations nightmare if they don't reconsider.