Anyone know what DRM TS3 will come with?

[Gothic by Night]

I tried searching the forums and didn't find any threads about DRM. I was wondering if, since the system requirements have been released there has been any word on what DRM The Sims 3 will use.

I am anxious to know as if TS3 uses SecuROM I will NOT be buying it. I have not bought any EA games at all since SecuROM was introduced (I would have bought Seasons, Aparments and Spore if not for SecuROM) and do not intend to break the pattern for TS3. Having said that, I am a massive fan of The Sims series and have been on board since TS1, and I will be getting TS3 at some point provided it doesn't come with extra nasties (i.e. SecuROM). SecuROM really is a deal breaker for me.

I have no objection to SafeDisc, as I think it doesn't make unreasonable demands on the legitimate consumer, and I'm really hoping to hear that, after the Spore debacle, EA will be reverting to SafeDisc or some form of copy protection that doesn't penalise ligitimate users unfairly. I notice that out of the 10 most pirated games of 2008, 7 use SecuROM so it obviously doesn't work at preventing piracy.

I would be very grateful if anyone has any news on this issue.

[Meverix]

I think I read very recently that, despite all the fuss over Spore, EA are pressing forward with SecuROM in all future releases.

Sucks, don't it?

[Niel1997]

what's DRM?

[Meverix]

DRM is Digital Rights Management. It's the means a company uses to ensure the copyright safety of their product pertaining to digital media. That is, software, essentially.

This is to protect a game from being copied, or backward-engineered, or otherwise tampered with to a point where it could be financially damaging to the publisher (As if EA would feel the pinch)

[Anthony]

I think SecuROM is with it, but I don't really mind.

[ilovearsenal]

I am sorry but EA will be losing customers and if they do lose customers then they will lose money affecting their finances and caussing them to cut some jobs, if this does happen then i am afraid EA you will go bust, you don't want to end up like woolworths do ya?

[Sunscreen]

well secuROM is in the game. they will not go bust just becuase they loose a few customers over it as you look at the milions of other games theyv sold. and dont you remember just recently 1 milion copies of the sims 2 was sold. most of those games had secuROM already so. hmm.. think what you want. you wont make a difference

[xaimeexsims2x]

i heard u can only install spore 3 times and then it wont install anymore. if they have this on ts3 i will probaly still buy it(i'm addicted lol) plus i probaly wont use 3 installs, but it would be really unfair to people with loads of comps, or people who like to uninstall and reinstall to reset neighbourhoods!

[Sunscreen]

but there is a way to reset nhoods without uninstalling

[xaimeexsims2x]

Originally Posted by Sunscreen

but there is a way to reset nhoods without uninstalling

i know but its a little compliated for some!, i'm just scared it wont work on my pc and i will keep trying to uninstall and reinstall, like i did with ts2. then by the time i get a new comp i can't install and i will have wasted £29

[Sunscreen]

well theres an actuall number you ring and its like you talk to them and they give you a code. and then you do something to get it back to install it again or they send you a new copy

[xaimeexsims2x]

yeah i guess, but then you have to pay for the phone bill. ahh i just wilalalala could be like the sims 1. would be so simple. i mean everyones going to buy it anyway

[Meverix]

The issue with SecuROM is numerous. First off, as has been mentioned, it prevents you from installing your software a certain number of times. Spore, after complaints, had its limit raised from 3 to 5, as if that would solve anything. This doesn't help any legitimate customer who has issues with their software. An awful lot of solutions to software problems involve 'Reinstalling the software', so in doing this, a lot of customers are going to find themselves ringing up EA, probably being put on hold forever, and having to justify themselves to make sure EA doesn't think they're a hacker or software pirate. Not fair for these customers.

SecuROM also works similar to malware. Malware is software that is damaging to your computer. Malware can come as Spyware or other types of software, which download secretly, and install themselves and run quietly in the background. SecuROM runs exactly like this. The user will not find ANY documentation on the box or in the manual about SecuROM's existence. It installs itself without the user's permission or knowledge, and runs in the background, monitoring the user's every move, preventing them from copying the game, posting serial numbers online, etc etc. Naturally, as with all software, it contains enough bugs to make it even less appealing, conflicting with certain essential pieces of software on the computer causing major issues. Some have reported needing to completely wipe their computers to fix the damage SecuROM has caused.

If they do include it in the Sims 3, which is highly likely, many users will be put off. Sadly, EA will not feel the pinch as A. The people out there less knowledgable will still buy it, and B. They have big enough pockets. They make so much money without the Sims, they could easily just shut down their development team and work on the rest if people stopped buying them. The main issue though is that most people don't know about SecuROM.

[xaimeexsims2x]

Originally Posted by Meverix

SecuROM also works similar to malware. Malware is software that is damaging to your computer. Malware can come as Spyware or other types of software, which download secretly, and install themselves and run quietly in the background. SecuROM runs exactly like this. The user will not find ANY documentation on the box or in the manual about SecuROM's existence. It installs itself without the user's permission or knowledge, and runs in the background, monitoring the user's every move, preventing them from copying the game, posting serial numbers online, etc etc. Naturally, as with all software, it contains enough bugs to make it even less appealing, conflicting with certain essential pieces of software on the computer causing major issues. Some have reported needing to completely wipe their computers to fix the damage SecuROM has caused.

noway am i putting something that can damage a computer on my brand new PC lol. thanks 4 letting us know.

[Albatross]

Originally Posted by Niel1997

what's DRM?

Originally Posted by Meverix

DRM is Digital Rights Management. It's the means a company uses to ensure the copyright safety of their product pertaining to digital media. That is, software, essentially.

This is to protect a game from being copied, or backward-engineered, or otherwise tampered with to a point where it could be financially damaging to the publisher (As if EA would feel the pinch)

Thanks for the question and thanks, too, for the reply!

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by ilovearsenal

I am sorry but EA will be losing customers and if they do lose customers then they will lose money affecting their finances and caussing them to cut some jobs, if this does happen then i am afraid EA you will go bust, you don't want to end up like woolworths do ya?

I don't think they will go bust, they do make lots of other games aside from the sims.

[DukeRaver]

I think they should put a sticker on it :P

[ilovearsenal]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I don't think they will go bust, they do make lots of other games aside from the sims.

I know that i am just hoping they wont put it in but i will still buy it

[Anthony]

I think its been confirmed already though.

[mevidek]

We don't know at the moment, try signing up to groups on here, or frequently check sites for information on The Sims 3.

[EAUK_Aurora]

At this point there is no official word on any kind of DRM that will be used.

There is an existing thread on this topic here