Will You Buy a SecuRomed Empire?

[Galain_Ironhide]

Look, to be frank I am not even going to read the pages upon pages of threads here, but rather just voice my opinion. However right or wrong this may sound.

I got involved in this type of discussion when Securom was an issue for Kingdoms. I must say all this discussion of Securom certainly steered me away from buying Kingdoms until only like a month or so ago. I bought Kingdoms, installed it and low and behold, the game works fine and the rest of my system works fine too (albeit a dodgy mod download crashed everything to do with m2tw, meaning I had to wipe it all of my hard drive and start over - and no it wasnt a securom issue). I even went as far as commenting in this thread months ago in its infancy and said I would not be buying this game if it was Securomed.

But now, whilst I feel the pain of what the minority of people have had caused to them due to Securom related issues, my view is that if you're a just a normal guy like me who wants to turn on his computer, load a game and play it (and you're not into any other type of programming or wizbang stuff - sorry not very technical minded), then go out and buy Empire because you will not have any trouble.

Then if you happen to uninstall the game for some reason or another (as we all know, after the game is gone, Securom stays in the registry), you can actually download Securom removal tools for free that remove it completely from your registry (after game removal) - Google is a wonderful thing. Now if someone like me can do that, then 99% of other computer illiterates should be able to do the same.

Thanks for hearing me out.

[Mikeus Caesar]

I'm hoping CA don't tread the evil path, after all, just look at the Spore debacle...

[JR-]

I'm hoping CA don't tread the evil path, after all, just look at the Spore debacle...

I bought Spore, but i absolutely panned it with a one-star review lambasting the use of intrusive DRM, i will do the same with empire if it is necessary.

Chasing casual gamers will become a perilous exercise when casual gamers are so dependent on customer reviews!

[RodeoX]

Just checking in to see if the publishers have come to their senses and dropped the DRM malware. I was very disappointed to hear about the inclusion of SecuRome. It is a deal breaker for me and I will not be purchasing a copy of Empire. The real shame is that the two games I most anticipated, Empire and Spore, are both ruined by this junk. In case anyone in power is reading, I will not change my mind and give in at some point. My own security policy does not allow software like this to run.
But, I'll check in once in a while to see if you change your mind.

[Martok]

Just checking in to see if the publishers have come to their senses and dropped the DRM malware. I was very disappointed to hear about the inclusion of SecuRome. It is a deal breaker for me and I will not be purchasing a copy of Empire. The real shame is that the two games I most anticipated, Empire and Spore, are both ruined by this junk. In case anyone in power is reading, I will not change my mind and give in at some point. My own security policy does not allow software like this to run.
But, I'll check in once in a while to see if you change your mind.

Just to clarify: CA hasn't said they're dropping SecuROM because they've not yet decided if they're going to include it in the first place. They've mentioned that an "alternate" form of copy protection was being investigated/worked on, but no details have yet been released (nor a final decision reached on whether they'll go with SecuROM or this other system).

[hellenes]

If Empire ships with a DRM that can be REMOVED...and most importantly NOT installed again when the game launches (as happened with Kingdoms) I will buy it...otherwise I will NOT compromise the security of my bank account for the sake of SEGA/CA....

[TevashSzat]

Then if you happen to uninstall the game for some reason or another (as we all know, after the game is gone, Securom stays in the registry), you can actually download Securom removal tools for free that remove it completely from your registry (after game removal) - Google is a wonderful thing. Now if someone like me can do that, then 99% of other computer illiterates should be able to do the same.

Yes, the issues are with a minority and it doesn't even affect me at all.

The issue is that we shouldn't have to to everything like that. By forcing us to install Securom, these videogame publishers are treating their consumers like criminals from the very beginning. That same logic to justify Securom can also be used to justify having the government wiretap all of your phones. You can argue that if you aren't doing anything illegal, you shouldn't have to fear about wiretaps, but that argument will never win.

Also, in a topic related to this, check out this story: Pickets Form Around Spore's Expanding Galaxy

[Martok]

The issue is that we shouldn't have to to everything like that. By forcing us to install Securom, these videogame publishers are treating their consumers like criminals from the very beginning. That same logic to justify Securom can also be used to justify having the government wiretap all of your phones. You can argue that if you aren't doing anything illegal, you shouldn't have to fear about wiretaps, but that argument will never win.

Very well put, TevashSzat. An excellent analogy with the wiretaps.

[PBI]

I think Galain is correct to point out that at least in the form present on Kingdoms, SecuROM is not a major inconvenience or impediment to playing the game for most players; it's mainly the principle of the thing which is unpleasant, i.e. the company treating its customers as though they are all potential thieves and cannot be trusted. It is still however, not nearly as bad as some of the more draconian incarnations of SecuROM and other DRM, for instance those imposing only 3 installs or requiring weekly online verification, which massively inconvenience the average player by either forcing them to keep the game installed forever and never change computers, or else have their ability to play the game beholden to unreliable internet connections and the goodwill of the company to keep the servers running.

Should Empire ship with such an extreme form of SecuROM or other DRM, I may well decide not to buy it. If it is the same as or similar to the DRM on Kingdoms, I suspect my desire to play the game will win out over my principles and I will buy it anyway, and grumble about it later on the Org. I daresay that many players who are less excited about the game than me though will decide to pass.

I cannot believe this sort of thing is not starting to cost the publishers money. Just look at the Spore fiasco; 1500 1-star reviews on as big a retailer as Amazon must surely be having a major impact on sales. I know for a fact that I myself have decided not to buy several titles that I would otherwise have bought purely because of the heavy handed DRM, including Bioshock, Spore and, like Martok and with a heavy heart, Red Alert 3 (). And I am not a particularly principled consumer; I simply decided that the DRM was not worth the hassle. My hope is that things like the money EA will lose over the Spore fiasco will be enough to scare other developers out of using such heavy-handed measures in future, and we will all get to live in a utopian Stardock-like gaming paradise, where developers release the game without DRM and consumers have the sense to realise that if they want there to be any more sequels, they had better make sure they buy the game legitimately rather than pirating it.

[BigTex]

No, I'd spend my money on a Stardock game at that point. At least I'm guranteed a good game, and a game that is supported after it is released.