BioWare says you are a pirate every 10 days
Mikey 4 comments
The war on piracy just took another casualty - the legitimate user. BioWare technical producer Derek French says the PC versions of the video games Mass Effect and Spore will not only require online authentication (nothing new there), but will require re-authentication every 10 days for the rest of your life. That's right, if you don't activate the game online every ten days the game will cease to function. Said French:
"If customers do not come online after ten days, the game will cease to function. "After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run"
They should take a leaf out of Valve's book where games only require validation when you play them regardless of how long it has been since you last played. It's a tried and tested method that doesn't burden us. From what I understanmd with BioWares method, my game will require activation 36 times per year or forever cease to fuction of I decide one day I no longer want or can afford to keep an internet connection at home. Nice one BioWare!
At least reactivion wont be as painful and accusing as asking Microsoft to reactivate a legit Windows Vista.
Jim
Wednesday 7th May 2008 | 05:12 PMThe way I read this, you must do it every ten days? What if I don't even boot it up until next month? Not everyone can play when they want... I'll stick to consoles for this reason alone. I just pray they don't do this on my XBox...
Laiste
Wednesday 7th May 2008 | 05:21 PMThe scary thing is the assumption that online gamers have no lives. Like they will never take holidays that go for more than 10 days (perhaps they expect online gamers to take their games with them?).
I'm with Jim, consoles are fine for me.
I am quite interested in Spore. I like to buy some games, and spore is one I am interested in, if it ever comes out. I often don't play for months at a time, and most likely will never play online.
I feel a familiar corpro-fascist mentality creeping into our lives here.
Does this mean if I don't write a Rusty Lime article for over ten days, I'll have to get a new user name and password?
Gong
Wednesday 7th May 2008 | 04:24 PMI can see where they're coming from. Over here (Malaysia) software piracy is rampant. ISPs can't give rats arse about torrenting, and the enforcement is slacking off on purpose (its so obvious).