EA, BioWare Backtrack on Asinine Copy Protection Scheme

Last week, I posted somewhat of a small large rant to do with BioWare and EA’s adding of some asinine copy protection to Mass Effect and Spore, respectively. Well, I was clearly not the only person annoyed, as not one, but both companies came forth on Friday to announce that they’ve decided against a routine 10-day re-activation scheme.

The new scheme is far from perfect, but it’s better. Instead of required re-activation every ten days, the game will require it on initial install and also during game updates, eg: regular game patches. But while this is a far better scheme, but far from perfect. For those who have an Internet connection, it’s fine, but those without still have to deal with the hassle of bringing their computer to another house or coming up with another solution.

And while it’s easy to dismiss the fact that “few” people still have no Internet, many are in a situation where they can’t get fast Internet, due to location. So with that, I still think this scheme could use some work, because in reality, those who have Internet wouldn’t be that bothered by the 10-day reactivation scheme to begin with.

The publisher further noted that the protection will still only allow users to authenticate each game on up to three computers. Approval of further authorizations will be handled by EA customer support on a case-by-case basis. Neither game will require players to have the disc in their computer in order to play or validate them.

Source: Shacknews