Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

EA editor criticizes DRM in Command & Conquer 4

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | March 26, 2010, 5:52am PDT

Summary: EA.com’s editor-in-chief and blogger Jeff Green has used Twitter to publicly criticize Command & Conquer 4’s DRM mechanism.

EA.com’s editor-in-chief and blogger Jeff Green has used Twitter to publicly criticize Command & Conquer 4’s DRM mechanism.

The DRM mechanism baked into Command & Conquer 4 is very similar to that used by Ubisoft uses in the PC games Assassin’s Creed 2 and Silent Hunter 5 in that it requires an always-on connection to the DRM servers. If that connection drops, the game shuts down and your progress is lost.

Green’s first Twitter post highlights the weakness of the DRM mechanism, going as far as calling it a “fail”:

Booted twice–and progress lost–on my single-player C&C4 game because my DSL connection blinked. DRM fail. We need new solutions.

Next he gives buyers a warning:

The story is fun, the gameplay is interesting and different at least–but if you suffer from shaky/unreliable DSL–you’ve been warned.

Finally, he talks of adjusting expectations:

I think if we think of C&C4 as an “online-only” game–which it basically is–then maybe we’d adjust our expectations accordingly.

It seems that DRM has come to the point where the only folks inconvenienced by it are those people who have paid for the game and are trying to enjoy it.

Great business model … NOT!

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Topics

Game, Digital-rights Management, Electronic Arts Inc., EA.com, Digital Rights Management (DRM), Digital Media, Security, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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RE: EA editor criticizes DRM in Command & Conquer 4

NZJester 30th Mar 2010

DRM is a Joke! Most DRM is cracked soon after it hits the market. Sometimes you are forced to use some of the tools to remove the DRM just so you can play the games you paid for without having to remember where you put the CD or DVD. I was unable to play one game for just over a week till I found the game case with the DVD in that had drope down behind my bed. DRM only hurts those that pay for the games, not those who Pirate them! There are some old games I like to dig out from time to time and play. You will not be able to do that with a lot of these new games as the DRM basicly gives them a limited play life. When will big business learn that DRM is a big expensive waste of money. Without the cost of the DRM on the games they could sell them at cheaper prices and make bigger profits. I don't buy many games these days as I am sick of the high prices and DRM hassle.

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Complete Fail

zaghy2zy 26th Mar 2010

I know what that EA guy means... I bought the
game recently (actually, last Sunday) because
my brother wanted to see and try what's in it,
and because we're a fan of the game. I didn't
really like the DRM in it but we still bought
it.

During the first few moments, I got dropped
FIVE TIMES! and it wasn't able to save at all!
It was an offline game, and it was a campaign!
It SHOULD BE storing my saves on my computer
for god's sake! But, apparently it sends my
save over the net, which defeats the idea of an
offline game.

If I could only get a refund, I WOULD SEND THIS
BACK FOR REFUND! Then, get a pirate copy and
enjoy the game offline! I'm one of those guys
who doesn't really play online so yeah... NOT
EVERYONE PLAYS ONLINE

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Where did you buy it?

tikigawd 26th Mar 2010

If you bought it at a big retail location (Walmart, Best Buy, etc) I would try to return it.

I know they have policies saying that state you can't return opened games, but this situation is different. You are not able to use the product you purchased, and if I were you I'd at least try to get your money back. At least get a store credit.

If that doesn't work, or if you bought it on Ebay or some other similar place, I'd contact EA and aske them to refund your money. THis crap is unacceptable, and as long as people don't complain and vote with their wallets EA won't respond.

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the problem

zaghy2zy 26th Mar 2010

Well, the problem with that is that is the serial
number... because instead of requireing it during
setup, it is linked to the EA account instead,
making the DVD material completely unnecessary
since your EA account has the access, not the
computer you installed it to. thus, as long as you
have an installer, you can just login and play...
that is if you are online....

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If you paid for it with a credit card...

still not nice 27th Mar 2010

...call the cc company and dispute the charge as a last resort. I have to do that on occasion with retailers who wanna play hardball. Play hardball back.

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RE: EA editor criticizes DRM in Command & Conquer 4

Zathros 26th Mar 2010

Tell me how this doesn't push a person to track down a pirated copy.

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Some people are simply unaware that the pirated version has less issues.

AzuMao 26th Mar 2010

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Command & Conquer 4 is poorly rated.

Smart_Neuron 26th Mar 2010

Doesn't EA get it? Obviously not.

DRM should be dead - it can always be broken.

Any game should have an Online and Offline mode of play. Perhaps if EA considered this and lowered the prices a bit in this global economy, people would not need a pirated copy.

BTW - The game was poorly rated, anyway!

Don't buy EA stock! :0(

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say what?

Rob.sharp@... 26th Mar 2010

This is a terrible idea and i'll skip this version of CC because of it. EA has killed this genre anyways by turning out poor product so they can make a cheap buck. Way to go guys. Another big company screwing the consumer!

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Partially agree

Churlish Updated - 26th Mar 2010

Although I don't agree with price being a
justification for piracy, I do agree
that gamers should boycott games that impose:

-- Intrusive/onerous DRM,
-- Constant connectivity for single-player
modes,
-- Online storage of save files and/or
configuration

At the very least users should have the choice
to run fully disconnected.

Simply don't buy games that don't allow you to
do this. No matter how cool the game, it's not
a necessity like food, clothing, or
shelter ... you can live without it.

DRM-pushing publishers can't live
without customers, however.

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EA Fails on DRM

tikigawd 26th Mar 2010

and they have been doing so quite for some time.

It's to the point where it's more stringent than consoles. In the case of C&C and AC2 it's way too stringent. An implementation that can cause someone to lose progress on the spot due to a shaky internet connection, without even giving you the chance to at least save your game is pathetic.

By trying to control piracy developers have been dropping the ball on PC gaming for some time, and it's showing by way of even more decreasing sales. It's just too convenient for people to simply goto consoles. They usually don't have to worry about this crap.

I say this as an avid PC gamer.

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Any DRM is a fail

Lerianis10 26th Mar 2010

It just inconveniences people who actually buy the things in question legally and pushes people like myself (who do not want to have to deal with the DRM issues) to pirating the games, because we are not giving ANY money for something that might not work because we don't have an 'always on internet connection'.

The BEST DRM solution is NO DRM solution. Not a disc-check, not a online check, just NO DRM at all.... or at most, a CD-Key.

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That's a lame excuse from an admitted pirate

tikigawd Updated - 26th Mar 2010

DRM didn't push you to pirate anything. If you choose to be a pirate you are scum.

Companies

DRM started because of a-holes like you, you moron. In the days of games on floppy games any indecent jacka$$ could and did copy games to their hearts' delight. Companies have been on a cat and mouse chase trying to figure out ways to prevent idiots like you from stealing the products they've invested time and money into.

I'm pretty sure that if you are a working person (though you might be a bum for all I know) you wouldn't want to do your job and not get paid for it.

I do not agree with such a stringent implementation of DRM such as the one on C&C 4, since it makes the game unplayable to paying customers, but I certainly don't condone stealing the game. I think companies have to come up with a better model, and it's up to them to figure out what that model should be, but I'm not going around looking for cracked games just because of that. I just don't buy such games; I won't be buying C&C 4.

If you want to play a game that is not offered for free PAY for it.

If a game has elements that render it useless, or diminish its usability, don't buy it and tell the company why you are not patronizing them.

If you want to pirate a game using DRM as an excuse to do so: Ceremoniously GO FRAK yourself.

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Agreed.

Churlish Updated - 26th Mar 2010

As I've stated in other posts, I also dislike
and don't support draconian DRM schemes.
Therefore I don't buy games that have single-
player modes which require online connections,
save their files to a central server, or
otherwise treat paying customers as though they
were criminals.

That said, I also can't stand the lazy/greedy
attitude of those who say, "Waaaah!!! Games
cost too much ... I'm going to pirate them.
Waaaah!!! That DRM's too tight ... I'm
downloading the crack."

Grow up. If everyone stole everything, there
would be no incentive to produce anything new.
(Anything of quality, at least.)

By all means boycott publishers that try to
impose these unreasonable DRM schemes, but vote
with your CASH (not your torrents) for games
that strike a fair balance between copy-
protection and consumer rights.

Using DRM or price-point as an excuse to pirate
is just a rationalization for theft. If you
don't like the terms of a deal, don't buy. If
you can live with the terms, buy legally.

(The same goes for movies, music, etc.)

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If everyone boycotting everything, there would be no incentive to produce

AzuMao 26th Mar 2010

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Are we reading the same post? Because I don't see anything in his implying

AzuMao 26th Mar 2010

that he pirated this (or any other) game.

Also, you seem to be under the mistaken impression that making a copy of something for free instead of simply abstaining from it altogether has some kind of a negative impact on its creators, or publishers, or something. It doesn't. It is actually better for them than abstaining from it, since if you end up liking it you might end up convincing someone else to buy it (on purpose or not).

Stealing would be if you took it away from them, so that they had to replace it (or do without it). Like if you went down to a store and stole a television. This makes a negative impact.

"Piracy", on the other hand, means copying out of thin air. Like if you saw a television you wanted, but couldn't afford it, so you decided to make an identical copy of it out of thin air. When your friends come over, they might notice the brand, and be more likely to buy a TV of that brand in the future, thus making a positive impact, where as if you simply didn't get it at all you would be having no impact.

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I don't know

tikigawd Updated - 27th Mar 2010

Did you read this? Notice the bolded portions...

"It just inconveniences people who actually buy the things in question legally and pushes people like myself (who do not want to have to deal with the DRM issues) to pirating the games"

I'm not even going to address all the other babble you offered, but thanks for the laughs.

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Being pushed to do something isn't the same as doing it.

AzuMao 27th Mar 2010

For example, your flamebait ("I'm not even going to address all the other babble you offered, but thanks for the laughs.") pushes me to flame you, but I'm above that so I choose not to.

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No different than the one use in Batman

happyharry_z 26th Mar 2010

Can't save a game unless I'm logged into the Live site. It really irritates me. I'm not sure COA WOW 2 was any better though. I went to the store, bought the game, and still had to connect to Steam.

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Until We Stop Buying there will be DRM

karl@... 26th Mar 2010

So stop buying stuff with DRM if you don't want DRM. You'll have to do without some of the better games until the catch on. But of course this would require many and a public loud many.

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Insist on true ownership of your goods

Churlish Updated - 26th Mar 2010

(Posted to another article on DRM, but equally
applicable here.)

I strongly oppose "required
connection" or subscription-only sales models
for stand-alone products.

As consumers, we should never abandon the
expectation of true OWNERSHIP of the products
we buy. Being trapped into leasing something
that could be delivered, purchased, and
owned as a discrete unit will inevitably
prove more costly and less consistently
available over time.

I exempt truly online games such as MMORPGs, or
services such as NetFlix, in this.
Those models require ongoing overhead, and are
therefore much better suited to the
subscription model. (I don't have a problem
with NetFlix in this regard because I'm not
forced to only borrow movies ... I
always have the option to buy DVDs that I wish
to keep, from them or anyone else.)

A stand-alone game (and productivity software,
for that matter) should be MINE when I buy it,
store its saves and configuration locally,
remain usable by me forever -- free of monthly
charges -- whether or not I have an active
internet connection.

If those sound like radical ideas to anyone,
then you've already drunk too much of the DRM
Kool-Aid.

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I vote with my wallet

itsme@... 26th Mar 2010

Since I CAN'T get a broadband connection I DON'T play online so I don't buy games that require a connection, sigh.

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Agree

Axsimulate 26th Mar 2010

Typical mindset now days;
Let's treat all of our loyal good paying customers like thieves and give them a frustrating experience to boot, all in the name of DRM!!! You know, because they have to protect their ASSets.

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Agreed

friedtoast@... 26th Mar 2010

While I don't have a lot of time to play games, I really look forward to the times I do get to play (getting ready to fire up King's Bounty: AP in a moment). As well, I've been a fan of the C&C franchise since the beginning. It stops here, though.

I've got a fiber optic connection, so I wouldn't worry too much about being dropped. However, I'm a single-player kind of guy. I refuse to be treated like I'm a thief. Way to lose loyal customers, EA. You're doing great!
(if that's what your goal is)

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The Problem with...

Zorched 29th Mar 2010

...voting with your wallet is that the process assumes that the morons in charge correctly attribute the loss in sales to their actions.

Most are too greedy or too stupid to make such a connection. They see a game failing on the market as a failure of the programmers or marketers and act accordingly, "Why did you guys make such crap that it won't sell? You're fired!!" Executives rarely want to hear the truth, especially when they are the ones ultimately responsible for the travesty.

I'd like to see them stop using their bellybuttons as viewpoints to the world, pull their heads out of their butts and see the world straight, but I doubt they'd man-up enough to do it.

That or they're getting their wallets heavily greased by the companies that make the DRM, to the point it doesn't matter if the company goes down. If that's the case, why should they care if they crater a company/industry? At least they got their cash and can go live it up somewhere else. Because if there's one thing that the executive industry pushes, it's that executives don't need to know the industry they're leading, only that they know HOW to lead. Unfortunately, these guys apparently know neither.

It's DRM decisions like these that are driving me away from gaming. Because if a Company ticks me off on one platform, I won't be buying their stuff on another platform either.

I have bought around 1000 games in the last 20 years, and I've realized that the companies no longer care about the paying customer, but rather simply winning the "DRM war". Need a code or an original disc? No problem! Make changes to my computer that endangers my system or inconveniences me, and I'm out of there faster than a spring break partier stumbling upon a geriatric nudist convention.

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Away from gaming entirely?

AzuMao 29th Mar 2010

What about the games that don't have all this crazy DRM?

Same like GalCiv2 don't have any DRM, and lots just have CD/key checks.

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No...

Zorched 29th Mar 2010

But I certainly am not going to be buying much new stuff.

GalCiv? Sure. Stardock is one of the few remaining software companies that I have a lot of respect for. I'm not really happy about the DRM that they're forced to dole out on Impulse, but they don't call the shots on a lot of that product.

There's no reason not to play the stuff I already own if it still works.

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Yea, just go find the cracked version on bit torrent. or maybe a newgroup

Been_Done_Before 26th Mar 2010

Once i started making good money, i stopped borrowing games and bought anything i wanted to play. The age old "buy it if you like it" thing they throw into every nfo file.

Well, if i run into any crap like this, i just go get the alternative version. You cant return it where i live.

If they were to go to court over this, they would lose big time. They should simply put a patch out that adds a feature to check for the disk instead if people are not playing online.

I wonder if you can install this and not be connected to the internet? If so, can you play without being connected if you install while not connected?

Course, this wont stop people from placing a no-drm crack out. They did this with starcraft and unreal cd requirements.

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DRM is bad for consumer

dcdavy 27th Mar 2010

I purchased Battlefield 2 for some $49.99 years ago. Months later the CD got stuck in a CDROM and got scratched. The game wouldn't work anymore. I bought another copy of the game for $49.99. Lasted for about a year. Then the CD got screwed again. This time it was my son who killed it. Guess what: I downloaded cracked version from the net and play happily ever since. I don't play online bcs the crowd out there is a bunch of idiots anyway.

How many times do I have to buy a DRM protected product to be able to use it ?

So, the point here is that for as long as the game maker doesn't allow you to make a backup copy of your discs, I am not buying.

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The solution is simple--boycott DRM'd products (nt)

djchandler 27th Mar 2010

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DRM Pirate

Tinman57 27th Mar 2010

I can't tell you how many times I've bought a game that refused to work because of DRM/Copy-protect schemes. I've had to obtain broken (pirated) copies just to play the games that I paid for. So I say more power to the cracker, it it wasn't for them, I'd never get to have played my legally bought games, which is why a lot of hackers/crackers do it to begin with...