So did EA publish a game that has been impossible to pirate? Sim City.

From a consumers point of view, EA screwed up with their always online DRM system. 

But from a publishers point of view, did they succeed? Only a couple of weeks after the game was released we were able to read that the game sold over one million copies. EA also said that the server issues were caused by more people playing the game than they were expecting. 

Now, weeks after the release, I still don`t see any offline cracks, mods or pirate version up on any page. 

This sounds like sucsess to me. Not that EA ever cared about making consumers happy anyway.

They had to give away games to try and appeal to angry consumers. I don't think they succeeded.

Didn't someone hack the game to be played offline and to remove the city limit size?ssvegeta555

Didn't someone hack the game to be played offline and to remove the city limit size?ssvegeta555

I believe it had some drawbacks though like still having to connect to the servers to save and + EA has blocked it with a patch. The whole always online thing is indeed very strong DRM but it can be broken it just takes a lot longer problem longer then anyone will care for.

Didn't someone hack the game to be played offline and to remove the city limit size?ssvegeta555

Yes, and since it was all over the net, they patched the files you edit to allow that and encrypted them

Pirating games like this would help the industry in every way, or by not buying it completely. It's an action of not supporting games that belongs to the garbage bin.

But I never pirate, so I chose to not buy the game. Hell, I don't even want that garbage anyway.

Pirating games like this would help the industry in every way, or by not buying it completely. It's an action of not supporting games that belongs to the garbage bin.

But I never pirate, so I chose to not buy the game. Hell, I don't even want that garbage anyway.

Cyberdot

Pirating wouldnt help, not buying it would

Considering their garbage DRM has very likely cost them far more sales than piracy ever would have, I can easily assume it was a stupid idea.

Diablo3 still hasn't fully been pirated yet either and thats been out much longer.

The only thing Simcity will be remembered for now is the textbooks exampel of a DRM disaster. It ended up exactly like predicted.

Game releases, DRM servers crap, paying customers can't pay

Couple of days later, game is cracked, and opens the floodgate for piracy.

EA can b!tch all they want about services and shoving dlc down our throat and what not through always-on DRM, but at the end of the day, it has (once again) proven to be anything but a service to anyone. Simcity still ended up being cracked, and regular people can't play it reliably. Any game irregardless of coding will always be cracked and pirated. As long as the core game files and the processing is done client side, you can't stop piracy.

It's also impossible for legitimate consumers to play the game because of the bugs. It's an unpolished MESS of a game.chrisrooR

mmm ive been able to play anytime I want to play after the first 3 days of launch

Diablo3 still hasn't fully been pirated yet either and thats been out much longer.

kozzy1234

on that fiasco, at least blizzard wasn't lying when they said the servers were doing to computations for quests and loot data.  The sim city servers aren't doing jack squat

Actually, considering that a modder was able to make the game work without being online, it's only a matter of time before there are pirate copies being distributed with that fix.

Diablo 3, on the other hand, is/has been impossible to pirate because, unlike Sim City, the servers actually  are  performing necessary game functions. That's why the handful of "cracked" copies of D3 that are floating around are based on the demo/trial copy, and only have like 10% of the game content.

Considering their garbage DRM has very likely cost them far more sales than piracy ever would have, I can easily assume it was a stupid idea.

jer_1

Also this. 

Didn't someone hack the game to be played offline and to remove the city limit size?ssvegeta555

From a consumers point of view, EA screwed up with their always online DRM system. 

But from a publishers point of view, did they succeed? Only a couple of weeks after the game was released we were able to read that the game sold over one million copies. EA also said that the server issues were caused by more people playing the game than they were expecting. 

Now, weeks after the release, I still don`t see any offline cracks, mods or pirate version up on any page. 

This sounds like sucsess to me. Not that EA ever cared about making consumers happy anyway.

BuldozerX

Nah, EA published a game that pisses all over your consumer rights. It's extremely sad how people allow these corporations to rape them.

Nah, EA published a game that pisses all over your consumer rights. It's extremely sad how people allow these corporations to rape them.

Lost-to-Apathy

Actually, considering that a modder was able to make the game work without being online, it's only a matter of time before there are pirate copies being distributed with that fix.

Diablo 3, on the other hand, is/has been impossible to pirate because, unlike Sim City, the servers actually  are  performing necessary game functions. That's why the handful of "cracked" copies of D3 that are floating around are based on the demo/trial copy, and only have like 10% of the game content.

the_bi99man

Actually, considering that a modder was able to make the game work without being online, it's only a matter of time before there are pirate copies being distributed with that fix.

 

the_bi99man

EA patched that file after the mod was showcased, you can't alter it anymore

[QUOTE="ssvegeta555"]Didn't someone hack the game to be played offline and to remove the city limit size?Gen007

I believe it had some drawbacks though like still having to connect to the servers to save and + EA has blocked it with a patch. The whole always online thing is indeed very strong DRM but it can be broken it just takes a lot longer problem longer then anyone will care for.

No it cant be broken...shut up if u have no clue at all...

[QUOTE="Gen007"]

[QUOTE="ssvegeta555"]Didn't someone hack the game to be played offline and to remove the city limit size?rhazzy

I believe it had some drawbacks though like still having to connect to the servers to save and + EA has blocked it with a patch. The whole always online thing is indeed very strong DRM but it can be broken it just takes a lot longer problem longer then anyone will care for.

No it cant be broken...shut up if u have no clue at all...

Yes because your the expert :roll: It can be done and such a thing has been done before but its far more complicated then the usual method that pirates use to well pirate. which is why its actually a really good form of DRM. Without going into detail it would require reverse engineering how the game communicates with the servers. There are all sorts of issues surrounding that though and like i said it wont be happening anytime soon if ever because i doubt people will care about this game that long. The real question is how long? especially when your dealing with stuff like encrytion which no doubt is being used here. The answer being long enough which is all EA cares about anyway.

They lost far more money on servers and dealing with the fallout (like giving free games) than they would have lost from piracy

Considering their garbage DRM has very likely cost them far more sales than piracy ever would have, I can easily assume it was a stupid idea.

jer_1

Considering their garbage DRM has very likely cost them far more sales than piracy ever would have, I can easily assume it was a stupid idea.

jer_1

If I sell you a brick for $60 it can't be downloaded by pirates either.

Considering how bad the game is overall, i doub they even want to actually hack it all too.:P

I don't know, I haven't seen a pirated version of it yet. But I'm going to go ahead and say that any company that thinks crippling a game and making it garbage all for the sake of keeping it from being pirated is worth it can go f**k themselves.

Always online doesn't stop piracy.. Diablo 3 is always online and it was cracked to be played offline. The new sim city is designed to be played online like an MMO. You have smaller cities that help other cities in the area. Not a game you would want to play offline because of how it was designed.Rattlesnake_8

Not true.  Diablo 3's loot and quests are done server-side. Yes it was 'cracked' but nothing worked well or at all because someone has to actually rewrite the code.  SimCity was a pile of lies, the sevrers do nothing but hold save files.  For the very short time someone did manage to get it to work offline, it ran perfect and nothing got screwed up except save synching.  The guy modding it was about to make it fully offline and then EA patched the files he was editing to an encrypted state.  Playing simcity online is not required at all, and was a terrible move

SimCity was the most fun I've had with a videogame released this year. And I didn't even play it!

[QUOTE="Lost-to-Apathy"]

Nah, EA published a game that pisses all over your consumer rights. It's extremely sad how people allow these corporations to rape them.

chrisrooR

SimCity was the most fun I've had with a videogame released this year. And I didn't even play it!

QQabitmoar

Always online doesn't stop piracy.. Diablo 3 is always online and it was cracked to be played offline. The new sim city is designed to be played online like an MMO. You have smaller cities that help other cities in the area. Not a game you would want to play offline because of how it was designed.Rattlesnake_8

Not impossible. Server emulation would solve it.

^ This. There's no such thing as a game that's impossible to pirate. Even WoW has emulated servers running.

DRM (even the type of DRM in Sim City) is only to slow down piracy for as long as possible during and prior to the launch of the game. 

I cant undarstand what are you all so pissed about DRM.
So it demmands online connection, most of us have 24\7 connection anyways, and there is like 1% who are using modems,
who cares?! realy?! the game is fun, there are some bugs but EA is working on fixing them, they fixed many issues already,
enjoying the game, life is good, WTF people?! leave it already!

^ This. There's no such thing as a game that's impossible to pirate. Even WoW has emulated servers running.

DRM (even the type of DRM in Sim City) is only to slow down piracy for as long as possible during and prior to the launch of the game. 

marshbaboon

Diablo3 still hasn't fully been pirated yet either and thats been out much longer.

kozzy1234

Only thing is that people don't care about D3 anymore ... Sim City is another story ...

I cant undarstand what are you all so pissed about DRM.
So it demmands online connection, most of us have 24\7 connection anyways, and there is like 1% who are using modems,
who cares?! realy?! the game is fun, there are some bugs but EA is working on fixing them, they fixed many issues already,
enjoying the game, life is good, WTF people?! leave it already!

Farxi

terrible excuse

The people who bought it originally helps the industry. Because now they are gonna get another Origin game absolutly free =D