Dragon Age 2 - DRM Explained - EA account needed

Chris Priestly just made a post regarding the DRM used in Dragon Age 2. No disc check, you'll need an EA (same as the Bioware) account. And most interestingly is this bit:

- You can play offline but the game will require a login check after a select period of days.

Release Control (does not use securom)
. It does not install anything to the PC.
. Sole purpose is to check with a server to validate whether the game release date has passed or not.
. It completely removes itself after the game release date has passed.
. You will not be able to play until that date has passed.
. Dates & times are set to the retail street date per country.

Apparently EA and Bioware decided to do something about retailers sellng the game early by this 'release control'. What do you think? Is this a good idea? or maybe not? And it is a good idea to have the game demand that you log into your account, when you play offline after a select period of days? No words just yet on how many specific days will have to pass, though.
More information.

Don't know If I like it, but I can't really complain, it feels like a move in the right direction from the business atleast.

Worldwide simultaneous release … Which they do to prevent impatient gamers from "using" illegal copies … Or selling it across time zones …

It could also be - says the cynical conspiracy theorist inside of me - be a way to prove some kind of patriotism : Other countries get a much later release date … And they are NOt allowed to play it … meanwhile tests and user reactions from other countries pop up everywhere … this is the ideal way to create anger …

But if they set the release date at … worldwide the same time (and hour !) - then they'll be effectively keeping imptient crackers at bay … Or so I think …

Something inside of me screams "more chain !" and doesn't like this at all … Because effectively, it sounds to me like a try of "how many restrictions can we bear upon the gamers until they begin to form protest groups right outside of our headquarters' window ?"

And most gamers - the rather uninformed mass, actually - doesn't even care …

For me as a gamer this is just another "SCREW YOU BUDDY" from EA.

Sad and lame.

Is it really that difficult to make sure that all games from major companies like EA are released at the same time world wide?

Personally, I don't like the idea about the game phoning home after some days or so. And as I read it, the subtext in this message also is, you'll need to be online all the time to play…

The Witcher 2 from GOG suddenly seems more attractive now…

Seems like the best of a bunch of bad options. I don't care for DRM and I don't like that every time I load Civ V, steam loads in the background ( I don't care if it is offline or takes very little memory). But I also had having to have a CD/DVD in a drive. I don't like having to log in periodically, but at the same time, it's a very rare occasion that I am without internet for more than a day, and usually at those times I'm not playing games, so it wouldn't impact me much.

I don't understand why the 'pre' sales are such a big deal though. If people are that desperate to get the games that early, obviously you have a hit on your hands. Seems to be a good problem to have. Now pre-sale pirates are a different story of course.

Well they consider the first few weeks to be crucial to a games' sales.

The assassin's creed 2 DRM managed to stay uncracked for a month, that was a success. It wasn't enough to make a dent in sales as it was a surprise, but if it became the norm for pirates to have to choose between paying for a game and playing it upon release or pirating it a month or more later… distributors stand to make significantly more money.

I assume that the check that's done after X days can't simply be indefinitely postponed by changing your computer's clocks&dates.

Not sure if I even want to get this game after seeing the footage released so far. Also I can't say I'm filled with joy after reading this. Can't blame them for trying to protect their property but I think the non-official release will be there also on the same day as the official release (if not sooner). When do they start realizing that people who won't pay for their games, will never pay regardless of the DRM. The same goes for The witcher 2, but I preordered it from GoG.com just to give them a thumbs up! (even though they might not be the cheapest reseller in the end).

Just another nail in the coffin of DA2.

Originally Posted by blatantninja
I don't understand why the 'pre' sales are such a big deal though. If people are that desperate to get the games that early, obviously you have a hit on your hands. Seems to be a good problem to have. Now pre-sale pirates are a different story of course.

The "pre" sales isn't the problem, trying to play a game when the servers aren't ready is. It happened with DA:O (my EA shipped copy arrived 2 days early). I see this more as a preemptive measure caused by a strict schedule from the IT department, then stopping "pre" anything or pirates.

Thanks EA for annoying me as a customer for absolutely no benefit what-so-ever since this will be pirated anyway. I appreciate it.

Hopefully they will patch out the DRM at some point.

I'm more concerned about the quality of the (PC version of the) game itself, the DRM is an irritant but not a deal breaker for me.

Originally Posted by aries100
Is it really that difficult to make sure that all games from major companies like EA are released at the same time world wide?

Yes, actually. There are always retailers that will break the release date to get some early sales, plus there's the matter of the retailers' employees. This is even more true for smaller publishers that can't afford to retaliate, though EA doesn't need to worry about that.

Phone home every few days - fine with me. (They probably check both the PC clock and the in-game clock. Or they might just set the check as part of certain unavoidable events in the game.) It's definitely better than a disk check with some crazy, error-filled disk and custom drivers.

I wasn't planning on buying this anyways but because of this I won't even buy it even if it is in the bargain bin.

Originally Posted by coaster
Hopefully they will patch out the DRM at some point.

One of the Bioware employees actually just said in the linked thread above that they have plans to remove all the DRM on all their games if they ever close down. Of course that is not a binding obligation what-so-ever.

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
One of the Bioware employees actually just said in the linked thread above that they have plans to remove all the DRM on all their games if they ever close down. Of course that is not a binding obligation what-so-ever.

Presumably by a crack.

I'm not crazy about these call-home DRM systems but this is better than the Games for Windows crap that requires you to be online all of the time or you cant save. At least if it only requires access once every 2-3 weeks that would be ok with me though I'm guessing they want 2-3 days at most.

Yes, actually. There are always retailers that will break the release date to get some early sales, plus there's the matter of the retailers' employees. This is even more true for smaller publishers that can't afford to retaliate, though EA doesn't need to worry about that.

So, they can't control the retailers and they decide to punish the customers instead?

Allow me to pass on a little hacker knowledge. The internet bypass will be cracked day 1. I'm not endorsing or supporting piracy but it will be cracked fast. Ubisofts drm is the only method that halted pirates due to how it needed to download data to play. Starcraft was cracked day one and it used online checking and authorization. Its a sad fact the pirates play more stable game than those who purchase a game. I myself love using cracked exe on my games due to drm and other reasons. Well that's all sorry for the long post its just my opinion.

Typical BS that you have to check in every so often. As another person commented, I wasn't going to buy this anyway but this seals it even if it goes to a dirt cheap price eventually I won't be tempted.