Comments on: 'Spore' doing well in first week

The evolution game from Electronic Arts and The Sims creator Will Wright is selling well across the country, though not like massive hits such as Grand Theft Auto IV.

[subface--2008]

no info on Spore Origins for the iPhone yet?

[HaveSomeTea]

I can't believe this article didn't mention the problem this game has with DRM. Like 3,000 reviews on Amazon rated the game 1 start mostly because of this, Hellow?

[mdshah82]

I second HaveSomeTea comments. DRM is evil. EA needs to understand real gamers will pay for worthy games. Gamers appreciate the creative work involved in making a game. I was planning to buy this game; but will hold back till EA removes the crippling DRM from this game.

[birds08]

wow that's great . i believe spore can give are fresh to gamers.

[Renegade Knight]

I bought the game before I knew that I'd not be able to enjoy it the same way as every other game I've bought before, because of the DRM. From this point forward I'll never buy until I know that the games DRM won't get in the way of my enjoyment.

I've withheld a scything review to get back a laptop sent in for repair. If I uninstall it from a temp computer and install it on my main computer and get the "you have too many installs" my rating will drop to the minimum. Products are only good if you can enjoy them.

[pennybright]

I've tried the creature creator and enjoyed it. I look forward to purchasing the game this weekend. I am a total Sims addict so it will be hard for me to put them aside for a bit!

Penny

[Hunnter2k3]

I'm surprised, i thought people hated it because OMG DRM

Does it REALLY bother people that much?
It asks you to verify online *once* (and on a new install)
It gives you 3 installs *max*. (People are seriously complaining about that? Most times it is once.)
Max being more like a default upper layer, since you can contact them (with proof of purchase) to receive another.
The only bad thing could be the 1 user per game, but what is so hard about creating a global "household" name and just using the planets to be unique? That seems much more family-like to be honest...


/mini-rant

[sanenazok]

What's interesting to me is why do people like you object that others are griping about the DRM? Sure you might not care about DRM, and nobody's saying you must, but other people disagree. That's how the world works.

[CmdrRickHunter]

I myself have not tried to reinstall it. But from what I have heard EA is not enthusiastic about handing out extra installs. its bad enough that you have to call in.

Also, people are wary of the horrible DRM associated with it, which inspects EVERYTHING on your computer and has an encrypted link to sonyHQ

[Farthing Haypenny]

I'm not going to pay to be annoyed by DRM. Does EA really think that the people who were going to steal their game are going to pony up for it because of DRM? Do they really think that the few who do so will outnumber those who always pay for their games and don't want to be treated like the criminals they aren't?

[Lerianis]

Exactly right. The fact is that the legitimate users do not deserve to have these DRM schemes (which do NOT stop piracy) foisted on them. The other fact is that these DRM schemes are NOT to stop piracy. What are they for? To stop the 'sell the game to a friend or relative' market, i.e. the secondhand game market that I buy a lot of my games off.

[theonlybuster]

I really don't see what all the hype is for... maybe in the science community but that's about it. My friends were all going crazy and when they got it the first day they ranted on, and after that they talked like it was nothing. I've played myself and there really wasn't much. I've even been to quite a few forums about it thinking I was missing something and almost everyone who ranted on how awesome the game would be before the game came out came back to say that it was good, but not as good as they'd hoped it would be.

[sanenazok]

The last Maxis game I liked was Sim City 4, and its crappy traffic AI was only fixed after an "expansion pack." Since then Maxis has ruined Sim City, along with what amounts to the only other game I liked - Rail Road Tycoon. Now Spore comes along with its dumbed down play and awful DRM. Once the hype wears out, this too will pass.

I was going to buy Spore, but I'm not willing to buy it with the DRM it has on it. And yes, it bothers me that much having crap that may in the future stop me from being able to play a game I legitimately bought. (Also collecting information from me I may not wish to share.) I don't pirate games, and I don't like being treated like a criminal. So to avoid both, I'm simply not going to buy it. Their loss.

Honestly, many of my friends had the same reaction I did. I think this could have been a breakaway bestseller if it hadn't had the DRM on it. But it did, and yet it still was pirated before it was even released. DRM--it only punishes your legitimate users.

[jumpjetta]

Most of the people who will buy this game probably don't know what 'DRM' stands for or will even notice it. The 27 people who DO care (and waste huge amounts of time complaining about it on CNET) won't make a difference in EA's sales. My 12 year old daughter and I play it together and love it.

[lordmorgul]

This game is simply a 'do not buy'. The access restrictions on the game unacceptably impinge on the game buyer's rights to the content, interfere with the use of their own computer in subtle and hidden ways, and do not respect the buyer as a legitimate user. If you want to see the game, rent it... thats all you're doing when you walk into the store to 'buy' a copy anyway.

[mattlp]

People start to care about DRM when it impacts them! My wife had a problem with some songs she bought on iTunes and wanted to insert in s slide show she was making. It was for an overseas vacation, so it wasn't a commercial use. She couldn't because of the DRM. Since then, we try to stay away from DRM. We buy our music on Amazon's download service, for example.

Pity, though. The point isn't if the sales are bad or good. I'm sure they're ok. But I'm sure the sales aren't nearly as good as they could have been. I don't play many computer games. Yes, my daughter has Sims 2 and most of the expansion packs. I was looking forward to playing this game. But now I will sit it out -- at least until they repackage the game without the DRM.

[CmdrRickHunter]

I expect the numbers to come out: Spore is a blockbuster in the first 3 days. After that, I bet the copies started to sit on the shelves. By this point, I fully expect sales to have hit 0. All by releasing a lackluster game with too much DRM.

[craigdolphin]

Does it really bother people? Hell yeah. I'm a pc gamer of 20+ years, never pirated a game in all that time, and I'll be damned if I ever buy another EA title again while they try to rip me off with this BS.

Screw 'em: 'cause they're trying to screw us!