List of games with mandatory online activation

Something to note is the fact that Mass Effect 2 has disk check only, but downloadable content makes it into an online authentication game. It is actually as bad as Ubisoft's system because you can be kicked off if your internet goes down.>Falconoffury

A guy in another thread said that EAs servers went down for a day, and he couldn't play Mass Effect 2 because he had the downloadable content. He said that he couldn't load his save, and the only thing he could do is start a new game.

[QUOTE="DanielDust"]

Nothing with ignorance and hate. If I seemed annoyed in my last post, it's because of the sheer idiocy and sheeplike behaviour that I keep observing on this subject.

I'm well aware of the "promises" that have been made regarding patches to eliminate the DRM, but there's a couple of interesting facts that you ought to take into consideration:

These "promises" are in no way legally binding. They have not been issued in any kind of legally binding written document. These "promises" have been given in customer support messages via e-mail and on website forums, neither of which will stand up as being legally binding in a court of law.

Ask yourself: why are these promises not included, in the case of Steam, in the Steam Subscriber Agreement, the only legally binding agreement with regard to how Steam is used? Oh, that's right - you probably haven't even read it, even though you accuse ME of ignorance. Well, my friend, let me enlighten you, straight from the horse's mouth:

[Quote="Steam Subscriber Agreement"]

A. DISCLAIMERS.

THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF USE OR PERFORMANCE OF STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, AND MERCHANDISE REMAINS WITH YOU, THE USER. VALVE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS (I) ANY WARRANTY FOR STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, AND THE MERCHANDISE, AND (II) ANY COMMON LAW DUTIES WITH REGARD TO STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, AND THE MERCHANDISE, INCLUDING DUTIES OF LACK OF NEGLIGENCE AND LACK OF WORKMANLIKE EFFORT. STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, THE MERCHANDISE, AND ANY INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN CONNECTION THEREWITH ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, "WITH ALL FAULTS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT. ANY WARRANTY AGAINST INFRINGEMENT THAT MAY BE PROVIDED IN SECTION 2-312(3) OF THE UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE AND/OR IN ANY OTHER COMPARABLE STATE STATUTE IS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. ALSO, THERE IS NO WARRANTY OF TITLE, INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT, OR AUTHORITY IN CONNECTION WITH STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, MERCHANDISE OR INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN CONNECTION THEREWITH. THIS SECTION WILL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

B. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

NEITHER VALVE, ITS LICENSORS, NOR THEIR AFFILIATES SHALL BE LIABLE IN ANY WAY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE STEAM, YOUR ACCOUNT, YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS AND THE STEAM SOFTWARE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES. IN NO EVENT WILL VALVE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH STEAM, STEAM SOFTWARE, MERCHANDISE THAT YOU ACQUIRE VIA STEAM, ANY INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, OR THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE MERCHANDISE OR ANY INFORMATION, EVEN IN THE EVENT OF FAULT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR BREACH OF VALVE'S WARRANTY AND EVEN IF VALVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS REGARDING DAMAGES APPLY EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS.

C. NO GUARANTEES.

VALVE DOES NOT GUARANTEE CONTINUOUS, ERROR-FREE, VIRUS-FREE OR SECURE OPERATION AND ACCESS TO STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, YOUR ACCOUNT AND/OR YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS(S).jamyskis

C. Termination by Valve.

1. In the case of a recurring payment Subscription (e.g., a monthly subscription), in the event that Valve terminates or cancels your Account or a particular Subscription for convenience, Valve may, but is not obligated to, provide a prorated refund of any prepaid Subscription fees paid to Valve.
2. In the case of a one-time purchase of a product license (e.g., purchase of a single game) from Valve, Valve may choose to terminate or cancel your Subscription in its entirety or may terminate or cancel only a portion of the Subscription (e.g., access to the software via Steam) and Valve may, but is not obligated to, provide access (for a limited period of time) to the download of a stand-alone version of the software and content associated with such one-time purchase.Steam Subscriber Agreement

Still think that Valve will absolutely let you keep playing if they stop supporting the games in question?

[QUOTE="Dark_prince123"] [QUOTE="DanielDust"]When you uninstall the game you get your activation back, so technically you have unlimited installs.jamyskis

did your mother not love you enough? kevy619

I'm really not sure what to make of the online features of Mass Effect 2.

My first impression of the way that EA has approached the online features of Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age Origins, Need for Speed Shift, Sims 3 etc. is a positive one. I feel that if done correctly this can be the first signs of a positive future for DRM - providing a usable, self-contained game that is independent of any online features and that will be usable for years to come and providing honest consumers with appropriate rewards. Why not, I say. I must admit to not having played any of them as I had pretty much abandoned PC gaming at the peak of the DRM insanity. I've not really found myself getting back into it hugely - the only PC game I've really bought since then has been Force Unleashed (DRM-free, of course!)

And, as some people have reported here, I've been hearing quite a few negative things about the DLC. Many people seem to be reporting that the games themselves are fairly half-baked and are largely dependent on the DLC to provide a more complete experience. But then again you could say the same thing about expansion packs, which have been a staple of PC gaming since the 1980s. I've watched a friend play Mass Effect 2 through and it seems to be quite a fully-fledged and complete title even without the DLC.

I really can't comment on this, as I don't have any experience of my own in this respect to report from, but I don't see why buyers of original, new games shouldn't be rewarded with bonus materials, just as long as the game itself can be played five, ten years down the line and secondhand buyers aren't prevented from playing.

Reselling PC games? lololol. Don't whine because you bought something you didn't like. Research your investment.

[QUOTE="charmingcharlie"]

I think it would be a lot easier if you just had a list of games that DON'T use online authentication. It is a sad fact that online authentication is being used more and more (I expect it to even feature in the next xbox). This online authentication is not going to get better it is going to get worse. So I don't really see the point in this list because sooner rather than later all games will have it.

jamyskis

I do actually have a sister thread that lists a number of recent games that don't use online authentication. PC gaming was dead for me long ago - I've sold the vast majority of my games in protest and spent the money on something worthwhile (for the record, I sold next to 2,000 games and brought in around €8,000 over four months) but I'm doing this to help anyone else that may fall into this trap. I occasionally buy PS3 and PSP games, but that too has little interest for me. I'm not an XBox gamer so if Microsoft choose to implement that in their next console, that's their problem, but if Sony do the same, I won't touch it with a barge pole. As I said, I'm/I was a passionate gamer, but I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. I know when I'm being played for a fool and there are other things to spend my money on if the publishers wish to continue to try and treat me like an idiot.

This thread should be a sticky

Reselling PC games? lololol. Don't whine because you bought something you didn't like. Research your investment.

Emraldo

Hahahaha sorry do break it to you but you made a huge msitake selling your pc games as what other types of gaes are there?Console games are kids games arent they?Jarp3y

Given that the majority seems to have accepted being taken for a ride with DRM, I have decided not to continue updating this list. I don't see why I should spend my time and energy updating this when all I'm getting is verbal abuse via the forums and via PMs.

If anyone else wishes to continue where I left off, please do. I'm done with this, gaming as a whole and with GameSpot.

jamyskis

i will have to say im happy you posted this, its an eyeopener for some, and a genuine reminder for others

though im sure their are more than whats on that list, and definitely more to come, really shows that people DO NOT own their games, they only aquire a limited permission of use.

so for this im adding you to my watched/friends list. :)

Starcraft 2 should not be on that list. There is a "guest mode" that dont require any online part.

Also before someone say "BUT YOU NEED TO BE ONLINE TO PLAY WITH OTHERS"... RLY!? You need to be online to play online!?

How it work: If you play single player while online, the saves will be on the b.net server. In other words you can chat, get achivments and all other online features.

If you play "guest" you wont be able to chat, get achviments and the saves will be on your computer.

With all my games, I only have3 on that list: Half-Life 2 (Orange Box), the original Mass Effect, and the original Bioshock :)

[QUOTE="DanielDust"] That is only if you consider misinformation, if you actually stop to think and use common sense...yep, you will be able to play it even if Steam goes down (which will never happen).jamyskis

Steam games will be available to you to play even if Steam goes out of business....guaranteed. Trust me, Steam will have a classy exit strategy for those of us who have a plethora of games on a Steam account.

If you don't believe that, make a copy for yourself.

Starcraft 2 should not be on that list. There is a "guest mode" that dont require any online part.

Also before someone say "BUT YOU NEED TO BE ONLINE TO PLAY WITH OTHERS"... RLY!? You need to be online to play online!?

How it work: If you play single player while online, the saves will be on the b.net server. In other words you can chat, get achivments and all other online features.

If you play "guest" you wont be able to chat, get achviments and the saves will be on your computer.

KalDurenik

Steam games will be available to you to play even if Steam goes out of business....guaranteed. Trust me, Steam will have a classy exit strategy for those of us who have a plethora of games on a Steam account.

If you don't believe that, make a copy for yourself.

AFBrat77

I've been through this again and again, but here we go...

I hope you're right. I really do, because I also have a couple of Steam games bought over Steam. I picked up the Orange Box for €10 and Aliens versus Predator Classic for €2.50 via download. I wouldn't have paid more for them. With digital distribution I accept that there may be a danger of losing my games and at that price it's a risk I'm willing to take. I wouldn't take that risk for a game that I pay €30, €40 and €50 for. Tell a lie - I bought The Last Remnant in retail, and with my experience activating that via Steam, that is not a mistake I will be making again.

I'll be honest - as a digital distribution platform Steam rocks, second only to GOG.com. As a DRM system for retail games, it's the pits.

But your "guaranteed" does make me wonder. In what position are you to "guarantee" that you can play Steam games in years to come. Does the Steam Subscriber Agreement state that they undertake to do this? Do you have any official, public statements or legal documentation that state that they will do this when the time comes? On this subject, look on the second page of this thread at the relevant excerpts of the SSA.

jamyskis

i will have to say im happy you posted this, its an eyeopener for some, and a genuine reminder for others

though im sure their are more than whats on that list, and definitely more to come, really shows that people DO NOT own their games, they only aquire a limited permission of use.

so for this im adding you to my watched/friends list. :)

Lach0121

Yup, people have never actually owned any software they ever purchased (there might be some exceptions)...since the begging it was always license to use that software. It's all just an illusion and using the word "own" to describe purchasing software (now and then) is a misnomer.

[QUOTE="Lach0121"]

jamyskis

i will have to say im happy you posted this, its an eyeopener for some, and a genuine reminder for others

though im sure their are more than whats on that list, and definitely more to come, really shows that people DO NOT own their games, they only aquire a limited permission of use.

so for this im adding you to my watched/friends list. :)

kevy619

Yup, people have never actually owned any software they ever purchased (there might be some exceptions)...since the begging it was always license to use that software. It's all just an illusion and using the word "own" to describe purchasing software (now and then) is a misnomer.

Renevent42

Red faction guerrilla has online activation, and flight simulator x can be activated over the phone if ya don't have or want to activate online. also, i'm not sure but i heard that STALKER clear sky has online activations and/or install limits.

Just one minor update - Splinter Cell: Conviction has now been confirmed to be infected with Ubisoft's DRM. Other than that it's been a very quiet month for DRM. A sign of good news? Sadly, no. There have actually been very few games released via retail in the past month. I've not bought a PC game for ages now.

One story that might be of interest:

Some of you may recall or read from earlier in the thread that I mentioned the likelihood of a business going under and taking their activation servers with them with no option for gamers to activate their games.A number of publishers have "promised" (non-binding) to release patches for games should the activation servers be shut down, and I know a number of people have expressed their certainty that this kind of "promise" will be adhered to. As this type of DRM in gaming is still a relatively new phenomenon, there had been no known test cases of activation servers being shut down to see whether publishers would adhere to this promise in the absence of a legally binding clause in the EULA.

This worst-case scenario has now come to bear for the first time. I can almost certainly guarantee it won't be the last time either.

Back in 2006, Reflexive Games' James Smith promised to its community that, in the 'unlikely' event of Reflexive Games' demise, a download would be made available to ensure that the games could still be installed and played in the future. He stated that this would be unlikely, as Reflexive was doing great and had no worries.

Sound familiar?

Anyway, it's now 2010, and a notice has appeared on Reflexive Games' website informing users that "As of June 30th, 2010, games will no longer be available for purchase on Reflexive.com. Please be sure to install and activate your purchases prior to July 31st, 2010." So much for the download option. Of course, Reflexive's loyal community of fans have still been confident that their favourite company will yet come up with a solution.

No such luck. James Smith and the moderator "tentoes" have, on multiple occasions, confirmed via the company's forums that no such solution will be provided. They've tried to twist it around by saying that customers can still PLAY their games after July 31, 2010, but it will no longer be possible to activate them on a new computer after this date. So, is this a case of simple deceit?

Not quite. Reflexive Games did indeed "promise" to release a client that would make it possible to activate their games without the need for the activation servers. There's no reason to believe that they didn't intend to follow up on this promise. However, that was back in 2006, when Reflexive were responsible for their own decisions. The company was acquired back in 2008 by Amazon, who consequently acquired the company's IP and the rights to the distribution platform. Amazon has decided not to provide the promised client, and as no mention of this promise was ever made in the EULA of the software, they are not required to, at least not in the United States.

How this will pan out in other countries remains to be seen, but in the famous words of the Medievil statue - "If I had any breath, I wouldn't be holding it."

The moral of the story - a non-binding promise in the business world means nothing. This is why we have license agreements.

jamyskis

This topic is stupid. A pc gamer without a constant internet connection is a waste..

This topic is stupid. A pc gamer without a constant internet connection is a waste..

scotty992

Yes, thank you for this pointless comment.

FYI: I've just had to stay in temporary accommodation while I move to another city for my job. For this month I've been reliant on a mobile internet stick that has ridiculously low speeds (around max. 11kb/s) and is useless for online gaming, so I can't play CoD 4, Counterstrike, Urban Terror or Rappelz - I'm not really complaining about this, as I know that a decent internet connection is needed for the gaming experience itself.

Steam also refuses to connect properly with this stick (I guess those still stuck with 56k internet suffer from the same issues) and usually requires six or seven attempts, takes about ten to fifteen minutes per attempt. If a game ever needs patching, I'm out of luck. It was a hell of a task getting Steam to run in Offline Mode, but I can now at least play Last Remnant and Aliens versus Predator Classic on my laptop.

Also, because I've only just managed to find a flat, it's going to take another four weeks until my telephone and internet are connected there, so I'm stuck with said internet stick for that time. Imagine if I'd bought Assassin's Creed 2 or Silent Hunter 5 - I could forget playing them. It's also worth mentioning that I couldn't get internet while I was at university because it was not possible to get a telephone connection installed there. I know things have changed a little since 2004, but I know that many students in university accommodation are dependent on the university's own internet provision, which usually blocks most ports except 80, 8080, 21 and a couple of others.

So think carefully next time before you decide to berate any gamer who isn't in the same cosy situation that you are.

why so negative? This is obscure, you must be just digging for it. I think this thread should be be simply informative or locked, such negative and jaded opinions should be kept off this thread. Even then, this thread isnt informative at all, any retail game will state if you need an internet connection... cmon mods.TerrorRizzing

If you hadn't noticed, I am the original author of this thread, addressing a point that someone else made about companies making informal promises. And I wasn't digging - I discovered this story by accident when I was reading through ReclaimYourGame's latest. Reflexive is by no means on the level of Steam's popularity, but it certainly had a fairly large collection of followers, and the reaction from them has been as one might expect...