[QUOTE="RobertBowen"]
Bioware is just another cog in the corporate machine now, which was to be expected really. I expect them to churn out Mass Effect 2009, 2010, 2011, etc.
Makari
Normally you're intelligent about everything and that's awesome, but that last sentence is just stupid. As one of the supposedly informed customers, where have they been recently doing this where it's not warranted, as opposed to having stopped doing it in the last few years? I mean seriously, welcome to 2005 or something. Doing the slightest bit of research or simply paying attention for the last few years shows stuff like that to be about the opposite, so where do they come from in a non-System Wars context?
You're right, that last sentence is stupid. That's what happens when I make a post while I'm dog tired and angry, and don't stop to think (can't even blame alcohol because I don't drink). It happens to us all, now and then. I'm not infallible. I'm only human, and I make mistakes just like the next man.
You're also right that the game industry has been moving in this kind of direction for a few years, and there are lots of sequels because they tend to sell well. I'm as guilty as the next man for wanting sequels to certain games, so yeah, it was an assinine comment to make. I guess I was just ticked off that one of my favourite developers seems to be embracing something I disagree with. They're entitled to do what they want, if they think it will help them as a business. Personally I think it will do the opposite, so it saddens me.
[quote="RobertBowen"]
I won't be touching another Bioware product, nor anything with EA on the label. That goes for any other developer that uses these kinds of DRM measures.
Makari
If it really does become an issue for a group of a customers other than a group that make themselves appear to be rabid fanboys looking for an excuse to hate the company (see above comment), it'll be pulled. Boycotting and saying exactly why is about the best thing you can do. The one thing they're doing is listening, besides the fact that they're actually bouncing all these plans off the community BEFORE a game is released, as opposed to simply releasing and letting people notice after the fact as nearly every other publisher has done so far. But it's okay when the other guys do it, because they're not EA!
*checks for foaming at the mouth*
No, I'm not rabid yet. Nor am I a fanboy, which I would define as someone who will defend the actions of any developer/publisher/manufacturer to ridiculous extremes. I've never done that and don't plan to in the future. I may trust some developers more than others, but I don't view any of them as being infallible, or all of their games as being 'mana from heaven'. So in those terms, I think your comment was a little misguided.
I'm not looking for an excuse to hate a company either. Hate is such a strong word, and I don't hate anyone. I don't hate anyone who works for Bioware or EA, because I don't know any of them personally. However, I do dislike certain practices, and DRM is one of those. It's not my intention to become some fanatical crusader about it, decrying everyone who uses it from the highest pinnacle. Everyone is free to make up their own mind about it. I'm not going to try and force someone to take a different stance, that's up to them to decide. The only thing I've tried to do in the thread I started, and elsewhere, is to ensure that everyone at least has the bare facts in front of them. And I felt that was worthwhile, because in my view some people really didn't understand the implications of what DRM would mean. So if my posts (and those of others) have helped people to make more informed decisions, that's great. If others choose to disagree, that's great as well, and good luck to those people in the future with their gaming hobby.
Bioware does deserve a lot of credit for allowing people to vent their frustrations and voice their opinions about the DRM. I've never said (and never tried to implicate) they didn't deserve that credit. Lots of other developers woulnd't have done that, so they are to be applauded for their openness. However, it is one thing to bounce ideas off other people, and something else to give people a false sense of hope. A lot of people (including me) believed that this kind of openness might eventually lead to further revision of the DRM scheme being implemented. Now we know that really it wasn't the case. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I do believe the 10 day activation limit was the 'high price' intended to be dropped, just like haggling in the market. Therefore I assumed (wrongly) that perhaps the 3 acitvation limit was on the table for negotiation. It's clear from recent posts and actions that it was never going to change. So maybe they were misleading us, or we allowed ourselves to be mislead by our own expectations based on the reputation of the company.
I also have no doubt that Mass Effect PC is a great game, otherwise I would not have been looking forward to playing it. However, I do believe that the quality of their future products will suffer as a result of their relationship with EA, based on the things I've seen EA do in the past. I know that EA is under new management, and from what they've said they are trying to change their business model. Nevertheless, when they bring forward restrictive DRM and try to tell everyone it's a good thing, I have to wonder exactly how much has really changed.
When it comes to other publishers pulling this DRM stunt (without informing people), that's not okay either, and I've never said that it was. I bought Bioshock along with everyone else, and didn't know a thing about the activation limits. So I'm just as annoyed with 2K for dropping that little gem on everyone, and if their future games include similar activation schemes I will not be purchasing those either. That's my choice. Everyone else has to make up their own minds.
As I've said before, I was unhappy about the online activation requirement for Half-Life 2, because I knew what the implications would be back then. By requiring online activation tied to a specific account, that bascially denies a lot of people from disposing of a game they might not like. It turns a game from being a disposable product into a 'game for life'. I didn't agree with that at the time, and still don't. However, I'm guilty again of one of the fundamental aspects of human nature, and as it would not affect me that much (because I collect games and don't usually get rid of them), I gritted my teeth and went ahead to buy HL2 and the episodes, and later a couple of other games that were on offer and quite cheap.
Nevertheless, I won't buy any other major titles through Steam, and still have reservations about the service. Steam has many benefits, but it also has its downsides, and they don't sit well with me. It comes down to how much I am willing to take as an individual before I say 'no'. Everyone has their own ideas about what they are willing to accept before they see something as crossing over their line. As someone who disagrees with piracy, I've been willing to go along with developers and publishers with a variety of ideas in the past in the hopes it would go some way to combatting piracy. The evidence now suggests those schemes have never really worked, and it's all been in vain.
Now the publishers are moving 'full steam ahead' into the next phase, by restricting useage and impinging on consumer right further (imo), and I'm no longer willing to go along with them. I've drawn my line, and won't cross it, so I'll not be buying this or future games from those companies. That is what I stated in my previous post, and that has not changed.
As I've said before, good luck to everyone else who does buy the game. I hope you don't run into any problems or issues, and have a great experience.
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