Game News Bioware releases Mass Effect copy protection info

[Jedi_Learner]

What makes you think I have a large collection of music?

 

[Helton]

Keep on it half-wits. You can't see the perpetual cycle you're stuck in? Eat it bitch. The more you tighten your grip the more customers you lose.

You've got the wrong kind of fan. Open your eyes, can't you see? You've pandered to the dumbest knuckle draggers you could find, idiots with no taste or moral center and, surprise durprise, they don't give a fuck about you or your sales figures! So go ahead, alienate whatever portion of your fan base is actually up-standing. Chase off your customers. Twist the pipe and make it hurt in their ass. They like it, right?

And then when your sales are down some more, either on this product or the next, blame the pirares. You didn't take the cookie from the cookie jar! Wolf! Wolf! Rofl!

Then run to your consoles and have fun there, but be careful. Those cock-suckers bite, and the idiots are too smart. They'll be cracking you there in mass before long. No more business for you. So long, and good fucking riddance. This industry was never for you.

Good developers foster a community which wants to support them. I've bought Stardock products and barely played them just because I like the way they do business. But what you know about that? Be careful pissing in your own bed, guys. It might be real funny now but when the party is over, and that floor's looking real hard, and your "buddies" made off with the couch... Eventually you've got to lay in that bitch.

 

[MetalCraze]

Russian release will supposedly use Starforce.

russian release will use the same protection as any other release according to ag.ru - they already gather votes to fight this shit. remember we are talking about EA here - only Softclub releases EA games and you know how it likes to lick EA balls.

Admit it, your a cheap fuck that will find any excuse to steal what doesn't belong to you. I bet the real reason for you wanting to torrent Mass Effect is because your mother won't buy the game.

*sigh* you're stupid. I hope you will understand someday that when a game costs nearly like 1/5-1/6 of your monthly salary it is hard to not be mad when someone asks that much money for the game and treats you like a bitch afterwards
plus its really funny to see how you are protecting EA. probably one of the most "nazi" corporations out there

 

[Jedi_Learner]

I hope you will understand someday that when a game costs nearly like 1/5-1/6 of your monthly salary it is hard to not be mad when someone asks that much money for the game and treats you like a bitch afterwards

What is it with you being confused all the time? Since you obviously seem to be having difficulty grasping the obvious, let me bold the next sentence for you and increase the font size. If you don't like the price or the copy protection, don't buy the fucking game. Nobody is forcing you to buy Mass Effect. Stop being such a whiny bitch skyway.

plus its really funny to see how you are protecting EA. probably one of the most "nazi" corporations out there

I'm not protecting Electronic Arts in particular, just trying to bring some common sense to this discussion which you obviously are in dire need of.

 

[MetalCraze]

oh lawl. the only one here is you who are whining. I already told you that I -won't- buy the game with this DRM. what do you want from me by telling me the same thing I already wrote in like the first post? plus we were actually talking about EA. about what were you talking? speaking of sense. but enough of this shit.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

You really are the most stupidest, fucked up poster I have ever met skyway. I just can't describe what a complete moron you are.

 

[MetalCraze]

then again it wasn't me who jumped at you with accusations of being cheap fuck that wants to steal everything that doesn't belong to you just because of a -single- EA game (omg end of the world) on what I won't spend money with such terms anyway. be happy with your ignorance.

 

[miles foreman]

Copyright is the right to STOP others from copying certain things. It's a form of monopoly. It's possible copyright has proper reasons for its existance, but that doesn't mean that breaking against it is theft. It's copyright infringement.

If you created something with the expectation of being compensated for it, how would you feel if people just took copies of whatever you had made instead of paying for it? What if they took what you had created, added a little bit to it and then began selling it? What if you did that for a living?

Copying copyrighted material is a punishable offense in the United States in other countries. It may not "technically" be theft by however you want to twist the argument to make yourself feel justified, that doesn't make it any less illegal.

I'm an ex-pirate. I hate DRM as much as anyone but that doesn't give me the right to download something that I should be paying for. 2K lost a sale from me because of the DRM in Bioshock. EA just lost a sale from me because of this affecting Spore. If 2K and EA remove their DRM later, I'll happily go buy a copy of Bioshock and Spore, but not before then.

 

[tunguska]

If you don't like the price or the copy protection, don't buy the fucking game. Nobody is forcing you to buy Mass Effect.

Finally some excellent advice. And since we are not buying the game anyway, I don't see the harm in playing it. It's not like anyone is going to know. It doesn't hurt anyone. A true "victimless" crime. Even you don't want to reward EA for this kind of nonsense, but your solution reminds me a bit too much of this and this.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

be happy with your ignorance.

Please, just fuck off and die.

 

[Solaris]

Hmm...

Pirates upset publisher so they bring out CP that pisses off Customers.
Piracy increases as a result.
Next title they panic even more and up the CP.
Piracy increases...

Ah, I see a pattern here

 

[Araanor]

If you created something with the expectation of being compensated for it, how would you feel if people just took copies of whatever you had made instead of paying for it? What if they took what you had created, added a little bit to it and then began selling it? What if you did that for a living?

If I created something with the expectation of being compensated for it, I would probably be indignated if people made copies themselves.

But that's the thing. Why should I have the expectation to be compensated? If I make a chair, can I expect to be compensated for it? Only if I sell it. What happens when people can make chairs like yours without buying them from you? Do you get indignated?

The expectation exists because of copyright. Not the other way around.

That said, I'm not looking for the abolishment of copyright, just a reform.

Private copying, copying without a commercial purpose, should be legal. Two reasons: 1. There is no real way of enforcing copyright without breaking down the Internet as it is. 2. Copyright has an inhibiting effect on the creation of new works and the spreading of culture and knowledge.

Of course there's upsides, but I think the inhibiting effect is stronger.

Commercial copyright should remain, but with a much shorter time span. Today it is the life of the author plus 70 years. Maybe 10-20 years would be more proper.

Copying copyrighted material is a punishable offense in the United States in other countries. It may not "technically" be theft by however you want to twist the argument to make yourself feel justified, that doesn't make it any less illegal.

No, I take exception because I find it to be plainly wrong. Copying is fundamentally different from theft. Theft has its entirely own meanings and associations, by likening copying to theft you make it sound much worse than it is.

It is clearly illegal. But law does not define morality.

Not supporting something you like may be immoral, but copying by itself is harmless.

I'm an ex-pirate. I hate DRM as much as anyone but that doesn't give me the right to download something that I should be paying for. 2K lost a sale from me because of the DRM in Bioshock. EA just lost a sale from me because of this affecting Spore. If 2K and EA remove their DRM later, I'll happily go buy a copy of Bioshock and Spore, but not before then.

This is not so much about rights as it is about what is. It is easy for anyone with a computer and broadband to violate copyright, blindingly easy. It's something people do without thinking of it. You listen to a song and like it, you want to share and you send it to your friend via IM. Sharing is a very human thing.

The right, copyright, is a legal construction. It has no natural basis like property right. It's a construction mainly intended to promote the creation and spreading of arts and sciences. Do you think current copyright is the best imaginable construction to promote the arts and sciences? How much does it cost to perform "Happy Birthday" in public?

 

[miles foreman]

If you created something with the expectation of being compensated for it, how would you feel if people just took copies of whatever you had made instead of paying for it? What if they took what you had created, added a little bit to it and then began selling it? What if you did that for a living?

If I created something with the expectation of being compensated for it, I would probably be indignated if people made copies themselves.

But that's the thing. Why should I have the expectation to be compensated? If I make a chair, can I expect to be compensated for it? Only if I sell it. What happens when people can make chairs like yours without buying them from you? Do you get indignated?

The expectation exists because of copyright. Not the other way around.

That said, I'm not looking for the abolishment of copyright, just a reform.

Private copying, copying without a commercial purpose, should be legal. Two reasons: 1. There is no real way of enforcing copyright without breaking down the Internet as it is. 2. Copyright has an inhibiting effect on the creation of new works and the spreading of culture and knowledge.

Of course there's upsides, but I think the inhibiting effect is stronger.

Commercial copyright should remain, but with a much shorter time span. Today it is the life of the author plus 70 years. Maybe 10-20 years would be more proper.

Copying copyrighted material is a punishable offense in the United States in other countries. It may not "technically" be theft by however you want to twist the argument to make yourself feel justified, that doesn't make it any less illegal.

No, I take exception because I find it to be plainly wrong. Copying is fundamentally different from theft. Theft has its entirely own meanings and associations, by likening copying to theft you make it sound much worse than it is.

It is clearly illegal. But law does not define morality.

Not supporting something you like may be immoral, but copying by itself is harmless.

I'm an ex-pirate. I hate DRM as much as anyone but that doesn't give me the right to download something that I should be paying for. 2K lost a sale from me because of the DRM in Bioshock. EA just lost a sale from me because of this affecting Spore. If 2K and EA remove their DRM later, I'll happily go buy a copy of Bioshock and Spore, but not before then.

This is not so much about rights as it is about what is. It is easy for anyone with a computer and broadband to violate copyright, blindingly easy. It's something people do without thinking of it. You listen to a song and like it, you want to share and you send it to your friend via IM. Sharing is a very human thing.

The right, copyright, is a legal construction. It has no natural basis like property right. It's a construction mainly intended to promote the creation and spreading of arts and sciences. Do you think current copyright is the best imaginable construction to promote the arts and sciences? How much does it cost to perform "Happy Birthday" in public?

Again, the real crux of the matter for you is that regardless if people are creating software and selling it to make a living, you feel you have a right to partake in their labor just because it's easy to do so. Nevermind the fact that you're really just a cheap fuck who wants to justify stealing other people's work to enjoy your hobby.

Things like the happy birthday song are either part of the public domain (they were never copyrighted or their copyrights have expired) or fall under fair use. Software copying and redistribution (which is what you're doing if you use some type of torrent client) does not fall under fair use unless the EULA accompanying a distribution explicitly states that it is acceptable. You know, that wall of text you never read when installing a game? Try comparing one of those with a GNU license agreement. Typically there's a portion in there that states something like:

Any use, reproduction, modification or distribution of the Game not expressly authorized by the terms of the License Agreement is expressly prohibited.

I took the above from WoW's EULA: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/eula.html

These people aren't making games for fun. They're making games to pay their rent. Even if you never even considered paying for a game, that still does not give you the right to violate copyright.

I agree with you however that there probably need to be reformations made to copyright with regards to intellectual property. That said, disagreeing with a law doesn't grant carte blanche when it comes to downloading software. You can't just say "this law is bullshit" and then do whatever you want. I suppose since you live in Sweden that U.S. copyright laws don't mean a tinker's fart to you but for fuck's sake, have some self-respect. You know it's not right but you do it anyway.

(I could write a page more on the fact that you're not buying a copy of the software but the license to run it, but what's the point? You're not stupid, just lazy.)

 

[WalterKinde]

Considering most people dont believe in the idea that all you did was buy a license to a game/app/movie/cd when talking about media since complain about losing the storage the media was on aka disc and in most cases they will not send you a new version for free because if it is a license you should have unrestricted access to the software.
They can't have it both ways.

 

[tunguska]

These people aren't making games for fun. They're making games to pay their rent.

Well then I guess they're fucked. Maybe they should go out and get a real job doing something that genuinely sucks like washing dishes. Where is that little violin? Sorry but I don't feel sorry for them. Particularly if they are only in it for the money.

You can't just say "this law is bullshit" and then do whatever you want.

Watch us chump.

You know it's not right but you do it anyway.

Actually it is right. It's not stealing. If you don't like people "stealing" your work by making copies of it, then you had better get the fuck out of the business of peddling a bunch of zeros and ones like they're some kind of physical product. Guess what. It's not. No matter how many times you try to use a phrase like "intellectual property" it isn't property. You can't own information like you can own a car. All you can do is try to hide it, keep it a secret. But as soon as you give that information to even a single person, tell that secret, it's out and that genie ain't ever getting back into that bottle. Information wants to be free and unless you keep it to yourself that is exactly what it's going to be. No one has yet been able to create uncrackable DRM and maybe no one ever will. Deal with it. You can buy your congressman and buy all the new laws you want but you can't change the laws of nature. There's a reason why so many millions of people download cracked software and why even back in the 80s people would just trade floppies around with their friends. If all those people felt as you do, felt that it is exactly the same as stealing a physical product, most of those people woudn't do it. I don't see how your belief that it is wrong is any more valid than the millions of people who believe that it's not. When I play a pirated game, I don't see anyone who is being hurt. Yeah, they would have made an extra $50 if I had paid for a copy, but neither have they lost anything just from the fact that I played around with their little game in the privacy of my mother's basement. IMO, what they don't know about can't hurt them.

 

[Araanor]

Again, the real crux of the matter for you is that regardless if people are creating software and selling it to make a living, you feel you have a right to partake in their labor just because it's easy to do so. Nevermind the fact that you're really just a cheap fuck who wants to justify stealing other people's work to enjoy your hobby.

You're spending a lot of time inferring what a "cheap fuck" I am when I haven't once said what I actually do. Keep to the points, please.

Information is infinitely reproducible. Labor may have gone into the initial creation, but when it's done, it can be multiplied for virtually no cost. This is what makes "intellectual works" fundamentally different to actual physical objects.
Imagine a society where we had machines that could replicate anything, cars, spoons, paintings, computers, cakes - anything. You could replicate the machines too so they didn't cost anything. What would happen? Would we never see any new developments again because people were such cheap fucks they wouldn't pay for anything again?

(You're still saying "stealing". lern2ctrl+c.)

Things like the happy birthday song are either part of the public domain (they were never copyrighted or their copyrights have expired) or fall under fair use. Software copying and redistribution (which is what you're doing if you use some type of torrent client) does not fall under fair use unless the EULA accompanying a distribution explicitly states that it is acceptable. You know, that wall of text you never read when installing a game? Try comparing one of those with a GNU license agreement. Typically there's a portion in there that states something like:

Happy Birthday is owned by Warner and its copyright in the US is set to expire in 2030. The major record labels actually own 80% of all recorded music.

EULAs are of questionable legality in large parts of the world. IIRC, companies actively avoid suing as if the EULA was a contract because it might get struck down in court. They prefer to keep that air of uncertainty instead.

These people aren't making games for fun. They're making games to pay their rent. Even if you never even considered paying for a game, that still does not give you the right to violate copyright.

I agree with you however that there probably need to be reformations made to copyright with regards to intellectual property. That said, disagreeing with a law doesn't grant carte blanche when it comes to downloading software. You can't just say "this law is bullshit" and then do whatever you want. I suppose since you live in Sweden that U.S. copyright laws don't mean a tinker's fart to you but for fuck's sake, have some self-respect. You know it's not right but you do it anyway.

(I could write a page more on the fact that you're not buying a copy of the software but the license to run it, but what's the point? You're not stupid, just lazy.)

Strawman, strawman, etc.

As for "license", pay close attention to what WalterKinde wrote.

No one has yet been able to create uncrackable DRM and maybe no one ever will.

Every system is crackable. Some may be harder, but what's made by humans is ultimately crackable by humans. More effective DRM will only be more effective at screwing over customers.

 

[Norfleet]

You can't just say "this law is bullshit" and then do whatever you want.

Actually, yes, yes, you can. This is referred to as "civil disobedience". If enough people agree with the idea that the law is bullshit and refuse to obey it, it will become economically, physically, and politically untenable to try to enforce the law, and the law will then either be abolished or abandoned. There have been many such "bullshit" laws in the past, and many have ultimately been overturned because people refuse to follow them.

 

[Human Shield]

Things like the happy birthday song are either part of the public domain (they were never copyrighted or their copyrights have expired) or fall under fair use.

It is owned, that is why restaurants have to sing their own version of happy birthday to avoid paying fees.