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You know that EA doesn’t make games, they publish them, i.e. if you’re playing a good game, it’s, generally speaking, the blood, sweat and tears of the developing studio. If the game gets bundled with DRM or SecuROM, it’s the publisher pulling the strings. The aim of this boycott is removing the later for the sake of preserving, or even improving, the former. What I’m saying is: e.g. Red Alert 3 is not a bad game, but I shouldn’t have to have internet access in order to install it.
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- OBJECTIVE
- Electronic Arts (EA) to remove DRM and SecuROM
- TERMS
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If we reach at least 15,000 people, then boycott all products released by EA and its respective associates.
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- THE PITCH
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The publisher Electronic Arts (EA) currently publishes its games bundled with Digital Rights Management (DRM) software and SecuROM copy-protection rootkits. The aim of said programs is to prevent software piracy and thus raise EA’s sales.
This leads to the following problems:
- The DRM software, applied by EA, requires online activation in order to use the software. This can result in:
— inability to install the game without internet access
— inability to install the game in the future, should the activation servers prove to be unprofitable and taken offline
— inability to install the game after a specified number of installations, should the EA customer support be unreachable
— EA’s ability to revoke the user’s right to install the game completely
- SecuROM is known to create vulnerabilities in system security and can lead to wider spread of malicious software
- Increased software piracy, due to the user’s unwillingness to compromise his/her system - ORGANIZER
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Recent Discussion
I was going to buy Mass Effect from the website Amazon. Heard a lot of great things about the game, but one bad thing I heard about it was the 3 install SecuROM. I did not want any part of that.
Well instead of ordering and paying for the game like I had intended, I downloaded the game off a website and am playing it for free.
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Is this intended to cover all EA products, regardless of platform, or just products for the PC since they’re the only ones that come with SecuROM?
Last 3 replies
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Paul F replied on Oct 16, 2008Good question…It seems the negative publicity from the Amazon 1 star rating campaign to other titles like Fallout 3 having only nominal DRM included has add the pressure on EA games to lessen up a bit. With all of this pressure, I’d feel comfortable letting each person decide whether they are voting the range of EA products or just the PC platform.
What do others think?
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Loen Harvest replied on Oct 17, 2008Boycott all products released by EA and its respective associates.
It certainly says all products, doesn’t it?
It defeats the purpose if we still end up paying them all the same through console sales. The only thing EA seems to care about right now and the main power we as consumers have is our wallets. Let them feel our dissastisfaction.
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Anonymous replied on Oct 22, 2008As Leon has already pointed out, all products. If the problem was one of EA’s studios it’d be one thing, but in this case, specifically, we’re dealing with a problem that emerges from EA in general.
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Girard Gibbs LLP is looking for names of customers who’ve purchased EA Games containing SecuROM. Visit their website for more info.
Here is the description of what they are doing pulled from their website.
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Girard Gibbs LLP is currently investigating complaints that certain Electronic Arts computer games, including Spore, Sims 2 expansion packs, Need for Speed, Medal of Honor, and Command and Conquer, automatically install an undisclosed Digital Rights Management program (DRM) called SecuROM on users’ computers. DRM is a form of technology that is used to protect copyrighted material by restricting the consumer’s ability to copy or distribute it.
Some consumers complain that SecuROM, which they are unable to uninstall, disrupts the operation of their computers by interfering with other software, such as anti-virus programs.
If you have purchased Electronic Arts’ computer games, or would like to learn more about the SecuROM investigation, please fill out the form.
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For those interested, there’s a similar campaign to promote DRM free music here.
I figure the two movements have similar goals. Read on:
bq. Online music stores are forced by the major record labels to use DRM to restrict the usage of music purchased and downloaded online…Consumers are happy to pay for their downloaded music but then want the freedom to play that music on the various devices that they own (iPod, MP3 player, PDA, cell phone and computer). DRM makes this difficult if not impossible.
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