BioWare really, really doesn’t want you to steal Mass Effect
May 8th, 2008 by Colin Temple
Of course, no video game company wants pirated copies of their games, but BioWare is taking anti-piracy to the next level.
The company says that in order to avoid losing revenue on the PC copy of the game, a number of security measures will be taken. These include:
- A standard CD key will be issued with each disc
- Each copy of the game can only be activated three times. After three activations, you’ll need to call customer service in order to activate your game on a new or reformatted PC.
- The game will also verify itself online every ten days, ensuring that the activation was valid and the game is not being played on too many systems.
It seems that the only measure EA and BioWare aren’t taking is forcing you to keep the game’s DVD in your drive. The game will, kindly, play without it.
The measures are an effort to ensure that piracy doesn’t eat into the potential profits from the game. This comes after notorious piracy of the game Crysis is causing publishers to seriously question the PC as a gaming platform.
PC games offer potentially higher capabilities in terms of technology, but the ease of piracy on an open platform can have an impact on sales. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before someone manages to crack it all open and Mass Effect shows up on the torrent sites.
All I can say is this: It’s a good game, and it’s worth paying for.
#1 mandrill
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:57 am
This is no longer the case, after a huge outcry from gamers on the forums EA have decided that Mass Effect will only do the online thing once for each install. You’ll still only be able to install it three times though.
#2 Colin Temple
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 am
Good stuff.
That seems to be EA’s pattern lately — propose some idea that will boost their profits at the expense of their customers, and eventually cave when everyone gets mad and proposes boycotts. Case-in-point: Paid weapons and equipment in Battlefield: Bad Company.