Dead Pixel of the Week: EA and their Terrible Press Releases

Every gaming forum has a thread devoted to Hating EA for ‘ruining’ Spore. The reviews on Amazon.com are just the tip of the iceberg. EA’s addition of DRM to its recent release of Spore is a hot button topic. Some folks are laying all of the blame on pirates. I lay most of the blame on EA’s doorstep and their lackluster reaction to the backlash.

Annoying Statements regarding Spore’s DRM

EA’s press releases are becoming such a chore to read.

“EA has not changed our basic DRM copy protection system,” says corporate communications manager Mariam Sughayer. “We simply changed the copy protection method from using the physical media, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to one which uses a one-time online authentication.”[via Forbes]

Um. No. That thing about a ‘one-time online authentication process’ isn’t the whole story. EA also limited the number of installations you can perform. PC Gamers often re-install games that they’ve purchased because our PCs break down, we get new ones or we decide to start fresh and re-install everything. You wouldn’t know that from what EA has been saying. They continue to think that three installations is generous.

Of 453,048 activations of the Spore Creature Creator alone, Sughayer says, 77 percent activated on only one machine, 23 percent activated more than one, and only 1 percent of users tried to activate on more than three machines. [via Gamasutra]

I love how the rep from EA fails to note that Spore Creature Creator came out back in June of 2008. The release is only about 90 days old. What about the folks that want to re-install the game one year from purchase or two years out? The percentage of users re-activating the game would likely go up. How short-sighted can you be EA?

And don’t talk to me about being able to call up customer service for another install. A paying customer shouldn’t have to beg for an installation on a game they paid for. EA isn’t obligated to grant me a ‘fourth’ installation after I purchase the game. Notice how they fail to mention that in their press releases.

And how do I know that EA will even be a viable business in 5 years? Who will I call for my ‘extra’ installation then?

EA: We’re the New itunes!

No you’re not. Comparing music consumption to gaming is like comparing apples to oranges.

Sughayer compared Spore’s authentication to iTunes, which allows players to install and use their music on a limited number of multiple computers.

I can’t fathom how comparing Spore to an online music distribution service would make sense.

itunes is an online music distribution service. Spore is sold on a CD.
Listening to music and playing a video game are completely different experiences. This comment feeds into the perception that the management executives at EA know nothing about their audience.
The price points are completely different. Therefore, customers have different expectations. So don’t compare dropping 99 cents on a song to spending 60 dollars on a game. You’re making yourself look foolish.

I would post a piece on how EA should respond to this problem but it would just be a waste of time. It would involve this misguided company taking responsibility for its actions and recognizing that DRM hurts customers who legally purchased the game. But the problem is deeper than that. EA is clinging to a product delivery system that irks the core gaming community. Now that Spore is the #1 pirated game on the interwebs we can finally kill the idea that DRM works. It doesn’t stop pirates.

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