As Steam’s unparalleled success blazes across the charts, online game downloading is on the mind of all companies that are not already involved. As shown by the recent activity of Electronic Arts (EA) and Microsoft, more and more PC game distribution companies are jumping onto the bandwagon of online distribution.
Business, Gamer Culture, PC, Technology
Okay EA, we gamers have been criticizing you for years about re-packaging games year after year and charging full price for what, inevitably, ends up being little more than an upgrade to a game we already own. So you finally addressed that issue and lined up some really sweet, original games for this holiday season like Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, and Left 4 Dead. So it’s funny that a lot of hardcore gamers won’t be experiencing these gems thanks to your self-imposed PR nightmare: SecuROM.
Players of the PC version of Mass Effect are up in arms over the copy protection it uses, and worse, EA says the same system will be in Spore. This is the latest salvo in a year-long shootout over versions of Sony’s SecuROM product, which is getting increasingly intrusive. Each time a new version adds new restrictions, there’s a massive outcry… and then the next game comes out with an even more draconian policy. For a sense of the community’s mood, click this with care; there’s an angry guy in there.
