SimCity. Always on DRM example of failure.

AS much as I don't want to admit this article on IGN is very well written. It explains everything with this problem EA are having

Some of the chat logs on EA support are horrible, a user wanted a refund on his SimCity game because it's technically a 'fraudulent' transaction. As the advertised product doesn't work, the user's copy of SimCity was digital - Origin has preloaded it for him. Long story short, he can't get a refund from EA. So he replied saying he'll request a chargeback on his credit card, EA threatened him with a ban from his Origin account - loosing access of $100s of dollars worth of games.

This story is spreading like wild fire around the internet, on various forums and game article sites, do some Googling and you'll be slapping your face in confusion.
It's a great EXAMPLE that Always on DRM DOES NOT WORK and is NOT a solution for piracy.

 

Just bought the game a hour ago, hope I dont get server downtime when I want to play tonight :/

PS Man it was expensive R399 for a physical copy thats like $44 for the standard version not limited edition or with any DLC :/ but I guess thats the price I have to pay for a physical version...

So will have to buy the Heroes VS Villains dlc...

 

Not everyone can log on apparently. So it's kinda a shady area if you'll be able to play it or not. I WANT to buy the game, but they're being cunts about it honestly. EA just don't care, they got the cash now and that's it.

Depending on which country customers are from, you might be able to get a refund. Australians are lucky, when it comes to refunds.

 

Well we have the consumer act here, so if it isnt "fit for purpose" I can take it back for a refund within 7 days or 6 months if I dont open it ,but I am not going to do that, will rather just wait it out.

Initially I was going to boycott it, but to be honest I thought about it last night , and it doesnt make sense, as so many other users will buy it, besides if it doesnt work I can go bitch about it in the origin forums or to EA South Africa (or atleast there distributor), and be heard that way.

Allso I hope no one gets the non-digital version and a sealed one becomes super rare lol /JK not going to happen

Edit: PS Maybe hell freezes over and EA releases a patch for offline play to combat there server problems

 

I installed my SimCity copy last night, or rather it opened Origin for me and had me type in the serialnumber before I was able to install.... through Origin. When the install was done I had to go through 3-4 restarts of the game because of patching and then when I finally was able to play, I thought, this appeared



About 30 mins or so later I finally was able to play the game. After a few hours I quit but then decided to play a bit more, only to find that all servers were full....

This has got to be the worst launch I've experienced, EA has broken SimCity.... thanks! :-(

 

That is just a joke. It's like EA is ran by a group of Chimps.

 

FUCK EA!!

 

Always-on DRM is just the latest way to fuck paying PC customers up the ass, while the people who pirate the game ironically be able to play it better than the ones who actually bought it. Making intrusive DRM is a big waste of time and effort for companies to annoy their customers, since there will never be an uncrackable DRM anyway, everything will get cracked at some point.

 

Looks like I won't be playing Simcity today either.... this is such a joke...

 

Why did they think this was a good idea? I bet everyone at Maxis is running around the office with their pants around their ankles.

 

EA...

 

Latest update from Maxis:

Mar 07, 2013
Kip Katsarelis, Senior Producer

You, the(cough..suckers) fans, are important to us. It’s why we got into games (plus loads of money) and it’s because of you that we here at Maxis were able to complete our dream of making another SimCity. This has been an exciting week for us, but as you know there have been some bumps along the way(we completely f*cked up). We want to shed light on one of the most significant issues that we are facing right now, as well as the steps we’re taking to resolve them so that we can provide you with an enjoyable experience.
Server capacity is our biggest obstacle. We launched in North America on Tuesday and our servers filled up within a matter of hours. What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn’t want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join(put blame on gamers, deflect responsibility). We added more servers to accommodate the launch in Australia and Japan, and then more yesterday to accommodate the launch in Europe. As of right now, we are adding even more servers which will be going live over the next three days. And, our plan is to continue to bring more servers online until we have enough to meet the demand, increase player capacity and let more people through the gates and into the game(cause they like paid for it and stuff).
Earlier today, we released a patch that temporarily cut off some features including leaderboards, achievements and Cheetah Speed to reduce data stress on the servers and effectively free up space so that we can let more people into the game(through this action, we mutilated the game to cover our mistakes). These are great features that we’re proud of and we’ll turn them back on soon, but our number one priority is to bring stability to our servers(keep the peasants from rioting) This update also resolved some of the bugs and issues that have been frustrating players. You can read all about it at http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9341807.page
We will be posting regularly to keep you up to speed on developments, so please check back for updates. We are committed to doing everything we can to deliver a stable and enjoyable experience and we thank you for your continued patience and support(yeah, because you ain't getting a refund anyways, suckers)
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Since EA is playing mafia and refusing refunds without destroying your gaming account, here is a new petition for EA to offer an honest refund. EA's business tactics are sh*t.

http://www.change.org/petitions/electronic-arts-100-refund-for-sim-city-2013


Edit: Quoting Kip's assurances above: "What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn’t want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join." Yes, it was the gamer's fault for not wanting to leave the game. How selfish of those gamers, wanting to play a product they purchased. It couldn't be because we are inept. You'd think that they would have server space for every product that goes retail to ensure structural soundness. This is unbelievably unprofessional and the weak excuse above, shoving the responsibility into the gamer's lap is cynical.


Edit2: Gets more surreal. Over at the EA forums for Simcity, EA was banning forum accounts of people who are talking about or asking for a refund.

 

You, the fans, are important to us. That's why we're fucking you over with DRM. Here's a generic PR bullshit letter generated by some cynical bastard!

 

Signed. I bought the copy locally (24 hours Walmart FTW) and I have YET to get on to play. Oops, Windows decided to stealth-download and install update, restarting my PC and kicked me back to the end of the line. Still waiting...

I'd be a lot happier if I had flushed a $50 bill in the toilet than to spend it on something that I can't do anything.

 

has anybody tried an open source sim city clone yet? It seems like something people would play.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21712910
"like many current games, demand players stay online as they play."

Fuck off. It's not many at all. Hate the BBC, corrupt assholes are trying to make out like its here and widespread and we should just deal with it.

 

What sucks is the amount of people who are competent developers and might lose jobs because EA has forced them to pump out really shitty games.

Really hope most of EA's studios get picked up at the inevitable sale.

 

The only thing I like about EA is DICE.

What does this new Sim City bring to the table? Just online play? Why not just keep (or start) playing 4? (Or, it's not the same, but OpenTTD is pretty fun.)

 

EA - Have the shit midas touch anything they touch turns to shit at the moment. Poor Maxis copping this flack for some poor EA decisions whatever the outcome I hope Maxis and EA make another sim city but this time done right.

This is an abuse of DRM because most of the files needed to play the game would be server side and not on the disk. A net conection to verify the game would of been enough but no EA decided to make the most of it.

Most people dont have good enough net connections to verify a game let alone play one on it!

Everyone has to use the our (Origin) servers and they can close em when we like and you cant do two shits about it and have a worthless game in about 2 years time which you cant resell or even give away!

DRM done wrong is the death of gaming.