The release of Electronic Arts Spore with the much maligned SecureROM anti-piracy system drew mass criticism from users on the Internet. Many forum posters complained about the restrictive DRM requirements and the average customer review of the game on Amazon.com as of this writing is 1.5 stars out of 5. Many of the reviews complain about problems installing the game and reaching activation servers in order to play the game. Others complain about the limit to the number of allowed installs.
According to an EA spokesman, EA has not changed their copy protection system from the method used in previous games, like Mass Effect, except for changing “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”.
SecureROM and other anti-piracy devices are popular with publishers but make many users feel maligned and mistreated. According to an article on Forbes.com spore is being downloaded on peer to peer sharing sites at a never before seen rate. Some users claim that they will download the pirate version of the game instead of purchasing one as a protest against EAs use of draconian DRM policies.
