Spore customers lash out at DRM, sabotage Amazon score

Customers feeling burned by the anti-piracy measures in the long-awaited PC game Spore have decided to take out their frustrations on Amazon, utilizing the review feature to tear the game to shreds for its “draconian” DRM and “dumbed down” gameplay.

Spore’s DRM has been accused of eating up too much RAM, causing slowdown. Consumers are also outraged that they can only install the game three times before having to deal with EA’s customer support. One reviewer called Spore a rental, pointing out that EA had total control over the title’s use:

EA, of course, is not obligated to grant you that extra activation or even provide that service. In a couple of years they might very well even shut down the general activation servers, because “it’s not financially feasible” to keep them running. What you will be left with is a nice, colorful $50 coaster. And you will be required to pay for another copy/license if you want to continue playing.

This basically means that you are actually RENTING the game, instead of owning it. The game WILL stop to function in the future. That’s inevitable, because even if EA keeps the activation servers going, there IS going to be a time when EA will simply cease to exist because of financial issues or federal laws (like most business eventually do). 

At the time of writing, Spore has an average Amazon review score of 1.5 out of 5. Of the forty people who reviewed it, thirty-three have given it one star, compared to the two who gave it five. Those five-star reviews, for reference, were posted in 2006 before the game was even out. Looks like Electronic Arts has a revolt on its hands, and not even Will Wright’s charming little face can smooth this one over.