The
Mass Effect Community Forums offer a post from BioWare community
manager Jay Watamaniuk called
Official BioWare/EA Response to DRM Discussion that follows up on discontent
over plans to require online authentication every ten days for Mass Effect
(
story) with word they are scrapping this unpopular plan for one
that requires a single online authentication (thanks
Gamer's Hell).
Update: Word
on
Kotaku
is this change applies to
Spore, as well. The post includes a FAQ on the
topic, along with this announcement:
There has been a lot of discussion
in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC
will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect
will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.
BioWare has always listened very closely to its fans and we made this decision
to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience to them. To all the
fans including our many friends in the armed services and internationally who
expressed concerns that they would not be able re-authenticate as often as
required, EA and BioWare want you to know that your feedback is important to us.
The solution being implemented for Mass Effect for the PC changes copy
protection from being key disc based, which requires authentication every time
you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to a one time online
authentication.
This system has an added benefit of allowing players to seamlessly play the game
without needing the DVD in the drive.
Key points---
•This solution allows gamers to authenticate their game on three different
computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to
supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a
case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.
• Games are authorized to the machine when the player installs and launches the
software for the first time.
• We’ve all had those times when the discs get lost or scratched and you can’t
play a game you’ve bought because you need a working disc in the drive. With the
new system players will no longer need the disc to play the game, but can
instead simply retain the disc as back up for re-installation.
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