MTV Multiplayer contacted Electronic Arts to follow up on four major
complaints about the SecuROM digital rights management in
Spore; that it
is limited to installation on three computers, that the DRM has some sort of
spyware functionality, that only one Spore account can be created in spite of
the manual saying otherwise, and the need for authentication every time online
features are used leaves users vulnerable if those services are ever shut down.
EA once again categorically states that Spore contains no spyware or malware
(though they've found virus-infected copies on torrents) and repeats the
explanation that manual was in error about being able to create multiple
accounts (
story). They also promise to patch the game to
eliminate online authentication if they ever take the authentication servers
offline and state they plan to release a patch in the "near future" to allow a
game installations to be de-authorized so authorizations can be freed up to
install the game on other machines. Perhaps most interesting are the questions
that went unanswered, as EA declined to comment on their view of the legitimacy
of these complaints about the DRM and if the DRM being handled differently for
Red Alert 3 (
story) signals their policies are shifting on
this issue.