Spore (game)
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| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2008 |
| Product Type | Video Games |
| In Production | No |
| Official Website | https://www.spore.com/ |
Spore is a life simulation real-time strategy god game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2008 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
Digital Rights Management
Spore released on PC with an always-online SecuROM DRM,[1] requiring people to have an internet connection at all times despite Spore being a largely single-player experience.[2] While this modified DRM was implemented to prevent piracy, it had the opposite effect as hundreds of thousands flocked to peer to peer torrenting sites like BitTorrent to illegally download the game. Spore is 2008's most pirated game with a recorded 500,000+ downloads on BitTorrent, though this number is estimated to have risen to be in the millions.[3]
Lawsuit
Three days after EA apologized for Spore's DRM Controversy and increased the game's installation activation restrictions from 3 computers to 5,[4] a lawsuit would be brought against the company for quietly installing the SecuROM DRM onto the computers of anyone who had installed Spore without their explicit knowledge and without an easy removal process.[5]
References
- ↑ Masnick, Mike (8 May 2008). "EA To Use Controversial Internet-Required DRM On New Games". techdirt. Archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022. Retrieved 12 Aug 2025.
- ↑ Heater, Brian (5 Sep 2009). "Spore". PCMag. Archived from the original on 28 Apr 2024. Retrieved 12 Aug 2025.
- ↑ Van der Sar, Ernesto (13 Sep 2008). "Spore: Most Pirated Game Ever Thanks to DRM". torrentfreak.com. Archived from the original on 15 Nov 2025. Retrieved 12 Aug 2008.
- ↑ Schonfeld, Erick (14 Sep 2008). "Spore And The Great DRM Backlash". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 15 Sep 2008. Retrieved 12 Aug 2025.
- ↑ Milian, Mark (25 Sep 2008). "Spore SecuROM copy protection system draws lawsuit". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 5 Sep 2022. Retrieved 12 Aug 2025.