Sometimes the old ways are the best. That, at least, seems to be the reasoning behind game maker Electronic Arts’ decision to switch back to the old serial copy code protection for the next version of The Sims, rather than use Digital Rights Management (DRM).
The company rain into a hailstorm of criticism last year when DRM limited users to just three installations of Spore. In a blog posting, The Sims division head, Ron Humble, said:
"The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a serial code, just like The Sims 2."
"To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed."
"We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution, that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future."
However, that doesn’t mean EA is completely abandoning DRM. Spokesperson Tiffany Steckler told the BBC:
"There is always going to be a level of protection for games and this solution [DRM free] is right for The Sims 3.”
"How these things roll out in the future will be down to the developers and we will make announcements in due course."
