The freshly-launched Spore video game that lets people play God has been hit with a lawsuit accusing its publisher of slipping devilish anti-piracy software onto players’ machines.

The lawsuit filed this week in a federal court in Northern California contends that players weren’t warned about tenacious digital rights management (DRM) software that stays in computers even if game programs are removed.

Spore publisher Electronic Arts told buyers that there are anti-piracy safeguards but didn’t advise people the SecuROM program it used “is essentially a virus that installs itself without warning,” the lawsuit alleges.

The DRM software attaches itself to the “command and control centers” of computers and can track activities, block certain operations and even disrupt hardware, according to the suit filed this week.

A US woman was named as the plaintiff in the lawsuit, which is seeking class action status to represent all Spore buyers.

The filing demands a jury trial and wants Electronic Arts forced to pay unspecified damages as well as turn over money it has made from Spore, which went on sale in Europe, Asia, Australia and the US this month.

Electronic Arts said it does not discuss pending litigation.

http://www.infowars.com/?p=6234

I hope this helps teach publishers that DRM is more trouble then it's worth. The few companies that have sold games without any DRM or copy protection have proven that games sell just as well without the junk.

The T-virus from Resident Evils??
Omg....I hear something....Staars?

Once again big companies don't get it...

Whether you like piracy or hate piracy it should be abundantly clear that DRMS neither works nor helps your cause in any way. It's bypassed by the real pirates and then you anger the public when it effects a legitimate owner and everyone finds out that you basically installed a virus on their computer...a virus they apparently paid for......

I'm probably going to wipe my machine now, seriously FU EA, I'm getting really tired of this BS and the more they do this the more I actually want to see their shit pirated.

And I was already dissapointed with the game....now this?

/end rant

I'm starting to feel really good about giving Spore a miss.

How can such large and successful corporations be so oblivious to the fact that DRM is hindering sales of their games? It makes it no more difficult to pirate their games and yet it drives away many prospective buyers. How many times have I pirated a game that I was willing to pay for due to the DRM attached to the legitimate copy? It all just blows my mind.

They should have just used CD keys... Sure games get hacked and I am pretty sure Spore has been hacked (more than just sure) even with this bs "protection". Make a good product and most people will probably buy it if they like the company and game.

Well that just sucks, So does that mean every Copy of Spore infects your computer.

You may want to re-open your rant to include the highly dubious legality of any program that limits how many times you, the legitimate purchaser, may install it. I seriously want someone to challenge that law in court, because I'm pretty sure it violates several laws...

Right on! I hope this becomes a victory for Non-DRM .. uh..wanters. Like me!