You Probably Didn’t Know, SecuROM Included on Dragon Age 2 Disc [Updated]
Update: It appears that initial reports about the use of secuROM were wrong. I apologise for this. It does appear though that a DRM method that was built by the same team was included on the disc. The DRM is called “Sony Release Control” and will remove itself after an initial check. The registry entries are also addressed with Bioware stating that “this part is sloppy and should be cleaned up, though. We will see about doing that in a patch.”
via:VG24/7 (Thanks Ron!)
Oh EA, you maverick, instead of simply telling people you’ve put the intrusive DRM SecuROM in your game, you’ve gone and done it without saying a word!
Even a small matter of a court order, which should have prevented EA from placing SecuROM on games without mentioning it, could stop EA from doing it anyway. No one would expect them to host a parade for the news, but not mentioning it on the box or even in the 28 page-long EULA is a very devious move.
Reclaim your Game, the consumer rights group that first found the inclusion of SecuROM, also released a report on the matter which can be read here. The report indicates a few more worrying things for people who bought the disc version: SecuROM won’t be removed when the game is uninstalled, the files are hidden and that activating Dragon Age 2 online won’t rid you of the DRM. The Steam version is unaffected by SecuROM; one more reason to use Steam, eh?
Actions like this can only serve to hurt the industry. In a time when piracy is rife and developers are looking for ways to cut down on it, how can being deceptive like this help in any way?
via: Vividgamer
Thanks for helping to spread the news about this. I had started to think that EA was past this type of behavior; sadly I was proven very wrong.
@Rebecca: Indeed, they had appeared to change their ways. I’m not the biggest fan of DA2 but this really had to be out there in as many places as possible.
They even made a big point of NOT including SecuROM prior to release. Though I own this game on PC and don’t give a crap about SecuROM as it hasn’t caused me any problems, this is still a lame move.
Wow, it’s like they’re *trying* to be dicks. I was already unsure of DA2, but this pushes it over the edge – no sale.
@Brett
You really should care about SecuROM, because it does send info to Sony – what info? Who knows… but I wouldn’t trust it. The good news is it seems from my limited testing that if you delete SecuROM from your computer, you can still run the game. But it doesn’t uninstall cleanly – you still have to manually remove some of the files.
Not DRM related but i’ve had a lot of run ins with a piece of popular software that commonly comes with PC games too; Called Pando Media Booster, this program doesn’t tell you that it has been installed, doesn’t make its presence known at all, and keeps itself well hidden unless you know what to look for, which most people won’t.
Its purpose is to help with the digital distribution of software; it acts as a sort of torrent program and seeds the software to other people. The worst part about it is that it continues to run after you have downloaded the game. It’s very intrusive and can bog down your internet connection. I’ve started making it a point to just not play any games that use it, which thankfully are mostly MMORPGs which I don’t play anyways.
Recent games i’ve ran into that use this are Lord of the Rings Online and All Points Bulletin.
Also, don’t even get me started on PunkBuster, the anti-cheat program. D: I’ve noticed a very troublesome trend in PC gaming with these 3rd party applications installing themselves without your permission and doing it in a stealth like manner so you never see them.
And to add something DRM related, anyone remember Starforce? Probably the most famous DRM software out there. This sort of thing reminds me of that.
I got the game via Steam, had some initial trouble activating the bonus content I got but it all cleared up. So far the game is incredible, I’m 6 hours in and still haven’t embarked on the first main quest.
Might wanna update this, Ben. It doesn’t:
http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/12/dragon-age-ii-does-not-use-securom-for-the-drm-says-bioware/#more-155727
@Ron Taylor: Oh geez am I ever embarrassed. Updated!
Funny how you can still pirate the game, though, whatever DRM it is.
@ron, etc.
That’s funny – because if you look for it, it is there and it is only uninstalled if you manually do so. Even with a SecuROM removal tool, some of the files have to be deleted manually….
http://vividgamer.com/2011/03/14/securom-and-dragon-age-ii-ryg-responds/
For the final time, we’ve updated our article:
http://www.reclaimyourgame.com/content.php?776-RYG-News-RYG-Declines-To-Fix-Dragon-Age-2-With-EA-and-Bioware
This should clarify all questions anyone has about this issue.