"Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced Command & Conquer™ Red Alert™ 3 Commander’s Challenge, a new console gaming experience for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network from the storied Command & Conquer franchise."
@Mcmax3000:
hmmm... I was hoping it would be just an add-on to the game so that there could have been 250 added achievement points and already owning the full game would have felt more rewarding. I guess having it available to a bigger audience is better for them. Oh EA and their monies.
Stand alone actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Its why I've been getting the "If TF2 gets a 360 update like they're still working on, itll probably be an XBLA title" vibe as well.
Think about it. They can not only sell this Commanders Challenge to people who already own the game, but also the people who already traded it/sold it too, since its standalone. And maybe if someone buys this and really likes it (hey, lets take a chance, its ten bucks) they'll go out and buy the full game.
I, for one, think this approach was brilliant. Taking a piece of advice from the PC standalone expansion idea.
Sounds good. I stopped playing this towards the end of the Soviet Campaign. Need to get back into it. This seems like a good excuse to get back in the habit.
Good price. I think that EA really have a good handle on DLC.
@Fallible: Maybe so, but it doesn't ship as standard, and makes it a much more expensive way of playing a game that in actuality isn't that demanding on the PC platform.
@Gofthick: Doubtful. Consoles don't require upgrading every few months in order to play the most recent titles, in the long-run it's a far cheaper way to experience high-end gaming.
That said, almost everyone has a computer these days, ergo the problem of having to buy another keyboard and mouse is almost moot.
@Fallible: Wait... what? Keyboard and mouse works on ALL games? -_- that whole time I coulda been playing LBP with a mouse and keyboard? How do you get it to work, or is this a game only feature like it was for Unreal Tournament.
The install limit aspect of DRM'd games is getting more reasonable. But it has NEVER BEEN the worst part of DRM!
Am I the only one who's really, really bothered by the fact that SecuROM blacklists legitimate software? Between that, the slient install, and the high-level access granted to a piece of software you can't monitor, DRM has more problems than an install limit - And no one seems to care about those issues, for some reason.
Most software that can be used for illegitimate purposes has legitimate uses as well.
Let's take a big one: drive emulation software such as Daemon Tools.
Let's say I author DVDs and DVD-ROMs for a living - every time I make a modification to the disc image I should have to spend 10 minutes burning another disc? No, I'll mount the image and see how the autoplay starts and play it through common DVD software and so on.
Of course, if I have such software most DRM will choke and not let me play. So, what, I should have to either burn discs all the time or boot to a separate OS whenever I want to play?
Besides, DRM deciding which software is and isn't legitimate to prevent infringement is a slippery slope. DRM could someday well decide that if you have Photoshop installed, that would permit you to edit screenshots and infringe the publisher's copyright by claiming it as your own work or some other random bullshit.
What software I use on my PC for my purposes is my business and unless publishers are willing to print what the DRM scans for on the box itself where I can see it before I buy their software, they have no business telling me where I can and can't install my license.
Software costing thousands of dollars like 3dsmax and XSI don't bloody well do this crap.
Let's say you have just modified your hardware (graphics card or other) and the game views it as an entirely new machine. Let's say that it pushes you over the 5-installation limit.
In order to play the game, you'd need to uninstall, de-authorise the very computer you're playing on, and reinstall? It's almost funny...
@Antiterra: No...that's not how it works according to what is printed above. An installation can be authorized or not authorized...obviously the former will work fine, the latter will not. What this does is allow you to deauthorize unique installs. So if you just changed your hardware and reinstalled...if it's enough to take up another authorization...that is another unique install. Which means no..in their system you wouldn't be deauthorizing the install you are playing on...you would be deauthorizing the previous install (which with this system doesn't require uninstallation...it simply is no longer authorized to be played until it is reauthorized) which you did away with when you reinstalled.
The point is: there are many hardware modifications that don't entail a reinstallation of the OS or game. If changing the graphics card or overclocking the CPU were enough to make the game "think" that it's being run on a new system, then the "previous" installation that you'd unauthorise would be the exact same one you're going to play, and you'd play it on the same - albeit slightly modified - computer. That's the part I find funny, that's all. It's not meant to be a comment on DMRs or anything else...
That DRM removal tool is all well and good if we can do a CONTROLLED UNINSTALL. If a hard drive, windows installation, motherboard, etc. fails in an uncontrolled fashion we have still burned an installation credit with no means of retrieval unless of course you count calling Customer (dis)service and begging to use the product that you paid for as a means of retrieval. NOT GOOD.
DRM in its current form just needs to go away. Stardock with Impulse and Valve with Steam have it figured out. EA (and Rockstar) can continue not getting any of my hard earned ducats. Damn shame too. First RA game I have passed on and I will cry tears of rage if I have to pass on a Bioware RPG (Dragon Age) thanks to this EA DRM nonsense.
@NTC-Brendan: While I completely agree with you, the DRM on RA3 isn't really that bad. They're the first game I've seen to release a de-auth tool so quickly. I'm still fucked with my copy of Crysis Warhead.
@NTC-Brendan: Exactly. The only DRM that actually WORKS is Steam, and Impulse (though I personally haven't tried it). You can install it was many times as you want, though you can only play it on one machine at a time. And, at least with Steam, I don't know about Impulse, it is impossible to pirate. Other DRM schemes, like secuROM, are merely annoying. They can be cracked a few days after release, or in the case of Spore, a few days BEFORE release.
@stickcult: Steam isn't impossible to pirate. It's just more difficult. And I personally wouldn't want to fuck around with my authentic account there, so I wouldn't even consider pirating a Steam exclusive game. But I have seen many torrents for it.
Err, ever thought about altering a GPU or heck, even a HD made make it think it's "another computer"? From experience and telling these DRM schemes are so sensitive to PC configuration change it makes Windows own implementation seem hardly worth mentioning.
No, this is for that 2% (bullshit percentage grab out of thin air) amount of people who like to upgrade and alter there PC a lot.
@stoutbear: Because they think that somehow it stops piracy, but it doesn't it just makes their core consumers frustrated so they have to either tweak it or get rid of it.
@Gilla: It doesn't remove the DRM. All it does is allow you to have another install if you need it. Which would be nice for me to have in Crysis Warhead, because apparently I've hit my limit (I installed it on XP and Vista for testing, and I've swapped in a new videocard and overclocked the CPU, which apparently means I've installed the game 4 times, and I can't play it unless I crack it. (And as a side note, it gave me a lovely message when it refuses to play: [s220.photobucket.com]
I love how they automatically assume that I need to buy another license. So glad that RA3 will remove that problem if I come across it. I shouldn't have to crack legally purchased games.
08/14/09
08/14/09
08/14/09
[news.ea.com]
"Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced Command & Conquer™ Red Alert™ 3 Commander’s Challenge, a new console gaming experience for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network from the storied Command & Conquer franchise."
The XBLA Achievement list has already been found:
[www.xbox360achievements.org]
08/14/09
hmmm... I was hoping it would be just an add-on to the game so that there could have been 250 added achievement points and already owning the full game would have felt more rewarding. I guess having it available to a bigger audience is better for them. Oh EA and their monies.
08/14/09
Stand alone actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Its why I've been getting the "If TF2 gets a 360 update like they're still working on, itll probably be an XBLA title" vibe as well.
Think about it. They can not only sell this Commanders Challenge to people who already own the game, but also the people who already traded it/sold it too, since its standalone. And maybe if someone buys this and really likes it (hey, lets take a chance, its ten bucks) they'll go out and buy the full game.
I, for one, think this approach was brilliant. Taking a piece of advice from the PC standalone expansion idea.
08/14/09
08/14/09
Good price. I think that EA really have a good handle on DLC.
08/14/09
...what's the big idea here then?
08/14/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
It sells itself.
01/21/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
01/21/09
That said, almost everyone has a computer these days, ergo the problem of having to buy another keyboard and mouse is almost moot.
01/21/09
Yes I know the M/KB works for the browser.
01/21/09
12/07/08
Am I the only one who's really, really bothered by the fact that SecuROM blacklists legitimate software? Between that, the slient install, and the high-level access granted to a piece of software you can't monitor, DRM has more problems than an install limit - And no one seems to care about those issues, for some reason.
12/07/08
and which bits of legitimate software would these be?
12/07/08
Most software that can be used for illegitimate purposes has legitimate uses as well.
Let's take a big one: drive emulation software such as Daemon Tools.
Let's say I author DVDs and DVD-ROMs for a living - every time I make a modification to the disc image I should have to spend 10 minutes burning another disc? No, I'll mount the image and see how the autoplay starts and play it through common DVD software and so on.
Of course, if I have such software most DRM will choke and not let me play. So, what, I should have to either burn discs all the time or boot to a separate OS whenever I want to play?
Besides, DRM deciding which software is and isn't legitimate to prevent infringement is a slippery slope. DRM could someday well decide that if you have Photoshop installed, that would permit you to edit screenshots and infringe the publisher's copyright by claiming it as your own work or some other random bullshit.
What software I use on my PC for my purposes is my business and unless publishers are willing to print what the DRM scans for on the box itself where I can see it before I buy their software, they have no business telling me where I can and can't install my license.
Software costing thousands of dollars like 3dsmax and XSI don't bloody well do this crap.
12/07/08
In order to play the game, you'd need to uninstall, de-authorise the very computer you're playing on, and reinstall? It's almost funny...
12/07/08
How is this difficult for everyone to understand?
12/07/08
The point is: there are many hardware modifications that don't entail a reinstallation of the OS or game. If changing the graphics card or overclocking the CPU were enough to make the game "think" that it's being run on a new system, then the "previous" installation that you'd unauthorise would be the exact same one you're going to play, and you'd play it on the same - albeit slightly modified - computer. That's the part I find funny, that's all. It's not meant to be a comment on DMRs or anything else...
12/07/08
That DRM removal tool is all well and good if we can do a CONTROLLED UNINSTALL. If a hard drive, windows installation, motherboard, etc. fails in an uncontrolled fashion we have still burned an installation credit with no means of retrieval unless of course you count calling Customer (dis)service and begging to use the product that you paid for as a means of retrieval. NOT GOOD.
DRM in its current form just needs to go away. Stardock with Impulse and Valve with Steam have it figured out. EA (and Rockstar) can continue not getting any of my hard earned ducats. Damn shame too. First RA game I have passed on and I will cry tears of rage if I have to pass on a Bioware RPG (Dragon Age) thanks to this EA DRM nonsense.
12/07/08
12/07/08
12/07/08
12/07/08
No, this is for that 2% (bullshit percentage grab out of thin air) amount of people who like to upgrade and alter there PC a lot.
12/07/08
12/07/08
12/07/08
12/07/08
I love how they automatically assume that I need to buy another license. So glad that RA3 will remove that problem if I come across it. I shouldn't have to crack legally purchased games.
12/07/08
12/07/08