TD Gaming Podcast 93: The M.I.T Gang

This weeks Gaming Podcast comes out a bit early due to some travel plans and an upcoming trip to Popcap’s Bejeweled Twist launch party. This week in the news we took a look at:

We also take a look back at Pitfall! and cover yet another DRM issue on our soapbox, asking the question, is online gaming the DRM of the future? Our history segment does a bit of history on Popcap games.

Our NFS: Carbon and Saints Row contest has ended, the gang names are in, and we’re giving away the games to the winner. Next, we’re going to give away Project Gotham Racing 4.

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EA’s Spore Spawns Class Action LawsuitEA’s Spore Spawns Class Action Lawsuit

As most folks expected, Electronic Arts use of the SecuROM trojan install has sparked up a little class action lawsuit against the publisher. At first, EA thought they could just bump the total installs from three to five to make gamers happy, but they’re out for blood.

With an amazon rating of 1.5 stars and 2900+ ratings, it’s obvious that people are not happy with the security system used by Electronic Arts for this title. Forbes mentions how pirated the game has become since the DRM news went hot and pirates are touting to download it for free to make your “voice” heard. Legally, you can make your voice heard by setting up a class action lawsuit and so it begins!

“Although consumers are told the game uses access control and copy protection technology, consumers are not told that this technology is actually an entirely separate, stand-alone program which will download, install, and operate on their computer,” read the complaint. “Once installed, it becomes a permanent part of the consumer’s software portfolio. Even if the consumer uninstalls Spore, and entirely deletes it from their computer, SecurROM remains a fixture on their computer unless and until the consumer completely wipes their hard drive through reformatting or replacement of the drive.” (gamespot)

It seems everything boils down to the how EA went about protecting their assets. Nobody faults the publisher for trying to keep their products out of the hands of pirates. The pure fact that EA has chosen to install separate products that snoop on your operations and can malfunction your system is the hart hitting point. Rubbing it in worse, pirates had the game broken and free to download prior to the release of Spore in the US.

Although the license agreement will state the product uses a digital rights management technique, it fails to explain the details of the SecuROM’s stealth install and inability to remove itself without wiping the hard disk.

The suit accuses EA of “intentionally” hiding the fact Spore uses the SecurROM.

Gaming Podcast 131: An Inner Ear ProblemGaming Podcast 131: An Inner Ear Problem

We’re back! This week we’re hitting some fun news articles and kicking it back with a little gaming flashback about Columns. We also break the news about our brand new console that we purchased last week before vacation and touch on KOEI in our gaming history. This weeks news includes:

This weeks question, we’re wondering what your break point is for purchasing a console or a video game, is there a magic number where you finally break down to buy it?

Episode 385: Beginning of the EndEpisode 385: Beginning of the End

This podcast marks the beginning of the end of Paul’s tenure as a regular co-host, as he will be leaving at the milestone episode 400. He and Jonah both bemoan the loss of last week’s taping, as it had laughter, tears, outrage and a long comic book conversation, but this episode more than makes up for it with items that make Paul squee.

The news includes:

  • Portal, Doctor Who, The Simpsons and more confirmed for Lego Dimensions
  • Report: Xbox One 60fps game DVR capture goes live
  • Nintendo partners with Universal Parks to create themed rides and attractions
  • Microsoft teases big Rare reveal at E3

All this and some nifty Listener Feedback.