Sims 3 - Epic Fail for EA [Archive] - SUBSIM Radio Room Forums

Onkel Neal

06-03-09, 07:47 AM

My daughter saved her money to buy this game, we loaded it and cannot play it, getting a disk authentication failure. :o Sweet. Checked the EA Sims 3 forum, LOTS of people with the same problem. (http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/594.page)

What's distrurbing, many of these people claim to be buying a second copy of the game, either from a store or a digital download, in a frantic effort to get their Sims fix. I hate to see a company rewarded with increased sales due to a showstopper like this.

Fincuan

06-03-09, 08:14 AM

Way to go EA :down:

I'm sorry for the trouble and disappointment they caused to you and your daughter, but I'm certainly not sorry for the company. Judging by the forums they might indeed have slight problems with the copy protectoion...

edit: A-ha, it looks like this is yet another DRM-problem that can be solved with a no-cd crack. Link is in the thread linked above, page three.

HunterICX

06-03-09, 08:19 AM

A fine example when Copy protection doesn't hurt the pirates, only the paying customers.

HunterICX

Oberon

06-03-09, 08:35 AM

Ah, EA will they ever learn?

(rhetorical question)

Dowly

06-03-09, 08:36 AM

Haha, EA really is an unique company when it comes to finding ways to piss off their customers. :har:

Raptor1

06-03-09, 08:38 AM

The stupidity of EA continues...

ajrimmer42

06-03-09, 08:38 AM

One of them situations where downloading the game from a torrent site is a lot less messing about than buying it lol :arrgh!:

:nope:

Not that I'm condoning illegal downloads mind you.

Onkel Neal

06-03-09, 08:55 AM

Yeah. Major screwup by EA, Sims is one of their best revenue generators, and they are not making any visible efforts to address it. :hmmm:

FIREWALL

06-03-09, 10:15 AM

EA's not stupid we are. :nope:

Raptor1

06-03-09, 10:41 AM

EA's not stupid we are. :nope:

EA is stupid, they're taking advantage of similarly stupid people and the rest of us have to suffer

I'm sure profits would be a lot higher for EA if they did not have the DRM, as Hunter pointed out, the only people it's hurting are the paying customers

FIREWALL

06-03-09, 10:43 AM

EA is stupid, they're taking advantage of similarly stupid people and the rest of us have to suffer

I'm sure profits would be a lot higher for EA if they did not have the DRM, as Hunter pointed out, the only people it's hurting are the paying customers

Sorry that you don't have a clue. :nope:

Dowly

06-03-09, 11:27 AM

Well, please enlighten us Firewall. ;)

Tachyon

06-03-09, 01:05 PM

Guess how much it will cost to purchase all the items for TS3 from the EA store? 275$. That's right, Two Hundred and Seventy Five dollars :o , way beyond the retail price tag of around 50$

I heard that The Sims 3 has very few hairstyles/clothing compared to TS2 , not to mention the dismal amount of objects (furniture, electronics e.t.c) in the game. These marketing schemes by Evil Arts need to be stopped.

FIREWALL

06-03-09, 01:25 PM

Well, please enlighten us Firewall. ;)

Sorry but, I can't think that slow. :haha:

Falkirion

06-03-09, 06:29 PM

Arclight

06-03-09, 07:34 PM

What, they did it again? :yawn:

For the gazillionth time, DRM strikes again. :nope:

Otto_Weddigen

06-03-09, 08:53 PM

Is the Sims 3 any good?

Task Force

06-03-09, 08:56 PM

Ea does it again I see... Il say it as It has been said before... EA= Evil Arts.:yep:

Otto_Weddigen

06-03-09, 09:09 PM

Classical screw up by EA?

Looks like I won't be wasting $87.00NZD if its bad

Pioneer

06-03-09, 09:36 PM

F*ck it Neal....next time I'll look at the forums before I buy the damm game.

I preordered it, bought the Collectors Edition pack, picked it up today....and promptly mailed it to my daughters back in Australia.

OH I can see the phone bill coming now.

"Dad, this piece of ^%$# EA junk you sent me....blah blah blah..."

Wolfehunter

06-03-09, 09:41 PM

EA's not stupid we are. :nope:Agreed. Thats why I don't by EA games anymore.
:rotfl:
Well unless there for $5 in a bargan bin or some such... Cracks is the only way to go with companies like Beth and EA, THQ etc.

Few PC game companies are true to there fans.... ah I mean clients.

Onkel Neal

06-03-09, 11:03 PM

Dowly

06-03-09, 11:11 PM

But to be clear, even though this is an EA fail, I still consider this the fault of people who copy games and distribute them illegally. :nope: EA wouldn't bother with any copy protection if people would be honest. Thanks again, pirates. If you want to play it, pay for it. Otherwise, move along.

Nah, it's just that EA still thinks that it can fight piracy. Other publishers have already realised that no matter the protection it can be cracked, thus making it useless to have copyprotection that does more harm than good.

Onkel Neal

06-03-09, 11:19 PM

Wolfehunter

06-03-09, 11:33 PM

Well, I'm still not seeing any info from EA on why this is happening, to so many people, or any kind of support response.... All I can find news-wise is EA decided to go with a standard serial number system, so if this is some kind of copy protection and they are not being upfront about it, AND not helping customers with legit copies, that's two strikes against them.

But to be clear, even though this is an EA fail, I still consider this the fault of people who copy games and distribute them illegally. :nope: EA wouldn't bother with any copy protection if people would be honest. Thanks again, pirates. If you want to play it, pay for it. Otherwise, move along.

I'll take the game back tomorrow.
Ah neal not everything is white and shiny. Always blame the pirates. Its not always the pirates fault dudes. Sometimes companies set them selves up to fall.

If I like a game I buy it. But it has to at least work. I have the whole collection of Sim's 2 for my wife bought over the years. She likes it so I get it. I was about to get her the Sims 3 but seeing the issues I'm not at least for now. Why should I have to pay for something that doesn't work? Would I buy a car that doesn't work because they forgot to make keys? Not likely.

In the past I have wasted too much cash on beta games. Once enough patches fixes a game or if its a bargain then I will invest in it.

I'm actually surprised that Sim's is having problems at all. I never had problems with them all the way back to simcity.

Try to get honest support from them when your disk is defective.... See how much more cash your going to have to pay them to fix it or replace it. I'm talking from experience. Retail stores don't take returns once the wrapping is opened on dvds.

Am I a pirate? No I'm a smarter consumer. I'll buy it when its worth investing in. I have no problem buying a product as long as it works and makes me happy using it.

Aside from DRMs I don't like companies prying into my PC with there bloated crap. So I use cracks on my legit games to prevent them from accessing information.

I'm no pirate Neal but I'm not rich either. :salute:

Arclight

06-04-09, 12:11 AM

So what's the answer? No CP? Great, now 500,000 people will be playing a game for free that I pay for to keep the developer in business.

PC games will be extinct soon anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.That will happen with CP as well, that's the whole point. :)

Some people just would not buy games, so they download them. DRM isn't going to stop them or change this.

Others download a game, try it and buy it if they like it. A reason of not buying a game that they like is usually the DRM.

Others buy games based on reviews, no downloading. Again, a reason of not buying a game that they like is usually the DRM.

Where in these examples does DRM do any good? Where does it create more income for the devs? DRM only makes sure some well-informed people don't buy it, never does it stop people pirating something.

The most pirated title is, or was, Spore, a title much criticized because of it's DRM (also from EA, btw). Doesn't that tell you all you need to know about this issue?

Yes, people pirate software, and no form of DRM is going to change that. If you don't want people to pirate, make something that's worth buying, and that's all you can do against it. Pirating itself is a symptom, not a cause.

People have been saying it would die, or was dead, for years. E3 is returning to former glory, graphics cards are becoming more and more powerfull and budgets for games are climbing into the hundreds of millions.

PC gaming is here to stay. I doubt hard- and software developers would continue to poor such significant resources into their products if there was even the slightest doubt about that.

JALU3

06-04-09, 03:04 AM

Ah EA, ruining a great franchise with all this DRM/Pirate proofing bull.

I haven't touched an EA game since Spore came out. I wish I hadn't bought it now, its just a game sitting on my harddrive doing nothing. Got to the space stage and never progressed any further.

The problem with Spore was that once you reached the Space stage, that was about it, with you repeating the same task over and over again, or working towards achievements that did nothing to really enhance the game play. Sure you can make new creatures, over and over again, but again, it became old and repeditive. None of the stages were as fully thought out and detailed as the community was hoping for, and never was their an effort to expand on those stages, as the developer had already made their $$$, and were moving on to the next project.

I was happier when Maxis, which I remember buying SimCity and SimAnt on 3 1/2 inch "hard disk", hahaha, was an independent company with no attachment from the evil that is EA. Back in the days when I use to remember DOS prompts and commands (which have long since fadded out of my memory), Maxis was a gem of a developer making smart games, that taught as well as entertained. Sure they might not have been as big, or as profitable, but they made a reliable product, that kept you coming back for more.

The state of the industry is worrysome, but I as a lowly consumer have little say about the industry as a whole, being stuck with crap produced by 2KSports Beijing, and the like. I to have pre-ordered TS3, and await it from Amazon.com. I thank you all for giving me a heads up as to the headache that awaits me and the Mrs.

Raptor1

06-04-09, 04:20 AM

What people thought about Spore has nothing to do with it, it was heavily pirated because the infernal DRM limited installs

Zachstar

06-04-09, 01:12 PM

Well due to this I am going to not purchase this game for a few weeks or a month. I REALLY want to play this game but not until they hear the wrath of the community and clean up their act.

Rilder

06-07-09, 07:13 AM

I say just use a no-cd or something, after all using a no-cd isn't piracy, your just modifying your own game to ensure your enjoyment of it.

ReallyDedPoet

06-07-09, 07:41 AM

I say just use a no-cd or something, after all using a no-cd isn't piracy, your just modifying your own game to ensure your enjoyment of it.

Problem is the people who don't own a legitimate copy get their hands on them.

Besides, unless it's something released legally, then it really has no place here at SUBSIM.

Fincuan

06-07-09, 01:31 PM

You should't feel bad about going no-cd. Effectively you're fixing a non-working product yourself, same situation as with SH3 vs. Vista/Win7 x64. It's kind of funny that we're laughing at people who by two copies of Sims to get it working, while at the semi time a common answer here for SH3/Vista problems is to get another copy :haha:

Sonarman

06-07-09, 04:25 PM

I think the answer is the same now as it always has been, make software so cheap that it isn't worth pirating, go for volume. But the industry is too greedy/frightened of that option and always have been.

We can see the industry at its worst in direct distribution, here the costs associated with giving us games is at it's lowest with no packaging, no retailer and no distribution, profits to retailers etc and what discount does the consumer get nada... we actually end up paying more for less. We get no box no manual and annoying activation systems that effectively lock the software to our current PC, not good when you change systems later on and for this "privilige" we are charged top dollar for this, a blatant rip off.

The software industry needs the same wake up call as the music industry
DRM free software at low prices sold in a volume manner that is the best way to combat piracy.

Dimitrius07

06-07-09, 04:25 PM

They should make a patch, well i do hope they will. Same old story :down:.

Rilder

06-07-09, 05:26 PM

Problem is the people who don't own a legitimate copy get their hands on them.

Besides, unless it's something released legally, then it really has no place here at SUBSIM.

Ignore the people who DL No-cds for their pirated copies, they broke the law and they know it.

Using a No-CD isn't illegal either even if the devs didn't release it, its like changing a part on your car, sure you may void the warranty but a swat team isn't gonna show up and arrest you for it.

Dowly

06-07-09, 05:36 PM

It's still against the SUBSIM's rules.

ReallyDedPoet

06-07-09, 06:06 PM

Ignore the people who DL No-cds for their pirated copies, they broke the law and they know it.

Ignoring the topic ( No-cd ) does not send a very positive message as far as SUBSIM's reputation. And as mentioned ( a couple of times ), it is against the rules.

From the FAQ & Rules here:

What is Subsim.com's stance in relation to warez and piracy? SUBSIM Review has a longstanding policy against software piracy. We do NOT allow discussion or even mention of warez, abandonware, peer-to-peer game swapping, illegal download sites, or rip-off websites. Nothing will get you banned faster than pointing people to illegal software distribution sites. Don't ask for serial numbers, manuals, or cracks. Any admission that you have in your possession illegal software can and usually will result in revocation of your Radio Room forum account. Support computer game programmers buy legally purchasing their work. They have to eat too, you know.

Anyway, let's move on from this one.

bookworm_020

06-07-09, 06:10 PM

You think they would have learn't by now that DRM doesn't work. The Music industry has finally woken up to this after many years of fighting it.:stare:

Dimitrius07

06-07-09, 06:17 PM

The only thing that left is wait for a patch. You are lucky if you can return disc back to store, i can`t. O well nevermind. ;)

Sledgehammer427

06-07-09, 10:14 PM

Its working on my girlfriends computer. weird

JALU3

06-08-09, 02:10 AM

On a related defense industries note (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/03/darpas-social-s/). I wonder if they are using Sims 3, and if they have the problems the rest of us are having.

Arclight

06-10-09, 10:00 PM

EA Re-Thinking How You Spend Your Gaming Money (http://kotaku.com/5285729/ea-re+thinking-how-you-spend-your-gaming-money)

...

And speaking of pirates, no matter what EA charges for a game, there will be people who want to make EA's games free-to-play on their own terms. That's the nice way of saying what happened to The Sims 3 (http://kotaku.com/tag/the-sims-3/) recently. "We got pirated three weeks before the game launched," Riccitiello said. "And we were really quite nervous about it. We had a lot of telemetry about what the pirates were doing because the launcher was in the version of the disc [that got out.]… There's a lot of Chinese and Polish among those consumers. We know what they're doing. And we finally concluded that we were very happy that almost a million people downloaded the Fight Night demo in the first couple of days we put it out. And in a weird sort of way, the behavior we're starting to see based on sell-through and registration [with the Sims 3] is that we really might have just put out a really good demo."

Riccitiello laughed at his own remark, because he doesn't quite mean it seriously. I pointed out that he might not want to hold his breath waiting for all those Sims 3 pirates to convert to paying customers. "I don't think they will, based on their geography," he said. The point he was making, he said, is that EA's concern over being pirated gave way to a new, more constructive thought: "We were like, 'I think they've demoed the game.' That's probably good. We probably should have posted it on our website."

What the Sims 3 pirates got — what all consumers of The Sims 3, in fact, are getting — is a game disc that doesn't include all the game's features. Only activating the game online gives players access to the game's second town and most of the community features vital to the franchise's vibrant community of content creators and sharers. That stuff, Riccitiello said, is the kind of approach he's happier to take than to load a game up with Digital Rights Management restrictions, as EA had done with Spore. "To quote [Valve founder] Gabe Newell badly, DRM won't work unless you add value."

...
Could they be... learning? :o

Lagger123987

06-10-09, 10:06 PM

Weird, works on mine, maybe some people just got unlucky by Ecstasy Arts get-more-money schemes.

Onkel Neal

06-11-09, 12:53 AM

I took my DVD copy back to Game Stop and got a refund, then bought the download version, which is working at last.

goldorak

06-11-09, 01:43 AM

EA Re-Thinking How You Spend Your Gaming Money (http://kotaku.com/5285729/ea-re+thinking-how-you-spend-your-gaming-money)
Could they be... learning? :o

Sort of, instead of giving you a drm loaded disc now they give you a gimped drm free disc.
To be honest I don't think it improves the situation one bit.

Syxx_Killer

06-11-09, 08:23 AM

EA Re-Thinking How You Spend Your Gaming Money (http://kotaku.com/5285729/ea-re+thinking-how-you-spend-your-gaming-money)
Could they be... learning? :o

Did I read that link right? Even with the pay version you don't get everything and you still have to pay for the rest of it? :doh:

Arclight

06-11-09, 11:20 AM

Sort of, instead of giving you a drm loaded disc now they give you a gimped drm free disc.
To be honest I don't think it improves the situation one bit.I think they might be learning, not that they got it right (not by a longshot). :DL
Did I read that link right? Even with the pay version you don't get everything and you still have to pay for the rest of it? :doh:Think you just need to activate online to unlock full content, but the article does seem to indicate EA will be moving to a micro-transactions model.

Task Force

06-11-09, 11:50 AM

I sure hope someday all the game companys learn.

DRM = Bad.

:yep:

Raptor1

06-11-09, 11:52 AM

I sure hope someday all the game companys learn.

DRM = Bad.

:yep:

EA is stupid, if they knew what they're doing they would already have acted on that...

Task Force

06-11-09, 11:54 AM

Yea EA is stupid, will ea ever go out of buisness.

(raptor you get the b 29, ill find there HQ.)

Pioneer

06-11-09, 06:27 PM

I'm still waiting to hear form daughter $4 about this, however, she has a capable assistant who I have briefed on the situation. It should arrive today.

Tachyon

06-12-09, 12:17 AM

I think they might be learning, not that they got it right (not by a longshot). :DL
Think you just need to activate online to unlock full content, but the article does seem to indicate EA will be moving to a micro-transactions model.

Activating online to unlock full content? The only content you do get if you activate online is a new town and 2 new cars. You also gain access to "THE EXCHANGE" , which lets you d/l user content for free, and "THE STORE" which is EA's money spinner.

EA included VERY FEW objects/hairstyles e.t.c in the game, far far less than Sims 2. As I indicated in a previous post, you'll need at least 250$ to purchase all of the good stuff from EA's store. It's a rip-off , most of these objects/hairstyles/outfits should have been there in the first place.

Seeadler

06-12-09, 05:44 AM

Here in Germany, EA released Sims3 without copy protection, DRM and/or online activation things.:up:

TheSatyr

06-12-09, 04:44 PM

Sims 3 uses old school DRM. Just a key code. I have a copy and my cousin has a copy,both pre-ordered and no problems...at all.

FIREWALL

06-12-09, 04:52 PM

Ah neal not everything is white and shiny. Always blame the pirates. Its not always the pirates fault dudes. Sometimes companies set them selves up to fall.

If I like a game I buy it. But it has to at least work. I have the whole collection of Sim's 2 for my wife bought over the years. She likes it so I get it. I was about to get her the Sims 3 but seeing the issues I'm not at least for now. Why should I have to pay for something that doesn't work? Would I buy a car that doesn't work because they forgot to make keys? Not likely.

In the past I have wasted too much cash on beta games. Once enough patches fixes a game or if its a bargain then I will invest in it.

I'm actually surprised that Sim's is having problems at all. I never had problems with them all the way back to simcity.

Try to get honest support from them when your disk is defective.... See how much more cash your going to have to pay them to fix it or replace it. I'm talking from experience. Retail stores don't take returns once the wrapping is opened on dvds.

Am I a pirate? No I'm a smarter consumer. I'll buy it when its worth investing in. I have no problem buying a product as long as it works and makes me happy using it.

Aside from DRMs I don't like companies prying into my PC with there bloated crap. So I use cracks on my legit games to prevent them from accessing information.

I'm no pirate Neal but I'm not rich either. :salute:

:up::up::up::salute:

Monica Lewinsky

06-12-09, 07:46 PM

My FINAL EA purchase was BF2. Swore I would never purchase another product from that company ever again. So far ... 3 years later I lived up to my end.

Never again EA will you get a penny from me.

Pioneer

06-13-09, 05:58 PM

Daughter #4 reports that the Sims 3 arrived in Australia Thursday, she had her capable assistant do a ram upgrade once they viewed the specs, and the game plays well.

Zachstar

06-13-09, 10:12 PM

I got my copy and it runs fine for me. And the USB thing is quite nice!

But the game quality I have to say is rather low. I know they are trying to leave the door open for expansion packs but this is just silly!

The Sims age so fast! It seems I go to work just 10 or so times then I am old... What?

They also completely wasted the outdoor element. There is nothing to really explore in my view.

Compared to what the videos had us expecting. I am extremely disappointed. They pulled a "Spore" on us again.

But you know EA you can keep doing that because I am going to keep buying the expansion packs because the game industry has suffered enough. Just be quick about the expansion!

JALU3

06-14-09, 02:26 AM

It too has been running OK for me. As for aging, you can turn that off in the options section. However, have fun with having a baby forever, no fountain of youth water jug here. Furthermore, as stated by others, I hate the fact that it comes with SO much less stuff than the second one, in the attempt to micro-payment us to death. Another example of bad management IMHO. I won't pay them an additional quarter until they come up with an Expansion that is actually worth it.
Made Astronaut since we got the game a week ago, giving me ample time for my sim to explore the Valley for goodies.

SteamWake

06-17-09, 09:58 AM

After reading all the horror storys I decided to get the download version.

I downloaded direct from EA with there download applet, sure wish this was on steam but I digress.

After just shy of two hours of download (started around 7pm) I was happy to click the install button. I was looking foward to trying this for the first time.

After about 5 minutes an error message pops up "CRC error" :wah:

After checking the web it appears this is a common error. Evidently if you interrupt the download at any point you will recieve the CRC error. My firewall had interrupted the download to ask permissions :oops:

Its now almost 9:30 pm and my wife is asking "Hows the new game?" I just sighed and muttered something about 50 bucks and nothing to show.

I learned that I had to delete the local content and start the download over. Christ it will be 11:00 by the time it gets done.

I temporarly disable the firewall delete the local cache and start the download over and sit down to watch a movie. (Grand Torino btw ... hella good movie).

The download finished at around 11:45 this time the install went fine and had a loading screen by 12:15 pm.

Of course I had to try screwing around with it a little when at 12:45 my wife wants to know why Im not in bed yet. :stare:

Good point dear. I quit the sims shut down my machine and today Im a wreck from lack of sleep. :dead:

Maybe tonight Ill get to play with it some.

Onkel Neal

06-17-09, 09:43 PM

Oh man, that stinks. And people woner why consoles are replacing the PC game industry.

What's your status, SW?

Dowly

07-01-09, 04:31 PM

Yahtzee's word on Sims 3 :O:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/800-The-Sims-3

Task Force

07-01-09, 04:37 PM

lol, never heard of the sims explaned in that way Dowly.:rotfl:

Arclight

07-01-09, 06:22 PM

Absolutely ********** truth, right there... well, maybe not all women are evil, but he certainly nailed it on the rest. :D

"You are not the ruler of your Sims, you are the one rushing to meet their every whim. You are the slave. You are the real play thing."

Yup, nailed it. :yep:

Falkirion

07-01-09, 06:59 PM

:har::haha::rotfl:Love Yahtzee's stuff. Always watch his updates on a Thursday morning. And his point about the Sims 3 is well made. But I want my Military sim to reach the end of his career path. Astronaut ftw!

Zachstar

07-01-09, 11:59 PM

I almost completely agree with his review.

You know what I use most about the Sims 3? The USB drive that comes with it. I blew over 60 dollars just to get a snazzy flash drive because the game is so boring.

I seriously cant believe how bad they screwed it up. I had though that some major packs can fix it. But the core issues need an entire redo to fix.

There is just nothing to keep you playing in the game. Especially when before you know it you are in your golden years ingame.

Spike88

07-13-09, 09:46 AM

The sims 3 is a piece of ****. Not just for the bugs but for the fact that EA is already trying to milk the sims 3's tits so close to release.

When sims 2 was released it was like 4-5 months before the first expansion was released, and then another 2-3 for each following one. The expansions weren't bad, they would actually add depth to the game. Then EA started to whore the whole expansion line by adding stuff packs. You would have to pay 20 dollars to get new furniture and clothes, stuff you can find online for free, finally they set up the field for Sims 3 by adding a Sims 2 store, a place where you can spend real money to buy fake furniture and clothes.

Fastforward to today, there is alot of this crap on the sims 3 website to buy. Stuff that should of been free and came with the game. Sure they give you like 10$ worth of simpoints when you register your game, but thats like giving someone 100$ for starting a new credit card, you're going to spend way more than that your first go.