Will Wright was interviewed at the Popular Mechanic’s Breakthrough Awards Cermony by Kotaku on the topic of Spore’s DRM. He was asked if he played a part in the process or if it was EA’s decision:
“It was something I probably should have tuned into more. It was a corporate decision to go with DRM on Spore. They had a plan and the parameters, but now we’re allowing more authentications and working with players to de-authenticate which makes it more in line like an iTunes. I think one of the most valid concerns about it was you could only install it so many times. For most players it’s not an issue, it’s a pretty small percentage, but some people do like wiping their hard disk and installing it 20 times or they want to play it 10 years later.”
Kotaku also covers if the DRM is a temporary problem or if it is here to stay:
“I think it’s an interim solution to an interim problem. You have games like Battlefield Heroes coming out where the idea is you give away the game and sell upgrades, which works more in the Asian markets where you need to monetize it over the Internet. I think we’re in this uncomfortable spot in going from what’s primarily a brick and mortar shrink-wrapped product to what eventually will become more of an online monetization model.”
Don’t let them brainwash you, Will! You’re too cool for that.
Source: Kotaku
