EA Games Removes SecuROM DRM from 2008 Titles via De-Authorization Tool

On 02 Apr 2009

DRM (digital rights management), the technology used by big software developers to protect their programs does not always yield the expected results. EA Games for example used DRM software abusively last year when adding it to numerous game titles developed by the company. I say abusively because the SecuROM DRM technology that EA games employed would limit users from installing games on only a handful of machines; and that was the good part, because if you decided to modify the hardware configuration of your system, the game would refuse to install altogether. The same occurred when the user would format the HDD, which was a real bother.

Spore for example, the multi-genre massive single-player online metaverse video game that came out on September 2008, even earned EA Games a class action suit, prompting the company to drop the protection technology as of December 22, 2008. In a further move to get rid of SecuROM protection, EA Games has released a de-authorization tool that would be used on some of the most popular titles of 2008.

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“Certain EA PC games with SecuROM digital rights management technology allow users to concurrently "authorize" up to five computers at the same time to play the games. Users can then play the game on any authorized computer they choose. If your EA PC game was released after May 2008 and has a machine authorization limit, you can now manage your computer authorizations using EA De-Authorization Tools,” explains EA Games.

Here is a list of 2008 titles that EA Games used SecuROM digital rights management technology on: Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Crysis Warhead, Dead Space, FiFA Manager 09, FIFA Soccer 09, Littlest Pet Shop, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, Mass Effect, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Mirror's Edge, MySims, Need for Speed: Undercover, NHL 09, Spore, Spore Creature Creator, The Sims 2: Apartment Life, The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff, The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff.

Additional details on the d-authorization tool, including a download location, available here.

Tags: EA Games, De-authorization tool, SecuROM, DRM

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