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    Origin

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    A digital distribution platform owned and operated by EA.

    Probably late to the party but Origin made me want to rant

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    UnlimitedSheep

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    Okay, I've heard all this horrible stuff about DRM. And I've never liked the idea of digital downloads for anything, whether it's games, music, movies, etc. I absolutely hate the idea of games I purchase being tied to some immaterial internet account. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like buying physical things that I can feel that I own. Because of that, I've never really had any bad experiences because I avoid games or media that require such things. Until tonight.

    I've had a huge hankering to play the Sims 3 because it's a big old box of nostalgia for me, so I went to the local Target and picked it up. Installed it, went through all the Origin account-making stuff, booted it up and enjoyed the game. That was a few days ago. Fast forward to today, I try to start it up, log into Origin--except my account won't work. I won't get into the specific issues because that's not the point. The point is I had to spend about 45 minutes in chat with support, only to be told I have to call in to get the issue resolved, and hey, I can't play the Sims because I can't log into my account.

    I just can't wrap my head around it. I have the discs right next to me. I have the game installed on my laptop. Why on earth can't I just play the game I bought?

    If this is the future of games, then I'm out. Back to my library of books for me.

    I'll get down from my soapbox now. I just really had to get this off my chest. But surely I'm not the only who's had a crappy experience? Sure, this is one time, and sure, if there had been no problem I'd be playing the Sims as happy as can be right now, but having a personal experience with the bad side of this stuff has really soured me on the idea of games tied to digital accounts even when I have a physical copy. That's not something I want to support.

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    musubi

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    #2  Edited By musubi

    Well, I suppose its Library Books for you then. This is where gaming is headed both on consoles and PC.

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    Justin258

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    To be honest, I haven't really. Games For Windows Live sucks, but that's only for a handful of games and even then it generally behaves. Steam and Origin are two services that I have had no issues with.

    Can you be more detailed about your problem?

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    Xeiphyer

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    Yeah, this is definitely a larger issue that's going to get more and more prevalent as time goes on. Especially when we have a lot of account hacking at so many different sites all the time, its easy to lose your account that has all your games tied to it. Really the onus is on whoever owns the service that your games are tied to, and they need to do a better job in general with account support.

    Anyone who has tried to deal with Steam will have a similar headache. Their support is terrible, theyre just lucky the deals are so good.

    That being said, when I encounter a situation where I own and have the game installed, but can't access it for whatever reason, sometimes you have to turn to alternative solutions. Unfortunately.

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    UnlimitedSheep

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    @believer258: I didn't go into the details of the technical issues I had because that's not the point I was trying to make. I'm okay with going to a support person to get account issues resolved, they were very helpful and I'm okay with having to call in to recover my account.

    What I'm not okay with is having a $30 physical game sitting less than a foot away from my computer, fully installed, that I can't play because I can't log in to some online service. That's not right.

    I paid for it. I installed it. I have the discs and codes right next to me. Why can't I play it?

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    musubi

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    #6  Edited By musubi

    Also as @believer258 pointed out the "specifics" you gloss over could entirely be your fault. Accounts just don't quit working.

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    UnlimitedSheep

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    @demoskinos: Yes, it was absolutely my fault. I made a mistake typing in my email address, so it was linked to an email that doesn't actually exist. Stupid, I know.

    But my point is, why do I have to have an account in the first place? Why can't I just play my game?

    That's where my problem lies, and that's what I regret supporting by buying the Sims 3.

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    Justin258

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    #8  Edited By Justin258

    @demoskinos said:

    Also as @believer258 pointed out the "specifics" you gloss over could entirely be your fault. Accounts just don't quit working.

    I do remember hearing reports of Diablo 3 accounts being banned for no reason, and no small number of Origin accounts having issues as well. How many of those were the fault of the user (e.g. abusing account privileges in some manner) and how many of those were simply issues on Blizzard's and EA's end aren't known facts, but I can't shake the feeling that some of those were not the user's fault.

    @unlimitedsheep said:

    @demoskinos: Yes, it was absolutely my fault. I made a mistake typing in my email address, so it was linked to an email that doesn't actually exist. Stupid, I know.

    But my point is, why do I have to have an account in the first place? Why can't I just play my game?

    That's where my problem lies, and that's what I regret supporting by buying the Sims 3.

    Because corporations want to know everything they can about you and your habits so they can better market their products to you. If you could just install the game and play without them knowing anything about it, then they wouldn't have any sort of that information. Those Steam hour counters aren't necessarily for your benefit, and those ads that come up every time you boot up Origin or quit a game in Steam aren't just shooting in the dark at the interests of the masses. Next generation consoles really want to do the same thing, and modern consoles have to some extent.

    If you want to just play your game, there's GOG.com which, while a digital distribution service, doesn't have any DRM on their games so you can play them with you computer offline. You can put them on a flash drive and play them on your laptop. Or do anything with them you please, short of sharing them with everyone you know (and the only thing stopping you from doing that is any moral obligation to not illegally distribute copyrighted material). So you won't have to completely shut yourself off from games, or music and movies if they ever completely go that route.

    On a final note, I've long since gotten used to the idea of buying digital. Also, like I said above, I've had some issues with GFWL but none with any service other than that. I can definitely see where you're coming from and don't blame you for it, but at the same time I am curious about what exactly happened to your account. Your refusal to even hint at it (it's not important? OK, why did you make the thread?) makes me feel like maybe you did something less than savory that you don't want to share? And if you didn't want to be asked then why make the thread in the first place? When most people rant, they include more exact reasons about the cause of their ranting.

    EDIT: OK, nevermind about that last bit. I completely skipped the first bit of your post. Sorry!

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    konig_kei

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    calm down, have some Dear Esther 2VA8D-FXZFL-BD5QP. WHY? cause i own it already and humble bundle n stuff plus i don't wanna create a post or nothin so......DUMPIN!

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    DR34DN0UGHT

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    #10  Edited By DR34DN0UGHT

    You know, this stuff is pretty insidious. I used to be pretty pissed whenever any sort of DRM or control was thrown in my face. But nowadays, I've become so accustomed to it I hardly even think about what the likes of Steam, Origin and Uplay are actually doing. Even if you physically own the disc, you are basically just renting the game. I just take the convenience of auto updates and a few other trinkets and carry on. Sadly this stuff isn't going anywhere, so if you want to keep on gaming, you too will need to get the lobotomy, and the scar that goes with it. :(

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    devilzrule27

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    #11  Edited By devilzrule27

    When did The Sims 3 start requiring origin? I have all of them up to Pets and never had to go through origin. There was an option account I could sign up for but it was never required for me to play the game.

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    Ravenlight

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    #12  Edited By Ravenlight

    When did The Sims 3 start requiring origin? I have all of them up to Pets and never had to go through origin. There was an option account I could sign up for but it was never required for me to play the game.

    It may depend on the version of the retail box. Could be that newer copies have Origin built in. However ...

    @unlimitedsheep:

    If you want to give a competing service a shot, there's a good chance that plugging your CD key into Steam will activate the game on there. Sort of six of the one and a half-dozen of the other but Steam seems to have a better reputation overall.

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    fattony12000

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    #13  Edited By fattony12000
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    UnlimitedSheep

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    @dr34dn0ught: Maybe it just feels so extreme to me because I'm not used to it. This is my first time with a game requiring it to be tied to an online account, barring MMOs and the like, but I would have no problem with those servers suddenly shutting down because I know that's a risk I take before I put any money into it. This on the other hand...I really don't see the need when I have the game physically and the game doesn't need to be connected to the internet to exist (in the way that an MMO does). Or rather, I know why companies would see the need, but as a consumer, I don't. Regardless, I don't like it, and I'd rather avoid the lobotomy and skip out on gaming if I have to.

    @devilzrule27: As for the Sims requiring Origin...all I know is the install process had me make an Origin account, and I couldn't see any way to skip it. And whenever I click on the desktop icon to play the game, Origin pops up and and prompts me to log in. If there's a way to get past that, I would be all for it, but I don't know of any way to right now. It's a brand new retail disc, so perhaps it's a newer requirement.

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