Anyone who runs out of installs, do as the OP did, document everything, then when you need more installs, sue their SPORE off. If you are in the US, what they are doing is illegal in many staes, and seeing as they are a large multibillion dollar company, they will settle. Sure, a hundred thousand dollar law suit is pennies to them, but if enough people do it, SecurROM will no longer be profitable to them. Seeing the net of so many greenbacks cut will crush the heart of the corrupted EA. At first I was supporting EA for protecting their game, but five days is rediculous.

MartianMan wrote:Anyone who runs out of installs, do as the OP did, document everything, then when you need more installs, sue their SPORE off. If you are in the US, what they are doing is illegal in many staes, and seeing as they are a large multibillion dollar company, they will settle. Sure, a hundred thousand dollar law suit is pennies to them, but if enough people do it, SecurROM will no longer be profitable to them. Seeing the net of so many greenbacks cut will crush the heart of the corrupted EA. At first I was supporting EA for protecting their game, but five days is rediculous.

I'm Canadian, so suing is pointless.

MartianMan wrote:Anyone who runs out of installs, do as the OP did, document everything, then when you need more installs, sue their SPORE off. If you are in the US, what they are doing is illegal in many staes, and seeing as they are a large multibillion dollar company, they will settle. Sure, a hundred thousand dollar law suit is pennies to them, but if enough people do it, SecurROM will no longer be profitable to them. Seeing the net of so many greenbacks cut will crush the heart of the corrupted EA. At first I was supporting EA for protecting their game, but five days is rediculous.

Profitable.?? Securom is only profitable to Sony Corporation. EA, and by extension..YOU, has to pay for the license to the software, wheres the profit there. Unless there's ulterior motive involved, I do not see the profit in any of this. Its been ripped, and downloaded more than it was sold... again wheres the profit. They have lost sales due to the protection, again wheres the profit. All smells fishy to me!

I tell you, this is really disheartening. I upgrade my computers very fluidly (that is, a graphics card here, a network card there). That tells me that my install limit will be reached very quickly, and I'll be in the same boat. I'm also currently experiencing the horrors of the support-bot form-letters for a different issue (still unresolved since patch-day last week).

If they can't fix my issue, I have no incentive to buy the expansions and add-ons.

And assuming I do get it resolved, I may continue to play and upgrade this game. But I'm seriously considering making it my last EA purchase.

NecroBones wrote:I tell you, this is really disheartening. I upgrade my computers very fluidly (that is, a graphics card here, a network card there). That tells me that my install limit will be reached very quickly, and I'll be in the same boat.

I sincerely hope they give us the de-activation tool before you're faced with the same problem as I had.

It's been one month since release, and it's been five weeks since they last mentioned the de-activation tool.

An ETA has not been provided, and two patches have passed. Either the de-activation tool was a lie meant to pull the wool over people's eyes, or they're not smart enough to be able to control SecuROM.

If it's the latter, they should just do the right thing and remove SecuROM. Why should we suffer like this? What purpose does it hold?

This is shameless. I'm actually concerned about being able to use a product I bought. This is corporate red tape idiocy taken to an extreme degree. This is fraud, not to mention completely ineffective for stopping any kind of pirating.

I refuse to go through that hassle. I'm already two licenses through my meager three. If I use up my licenses, I'll use a pirated copy and never buy from EA again, end of story. I may do it anyway. At least pirates give decent customer service.

You've lost it, EA. Completely. The Sporepedia isn't worth your questionable intent and shameless customer service. These problems we see don't stem from "mistakes were made", they stem from complete failure of priorities and efficiency entrenched in the company from head to foot, CEO to marketing to customer service and beyond. It is clear to me that nothing you say can be trusted until a severe change in the management and business philosophy of the company occurs, or the entire company collapses, and you can take that as a pledge.

Maxis, you need to abandon ship, ASAP. Much to my chagrin that this can even happen in the business world, you will be systematically exploited and destroyed if you do not. Disband and create a new company; I'm afraid this is the least of all evils. Without control of your own direction, your purpose is marred and you will be held on a monorail car directly to failure. As a loyal customer from SimCity to Spore, and an experienced modder one step away from professional game development, I implore you; break off from EA and cut your losses.

I never see any situation as simply black and white; to me, it is all shades of gray. However, this situation has blackened to the point where any shade left is negligible. I'm not even sure the brilliance of Maxis can bring me to ignore these insulting policies by EA anymore. In my complex life, I don't have time to jump through these hoops to prove my legitimacy anymore, there are just too many. I am tired of EA expecting us to work for our purchases, and not the other way around. To quote Network: I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take this anymore.

And EA, if Maxis products have any difficulty selling and begin to not be worth their development cost at any time in the future, I have news for you; It's not them, it's you.

Jackuul wrote:

spec24 wrote:F U EA

How's that for feedback on your technical support?

"Although we appreciate your concern, we have to unfortunately exterminate you"

*vvvap*

*suddenly EA person turns into a Dalek from Doctor Who and speaks in a metallic, hostile voice*EXTERMINATE!! EXTERMINATE!!! YOU ARE AN ENEMY OF ELECTRONIC ARTS AND THE DALEK RACE!!! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!!! EXTERMINATE!! EXTERMINATE!! Yeah that is a great way to sum up EA's horrible customer service. EA needs to get destroyed and then rebuilt by someone who actually cares about their customer's opinions. But we all know that no matter how hard anyone tries, EA will never give up. They will always keep their evil ways. Even if Earth was destroyed and all humans died, EA would still keep encouraging piracy and discouraging getting games legitimately.

Page 3 was going to be the eater of this thread, see... so I jumped in to BUMP it back to one. Done.

RedLightning777 wrote:Page 3 was going to be the eater of this thread, see... so I jumped in to BUMP it back to one. Done.

Wow... that totally worked on me, RedLightning777. I keep waiting for the phone bill amount to get posted. I want to see just how much the OP paid to jump through the customer service hoops and endure being called a thief.

markiem32 wrote:

RedLightning777 wrote:Page 3 was going to be the eater of this thread, see... so I jumped in to BUMP it back to one. Done.

Wow... that totally worked on me, RedLightning777. I keep waiting for the phone bill amount to get posted. I want to see just how much the OP paid to jump through the customer service hoops and endure being called a thief.

In my opinion, I believe that just his/her "wasted time" is all that matters, though it would be interesting to find out.

markiem32 wrote:

RedLightning777 wrote:Page 3 was going to be the eater of this thread, see... so I jumped in to BUMP it back to one. Done.

Wow... that totally worked on me, RedLightning777. I keep waiting for the phone bill amount to get posted. I want to see just how much the OP paid to jump through the customer service hoops and endure being called a thief.

Gotta wait till the end of the month my friend.

To keep this on the front page so people can see how badly EA treats their customers.....

BUMP!

... and this is why I have not bothered to reinstall my buggy and data corrupted Spore...

Jonandra wrote:... and this is why I have not bothered to reinstall my buggy and data corrupted Spore...

A "fixed" version that I got from the Intertubes works BETTER AND FASTER than EA's original product.