The Sims 3 was released yesterday and it seems like sales went well. On Twitter there was nothing but excitement about the game. People who downloaded the pirated game admitted purchasing the full version. One of the controversies surrounding Sims 3 was whether or not it would have Securom on it, a form of digital rights management (DRM) that required online authentication. Electronic Arts (EA) said Securom would not be on Sims 3 discs. Instead a serial code would be required to play the game. When the game was released, Securom did not seem to be on the discs. Players were happy.

Except that there were grumblings that the leaked copy had some sort of copy protection on it. If you purchase the download copy of the Sims 3, it DOES have Securom. The discs have “something” but until recently, it was unknown what it was. Dave B. from EA clears the air on what copy protection is on the game discs:

Hi

Thanks for your patience.

Until today I was unable to release the following, as the game had not yet been released. The game will still contain a program designed by Securom, however it will not be an installed DRM as it was in games like Spore and Red Alert 3. The game will perform a disc check every time you launch, so you will be required to insert your game disc before you can launch the game. This, of course, means no file will be installed on your computer.

Again I apologize I was unable to be more clear until now, however as the game had not released this information was not publicly available until now.

Regards

Dave B
EA Games
CSR III

Why they didn’t tell their community this upfront is beyond me. I’m all for protecting digital rights but be honest, especially when there is discord with users due to previous privacy invasion. Let’s be clear here: EA needs Sims 3 to do well. The Sims franchise is their cash cow. EA had a $641 million dollar loss last year. They have the delicate balance of protecting their digital rights and keeping their users happy. If their users are displeased with the deception, it could hinder the growth of Sims 3. Players can happily go back to playing Sims 2…which many prefer anyway. Sims 3 still has to evolve to be as content rich as Sims 2 plus expansion packs.

Shame honesty didn’t enter the picture.

That said, I have a copy of the game and next up will be some tips and tricks to help you play the game.