[game_preservation] Problematic installation DRM; thoughts?

[Andrew Armstrong]

So, I am sure most of us on this list know of EA's plans for DRM on Mass 
Effect and Spore. It's basically now (since it changed a bit) like this:

* Installation requires an internet connection to validate the CD key 
(bad enough in itself)
* Installation will work a maximum of 3 times, although I am unsure if 
uninstalling will allow it to "reuse" installations it won't help with 
people owning more then 3 computers/laptops/VM's, or if one fails with 
an installation on it

Now there are some serious problems to archivists or historians with 
this, right? We have these problems I thought of, for a valid copy of 
the game:

* What if the activation server goes down? (and frankly, EA isn't known 
for keeping up multiplayer servers after a time, or new game release...)
* What if EA itself implodes? The servers will go down obviously, but 
more so there will be no support to then get it sorted (eg; via a patch...)
* Since it does a internet check at installation time, no patch will be 
able to remove this requirement easily. I suppose a new installation exe 
would work, which didn't have the check in it. The question remains if 
there would ever be this kind of patch however, especially when it comes 
down to internal EA studios' work which in some cases are poorly patched 
(or not patched at all).

This isn't including consumer rights, which are not really part of this 
groups aims :)

So I at least wanted to have a record of this event, since once the 
first whitepaper is done, the second might well have to deal with DRM as 
part of it's "best practices" to archival work. The main question is 
"what if the ability to install the game is removed?", would it be 
actually a good idea to use the same methods the DRM-crackers do to 
retain access to the game for archival copies? Legally, I am sure it's a 
bit tough to answer.

Anyone got any other forebodings over this kind of DRM? (I fully expect 
consoles will go a similar route over time, making them require internet 
connections and whatnot, and I don't see it helping anyone play games much).

Andrew