Spore (game): Difference between revisions

Spore released on PC with an always-online [[SecuROM|'''SecuROM DRM''']],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Masnick |first=Mike |date=8 May 2008 |title=EA To Use Controversial Internet-Required DRM On New Games |url=https://www.techdirt.com/2008/05/08/ea-to-use-controversial-internet-required-drm-on-new-games/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126093837/https://www.techdirt.com/2008/05/08/ea-to-use-controversial-internet-required-drm-on-new-games/ |archive-date=26 Nov 2022 |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |work=techdirt}}</ref> requiring people to have an internet connection at all times despite Spore being a largely single-player experience.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Heater |first=Brian |date=5 Sep 2009 |title=Spore |url=https://uk.pcmag.com/pc-games/6700/spore |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428132051/https://uk.pcmag.com/pc-games/6700/spore |archive-date=28 Apr 2024 |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |work=PCMag}}</ref> While this modified DRM was implemented to prevent piracy, it had the opposite effect as hundreds of thousands flocked to peer to peer torrenting sites like BitTorrent to illegally download the game. Spore is 2008's most pirated game with a recorded 500,000+ downloads on BitTorrent, though this number is estimated to have risen to be in the millions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Van der Sar |first=Ernesto |date=13 Sep 2008 |title=Spore: Most Pirated Game Ever Thanks to DRM |url=https://torrentfreak.com/spore-most-pirated-game-ever-thanks-to-drm-080913/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251115002522/https://torrentfreak.com/spore-most-pirated-game-ever-thanks-to-drm-080913/ |archive-date=15 Nov 2025|access-date=12 Aug 2008 |website=torrentfreak.com}}</ref>