And he's absolutely right. Even my Steam account -- run by Valve, ostensibly the good guys -- won't do anything on my laptop because I can't get my damn password recognized. (Yes, I logged off from my PC. Yes, I used the right password. Please don't try to diagnose me, I don't really care that much.)
Playing Borderlands online requires a GameSpy ID, which means they have your email, name, and so forth. I have never used GameSpy before or since, but it was chained to that game. There was no way to bypass except LAN.
I went through all the SecuROM bullshit -- other software being blocked (bye-bye, antivirus!), refusing to recognize the legitimate disc, and a host of other issues -- to play BioShock.
I don't have quite the list of memberships Jim does, but I am, shall we say, well versed in giving my personal information to complete strangers to do something I already paid to do.
I avoid map packs, premium memberships, and DLC like the plague. I can see the potential for doing that kind of thing instead of making sequels, but it hasn't been for me. This is at least partially due to DLC for games I care about being rated far less favorably than the games themselves. It strikes me as, "Here's a bunch of stuff that wasn't good enough to make it into the game. All the fat and gristle we trimmed away? We saved it, and we think you'll pay twenty bucks for it!"
This series is climbing from "mildly amusing rant" to something genuinely incisive and wonderfully sarcastic. Good show, Jimbo!
Playing Borderlands online requires a GameSpy ID, which means they have your email, name, and so forth. I have never used GameSpy before or since, but it was chained to that game. There was no way to bypass except LAN.
I went through all the SecuROM bullshit -- other software being blocked (bye-bye, antivirus!), refusing to recognize the legitimate disc, and a host of other issues -- to play BioShock.
I don't have quite the list of memberships Jim does, but I am, shall we say, well versed in giving my personal information to complete strangers to do something I already paid to do.
I avoid map packs, premium memberships, and DLC like the plague. I can see the potential for doing that kind of thing instead of making sequels, but it hasn't been for me. This is at least partially due to DLC for games I care about being rated far less favorably than the games themselves. It strikes me as, "Here's a bunch of stuff that wasn't good enough to make it into the game. All the fat and gristle we trimmed away? We saved it, and we think you'll pay twenty bucks for it!"
This series is climbing from "mildly amusing rant" to something genuinely incisive and wonderfully sarcastic. Good show, Jimbo!
