The PC version of Mass Effect is going to include some fairly serious security measures that may prove to be more of a threat to the game's popularity than they are to piracy.
According to Derek French, Mass Effect's technical producer at BioWare, the game's security begins with the same SecuROM online activation that aggravated so many owners of BioShock for PC. The system allows the user to activate the game three times before being required to contact a customer service rep to have it reactivated.
Mass Effect's security goes one step further, however, by dialing in every five to ten days to double check that your current CD Key and computer info matches the data that was submitted when you first activated the game.
Does that mean you won't be able to play your perfectly legitimate copy of the game if you fire it up on day 11, only to find that your
'net connection is down? According to a post from French, yes, actually, it does:
To the PC gamers in the crowd, would these kind of security protocols prevent you from buying a game you were excited about?
Image courtesy BioWare
Copy Protection/Activation [Mass Effect Forums, via The Angry Pixel]
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