http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/28/simcity-to-be-crippled-by-always-on-lets-change-this/

:(

Was the always on really referring to Internet or simply the Origin client?

I was under the impression that Origin was going to act as the license client, so as long as it's installed with an activated license on that computer, then the game should work fine.

Although I can imagine them forcing to have the client on as well, though I think they said that wasn't necessary for ME3, not sure what the end result was.

Edit: Nevermind, i see it was intended... Part of EA's moving away from single player to multiplayer and using it as an excuse for DRM it seems.

From the article:

Bad news: you will have to play it through Origin, with a permanent online connection all the time.

So it's a double dose.

How many people are actually going offline nowadays? Honestly. The last time my computer was on but offline was when I had a dialup.

I'm barely ever offline, but if I can't stand something it's stuff like this kicking me out of the game, which is a real possibility if your internet isn't solid. It's practically the same as the game crashing on you, and that's where I draw the line for DRM as well :)
If the game crashes ... I'll consider it depending on the game. If it's the tacked on DRM that is the cause of it ... I'll pass.

It's not a matter of just you though, but them. For instance, there was a good week or two where new buyers of Darkspore could not play the game because of an error on EA's end.

The throwing out sucks, that's right. Never thought of it that way. I wonder how much "bandwith" you need to stay connected. Shouldn't be that much hopefully.

Wasn't Darkspore a pure MP game anyway? That shouldn't happen DRM or not. I remember that Ubisoft had to switch servers, which made games unavailable. But those cases are the exception and not the norm.

When will they learn that having always on DRM is doing the consumer no good.

Diablo 3 is the same, requires an always on connection. I managed to get a Beta key for it and have played it a bit and its an awesome game. Granted it is still in beta, however the amount of times my connection has dropped and I have been kicked out to the title screen then trying to get logged back in has somewhat put me off.

Its all well and good to try and stop pirates and is justified protecting your I.P but always on required to play single player games is just ridiculous. Where I live the cabling for the phone service was initially installed in the 30's and has had very little work done on it except for the phone poles so is prone to drop out without notice. So I wont be buying either of these 2 games until they have the fibre laid in my area.

Well, they just disqualified my wifi.

I'm offline a lot. And I'm also disabled, and if you know anything about the U.S. SS disability system, then you know I'm broke. The $50 per month I pay for ISP is a luxury that at some point might have to go. And if it does, I can't play games that I PURCHASED?

No. Totally. Completely. Absolutely. UNACCEPTABLE.

If game companies want to make internet connection a requirement to play their games, then THEY should provide the internet connection. Save me $50 a month, and then I might buy their game.

Still wouldn't much like it though, because my ISP is Comcast in northern Virginia, and if you know anything about Comcast in northern Virginia, you know my service goes out ALL THE TIME. Only a matter of time before it would happen during a game.

Every. Gamer. Out. There. Should. Stick. Together. And. Say. One. LOUD. NOOO EFFIN WAY to this crap. Don't purchase. Please don't purchase.

EDIT: I should add though, and this is VERY IMPORTANT.

If game sellers do go this route, it will be gamers own fault. Every person that purchases games has within his/her power to dictate their policy. If they try to sell their games as ALWAYS CONNECTED and gamers don't purchase, then they WILL STOP selling them that way. But if gamers DO PURCHASE, then they DESERVE all the more and more and more incroaching ways game companies may use.

It depends on the ISP too. In Singapore, there are times when users would get unexpectedly disconnected for indefinite but prolonged periods, and there are times when the service just goes down and you'd have to wait for a day or two before the technician gets here.

Connections aren't infallible; depending on where you're from, they may be less reliable than in other places. I feel for OldFatGuy up there. Perhaps the majority (to be clear, I say 'perhaps' in the most cautious of senses, and I define 'majority' as the group that has the highest percentage of constituents over the other groups) won't have a problem with online-DRM, but it's not an ethical business practice to put one group at a greater disadvantage for the sake of profits.

Right. Because the only difference between the original SimCity and the newer ones is the graphics.

Oh, didn't you know? Everything done after 199x is old about graphics. Everything!

/s