ED and LC are a bit like PC and Mac respectively. ED require more effort to set up properly but you'll find that they're capable of more if you put the effort in. LC offer simple straight out of the box solutions but often aren't as dynamic.
I had no idea that practise had been around so long.

That game was one of the first, iirc. And it was one major shitstorm. The practice has been around quite long for german retail publishers. Major publishing companies (especially EA) don't use that tactic. Whenever e.g. an Ubisoft game gets this treatment, it is published by a german publisher. And, more recently, polish publishers and developers like CDP (no longer, thank gog) and Techland. One of the reasons I switched to imports (play.com) and abandoned retail here for the most part.

Zussex has gotten (had, dunno, maybe it changed) a really bad reputation thanks to Earth 2160, as it also was one of the first titles that had an online activation and limited installs. I know there were others before, but that got the forums boiling.

I'm not following the market anymore or read german gaming mags, so I don't know how things are now.

Aside from CDPR's recent abandonment of the practice it doesn't seem like it has abated. If CDPR could only do that in such a corrupted legal system then I really do wonder just how they could consider such a course of action to have any trace of legitimacy?

But it has nothing to do with Japan or anime! :P

Great choice. Just make sure you avoid the abomination called Earth 2140 at all cost.

why?

I didn't buy the game, thankfully i checked the forum first. 2140 Windows version is broken, the AI is crippled.
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/earth_series/open_letter_remove_the_broken_version_of_earth_2140_from_catalogue_gog

I read the subject as TA or (blah blah blah)... the OR part is irrelevant, really, the correct answer is TA :)

Out of the box it's awesome, with mods it's even more amazing. AI replacements, total conversions, units & maps, there's very few games that match its mod-ability.

If you want *way* futuristic, check out Perimeter. Not until you get TA though.