DRM not an option for game publishers anymore: EA

Maxis and Electronic Arts have been accused of forcing an always-online requirement for SimCity as a thinly veiled attempt at curbing piracy, but in an interview with GamesIndustry, EA Labels' boss Frank Gibeau says just the opposite. According to Gibeau, DRM was not the reason for forcing players to stay online while playing a traditionally single-player game.Speaking to GamesIndustry at GDC this week, Gibeau commented, "That's not the reality; I was involved in all the meetings. DRM was never even brought up once. You don't build an MMO because you're thinking of DRM - you're building a massively multiplayer experience, that's what you're building." Gibeau also stated that DRM was not an option for game publishers anymore. "DRM is a failed dead-end strategy; it's not a viable strategy for the gaming business. So what we tried to do creatively is build an online service in the SimCity universe and that's what we sought to achieve. For the folks who have conspiracy theories about evil suits at EA forcing DRM down the throats of Maxis, that's not the case at all," he said.

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