You know two years ago when I first heard about Spore, I was stoked. Now I wonder if it is worth the headache. This story has been on 1up.com for several days now, but it is worth a repeat.

After the first initial DRM fiasco, consumers that purchase the $50 game is only allowed 1 online account per game disc. What this really means is, if you buy this for your kids only one child can have an online account. The other child can only have an online account if you purchase a second copy for $50.

The game manual clearly states that multiple online accounts can be created with one copy of the game,   but an Electronic Arts (EA) representative released this information:

“That section in the manual was a misprint and will be corrected in future printings of the manual. There is one Spore registration/account per game/serial code so you are correct in that you cannot make multiple accounts at this time. I have sent your guys’ feedback to the game team though since I can understand the desire to share a game on a system that you entire family uses.”

I truly hope EA is taking note of all the illegal downloading of Spore and uses it as a wake up call. Or maybe Spore 2 should not be released on Electronic Arts.

Sunday, September 08, 2008 was suppose to be a great day in computer gaming. Electronic Arts (EA) finally released the long awaited Spore game (imagine an evolution based Sims game). It should have been a great day. Unfortunately EA shipped the game with a DRM (digital rights management) that prevented more than 3 installs of the game.

This is done to prevent pirating on the internet, or sharing of software with friends and coworkers. So in theory, if you install it on your desktop and laptop taking 2 installs away, leaving one for future use. 5 months down the road your desktop crashes, now you have to reinstall it taking away the final install. So now, if you need to install it again you have to call EA and purchase an additional install. Very lame.

This is where Amazon comes into the story. Part of Amazon.com’s site is a ratings section that allows members to rate and suggest products to others. Spore players angered by Electronic Arts DRM decision started posting negative comments about the game and only rating it 1 out of 5 stars. 

As  you can see from the picture, Spore as of 9:30pm on September 9, 2008 had 937 1 star ratings. This is social mobbing at its best. Spore’s rating on Amazon will not recover from this. Unfortunately, because Amazon makes money of EA, there is a good chance these comments will be pulled and the ratings reset.

View the comments on Amazon.