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The "Spore" DRM copy-protection backlash won't be happening to "The Sims 3," given the news that broke just minutes ago. EA has announced that "The Sims 3" will only use serial-number copy protection. Buy the game, input the serial number that comes with the game, and you're good to go.

From the blog of Rod Humble, head of EA's Sims and Casual division:

The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a Serial Code just like The Sims 2. To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed.

We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future.

Happy, PC gamers? "The Sims 3" is slated for a June 2 release for PC and Mac.

Companies are getting more and more experimental with their DRM these days.

For example, if you want to try out CDV Software's RPG "Sacred 2," there's no need to download a demo or considering browsing a torrent site.

CDV is happy for you to try out the full game -- for free. The catch? You need access to a friend's copy of "Sacred 2" and it only lasts for 24 hours. But for a single day, you'd have unlimited playtime with the full version of "Sacred 2," including online multiplayer.

This feature applies to copies of "Sacred 2" purchased both at retail and downloaded online. But won't this just lead to people cracking their shared copies?

"Nothing is, of course, uncrackable in the world of video games," explained CDV director of marketing and PR Mario Kroll to MTV Multiplayer over e-mail. "Our intention is not to build Fort Knox (and thus surely irritating paying, legitimate customers), but instead to offer a sensible sharing solution that works for publishers and gamers."

"Surely there will be cracks and unlock solutions," continued Kroll, "but we’re hoping that by extending the spirit of sharing and trying to be really unobtrusive in our approach, that consumers will do the right thing and reciprocate by paying for a high-value, high-quality game. I think with this approach, if it can be proven a success story, it will encourage other publishers to follow suit, rewarding those consumers that are fed up with other, overly draconian copy protection schemes impacting their enjoyment of games they bought."

Sounds like a gamble -- will it pay off? Could you imagine if Microsoft let you install "Gears of War 2" on your buddy's Xbox 360 for 24 hours?

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Everyone's talking about video game piracy.

Everyone either has reasons why piracy shouldn't be allowed to happen (because it's bad, right?).

Or they have reasons why it can't help but continue (because restrictive publishers/developers are practically compelling would-be consumers to be pirates, right?).

And almost every single person who enters this debate -- from EA CEO John Riccitiello to people posting on message boards justifying why they've ripped a copy of a game they didn't pay for -- is willing to offer their ideas about how to make a world that has less pirating of video games.

The solutions tend to involve rules. Or a Bill of Rights. Or legal prosecution.

But what ever happened to pride, shame and peer pressure? Why don't the anti-piracy people borrow a page from the pro-environment green movement?

After we published Patrick Klepek's excellent interview with Bethesda's Pete Hines earlier this week -- in which Hines said that his peers claim that up to half of customer service calls to game companies come from pirates -- I had an idea about this seemingly intractable issue:

The anti-gaming-piracy movement needs to find a way to make people feel about pirating games the way more and more of us feel about not separating our garbage from our recycling. Read more...

Piracy remains one of the biggest issues facing PC gaming these days.

Last week, "Fallout 3"product manager Pete Hines told me that some development studios now calculate that up to half of their customer support calls involve dealing with people who have pirated copies of the game.

That's bad.

Hines discussed the problem of piracy with MTV Multiplayer just days before, ironically, the Xbox 360 version of "Fallout 3" leaked. Piracy is still far more prevalent on the PC side, which has serious implications for studios like Bethesda Softworks, whose development bread-and-butter has been PCs.

"It is probably the most...[long pause]...probably the most difficult issue specifically facing PC gaming right now," said somberly-toned "Fallout 3"product manager Pete Hines to me after playing four hours of his new game a few weeks ago. "How are we gonna walk that line?"

With this kind of concern at Bethesda, you'd never guess what kind of copy-protection they're putting on "Fallout 3"...

Since our talk, circumstances have changed. "Fallout 3" has leaked. But the problems remain the same. The biggest obstacle, explained Hines, is figuring out who actually is a pirate. Read more...

EA has been vilified for its "Spore" DRM policy for two weeks, but a statement Multiplayer just received from the the game's publisher -- with yet another loosening of one the restrictions gamers have been complaining about -- may finally get EA and its gamers on the same page.

In a statement, EA Games president Frank Gibeau acknowledges EA's desire to alter the way it deals with the issue:

... while it’s easy to discount the noise from those who only want to post or transfer thousands of copies of the game on the Internet, I believe we need to adapt our policy to accommodate our legitimate consumers.

As a result, "Spore' will now be able to be installed on up to five computers, along with the other loosening of the DRM and ownership constraints already announced.

Here's the full statement, in which EA explains why it did what it did and how it hopes consumers will meet them halfway: Read more...

Since "Spore" launched on PC earlier this month it's been the subject of thousands of complaints about the Digital Rights Management (DRM) measures implemented by EA to stave off piracy of the blockbuster game.

With so many issues swirling about restrictions and spyware and whatnot, I checked in with EA about the big ones and got several updates.

The bottom line shared to me by EA spokesperson Mariam Sughayer today is that "EA has no intentions -- nor will they ever -- to make it easier for people to play a pirated game… than to play an authentic retail copy."

Specifically, here's how the company replies to four major DRM and ownership issues surrounding the game:

• Complaint: A legitimately bought copy of "Spore" can't be activated on more than three different computers -- ever.

EA Response: That will be changed, according to the EA spokesperson, who told Multiplayer that the current limit on the number of computers that can be associated with a single copy of "Spore" is "very similar to a solution that iTunes has. The difference is that with iTunes you can de-authorize a computer [that you no longer want associated with your iTunes content]. Right now, with our solution, you can't. But there is a patch coming for that." The official timeframe for that patch is "near future." Read more...