Date: 2024-02-3 12:46
My first ever blog post was about how much I love The Sims 3, and my most recent one was about how much I struggled to get it working on Linux. Guess what, I'm back to complain an issue that I, and only I, care about.
I recently went out* online and purchased a physical copy of The Sims 3, in hopes of it relieving my sorrows. Maybe, if I stopped pirating it, I wouldn't have any issues? Right? RIGHT?
With that overused joke out of the way, the DVD arrived, and I was excited to finally play the game offli-
Why does the installer want me to install Origin? Did I buy the wrong DVD?
* I should go outside more.
Starting with The Sims 3, all Sims games require an online account to play. Specifically, an EA account. Even if you bought a physical DVD. The DVD is just for people with slow Internet connections so that they can install the game semi-offline.
Using the example of The Sims 3, I will underline the main problem with ownership in the 2020's; there isn't any. Not to sound like a jaded old man (spoiler: I am quite the opposite of that), but not too long ago, it was possible to purchase a piece of media, be it a copy of The Ultimate Doom or the latest music and own it. You received your purchased good in a physical format, like a floppy disk or a CD, and, until the media eventually dies due to age, you could do whatever you wanted to it.
These days, however, that is no longer the case. Music streaming sites like Spotify or game distribution sites like Steam have done a lot of good (increased convenience, the ability to play games on multiple devices, etc.), but have also introduced a lack of true ownership. I don't want this to be a generic 'capitalism bad' rant, but the fact that most people choose to tether themselves to services that may remove content or shut down, meaning they lose the content they paid for, is quite sad. This has already happened multiple times:
You get the point. Some conspiracy theorists look at the Great Reset (an economic plan by the WEF to recover from COVID-19) and the infamous quote "You will own nothing and be happy" and use it to draw wild conclusions about how governments will tighten control over their people, but I'm not one of those people. But the quote does make a point. People don't care about not owning anything, until it (rightfully, according to to the EULA's of the services they use) gets taken away from them.
I tried installing Origin through Wine. No dice. I tried installing Origin through Lutris. Origin is long gone, replaced by the new EA app. I tried installing the EA app through Lutris. Doesn't work. I tried installing it through Wine. Still didn't work. I checked if PlayOnLinux had an installer. It didn't. As a last resort, I tried it on Bottles. Still no dice.
All of that, just to not be able to play a game released 15 years ago that EA still sells on its website for an exorbitant price. I mean, £20 for The Sims 3?
I should not have to jump through so many hoops just to play The Sims. Even worse, the pirated version of the game is much simpler to use:
Why can't the experience be this seamless with the DVD version? Why do companies incentivise piracy when their intention is the opposite? Why do the same companies have cause and effect mixed up?
Most companies assume piracy is a massive issue that cuts into sales unless you pay for obtrusive DRM to fix the issue.
This is a lie. The people do not have the knowledge or the will to pirate anything, and prefer to pay for their content. Piracy is an issue that is massively overblown.
The "piracy" excuse is a front for the true intentions of DRM; a lack of ownership.
The main reason people pirate media is because they are unable to afford it and believe the massive conglomerates are able to afford the loss, which they are. You mean to tell me EA can't absorb the cost of a single videogame, when their games make massive profits anyway? You mean to tell me E fucking A, a company who earned $7 BILLION in 2023 can't absorb the cost of a $60 game?
Many, many people have said before that piracy is an accessibility issue ,and they're right.
Rant over.