EA's anti-piracy efforts douse Sims 4 in thick pixel coating

4.3
Thanks to hidden anti-piracy measures, those who pirate The Sims 4 will find themselves staring at a pixelated mess instead of the colorful, virtual life simulation, reports Player Attack.

The blurring appears harmless enough at first. When a Sim steps into the shower or otherwise disrobes, the game censors the virtual nudity by applying a blob of thick pixels. Normally this would vanish once the Sim is dressed, but EA's anti-piracy measures ensure that any illicitly obtained copies of the game instead cause the censorship blur to expand, eventually covering the entire screen. The end result is the messy swirl of pixelated colors that you can see above.

The discovery of EA's clever anti-piracy strategies has not gone unnoticed by pirates, many of whom have taken to the game's official forums (link may not work as EA's forums have been displaying errors all morning) to complain about their "broken" copy of the game. Despite the complaints, EA tells Joystiq that it has no plans to aid those players unable to enjoy their pirated copies of The Sims 4. Instead, the publisher urges affected players to purchase their own copy of the game which should lack the telltale pixelation.



Posted:
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2014/09/04/eas-anti-piracy-efforts-douse-sims-4-in-thick-pixel-coating/

Comments

"EA's anti-piracy efforts douse Sims 4 in thick pixel coating" :: Login/Create an Account :: 77 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

DusknoirPosted:

That's funny, now people will either buy the game or just not worry about it at all.

21Posted:

This is actually pretty funny if I'm honest. Kudos to EA. Although, I'm pretty sure "pirates" will find a way around this.

TohkaPosted:

Ethics
Fragor I knew a fix for this issue was going to get released, what did EA expect from pirated games?.. they're called cracks for a reason.

I'm still skeptical about buying this game, also i'm not a fan of loading times and this game is filled with that crap.


the game is acutally pretty cool. I suggest getting it.

All the Sims games are amazing. Great to kill time with, especially on mobile.

EthicsPosted:

Fragor I knew a fix for this issue was going to get released, what did EA expect from pirated games?.. they're called cracks for a reason.

I'm still skeptical about buying this game, also i'm not a fan of loading times and this game is filled with that crap.


the game is acutally pretty cool. I suggest getting it.

HovaPosted:

I knew a fix for this issue was going to get released, what did EA expect from pirated games?.. they're called cracks for a reason.

I'm still skeptical about buying this game, also i'm not a fan of loading times and this game is filled with that crap.

HeisenbergModsPosted:

prestonneil
Merchandise
lolohnoeszsz
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
lolohnoeszsz
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
lolohnoeszsz
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
Sreyo
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
lolohnoeszsz
NikolaiLoverG935
lolohnoeszsz I always wondered why people pirate games. Maybe if you guys got jobs you wouldn't have to beg mom and dad for money/pirate games. Man people these days...smh..


I have a job making $400 a week and I still pirate games. It has nothing to do with money.
Then what is it? Because they are hundreds of reasons to pirate games right? Don't make a fool out of yourself please.

Cancerous
lolohnoeszsz I always wondered why people pirate games. Maybe if you guys got jobs you wouldn't have to beg mom and dad for money/pirate games. Man people these days...smh..


I'd rather get something for free tbh.
So stealing is your only way? Can you not think of a more ignorant thing to do? It's $60 that's not even a lot. Also you're taking money away from the company too. Sure it's EA but still.

Why are you getting so buthurt and defensive over it ? If someone wants to pirate a game they will, nothing you say will ever change that it's as simple as that, so stop sitting here crying about it.


Because tons of other people work hard for there money to pay for things like this, and than jerks like you come along and just outright steal it.

Why don't you just steal a car while you at it too?


Do you honestly think i care what your saying right now?

Millions of people download songs off of youtube, go cry to them about that haha
"hurdur i don't care if i go to jail" People who pirate get caught stupid. But yeah man care less all you want it's your ****.


Btw just to let you know the UKs piracy laws have changed lmao, all they do is send letters and leaflets for watching legit on netflix... Sucks to be you

So it's legal to steal in the UK? Wow your country is stupid. Good thing people can be prosecuted over here in the states.


No it's because they know they can't do anything about it so they changed it, your just one who is scared to do anything on the internet.. "Oh a picture on google images, it has a watermark ohhhhhh I need to go on a VPN to download.. I'm going to get caught" please do me a favour and STFU sick of hearing your wining, PEOPLE WILL PIRATE IT WILL NOT END. END OF nothing you say will change ANYTHING and anyone reading this knows the same thing, that's why no one else is sat crying like you. Face it, it will never end.

Lol you're so stupid it actually hurts. Whatever though when you get caught downloading torrents (which can be seen by your ISP) or pirating (again ISP) don't go complaining. Have fun spending 5-10 years in prison with 250k+ fines LOL!!


Yeah and you know what they do? they send you an email telling you that you are downloading copywrited material, I have been torrenting for a long time probably since 2007 and honestly only the uploaders can get in trouble they are the ones spreading the files or sharing them


It may not change your thinking that everyone does it so it's okay ********. But you are stealing. It is just like going into a store and taking gum or other products. Yeah I pirate music but I usually listen to pandora which they pay for the licenses. I pirate movies but where do movies get their money? Box office. Game devs get their money from the purchase of the game/dlc. I want more left for dead so I will buy a copy of it so it benefits the making of a new one. Real gamers have the money to game. Little kids pirate games. On occasion when u may not know if u like the game but its ******** to pirate every game. I hope it comes with viruses.


*Grabs popcorn*

This kid is relentless.

prestonneilPosted:

Merchandise
lolohnoeszsz
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
lolohnoeszsz
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
lolohnoeszsz
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
Sreyo
TTG_iLLuSiionZ
lolohnoeszsz
NikolaiLoverG935
lolohnoeszsz I always wondered why people pirate games. Maybe if you guys got jobs you wouldn't have to beg mom and dad for money/pirate games. Man people these days...smh..


I have a job making $400 a week and I still pirate games. It has nothing to do with money.
Then what is it? Because they are hundreds of reasons to pirate games right? Don't make a fool out of yourself please.

Cancerous
lolohnoeszsz I always wondered why people pirate games. Maybe if you guys got jobs you wouldn't have to beg mom and dad for money/pirate games. Man people these days...smh..


I'd rather get something for free tbh.
So stealing is your only way? Can you not think of a more ignorant thing to do? It's $60 that's not even a lot. Also you're taking money away from the company too. Sure it's EA but still.

Why are you getting so buthurt and defensive over it ? If someone wants to pirate a game they will, nothing you say will ever change that it's as simple as that, so stop sitting here crying about it.


Because tons of other people work hard for there money to pay for things like this, and than jerks like you come along and just outright steal it.

Why don't you just steal a car while you at it too?


Do you honestly think i care what your saying right now?

Millions of people download songs off of youtube, go cry to them about that haha
"hurdur i don't care if i go to jail" People who pirate get caught stupid. But yeah man care less all you want it's your ****.


Btw just to let you know the UKs piracy laws have changed lmao, all they do is send letters and leaflets for watching legit on netflix... Sucks to be you

So it's legal to steal in the UK? Wow your country is stupid. Good thing people can be prosecuted over here in the states.


No it's because they know they can't do anything about it so they changed it, your just one who is scared to do anything on the internet.. "Oh a picture on google images, it has a watermark ohhhhhh I need to go on a VPN to download.. I'm going to get caught" please do me a favour and STFU sick of hearing your wining, PEOPLE WILL PIRATE IT WILL NOT END. END OF nothing you say will change ANYTHING and anyone reading this knows the same thing, that's why no one else is sat crying like you. Face it, it will never end.

Lol you're so stupid it actually hurts. Whatever though when you get caught downloading torrents (which can be seen by your ISP) or pirating (again ISP) don't go complaining. Have fun spending 5-10 years in prison with 250k+ fines LOL!!


Yeah and you know what they do? they send you an email telling you that you are downloading copywrited material, I have been torrenting for a long time probably since 2007 and honestly only the uploaders can get in trouble they are the ones spreading the files or sharing them


It may not change your thinking that everyone does it so it's okay bullshit. But you are stealing. It is just like going into a store and taking gum or other products. Yeah I pirate music but I usually listen to pandora which they pay for the licenses. I pirate movies but where do movies get their money? Box office. Game devs get their money from the purchase of the game/dlc. I want more left for dead so I will buy a copy of it so it benefits the making of a new one. Real gamers have the money to game. Little kids pirate games. On occasion when u may not know if u like the game but its bullshit to pirate every game. I hope it comes with viruses.

soulessfuryPosted:

thi was a fail i have a pirated version with the blur patch and my game runs perfect

CraigPosted:

Latency Good. Maybe this will be the first step into anti-piracy games.


I very much doubt it. But it could be if they do it good enough.

LatencyPosted:

Good. Maybe this will be the first step into anti-piracy games.