The Great Bioshock Debacle  

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You still there? Good. I didn’t think it would hold for a minute there, but the connection seems to be stable, so I’ll tell you a story.
Once upon a time, a game called Bioshock was released. A game that unlike so many others, actually lived up to the hype, being the best looking game on the Xbox, with unparalleled gameplay features. I’ll spare you the details, because that’s not what my story’s about. My story’s about the makers of the game, and what they did.

You know how when you purchase a pc game, the system requirements are posted on the back of the case along with other relevant information such as, “does not work with gamepads”? There is no such information on the Bioshock case, despite needing an active internet connection to complete installation. Also not included is the fact that it silently installs a program in your computer that allegedly behaves like a virus. And perhaps most important, nowhere on the box does it mention that there is a limited number of times you can install the game

Yeah that’s right, when the game was released, the maximum number of times you could install it was two. Right off the bat, you can see why that was a very stupid idea. When you pay full cash money for an item, you don’t expect to be restricted with what you do with it, and if it comes with restrictions, you expect to be forewarned. That’s why all pc games have a EULA that you must accept before being allowed to continue. But no, 2K Games decided to play a not so funny joke on their customers. To make matters worse, their method of protecting the software from nefarious users involved installing a program in the user’s computer, completely without the user’s knowledge. This program has been called a rootkit by most, harmless by 2K, neither of which really matters. What matters is that when you install the game, this program is installed along with it without your knowledge, let alone consent.

A breach of trust of this magnitude should be dealt with very seriously, but who will bell the cat? Thousands of people (myself included) have already purchased the game, and at least 50% of those people have had a problem with it, as a direct result of the stupid install limit. When gamers all over the world were (unsurprisingly) outraged, and complained, the install limit was raised to a “5 by 5” system, which means that you can install the game on 5 different computers, but only 5 times on each machine.

Do you see what they did there? They completely sidestepped the fact that there should not be an install limit AT ALL. It is very similar to the way unfavourable bills are passed in the government: First, an outrageously bad idea is proposed, and then when the people complain and kick up a major fuss, the original (bad) idea is then suggested as an alternative, which is then seen as a favourable option compared to the horrible one. But what do I know eh? I just call ‘em as I see ‘em, and Bioshock for PC isn’t a very good idea. If you’re wondering why I’m telling you this story, you haven’t been listening. You gotta spread the word and warn people, let them know what they’re getting into. And maybe, just maybe they’ll get me out of here