14 DAY TRIAL // The developers at BioWare have assured players of Mass Effect 3 that the game will have only minimal DRM measures derived from Origin use and will never require gamers to be online in order to play.
Casey Hudson, who is the executive producer working on Mass Effect 3, has told CVG that, “We use Origin, and it’s interesting because really, it’s just a way to get access to the online and digital features that, you know, generally, PC games have now. I think people are going to be fine with it.”
Those who buy a physical edition of Mass Effect 3 will have to go online just once in order to authenticate the game and neither they nor those who get digitally distributed editions of the game will have limits on the number of times they can install it.
He added, “I think that the people who try Mass Effect 3 on Origin will realize that it’s not an intrusive DRM scheme. It’s just a way for you to sign up for the online services that you’re going to get on an ongoing basis through Mass Effect 3. Just like you get with any other kind of online digital distribution, or multiplayer or whatever.
“It’s not something that requires you to always be online – you can play Mass Effect 3 offline.”
Of course, some fans of the mass Effect series have complained about the decision, made by publisher Electronic Arts, to tie the game to the Origin digital distribution service, which some see as intrusive.
EA has been integrating its biggest internally developed games with Origin in order to increase the popularity of the service.
Mass Effect 3 can be played on the PC, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 and North American gamers will get it on March 6, with those in Europe accessing it three days later.