Game Publishers are their own worst enemy

I'm sure some of you have seen this or some form of it in the news media. Apparently Mass Effect and Spore for the PC (two biggies I've been waiting for) with help from EA have gone a ruined my enthusiasm for the two products. It appears EA, in their infinite stupidity, have decided to use a version of SecuROM copy protection that REQUIRES an internet connection to play the single player parts of the game. It not only requires it for activation but it wants to "phone home" every 5-10 days to make sure you have a legit copy of a program.

Four things bug me a great deal:

1. What happens in 10 years when I want to play this game again? Will the company still be around to "activate" my game and allow me to play it. Maybe the company will be around but they'll care less.
   
   
2. What if someone steals or cracks the CD key and invalidates my key? Do they de-authorize my game which I've purchase? Trust me, this is going to happen.
   
   
3. Why should I need internet access to play a game? Sometimes I play a game on my laptop and if I do, I may not have internet access in a hotel room or somewhere else. Plus, I might not have played it for 15-30 days or longer. Under this system, I won't be able to play it.
   
   
4. This game will be cracked!! Trust me. It'll be cracked and posted as a torrent somewhere. The only people this thwarts and screws is the legit buyer of the program.

Why can't every company be like Stardock and use Brad Wardell's philosophy about copy protection. Even Chris Taylor from Gas Powered Games agrees with them. It works for them. I don't see why it can't work for everyone. Incidentally, if you haven't played Galactic Civilizations 2 or Sins of a Solar Empire, do so and support Stardock. They deserve our dollars and these two games are absolutely fantastic.

Until this copy protection scheme is removed from Mass Effect and Spore, I won't be touching them. Too bad.