good, time-proven solution

Time proven? Yes... But not by EA! Perhaps it is not to late to give up hope for EA... Maybe...

It may or may not be too early to pass judgement on whether it's a shift in corporate strategy, but as I've said elsewhere a disruption in the flow of bucks *will* shake DRM-happy companies out of their complacency.  Anyone who's ever had any dealings with large corporations knows they're full of Dilbert bosses who don't really know what they're doing and whose basic business plan is don't rock the boat as long as the black number is bigger than the red one and they're kept well fed with an ample supply of pie charts by their underlings.  Corporate spin aside, everyone knows by now Spore sales were way off their internal projections so that's as good a reason as any for the execs to start asking why.

There's already a thread here going on about this.

https://forums.galciv2.com/344449

What's so bad about the stuff packs?  It seems pretty simple to me.  I don't want any of them, so I don't buy any of them.

Hallelujah.  EA having half a brain is good to know...I'm not all anti SecuROM or anything but the whole DRM thing is a big mess.

I think it's a strategic decision based on how much a single Sims 3 sale is worth.  The amount they make off of Sims in expansions sales must be massive so in their minds losing some sales to piracy is far outweighed by the extra sales they will get from the hype of not having DRM.

Also I wouldn't be surprised if there is some amount of online connecting to EA servers to get certain things or activate certain features, they just wont admit that's why they don't feel the need for their customer fuck DRM.

I think you are off point here. It doesn't appeal mostly to casual gamers that you label as soccer moms, it ALSO appeals to casual games. I consider myself a hardcore gamer, a casual gamer, a pc gamer, a console game player, and a strategy gamer... to name a few.  I am also a woman who plays FPS and MMORPGs, RPGs, Mario Games, 4x4, to name a few. Oh and I play the Sims. I know how to obtain pirate copies of games. I buy my games. I know what torrents are and guess what, I play a few Stardock games. So funny how people decide to label a group of gamers without actually knowing what that group of gamers consists of. And believe it or not, these so-called casual gamers have been making noise about Securom for years, and there were discussions about Spore's DRM and it's potential impact on the Sims franchise very early on.

EA has certainly disappointed throughout the years, and I share a certain degree of suspicion. But I prefer to remain optimistic. I think EA would have a big backlash on their hands by straying too far from the present course of action. I would expect something as friendly for BioWare's Dragon Age, which I eagerly await, and would be really pissed off if they'd go back at being a-holes again.

I still fear for the toxic effects of piracy though, and wouldn't like to see that as a reason for publishers to go back to silly protections. I believe distribution platforms such as Impulse and others to be more effective as a long-term compromise than the "time-proven" CD check; that had been considered ineffective at a given moment in time, for whatever reasons.

I tend to consider the big picture, and see Sims 3 as a patched stepping stone to shifting market rules.

So what?  It's not like they're being forced down your throat.

I am a hardcore gamer, and I plan to buy Sims 3.  2 was unexpectedly charming.  I wish it had even more random stuff though.  A satellite falling on my guy the first day I owned it was just hilarious.

It is only a matter of time before EA, Ubisoft, and other publishers find another draconion DRM software thing.  For now let us enjoy a securom free Sims 3.

There is a  small risk that Valve could become a monoply.  Since Gamersgate, Impluse, and Steam works better (in the long run) of reducing the effects of piracy, but people are too willing to put all of their eggs in one basket (Steam being the one basket).

I love steam, I love impulse, but I don't want either of them to become monoplies over digital distribution.

Something like GOO could minimize that, though the competing factor and novelty of digital distribution might make it impractical at the moment.

I want to be proven wrong on this one though. GOO would be a step in the right direction for the need of a centralized system that protects the customer from distributor bankrupcy, but still allowing competition to thrive. Also, a GOO-like mechanism would be better accepted by other distributors if it could be regulated by a neutral entity.

Sorry for getting way off topic here. 

And you would be wrong. The Sims 2 forum has several threads full of people who not only know what DRM schemes are but care that they are used.

Try again. If people are unhappy with the DRM, then its not the percentage of the players/buyers of spore that matter but those who didn't buy it. And as usual, the most vocal is usually the minority, including you.

Actually, it will have DRM. It just won't be Securom, won't have limited installs or online activation. It is supposed to be serial code and a disc check, according to employees on the official Sims 2 forum. Whether some players like it or not, Sims 2 is their biggest franchise on the PC (including the expansions and stuff packs), but that doesn't tell us anything as to why they are choosing to step back on this upcominng game and not on the their recent releases or whether or not they will follow suit with releases to come. I 100% agree, this is all about money, and despite popular belief, the Sims 2 consumer is not just soccer moms, and they must have concerns about selling the game to their base, and heaven forbid, the idea that they might want to bring more into the series too.