Electronic Arts Games check for Emulation software

Ever want to copy a PC game to your hard drive and preserve the CD? EA allows you to transfer the game from the CD to your hard drive, but if it detects software emulators (i.e. Alcohol 120%, MAIME) on your computer, the game will not run/play. You'll have to insert the CD each and every time you play, defeating the purpose of copying it to the hard drive in the first place! The only thing piracy protection insures is an unpleasant experience for the gamer.

Alcohol 120% is a program with legitimate uses, such as copying a game to your notebook's hard drive for game play while on long flights. It seems that the more copy protection schemes software developers add, the more legitimate customers they turn off and away. The average game costs a minimum of $40 and is usually $50 or more, you'd think that spending that kind of money would allow the user to play and experience the game the way he/she wants!

BTW, uninstalling emulation programs isn't a sure bet either. A lot of times, shards of the program are left in registry files or as drivers. If the EA game detects the driver, you better have your trusty CD at hand to insert or no game play. So, in addition to the notebook, external mouse, DVDs, ear buds and other paraphenalia, add the CDs for your EA games. Who said travel was light?