EA Decides to Go Light on Sims 3 DRM

The Sims 3 will not have required online activation.

If you were expecting a Spore-like catastrophe surrounding the The Sims 3 launch (now slated for mid June), you may be disappointed. Rod Humble, the head of the Sims franchise at EA, posted today on the The Sims 3 website that the game will not require online activation.

From his post:

• The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a Serial Code just like The Sims 2. To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed.

The Sims 3 was original to be released in late February, but in January it was delayed until June. The game, while similar to The Sims 2, is designed to have less micro managing and more interesting relationships. The entire neighborhood now goes on living while you are focused on individuals. The addition of more and stronger personality traits will also increase the opportunity for interesting situations.

Not that it will have any trouble selling, when the series as a whole has sold over 100,000,000 units, but the lack of restrictive DRM will certainly help EA avoid the outcry after the release of Spore.