Battlefield 2142 comes with spyware
By Theo Valich
The Inquirer
Wednesday 18 October 2006, 10:03

Link: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35169




GAMES PUBLISHERS like in-game advertising, but Electronic Arts may 
have one too far with its latest endeavour.

A Computer Gaming World podcast reveals how retail packages of 
Battlefield 2142 come with a blurb to inform the buyer that the 
game comes with monitoring software that will be tracking your 
online activities.

"When you use the software while connected to the Internet, the 
advertising technology may record your IP address and other 
anonymous information," the packaging states. The technology 
then delivers adverts that may correspond to your tastes, 
depending on what the spyware learns about you.

"The advertising technology does not collect personal or 
identifiable information about you," it says. This, however, will 
depend on what you get up to online, of course.

Several game-related sites have their readers up in arms over 
this piece of paper, and many say they have cancelled their 
pre-orders of the game.

Publishers should perhaps ask themselves why over 15 million 
gamers are playing MMORPGs and are not interested paying for 
games in which they play guinea pigs for marketing companies.