Register THIS

There was a time... Yes... I will now sound like an old bastard... A time where you could enjoy a video game without pledging your first born's naming rights to the corporations.

I am talking about the rise of the multiplayer accounting systems that the major manufacturers of games have implemented.

It used to be quite simple. You go buy a video game for your PC. You would insert the disc to either play or install said game. Once the game is installed, or loaded... You play the damn thing. Everyone is happy. Upon completion of the game, if one was so inclined, one could trade it in,,, or possibly give it to a compadre to play. "You gotta play this game... You blow up shit!"

"Sounds violent..."

"Well, you blow up Nazis..." (or Zombies)

"Oh, well then.. Hell yeah...

Now, there is the extra steps of registering the game with the company. I think last I counted there were three major systems. The filling out of this form registers THAT instance of the game with the company. The sounds innocuous enough, but it also negates any chance to trade it in. Those discs are now coasters for your tasty beverage.

Side Note: IF I were to ever make a program... The EULA (The legal thing you NEVER read and have to check the box to "Accept" on every install of new software) I would have wrote up... I would put in all sorts of crazy items... Naming rights to children...  Beneficiary recipient status... Right of first refusal of marital endeavors... So... Be warned... If you ever know I had a hand in a program... Read that shit...

I feel the that the rise of this was due to the home video game console coupled with high speed internet. Xbox and Playstation... The home consoles are geared, nay, ripe for multiplayer gaming... The ability of getting spanked on Madden football by a 12 year old from Cleveland and getting called "Cocksmoker" by the little cretin... Well, you just can't find that entertainment value anywhere else...

Even "World Of Warcraft", a PC only online multiplayer game, now has a DNA sampling identification system... Not that excessive, but getting there...

Again, there is a vast majority of people who just want to play the game... Like... By themselves... I have neither the time nor inclination to get so in tune with a game that I can compete with the little "Abortions That Didn't Take" of the world, who are so Ritalin addled, that the pixels render in slow motion...

This poo-poohing comes from my trying to do the right thing. I bought a guitar. It is just trying to keep my mind active and fight off the inevitable dementia that I will face as I get older. I got a great deal on a used one from Chattanooga. It is an ESP LTD KH 202 LH. The "KH" stands for Kirk Hammett. The guitarist from Metallica. The "LH" stands for left handed, which I am. The inlays of the frets are little skulls and crossbones... It fits...

There is a piece of software called "Rocksmith". Very much like "Guitar Hero", but you plug in an actual guitar. Neat. I get the guitar... Next day, I get the software...

I get the disc in and, thinking this not a "Blow Up Nazis" game... I get the pop up for "Stream Account Activation"... Now, I used to have an account... I have not used it in about five years... And it recognized my email... Good sign... After many failed attempts to reconcile, and recover the account, I ended up making a new one.

So, my original account, with some of my information, is perpetually stuck in limbo... And the company has a new batch of personal information for it's nefarious schemes.

It is a hassle... How can one avoid it? There are ways, and I plead the fifth. Yes... It involves mild law spraining...

Conflict breeds resolution,

d

This bitchy little blog brought to you by the sounds of silence... I am just not in the playing tunes mood... Mainly because I am going to practice the guitar for a while...