Spore

From the reviews I’ve read, Spore appears to be an excellent game. One of these days, I’ll actually get around to downloading the demo. That being said, I REFUSE to drop 50 of my hard earned dollars on a game that requires activation. For the uninformed: Spore comes with a three activation limit. After that you have to call EA to obtain each additional activation. EA may or may not choose to grant you an additional activation. They are under no obligation to do so. For a person like myself that re-installs Windows on a semi-annual basis just to keep it fresh, I could easily burn through 3 activations. Also, most avid gamers are continually upgrading their computer hardware. The upgrade may require a re-installation of Windows. Furthermore, what happens if EA shuts down the activation server? This would reduce your copy of Spore to a mere $50 coaster.

I cannot tell you how strongly I disagree with software activiation. While I realize piracy is an issue, all software activation accomplishes is punshing those who pay for it.

EDIT: It appears as though EA does not offer a demo of Spore. I found a demo for the Spore Creature Creator, but not the game itself. If anyone knows where to find a demo of Spore, please let me know.