Battlefield 2142 comes with spyware

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. µ

L'INQ
CGW podcast site