That's a very good question, I personally believe that all these attempts of copy-protection are futile, every piece of code that can be written, can also be removed, and the better you try to hide, encrypt and obfuscate the code, the more hackers will rise to the challenge.
What it really does is anger all the buyers that don't use the cracked version.

Ok, that's the one side of the argument, the other is that most of the uproar is just hot air, the article states that you could activate Bioshock 3 times, but I believe it was 5 times, and it's really a non-issue, I installed the game and deinstalled it about 6-8 Weeks later, it's a single player game, once you are through, you're done anyway. there is no need to reinstall it every few month on a completely new computer. (People who have to reinstall their Windows 5 times in the short time they need to play through Bioshock have bigger problems anyway).

And as Knurrunkulus said, the number of Gaming-PCs which aren't online is negligible.

My personal point of view is this: I don't like it, I don't like anything that is cutting into my personal freedom, but at the same time I have to acknowledge that Piracy is the biggest reason for the PC slowly dying as a gaming-platform, so if clicking on a connect button would save my favorite platform I would be all for it, but as I stated in the first sentence, it's a futile attempt, because the PC is an open system.

I don't think that piracy is the biggest threat to computer games, because there has always been piracy, and computer games have become more and more.

I buy most games I play, these are the games which I want to play more than once, Civ 4 for example, or for multiplayer like WOW. For short singleplayer stuff, I have found a third solution. Game Rental Stores. I don't know if this is usual in the US, but in Germany you can lend games for a few Euros a day. And if I need such games, I just get them for a weekend, and play them, and give them back.
I don't know how the "Install only 5 Times" policy of Bioshock works with these rental shops, though.

Of course you could copy these games as well, but after a week, they just take a lot of space on your hard drive, so what's the point?

stupid, crackers will do their thing anymway, so this mess will drive just more people towards black copies

In short: Every protection has been disabled so far. I'm no cracker, but i guess the crackers only need to patch away this functionality and thats it. Or even easier: routing the request not into the net, but on the local machine.

I think u cannot secure singleplayergames if they should be offline playable. The only working system is having an account (like in MP games) which enables necessary functions.

I guess the developers should try to implement addicting features, which are only available for account-users (like scores in Audiosurf - this game is so much more fun when ur able to compete against global hiscores), so buying is the only option to get the full value.

Actually it wasn't the copy-protection SecuRom to blame when Bioshock launched. Take2 simply didn't except such a popularity of their title on the PC, so that servers were simply overloaded with users trying to register the genuity of their copy.

As well, it is really true that every form of copy protection can be broken - it's only a matter of time and money.

Of course the protection will be cracked... it's almost hylarious that customers, people who paid actual money for the game will be the only ones that suffer from the protection issues. The single most effective way to ensure the blooming of computer gaming is making better and better games, which people will buy even just to keep the respective company alive. I would be ashamed to launch such games as I have seen being released nowadays... of course no one wants to buy a game of poor quality, so piracy is one way to keep the dice from rolling... Did I invest my money in some bugged, lame game that's been launched just to make a quick buck or did I actually buy a good, playable product? The odds aren't in our favour nowadays.
One fine example of good marketing is Stardock, which has no protection whatsoever on their games and they still sell. What's the answer to their succes? They keep a close relationship with their fans, and make fine games. People tend to buy when they are treated friendlier and with respect. Not when they're clogged with protection after protection, online checks, etc. That's what the publishers must understand

I was going to buy Spore for sure, but after hearing this news, it sounds like I better skip.

I don't think I can morally purchase this game anymore.

I still want to play this game, but I can't condone these distasteful tactics.

Plus its extremely impractical.

Its a shame, these companies are pushing consumers to piracy.

'Most Gaming PC's will have internet, and we only need to be online every nine days anyway, so it's no big deal?'
WTF???
I had a gaming PC for three years that I kept offline, simply because I didn't want to play multiplayer games, and it lowered my chances of getting infected with viruses, trojans and other such things. Having to put that computer online every 9 days is not 'no big deal', it's a HUGE deal. What if I forgot? Or didn't pay attention to the date? What will it do to my system?

Even then, it's not the inconvenience, it's the insult. "Ok, so you BOUGHT a copy, and you installed this copy on your computer, registered with us, and played. But it's been 10 days, so you might have...." What? Installed a second copy on the computer? What could I do AFTER installing a legit copy that would then delegitimize it? This sounds to me like something rotten. I can think of plenty of other programs that report back periodically to their sources. They're called VIRUSES, and likewise, this SecuROM is a disease that needs to be rooted out. But not a computer disease, this is a mental disease, one that infests the EA's brains. It's called paranoia.

I admit that I've DL'd copies of games, usually to test whether they're worth buying. But there's lots of ways to get around that. Provide easy and USEFUL demos. By useful, I mean: make it actually similar to the overall experience. Too many demos put all the best parts in the demo, and the rest is like slogging through crap. I don't want to play a game that I've been lied to about. Or better yet, assure me of QUALITY. Make sure that you don't sell crappy games. If I knew that every game I opened would be a good game, I'd buy every game I could. Most, however, are crap, and I refuse to spend $40-50 for boring, recycled, or (worst of all) BROKEN crap.
Or, if they MUST use the online checkup, at least do it like Steam. Sure, Steam works better when you're online, but it doesn't require it. And they make it USEFUL and CONVENIENT to be online. I can auto-patch my games, check out demos and mods easily and conveniently, and even chat with friends while playing. Does SecureROM offer any of these options? No.
And yet, people flock to Steam. I'm certainly not alone in my love of it. But why? Because they treat us with respect and dignity. They realize that the people who DO use it, aren't the criminals and shouldn't be treated as such. I don't mind some sort of anti-piracy means, whether it be CD-Keys, or whatnot, but checking in every 10 days is disgusting. That's like having a cop come in once a week with a search warrant, just to make sure you don't have anything illegal.
I want to play Spore SO BAD. But I will NOT play it, if it's got SecuROM on it.