Never underestimate the power of the internet. EA Maxis' PC everything-sim Spore will soon get an update loosening one of its copy protection limits and allowing customers to de-activate existing installations of the game. The game's three-installation limit has sparked full-blown Internet Rage for users' inability to de-activate installations in a method like Apple's iTunes. "Right now, with our solution, you can't. But there is a patch coming for that," EA representative Mariam Sughayer told MTV Multiplayer. No timeframe other than "near future" was given for the update.

EA also provided some numbers which it claims are a sample--not actual sales figures--backing up earlier claims that the three-install limit affected less than one percent of users. Sure enough, by EA's numbers, 0.9% of Mass Effect PC owners had tried to exceed the limit, while only 0.4% have managed to hit the same barrier with Spore. 83% of Spore owners had installed the game just once.

Spore's other DRM limitations, like restricting online accounts to one per copy, will stay in place - courtesy of Shacknews