Sometimes, it feels like EA is behind the whole "crippling of the PC platform." Crysis had a horrible time with fixing really basic multiplayer issues - attack traces intersecting with the vehicle they start from, severe balance issues, CD-keys never registering on installation - a patch for these could have been distributed much quicker were the game delivered via Steam, and face it - it is much more attractive to have one enduring anti-piracy system to deal with than a dozen volatile ones.
Look at The Sims Online. EA is shutting the servers down, probably because the game is not profitable enough for their tastes, leaving the players who spent good money without even so much as residual content - now we are expected that they are going to leave a new activation server up indefinitely? Once their tastes/wallets are satisfied, what stops them from shutting the Spore activation server down, especially with the "decline of PC gaming" and its loss of profitability? The games published on Steam's entrepreneurial style attracts indie gamers and profits from it - not to mention the system's highly-visible built-in but unintrusive advertising. Steam has a bright outlook and new ideas going for it - EA's developers are doom-sayers, putting profit first and creating dozens of expansions resulting in the same, beaten gameplay.
They say the issue is piracy - How did Valve develop Half-Life 2, succeed, then develop Team Fortress 2, succeed, and are now going on to develop Left 4 Dead - all marking major sales on the PC? Most of Valve's games have been pirated, yet it appears they are excelling in the market, especially in fame. If I recall correctly, Team Fortress 2 is one hell of a game, so piracy of Half-Life 2 couldn't have been absolutely devastating to Valve.
Personally, I see the possibility of a rootkit as a hard incentive for people to pirate the game to avoid system instability etc. This hardware is mine; I didn't pay hard money for someone else to put their *stuff* on it.
Perhaps quality and originality is a more effective way of generating legitiamate sales, not hype. Call of Duty 4 outsold Halo 3 despite all the hype. Why should Crysis outsell The Orange Box?
The paying public will as you say be stuck with the DRM. I like the take from INQ "Piracy the Better Choice (TM)(C)(R)" .... 
So in short, no Spore or any other game for me if it has "protection" like this.
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