DRM seems like its a real problem. Can anyone explain to me what it is exactly?
digital rights management, it's basically a way to stop piracy.
it can be done in a variety of ways, the very common key codes you use to authenticate are a form of drm (like with Blockland). it's not really a bad thing when done properly, but most developers do it in a way that usually badly affects the consumers, so obviously many people don't like it.
with SimCity, EA/Maxis decided to go with an always-online type of DRM that forces you to constantly stay online so it can constantly authenticate your game (to ensure you didn't steal it). the real downside? if you don't stay online, you can't play your game at all. if EA/Maxis' servers crash or overload, you can't play the game. if they eventually shutdown their servers, you won't be able to play it at all (unless they give out some sort of patch to fix this). this SimCity is basically just an MMO game that features a mode that lets you play by yourself, but you can't access any part of the game without an internet connection.