Fragmented Development

After running around on their support forums for a couple hours, one of the 2K support techs provided me with the following information:

While it's still not perfect, this at least makes the game playable. The aforementioned "Create a local profile" is a plain hyperlink, hidden at the bottom of the description of the Games for Windows Live "service". It's definitely one of those weasel compromises that Microsoft is famous for; enough to keep their legal team happy, while basically forcing their service on people. If the process of creating an account didn't fail on three separate occasions, I would have never known to look for it.

With that considered, though, I can kind of understand why the 2K people would have integrated this Games for Windows nonsense into their game. With the knowledge that it is, indeed, optional to use the service (if you're willing to hunt the fuck around), and that Microsoft usually pays people in Yachts to implement their bullshit, it must be hard to be concerned for your users when you can't see them through all of the giant green dollar signs that were covering their eyeballs.

I'm excited that I can play this game, but will definitely be wary of purchasing another one. Anything with a "Games for Windows Live" label on it won't get a damn dime from me, now that I know what to look out for.