Australian Gamers Struggling Under Ubisoft DRM

[Callex]

It's a shame the developers for such a unique game have had this DRM thrusted upon them... I bought the game about a week ago, and while I haven't had any trouble, there is a noticable lack of online players. They have about 20 different in-game chat rooms for all kinds of topics, and I've yet to see another player in there =(

 

[danosaurus]

So sad but it's not going to change anytime soon so everyone might as well get used to it

 

[AnarchistAbe]

Congrats Ubisoft. You've earned a giant "F*ck You" and managed to alienate the entire PC market!!!

 

[AceDiamond]

Ubisoft, seriously. Stop it. There's no harm in admitting this was all a huge mistake. People will probably like you again for admitting as such.

This is especially a shame because of my actual interest in quite a few Ubisoft titles that are coming out soon but that I refuse to buy while this DRM scheme continues.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

Ban this piece of crap, we are being once more treated like criminals. AWAY with your head.

My thoughts precisely. Every attempt at anti-piracy never ever works; why can't corporations realize this?

 

[Simalacrum]

You know what? Ubisoft should just drop this whole damned thing before it causes more havoc for their consumers and their reputation.

 

[dochmbi]

This DRM is actually stopping piracy, which is a industry first (well, except for splinter cell chaos theory). AC 2 still not cracked after almost a month out.

 

[brunothepig]

I'm not sure what to do. On the one hand, I want these games. If I do buy them, I will just crack them, and problem solved. However, even if I'm just one among many statistics, it still tells Ubisoft people will still buy these games... I don't know, maybe when they've dropped to bargain price I will.

 

[Bat Vader]

I understand that they want to punish pirates but making the game rely on an internet connection to play is just silly. If they want to punish pirates than they should find a way to do so that doesn't also punish the people who bought the game.

This was the main reason I bought Assassins Creed 2 for the consoles. So I would not have to put up with this kind of DRM.

 

[praetor_alpha]

[HEADING=2][font color=red]Horribly Construed Metaphor Time[/font][/HEADING]

Imagine that UbiSoft's games were in fact, your [font color=blue]car[/font], Ubi themselves being the [font color=blue]dealer[/font].
The [font color=blue]bus[/font] and [font color=blue]truck[/font] are both different, and slightly less entertaining games from another company.
Their DRM can be thought-of as an electronic [font color=blue]key[/font] that uses wireless internet to validate itself, in an attempt to make sure the vehicle isn't being hotwired.
The final piece, namely the enjoyment you get from playing the game, can be equated to [font color=blue]your job[/font] (aka [font color=blue]work[/font]).

I don't give two peanut-decorated shits WHY my [font color=blue]key[/font] won't let me start my [font color=blue]car[/font], the fact is I'm late for [font color=blue]work[/font] because I have to take the [font color=blue]bus[/font] because my fucking [font color=blue]car[/font] won't start. And while the problem may rest entirely with the [font color=blue]key[/font], the [font color=blue]car[/font] may be just peachy otherwise, it doesn't change the fact that I'm late for [font color=blue]work[/font]. The whole fucking reason I bought the [font color=blue]car[/font] was to get to [font color=blue]my job[/font], and if it can't do that reliably with the [font color=blue]car[/font] I bought, I'm taking it back to the [font color=blue]dealer[/font] to get my money back. I'll buy some [font color=blue]truck[/font] from another company and never buy from this [font color=blue]dealer[/font] again in my life!

I have a similar metaphor for unskippable logos at the start of games (particularly Borderlands, and anything EA).

 

[Amnestic]

I have a similar metaphor for unskippable logos at the start of games (particularly Borderlands, and anything EA).

Cracks for removing those kind of things aren't illegal though, are they? And they're out fairly swiftly no matter the game.

 

[Avatar Roku]

This DRM is actually stopping piracy, which is a industry first (well, except for splinter cell chaos theory). AC 2 still not cracked after almost a month out.

It was my impression that AC2 actually has been cracked. I don't really follow that sort of thing, though.

 

[paketep]

What?. Legitimate buyers (ok, renters) unable to play the game they bought because of another Ubi DRM fuckup?.

Shocking, I tell you, SHOCKING!

 

[Therumancer]

Sadly I do not think Ubisoft is going to give up despite this, I figure they are going to continue to support the system and otherwise figure they have some bugs to iron out...

See, unless people stop buying Ubisoft games because of this, they have no reason to listen. Gamers in general seem to be viewed as a crowd who will whine about stuff like this, but never take any meaningful action, we'll spend the money even as we cry.

"Settlers 7" came out after the annoucement about the DRM. In general I have little sympathy for *MOST* people who bought this game knowing Ubisoft's policies. Granted there might be a few innocent victims out there that don't follow this kind of thing on The Internet, and I have sympathy for them... but otherwise they pretty much got what they bought into.

As ironic as this might sound, I was never a huge fan of Assasin's Creed (got the first one despite reservations based on the theme, wasn't impressed enough to buy the second), but I was looking at "The Settlers" a while back because I tend to like strategy games. However I nixed it off my list because of the DRM policy. I decided to buy a differant game instead and shifted the money I had saved for it to a pre-order of "Agarest War" for the 360.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

Sadly I do not think Ubisoft is going to give up despite this, I figure they are going to continue to support the system and otherwise figure they have some bugs to iron out...

See, unless people stop buying Ubisoft games because of this, they have no reason to listen. Gamers in general seem to be viewed as a crowd who will whine about stuff like this, but never take any meaningful action, we'll spend the money even as we cry.

"Settlers 7" came out after the annoucement about the DRM. In general I have little sympathy for *MOST* people who bought this game knowing Ubisoft's policies. Granted there might be a few innocent victims out there that don't follow this kind of thing on The Internet, and I have sympathy for them... but otherwise they pretty much got what they bought into.

As ironic as this might sound, I was never a huge fan of Assasin's Creed (got the first one despite reservations based on the theme, wasn't impressed enough to buy the second), but I was looking at "The Settlers" a while back because I tend to like strategy games. However I nixed it off my list because of the DRM policy. I decided to buy a differant game instead and shifted the money I had saved for it to a pre-order of "Agarest War" for the 360.

I feel bad but I must agree. It's like they're buying a car that they know has no engine but nevertheless by the damn car. They then come back and complain the car doesn't run, well no shit.

 

[Xanadu84]

[HEADING=2][font color=red]Horribly Construed Metaphor Time[/font][/HEADING]

Imagine that UbiSoft's games were in fact, your [font color=blue]car[/font], Ubi themselves being the [font color=blue]dealer[/font].
The [font color=blue]bus[/font] and [font color=blue]truck[/font] are both different, and slightly less entertaining games from another company.
Their DRM can be thought-of as an electronic [font color=blue]key[/font] that uses wireless internet to validate itself, in an attempt to make sure the vehicle isn't being hotwired.
The final piece, namely the enjoyment you get from playing the game, can be equated to [font color=blue]your job[/font] (aka [font color=blue]work[/font]).

I don't give two peanut-decorated shits WHY my [font color=blue]key[/font] won't let me start my [font color=blue]car[/font], the fact is I'm late for [font color=blue]work[/font] because I have to take the [font color=blue]bus[/font] because my fucking [font color=blue]car[/font] won't start. And while the problem may rest entirely with the [font color=blue]key[/font], the [font color=blue]car[/font] may be just peachy otherwise, it doesn't change the fact that I'm late for [font color=blue]work[/font]. The whole fucking reason I bought the [font color=blue]car[/font] was to get to [font color=blue]my job[/font], and if it can't do that reliably with the [font color=blue]car[/font] I bought, I'm taking it back to the [font color=blue]dealer[/font] to get my money back. I'll buy some [font color=blue]truck[/font] from another company and never buy from this [font color=blue]dealer[/font] again in my life!

That...was a way more logically consistent metaphor then I was expecting. Nice.

It is pretty hilarious that, in practice, Ubisoft is putting a whole bunch of effort into making a DRM scam that does nothing to pirates, hurts consumers, and loses them sales, its been so obvious that this would fail since day 1, and we consumers have been repeatedly begging Ubi to let us give them our money, and they keep refusing. None of this makes any sense.

 

[samsonguy920]

.....It's still early days for the system, and you can only assume that it will eventually improve, but while the system requires a constant internet connection, this will continue to be a problem.

You know what happens when you assume, right?

What really burns my butt about this is Ubisoft is actually putting out some interesting games. Assassin's Creed 2, Silent Hunter 5, and RUSE are all ones I would love to try. RUSE's promo trailer makes me think it would be an awesome game for Microsoft Surface.
Ubisoft would have to be stubborn to the point of complete absence of brain cells to maintain this DRM when it has to have affected sales noticeably by now. Also the money they are putting into server maintenance with no income for that in return has to be biting their budget.
But until my own budget improves to where I can afford console games, I won't be touching Ubisoft's PC library as long as this is maintained. It's not just your ability to actually play the game that is a factor, but I have to wonder when one of these server crashes causes account losses and people are completely SOL at playing their game at all. I would think fixing identity theft would be easier than trying to get Ubisoft to restore a lost account.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Is this relevant, really, anymore?

According to America, Australia is one of the highest pirating nations. So by their logic we shouldn't be affected overly much.

You expect a nation descended from the worst of the worst to be law abiding?