Jimquisition: Ubisoft - A Sad History of PC Failures

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leviadragon99

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Jun 17, 2010
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Yeah... it is rather annoying when a publisher blatantly treats PC gamers like second class citizens.
 

JemJar

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Feb 17, 2009
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Jim Sterling, how dare you tar the great Richard O'Brien by association with the horrible PR doublespeak of Ubisoft's charlatans?

Despicable, sir, I'll see you hanged.
 

Canadamus Prime

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Jun 17, 2009
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Thanatos2k said:
canadamus_prime said:
Catasros said:
this is all a bad joke, right? A bad, tasteless joke? Right? Ubisoft can't possibly be this much a bunch of moronic bastards, right? No?

. . . Is there ANY game publishers out there that we can still trust? At all?
In simple terms
about sums it up.
Game publishers are dicks. All of them.
Explain CD Projekt Red and Gog.com then.
GoG is not a publisher, they're a online retailer or digital distribution outlet. As for CD Project Red... jury's still out on them.
 
Dec 16, 2009
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Fyffer said:
Its sad, really. Ubisoft won't stop though, because the gaming community on the whole refuses to deprive themselves of the latest games to send the message that we won't put up with it. And lack of sales is really the only message they'll listen to, even if they'll lie about what it really means.
quoted for truth, i'm still waiting for people to vote with their wallet, i can believe the masses want this treatment
 

Infernai

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piscian said:
It reminds me of Dark Souls in the opposite fashion. From Software basically said "Hey guys we really dont have the talent or resources to make a PC version, but you asked for it so me made it. Sorry for the bugs" and they did a muuuuch better job on part 2, but the difference is they were honest and humble about it. I really don't get why Ubisoft has to be such dicks about everything. Why not simply be nice and garner fan support?
Because a large percentage of game publishers don't understand how basic P.R works. In a lot of ways, gaming's got a pretty big P.R problem.
 

geldonyetich

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I don't really blame Ubisoft for resorting to desperate gambits at DRM or avoiding the PC platform entirely due to piracy because, according to Escapist Magazine's own Shamus Young [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/experienced-points/7225-Piracy-Numbers], PC gamers generally are pirates. I'm not, but apparently that puts me in a minority.

That said, I'm less prone to forgive Ubisoft for releasing shoddy ports. Because, if you're going to release on a platform at all, it would be foolish to release it in a state that reflects poorly on your company. PC gamers are now looking at Ubisoft games as lemons, and will be less willing to pay much for them. Optimization isn't that expensive to do, so what a stupid way to run a company.

A more likely possibility is that Ubisoft is colluding with next-gen console manufacturers to water down the PC version deliberately so the XBone and PS4 would seem competitive. Of course, they're not going to say this publicly, because that would be absolutely unforgivable in the eyes of their consumers and do massive brand damage to all parties involved. Not this least of this being a confirmation that apparently the new generation of consoles are already obsolete to the PC.
 

Pebkio

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Nov 9, 2009
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Didn't Ubisoft just recently say that they wanted to focus on giving more services to games that wouldn't be able to be accessed if the game were pirated? And yet... it was people digging in the code who found content that Ubi wasn't going to provide to paying customers?

Are they just actively trying to do the exact opposite of the stuff that they say?
 

Mathalor

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Certain Indie companies, such as Double Fine and Goldhawk Interactive, have impressed me with customer service and game quality to the point where I'll take a long look at buying anything that those companies may make in the future.

For triple A publishers, I still like Valve.

Anything by EA, Ubisoft, or Activision had better be an incredible game for me to justify paying them any money.
 

Nuxxy

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Sgt. Sykes said:
Ubi's affair with DRM was quite interesting though:

- the famous StarForce in 2004
- 3 completely DRM-free games released (on DVD) in 2007
- then the always-online DRM in 2010...
Don't forget the latest: DRM is ineffective against piracy
See: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/135582-Ubisoft-DRM-is-Ineffective-Against-Piracy
 

blueskirt

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geldonyetich said:
I don't really blame Ubisoft for resorting to desperate gambits at DRM or avoiding the PC platform entirely due to piracy because, according to Escapist Magazine's own Shamus Young [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/experienced-points/7225-Piracy-Numbers], PC gamers generally are pirates. I'm not, but apparently that puts me in a minority.
Even if the 95% piracy rate is true, it's still doesn't excuse anything, because that measly 5% keeps on, time and again, raising millions after millions of dollars buying and gifting games during the summer and winter sales, raising money for charities like Humble Bundle or Summer Games Done Quick (which is happening right now), and funds entire games on Kickstarter.

Ubi should stop treating PC gamers as a bunch of freeloading pricks and be humble and grateful that awesome 5%, that keeps the PC gaming industry and so many other things alive and kicking, exists in the first place. But instead of trying to keep that 5% happy they prefer to cripple their own product with shoddy downgraded graphics and DRMs.
 

Thanatos2k

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canadamus_prime said:
Thanatos2k said:
canadamus_prime said:
Catasros said:
this is all a bad joke, right? A bad, tasteless joke? Right? Ubisoft can't possibly be this much a bunch of moronic bastards, right? No?

. . . Is there ANY game publishers out there that we can still trust? At all?
In simple terms
about sums it up.
Game publishers are dicks. All of them.
Explain CD Projekt Red and Gog.com then.
GoG is not a publisher, they're a online retailer or digital distribution outlet. As for CD Project Red... jury's still out on them.
Digital distribution platforms is publishing at this point.

How is the jury still out on CD Projekt Red?

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-2-dev-stops-pursuing-pirates/1100-6348579/
CD Projekt CEO and cofounder Marcin Iwinski has released an open letter to the gaming community revealing that the studio will immediately stop identifying and contacting pirates.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-2-dev-will-never-use-any-drm/1100-6365165/
CEO Marcin Iwinski said it will never again use DRM.
CD Projekt Red thinks DRM doesn't help.

"Every subsequent game, we will never use any DRM anymore. It's just overcomplicating things,"
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/06/17/cdp-on-free-witcher-dlc-next-gen-drm-concerns/
"But at the end of the day, the game [counts] ? and not the money. Because the game will make the money if it?s good. Some people think it?s the other way around, and in the short run ? business-wise ? it makes sense. ?I will sell this small thing for three dollars. It will make me $300,000. It?s good money. I will show more profit.? But at the end of the day, how many fans have you lost? And that?s just a very simple mentality we try to avoid.?
They have cared only for gamers for years.
 

Nurb

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Dec 9, 2008
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I wish piracy actually had an effect on big publishers. They need to go bankrupt
 

ConanThe3rd

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Nurb said:
I wish piracy actually had an effect on big publishers. They need to go bankrupt
Oh like some other clod with an even bigger Napoleon Complex wouldn't waltz in and make things even worse somehow.
 

Nurb

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Dec 9, 2008
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ConanThe3rd said:
Nurb said:
I wish piracy actually had an effect on big publishers. They need to go bankrupt
Oh like some other clod wouldn't waltz in and make things even worse somehow.
Breaking the monopoly the major publishers have by owning most of the developers allows for the independent developers to compete against one another again as they did in the 90's before EA, Ubisoft, and Activision started buying everyone up.

Developers in charge of games, not execs or shareholders.
 

shiajun

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The only Ubisoft games I've bought in the last decade are the new Rayman games, and I really dragged my feet for Rayman Legends because they just had to saddle it with Uplay. Even with that series, Ubi decided to delay the PC version of Origins for like forever and ***** about lower sales. Then, it gets put up on Steam and surprise, surprise, millions of sales have followed. It's not that they're anooying customers, they're shooting themselves in the foot sales wise with the treatment of even their non AAA games.
 

ToastiestZombie

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I think we can all agree that Ubisoft hates PC about as much as Atlus hates Europe. Which is a lot.
 

The Rogue Wolf

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Jim, Jim, Jim. Don't you understand? Ubisoft's DRM was successful at keeping PC piracy down to a paltry 95%! Why, without it, at least 250% of those scumbag PC gamers would've pirated their games! Everybody knows that PC gamers never, ever pay a dime for games without onerous, gamebreaking DRM- just ask Valve, or Good Old Games!

SomeGuySomewhereHere said:
I'll just leave this here.

http://whatifgaming.com/the-division-developer-insider-we-already-downgraded-a-few-things
...hoo boy. I wish I could say I was the least bit surprised. Of course, you have to look askance at anonymous sources and all, but haven't we already seen this drama play out?
 

tzimize

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An Ceannaire said:
It's times like this that I'm ashamed I own as many Ubisoft games as I do.
Yeah....me too...I was stupid enough to buy some origin games in a sale as well. Dead Space 3 coop, broken (STILL), BF3 coop, broken (STILL).

Which reminds me, so is the new splinter cell coop. I really, REALLY dont see why companies with so much resources manage to make games with so many connection problems, and then small, more or less broke indie-publishers manage to make flawless connection games. How? HOW?!

I just have to learn to say no. Maybe they'll get the picture in the end.

On the flip side, I just pre-ordered Witcher 3 from GoG. And I felt all warm and fuzzy inside when I did too.