Ubisoft Clarifies New Online DRM Scheme

[DevilSShadoW]

Ok , i understand Ubi's DRM policy. So i guess, once i buy AC2 i should be expecting a check from Ubi to pay my monthly internet bill so i can play their game? Because that's the only logical solution i see. I mean, are they assuming i have free internet?

 

[Rainboq]

DRM does nothing but punish everyone, unless you do like Shamus said, if you don't verify the game, it alters the game that gives something like an impossible keycard quest, and the keycard doesn't exist

 

[fix-the-spade]

Ubisoft VP:Greetings valued customer what valued customer, to aleviate recent piracy issues, as well as to make sure that you get the best possible experience from all our products, we are implementing a new, free and cum-pulsary rape service!
I'm here for your first session.

Unfortunate Customer:Bubububububut...butbutubu...

Ubisoft VP:I am aware this may seem an unorthodox method of improving your user experience. But don't worry, to ensure the highest possible standard of experience, I'm going to use lube.

#zzzzzzip#

Now bend over...

As ever, the Pirates will laugh, the Publisher will flail and the Customer gets screwed.
Bravo Ubisoft.

 

[Onsokumaru]

Still a really crappy idea. What if I go on vacation or something to a place with no internet connect, what would I do then!

Enjoy your vacation maybe?

Anyway, it would be nice to just for once see gamers actually not buying a game they say they're going to boycott because of DRM. To clarify: no matter how much you guys are bitching about it Ass Creed 2 is gonna be a top seller and the publisher will get the message that DRM works. Again...

 

[Altorin]

Ubisoft VP:Greetings valued customer what valued customer, to aleviate recent piracy issues, as well as to make sure that you get the best possible experience from all our products, I'm here to rape you!
Unfortunate Customer:Bubububububut...butbutubu...

Sometimes, a joke will be made, that causes an uproarious belly laughter.

This is one of those times.

There is benefit, it literally stops the piracy if each game has to be "verified" by Ubisoft servers. Additionally, if I recall correctly they stated you could play the game from any computer as a consequence. I'm not entirely clued up on that one though.

Bit of a news flash for you. Crackers are smart. Almost all of them have day jobs where they make enough money to buy all the games they want. They see cracking these games as a challenging puzzle. They will absolutely LOVE cracking Assassin's Creed 2.

Spore had a similar "Must be connected" DRM (it wasn't nearly as draconian as this, but I digress). It was cracked and released to the web a week before it was released on the street.

All DRM does is cause problems for legitimate consumers. This is the worst idea in the history of DRM.

 

[Woodsey]

What about the people who want to travel, or have an intermittent internet connection (lookin at Australia).

It's extremely unfair for those people and there literally is no benefit for having it.

If you want to travel, surely the reason you are doing so isn't just to look at the same computer screen in a different location? As for Australia suffering intermittence, it seems Ubisoft answered that. Not ideal I know.

There is benefit, it literally stops the piracy if each game has to be "verified" by Ubisoft servers. Additionally, if I recall correctly they stated you could play the game from any computer as a consequence. I'm not entirely clued up on that one though.

I think you'd be surprised at the number of people who have PCs specifically for gaming, which they don't connect to the internet.

EDIT: Even if your PC is connected, a great number of people suffer patchy connections that flicker on and off every 15 minutes.

In those circumstances this will indeed be bad news, however unfortunate it is there isn't enough of these individuals to not have this particular method, as evidence by the choice to implement.

Units sold: Units online for previous Ubisoft games as well as market research have presented less of a net loss than if not implementing. A shame, but that's the way enterprises work.

And while eating it. Oh and if the tree that leaf came from dies you lose your apple.

If the leaf goes back onto the apple, you just have to brush it off again.

I think if the tree died it will be far beyond the need for the farmer to ask you to brush the leaf off and allow you to eat the apple with or without the leaf.

...

In all my Escapist posts, I have never talked about a tree, leaf, or apple.

Mis-quote me thinks.

 

[Jandau]

I challenge ANYONE to tell me how this will reduce Piracy. ANYONE!

Pirated copies will be cracked and likely won't have to check in with any servers anywhere. The ONLY way you will be affected by this is if you actually have an uncracked copy!

 

[FinalFrog]

One point they haven't mentioned is the problem of support. Eventually they're going to have so many servers letting people play games that they're going to have to retire some games to make room for more. Look at X-Box Live (not 360 Live) being put to bed permanently less than a decade after it launched. At some point in the future, they're going to decide that pretty much everyone has finished with AC2 and retire the server which lets you play. Then you will have nothing to show for your $50. Let me clarify that:

THIS GAME WILL CEASE TO EXIST IN LIKELY LESS THAN A DECADE. HOPE YOU FINISH IT BEFORE THEN.

Unless you pirate it that is, in that case of course you won't have to worry about anything except the fact that you're a very very naughty person.

Personally I'm so disgusted with this whole thing I don't even want to pirate it much less play it.

 

[Exocet]

I fail to see the reasoning behind it.
It's almost as if they WANT to see the game flop on PC so they can cry,point fingers at pirates and decide not to make games for PC anymore.

I'm FAR from being an expert in the domain,but this is NOT good business practice.
A bunch of first year marketing students who know nothing of gaming could make better decisions!

 

[TOGSolid]

The only explanation for Ubisoft's sudden stupidity and complete lack of care that everyone pretty much hates them now, is that Ubisoft is intentionally trying to create the excuse to completely axe their PC gaming division.

Not that we'll be losing anything of value. Ubisoft is one of the crappiest publishing studios out there these days. It's rare that they put out anything good. Usually they just spend their time running Tom Clancy's name further into the ground.

 

[Hashbrick]

Anyone who wants contact info just look in linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ubisoft

DRM has been nothing but poison, it doesn't stop pirates and it loses sales because the amount of bullshit the customer has to do to install and play the damn thing. It's better to just sell it and not worry about who pirates because you will still be making more than if you paid for DRM technologies and sold it as such.

This new scheme they have going on is quite insane. I know what they are trying to do, only allow access if it can contact the ubisoft servers, however a simple crack could run the game in a mode where it probably won't save your game but you can play it. Back to the NES days where saving was rendered impossible and all nighters turned into all dayers.

If anything the ones pirating will get pissed off at that fact alone and buy the game or just say screw it. Maybe ubi has something going here, but one thing it didn't take in consideration is the honest paying gamers.

More and more console gaming is growing and this is the exact reason, play on the PC and get fucked hard. If this turns out to be a total loss to ubi they will just stop making PC titles, game over.

 

[Bretty]

I am so glad they clarified this...

 

[fix-the-spade]

This is one of those times.

That's good, but I had a serious point damnit!

 

[TOGSolid]

If this turns out to be a total loss to ubi they will just stop making PC titles, game over.

And nothing of value was lost. I can't remember the last time Ubisoft put out a game that was actually worth the money I spent on it. I'm one of those "honest paying gamers" and all I can say is that I'm not going to be buying anything from Ubi, no matter what the platform. These guys can get fucked.

 

[Altorin]

Bit of a news flash for you. Crackers are smart. Almost all of them have day jobs where they make enough money to buy all the games they want. They see cracking these games as a challenging puzzle. They will absolutely LOVE cracking Assassin's Creed 2.

Spore had a similar "Must be connected" DRM (it wasn't nearly as draconian as this, but I digress). It was cracked and released to the web a week before it was released on the street.

All DRM does is cause problems for legitimate consumers. This is the worst idea in the history of DRM.

Don't even try and patronise me, I'm well aware there are individuals out there who's only purpose is to circumvent these failsafes.

These individuals also work for these companies implementing, said crackers are hired to aid them in creating new defences. Firewall manufacturers hire them, and now games companies do.

To find something succesful, many stages have to be trialed before hand. It's like saying my current relationship is destined to fail because all my previous ones have. There will be a point where DRM is succesful, and thus the issue (for the company, which is the only thing that matters in the grand scale) will be resolved.

...

are you Skynet?