Ubisoft Ditches Always-On DRM

Waaghpowa

Needs more Dakka
Apr 13, 2010
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I'm confused and don't know how to feel. Should I be happy that the bullshit is over which could entice me to actually buy Ubisoft games now or should I be annoyed that it took them this long to get rid of the stupid thing?
 

Aggieknight

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Dec 6, 2009
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SmashLovesTitanQuest said:
Sorry UBI, but you've lost me already. Should have listened a year ago when the entire internet was telling you just how stupid this whole DRM thing was.
Regardless of the reason, I for one am glad that they have finally made adjustments and will temporarily suspend my vendetta.
 

DoPo

"You're not cleared for that."
Jan 30, 2012
8,665
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Harker067 said:
Hmm well they've made me reconsider getting Heroes of might and magic 6 but we'll see how things go...
If you do, I still have a coupon [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.386490-Steam-coupon-for-Heroes-6-DLC] for the DLC campaign. But just know that the new DRM scheme wouldn't affect Heroes - it's only for new titles. H6 still requires always-online. Well, technically you can pay offline, but you lose some features of the game, which is annoying as hell and online single play is preferable.
 

Weaver

Overcaffeinated
Apr 28, 2008
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Metzeten said:
I wonder if the reason it only made up 7% of sales was because of the horrific and stupid DRM that actually made it preferable to be using a pirate copy.

This is almost certainly going to boost their PC sales.
I'd say this too.

Michael Pachter estimated Ubisoft's PC sales dropped by 90% with no boost to console sales after their DRM policy took hold.
 

TheDutch3Z

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Feb 22, 2012
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4RM3D said:
Metzeten said:
I wonder if the reason it only made up 7% of sales was because of the horrific and stupid DRM that actually made it preferable to be using a pirate copy.

This is almost certainly going to boost their PC sales.
DVS BSTrD said:
Though Ubisoft's DRM is no longer a PC problem, it's worth noting that - according to Ubisoft's figures - PC sales made up only 7% of the total in the last fiscal year. You do know WHY it was only 7% don't you Ubisoft?
I am not going to defend Ubisoft here. But PC games get pirated on a MASSIVE scale; not just Ubisoft, every publisher suffers from piracy. Consoles have far less piracy and thus are more popular for devs.

The overall piracy rate for a popular game is between 50% and 75% on the PC and less than 20% on consoles.

Actually, games get pirated less because of DRM. The loss of people not buying the game because of DRM is less than the loss of people who pirate the game (who were potential buyers). The DRM gets cracked eventually, but it is just to prevent the game from being pirated for as long as possible, usually a week or 2.
CD Project would like to have a word with you
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117361-DRM-Is-Still-Dumb-Says-CD-Projekt
 

kortin

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Mar 18, 2011
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Too bad. Always On DRM is better than a lot of the other stuff they could throw at us. Like install limit.
 

Sixties Spidey

Elite Member
Jan 24, 2008
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Ubisoft, you jack-offs have been saying this since ACII launched on the PC and each year you've been saying "It's gone." I'm not going to believe you until you A: Remove it entirely, B: Get rid of fucking Uplay, and C: Embrace Steamworks. Up until then, I'm watching very carefully.
 

unstabLized

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Mar 9, 2012
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I'm glad. Ubisoft has made many games I've liked in the past. They only treat the PC crowd badly, and the DRM was really bad. I must say, this looks really good on my eyes. If they keep this up, I'll be happy again, and since I'm happier now, I'm willing to put aside some money for Assassin's creed 3. A small step in the right direction? Yes. But a right step none the less. Good for Ubisoft.
 

Harker067

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Sep 21, 2010
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DoPo said:
Harker067 said:
Hmm well they've made me reconsider getting Heroes of might and magic 6 but we'll see how things go...
If you do, I still have a coupon [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.386490-Steam-coupon-for-Heroes-6-DLC] for the DLC campaign. But just know that the new DRM scheme wouldn't affect Heroes - it's only for new titles. H6 still requires always-online. Well, technically you can pay offline, but you lose some features of the game, which is annoying as hell and online single play is preferable.
I figured it would probably stay as such. My not buying it yet had more to do with I don't want to give you money while you're still doing this shitty policy (and some of the reviews though they've probably patched by now) then directly related to it being on the game. Thanks for the info and pointing out your coupon though :) I'll be thinking about it.
 

Griffolion

Elite Member
Aug 18, 2009
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It's easy to mock them for U-turning (no pun intended), but it's a move I respect and welcome. One off activations are fine by me.
 

not_you

Don't ask, or you won't know
Mar 16, 2011
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holy shitmonkeys on a biscuit...

you mean I can FINALLY play Assassins Creed without having to worry about my shaky internet connection!?!

Well done Ubisoft, it's only taken a few years... Better late than never I suppose!

Alright, that's a bit harsh, but it IS nice to see a company holding so many 'good' IP's to take a step forward and actually solve something that's wrong with themselves...

Now if only EA had a different marketing strategy... Activision didn't release the same game every year, and Microsoft actually make windows 8 for desktops and not tablets...
Oh, for the perfect world of technology!
 

ElPatron

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Jul 18, 2011
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4RM3D said:
I am not going to defend Ubisoft here. But PC games get pirated on a MASSIVE scale; not just Ubisoft, every publisher suffers from piracy. Consoles have far less piracy and thus are more popular for devs.
Next time provide source for those numbers and percentages.

Every year I check the most pirated games, the number of pirated copies downloaded in PCs is only a couple times higher than the number of pirated console releases. That's not what I call "massive". To me "massive" is like a million times greater. Two or three times isn't "massive".


4RM3D said:
Actually, games get pirated less because of DRM. The loss of people not buying the game because of DRM is less than the loss of people who pirate the game (who were potential buyers). The DRM gets cracked eventually, but it is just to prevent the game from being pirated for as long as possible, usually a week or 2.

No. The crackers (not "white people", the guys who make cracks) have a reputation. They want respect in the hacking scene. So they rush to crack a really tough DRM.

I remember there was a game that was released DRM-free and with DRM. The version with DRM was the one you found in torrents.

Also, no matter how many uninformed consumers/apologists exist, the use of draconian DRM only drives away sales.
 

Dogstile

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Jan 17, 2009
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4RM3D said:
dangoball said:
inb4 you being labeled as corporate sell-out :p

OT:
Well, this is good, right? So let's enjoy it while it lasts, for as we all know, big companies like to shoot themself in their feet. ;)
Meh, just explaining the situation.

You got two kinds of pirates:

1) People that don't CARE about the impact on the industry.
2) Poeple that don't KNOW about the impact on the industry.

The first group is hopeless to talk to, but I might be able to knock some sense into the second group ;)

I am not a fan of DRM. The usual ones, e.g. first time activation, are not so bad and I don't tend to have an issue with it. But Ubisoft went too far with the always online DRM. The install limit on some DRMs sucks also.
Eh, it won't achieve anything. Anyone who is willing to pirate a game doesn't mind waiting a few weeks. Its free, after all.
 

Royas

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Apr 25, 2008
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4RM3D said:
Metzeten said:
I wonder if the reason it only made up 7% of sales was because of the horrific and stupid DRM that actually made it preferable to be using a pirate copy.

This is almost certainly going to boost their PC sales.
DVS BSTrD said:
Though Ubisoft's DRM is no longer a PC problem, it's worth noting that - according to Ubisoft's figures - PC sales made up only 7% of the total in the last fiscal year. You do know WHY it was only 7% don't you Ubisoft?
I am not going to defend Ubisoft here. But PC games get pirated on a MASSIVE scale; not just Ubisoft, every publisher suffers from piracy. Consoles have far less piracy and thus are more popular for devs.

The overall piracy rate for a popular game is between 50% and 75% on the PC and less than 20% on consoles.

Actually, games get pirated less because of DRM. The loss of people not buying the game because of DRM is less than the loss of people who pirate the game (who were potential buyers). The DRM gets cracked eventually, but it is just to prevent the game from being pirated for as long as possible, usually a week or 2.
And your source for all of this information is... what? Show the proof.

Personally, I tend to see games protected by pretty much all DRM schemes around online not within two weeks, not within 1 week, not even within 1 day, but within hours of release. Sometimes, even before official release. DRM does NOT work at all, it only stops the honest and the ignorant. I doubt there is a game in my library that I couldn't have pirated on the same day it was released, except for a few that were the first examples of a new scheme.

PC games are certainly pirated, and a lot. But so are consoles.

Anyway, I really wonder if this is just because they are currently coming up with something even worse. The mind shudders to think of what evil plans they may have for us.
 

GameMaNiAC

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Sep 8, 2010
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RhombusHatesYou said:
Deviate said:
I still don't trust them as far as I can throw them and the things they've said about the PC gamers over the years hasn't magically been unsaid yet. However, I am willing to give this gesture a token of approval by buying some game or another from them. Which one, eeeeh, doesn't matter I guess. Anyway, good job Ubisoft, but I still got my eye on you dogfuckers.
Yeah, between this and Epic suddenly deciding that "no, really, we've always loved the PC" I'm not sure what the fuck is happening but it's making me very suspicious.
Something very suspicious is going on. They're plotting something. We're onto them.

llyrnion said:
Well, AC1 is on gog.com, with no DRM, naturally. Who knows, maybe we don't have to wait too much for AC2 being there, too.
AC1 didn't have any DRM originally, as far as I know.
 

Midnight Crossroads

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Jul 17, 2010
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A video game publisher listened to customer feedback and actually did something right? Did I land in some parallel universe? because I feel like I'm being fed bullshit. I'm shocked, man.