Ubisoft Online DRM: It's Worse Than Expected

[Void(null)]

Valve have stated numerous times that they keep a Activation Free version of their Steam Client with every patch. So that should Steam ever go out of business you will receive a small patch that will allow you to play all of your Steam games without needing to ever connect to Valves servers again.

You can then back up all of your Games yourself onto DVD using the backup utility built into Steam. [http://supportwiki.steampowered.com/wiki/Using_the_Steam_Backup_Feature]

It's probably obvious by now that I don't follow news like this often. So, kudos to them that there is a backup I didn't know about.

Herein lies my concern though: I don't have Steam installed on my computer. If, in five, ten years time I were to try to install the game, would it work? Or would any games not installed at time of Steam's shutdown be lost?

I guess where I'm going with a lot of this is that, even with workarounds and backups, I see what they did with Steam as setting something of a precident. This article didn't surprise me one bit.

If hypothetically. In 10 years time Steam was shut down and you did not have Steam installed on your Computer, I am sure there would be other places to download the installer. Downloads.com or fileplanet for example.

Would you be able to download your games again? Probably not. It seems to be your responsibility to maintain the physical backup or your digital distribution title.

As for this type of DRM being no surprise... it shouldn't be, because it was one of the things EA was considering doing with Spore, Mass Effect & Dead Space a few years back.

EA decided it would be a really bad idea and the backlash would be terrible, so they started the limited activation DRM precedent instead.

 

[Snotnarok]

The problem is, Ubisoft isn't going to learn from people pirating the game, they'll be just as fucking stupid and make a worse DRM next time

Ubisoft have demonstrated that they will not learn that DRM is bad from:

People buying Prince of Persia because of the lack of DRM.
People Boycotting Ubisofts games with SecuRom.
People Boycotting Ubisoft's games with Limited Install DRM.

Ubisoft will not learn from people boycotting Assassins Creed 2 because of this outrageous form of DRM, and I know I for one was very much interested in playing Assassins Creed 2, so if Buying and Boycotting haven't worked... why should people miss out on a game they were looking forward to playing and would have purchased had Ubisoft not pulled this ***** move?

Microsoft went on record this year saying:

"The Pirates are our biggest competitor, and they have one hell of a product at an unbeatable price."

At this point I am beginning to agree with them, if the Pirates are such a big deal then they must be offering one hell of a service and Ubisoft should be competing by offering me something that the Pirates can not.

Buying a game should be:

1: Easier to install and play than a Pirated version

At this point it seems easier to torrent and crack a game, than deal with the massive headache of DRM.

2: Run better than the Pirated version.

Cracked versions these days have superior performance and stability, bypassing or removing entirely things like TAGES, SecuRom and GFWL which have been known to cause instability and conflicts.

3: Be easy to Patch and update

Often times cracker groups will continue to provide patch and updated crack's in one easy to use package. Becoming more convenient than the tiered patches publishers are so fond of these days where you need to download and install 10 different patches in the correct order, or forcing you to use their service like the EA Downloader.

Piracy is cheaper, more convenient and provides a superior product. The downside being that it is that its illegal.

I want to buy Assassins Creed 2, I want to play it and enjoy it and I want to support the industry to ensure more games of such quality continue to be released on the PC.

But when I pay $50-60 for a game, I want to be able to play it when I want to, install it when I want to and play it on whatever computer I want to.

When I pay $50-60 for a game, I should not be limited on how many times I can reinstall it, nor should I be forced to be connected to the internet at all times to play it.

The war should be against Piracy, Ubisoft seem to have forgotten that the Pirates are the ones not paying for the product and their current protection schemes only serve to hurt the paying customer.

Piracy is wrong because it's theft on the part of the consumer.
DRM is wrong because its theft on the part of the publisher.

When placed into the position where as a consumer I can either be screwed over, or screw someone else over... I know which one I would prefer.

But I shouldn't be placed into that position in the first place.

The problem is the DRM doesn't stop pirates or people from getting illegal copies, it just hurts consumers and it makes no sense for them to even say that it's to stop piracy.

The game will be out on torrent sites a week before it hits stores and do you honestly think there'll be DRM in it? You can bet Sparksters helmet it's not gonna have any form of DRM and they'll be enjoying their game free of charge and free of ANNOYING DRM.

Bioware and steam have it the right way, Bioware gives you goodies for buying it new, free DLC and the like, Steam just needs you to connect to the net, but you can set games to play in offline mode and it works.

I know people complain about steam too but let's be honest people, the deals they give out and the service they provide and compared to the ALTERNATIVES steam is that light at the end of the tunnel with the other paths ending in roach infested bathrooms...with a corporate executive asking you to pull your pants down.

 

[Void(null)]

horrible, horrible, horrible.

and yes, I think a crack is in fact illegal.

I'm sorry, but I have no reason to support this at all.

Cracking is a form of reverse engineering, which is illegal. So Buying the game and then downloading the crack, is no less illegal than Pirating a game outright.

 

[JaredXE]

Hmm, well then I'll just get the illegal patch that will fix that horrible abortion Ubisoft is giving me.

Hey Ubisoft! Quit sitting on your ass and get me my BG&E2 instead of fiddling with some useless DRM that will never work!

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

isn't this old news? like a month ago?

 

[scorch 13]

Finally the console gamers can do something pc gamers cant...kindof.

 

[rekabdarb]

hey the road to hell is paved with good intentions

 

[antipunt]

Someone please explain the logic of this to me. Isn't the whole point of DRM to -dis-courage piracy? The only thing I see here is a bunch of angry, legitimate customers. Really now, it's not rocket-science is it?

 

[Callate]

Well, it's been said, but I'll say it again: this DRM tactic's most notable effect is to make a pirated, cracked version that doesn't require connection to Ubisoft's servers to play more attractive than the legitimately purchased version whose sales the DRM presumably exists to protect.

There are Ubisoft games in front of me on the shelf as I speak. Rayman's Raving Rabbids, the Prince of Persia series... But no, I will not buy a game with this kind of intrustive copy-protection scheme. Not for any price. My time is more valuable than that.

It's a pity. I suspect the game's designers can't love this. This has the smell of "bean counter who never has to directly deal with the public as anything other than dots on a graph" on it.

 

[Void(null)]

Someone please explain the logic of this to me. Isn't the whole point of DRM to -dis-courage piracy? The only thing I see here is a bunch of angry, legitimate customers. Really now, it's not rocket-science is it?

I think the logic is:

"Pirates will not be able to connect to our server so they will not be able to play the game. They will never be able to crack the process by which we are attempting this, it shall be 100% effective and our customers will not mind because anyone who is not a criminal should have nothing to hide and not mind the only minor inconvenience that will only effect 0.01% of our customer base because no one plays computer games without dedicated internet access anymore."

Its really poor logic that only works in a Michael Jackson'esk never never land fantasy reality. But there you have it.

 

[Nazulu]

UBISOFT ARE INSANE! We'll someone is, I live in Australia so I know I'm right when I say "you need internet for a single player game? That's fuckin' nuts!"

 

[NickIsCool]

Right, that's it, I'm not buying it.

This isn't a boycott, I just don't need that kind of fucking hassle when I play. I'll go play a game that doesn't treat me like a potential criminal.

this

and its a shame too

i was really looking forward to AC2 and the next splinter cell and the new prince of persia

but if thats how its gonna be, i'll just pass

i dont see the point with any drm really

no matter what they do, pirates will get the game DRM free within hours of its release

the only people this hurts is the people who pay

 

[TechNoFear]

Dear Ubisoft company exec,
I am a gamer and pay for all my games (as I am also a developer).

I mostly get to play games while 'on site' in remote locations without any internet access available.

Your DRM means I can not buy your product (unless I find, or create, a DRM free version), so adding this 'protection' just lost your company legitimate sales.

Cheers,
TechNoFear

 

[mdk31]

Sad thing is, this won't stop piracy one bit. Pirates will crack any DRM scheme within a day. All this is going to end up doing is cause people who would otherwise buy it to pirate it so they don't have to worry about Ubisoft's servers' whims, or their net connection. When will software companies learn that you don't gain customers by treating them like criminals?

 

[Ligisttomten]

And in related news, the piracy rate for Ubisoft games just went up to 100%.

 

[Tears of Blood]

I am not happy about this. Not happy at all. Luckily, I'm a console gamer, but that is just BS. I better not start getting this kind of DRM on my consoles. -.-;

I can't decide if the solution to this problem is to start supporting software piracy or to just stop buying games with DRM.

 

[Citrus]

This is worse than expected. Not only is Ubisoft encouraging piracy, but they're making it completely justifiable; pay $60 for a game that treats you like a thief and shuts down every time your internet stutters, or pay $0 for the hassle-free version.

The sad thing is that Ubisoft's developers are working their tails off to make great games and their marketing division are working their tails off to make them as unappealing as possible.

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

This is just going to make gamers want to pirate the game.

 

[Sgt Doom]

Meh, they'll get away with it. Lots of people are going to buy it regardless, and those of us that speak out against it will be ignored because we didn't go to their offices and lynch a few staff members. They'll pass off the piracy rates as another excuse to ignore PC gamers and eventually shrug off the PC platform entirely.

 

[Scrythe]

Aaaand that's why I'm buying it on PS3.