Ubisoft Online DRM: It's Worse Than Expected

[tman_au]

Time to boycott Ubi Soft. To add insult to injury, some warez group will probably crack it before it's even released. Again it's punishing those that forked out for the game. The DRM in Mass Effect 2 is the right way to go. At least people are getting additional stuff for buying the game. This on the other hand is a sick joke. No way should anyone need an active connection to play a single player game.

 

[Gindil]

This is complete crap. UBI Soft has gone off the deep end, folks. When will game companies understand that the MORE they invest on game-ruining anti-piracy bullcrap the MORE people are going to pirate the game.
I bet some group of bored IT guys is gonna take this game and pirate it with no online necessary just to flip UBI Soft off.

TBH, it's not the company that you have to worry about. More or less the ones that we are fighting are the CEOs and directors who feel they NEED to protect their investments with ludicrous schemes. They're not even thinking past the next 2 years, merely the money to be had now. Sadly, common sense and logic just isn't helping the situation. The fat cats are too high up the pole to realize that their plan has no way of working well.

We're (the US) STILL negotiating a national broadband plan that will satisfy the music industry. We're still arguing about who wins with the supposed "Three strikes" rule.

You really think that losing money on one of their bread and butter games will affect them? Perhaps, but it's going to take a while for the DRM to back off on this one.

 

[Keslen]

Clearly the ideal strategy for all involved (players and publishers) is becoming:
1. Go to store.
2. Buy game box at full price.
3. Put game box on shelf in some out of the way location.
4. Navigate to your favourite download site.
5. *this step's text was removed to protect those who believe they are innocent*
6. Thoroughly enjoy game in its entirety while having provided publisher with a full sale.

A special note goes out to the lack of a step 2.5: Remove shrink wrap.

 

[RogueDarkJedi]

Buying it for the Xbox 360 because MS won't let this shit fly on the console.

 

[Epitome]

Clearly the ideal strategy for all involved (players and publishers) is becoming:
1. Go to store.
2. Buy game box at full price.
3. Put game box on shelf in some out of the way location.
4. Navigate to your favourite download site.
5. *this step's text was removed to protect those who believe they are innocent*
6. Thoroughly enjoy game in its entirety while having provided publisher with a full sale.

A special note goes out to the lack of a step 2.5: Remove shrink wrap.

This doesnt help though, if sales remain constant Ubi will consider the new DRM a success and it will be on everything. If you agree that we have to punish Ubi for this then the only way is by not buying it at all. The only morality choice then is to not play it or to pirate it. But if you disagree with the DRM under no circumstances should you fork out for it

 

[Sebenko]

Clearly the ideal strategy for all involved (players and publishers) is becoming:
1. Go to store.
2. Buy game box at full price.
3. Put game box on shelf in some out of the way location.
4. Navigate to your favourite download site.
5. *this step's text was removed to protect those who believe they are innocent*
6. Thoroughly enjoy game in its entirety while having provided publisher with a full sale.

A special note goes out to the lack of a step 2.5: Remove shrink wrap.

you forgot step 7 & 8

7. ???
8. PROFIT!!!

 

[Keslen]

This doesnt help though, if sales remain constant Ubi will consider the new DRM a success and it will be on everything. If you agree that we have to punish Ubi for this then the only way is by not buying it at all. The only morality choice then is to not play it or to pirate it. But if you disagree with the DRM under no circumstances should you fork out for it

You make a valid point, but when I spoke of an ideal I was referring to one that satisfied both the player's (playing the full game free of idiotic hassles) and the publisher's (getting paid for their product) individual ideals. If playing the game is less important to a specific player than objecting to the convoluted, unnecessary measures they have to take in order to satisfy both of those, then they might make a different choice.

In any case, the point I was trying to make was very similar to the one made in the recent Experienced Points article: preventing piracy is impossible. The only things actually accomplished by increased efforts towards that goal are a greater feeling of accomplishment in the pirate when they break down the barriers, a greater degree of inconvenience to the people who are actually paying for the official version of the game and, if you're really really lucky, an extra hour or so after your game is released before pirated versions are available.

I just wish publishers would realize that fact and focus not on preventing the act, but punishing it when it occurs. Drawing again from Shamus Young's recent article, people plagiarize books all the time, but you don't see book publishers making that process harder, you seem them doling out incremental punishments as it's completed. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that the industry is just in a transition period towards that state.

 

[Sparrow]

Well, hopefully anything worthwhile they release will still be on consoles. Like, say, AC3. And FC3.

 

[Beatrix]

Wow, that's nasty...

They can't expect this to last though, can they?
I'm sure they'll see the error of their ways before BG&E2 is released.

*starts praying*

 

[3LANCER]

That is a terrible idea. Simply terrible. And the worst part is that the only people who will have to deal with it are those who legally purchase the game.

Well yeah, with this kind of moves the piracy will actually rise since on a cracked game you wouldn't need to be online and you could just eat a fruitcake over your router while playing because you don't care if connection dies out.

Steam is similar to this thing, but it has an offline mode and saving doesn't depend on whether you're online or not.

 

[himemiya1650]

I actually want to get the game now, just to see the DRM, I'll probably rent it for that reason

 

[Epitome]

This doesnt help though, if sales remain constant Ubi will consider the new DRM a success and it will be on everything. If you agree that we have to punish Ubi for this then the only way is by not buying it at all. The only morality choice then is to not play it or to pirate it. But if you disagree with the DRM under no circumstances should you fork out for it

You make a valid point, but when I spoke of an ideal I was referring to one that satisfied both the player's (playing the full game free of idiotic hassles) and the publisher's (getting paid for their product) individual ideals. If playing the game is less important to a specific player than objecting to the convoluted, unnecessary measures they have to take in order to satisfy both of those, then they might make a different choice.

In any case, the point I was trying to make was very similar to the one made in the recent Experienced Points article: preventing piracy is impossible. The only things actually accomplished by increased efforts towards that goal are a greater feeling of accomplishment in the pirate when they break down the barriers, a greater degree of inconvenience to the people who are actually paying for the official version of the game and, if you're really really lucky, an extra hour or so after your game is released before pirated versions are available.

I just wish publishers would realize that fact and focus not on preventing the act, but punishing it when it occurs. Drawing again from Shamus Young's recent article, people plagiarize books all the time, but you don't see book publishers making that process harder, you seem them doling out incremental punishments as it's completed. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that the industry is just in a transition period towards that state.

Agreed, the industry are as large a part of the piracy problem as the pirates. They have been going the way of the music industry and look how that turned out. You have to embrace new tech and move with customer demand. If the customers are demanding DRM free you must supply it or you wont sell, pirates are secondary here. It really baffles me because in theory I understand it, if the DRM was 100% effective I would support it, if DRM meant pirates got no game and legit players were rewarded I would support it. But in practice its not even close, pirates get a superior game with no invasive strings attached and dont have to pay for the pleasure, while legit players shell out a large chunk of change to be slapped by the industry they are supporting? I would love to ask the guys who come up with DRM like this what is wrong with them.

 

[Dr. Doctor]

Just pirate it.

That'll fix the problem.

Unfortunately Piracy only compounds the problem.

Its a damned if you do, damned if you don't type situation.


Buy Game, Support the DRM.
Buy Game, Pirate/Crack Game. Fiscally Support DRM and Justify DRM.
Boycott Game, Justify Limited PC Releases or Console Only Releases.
Pirate Game, Encourage and Justify DRM and Limited PC Releases.

Buy it or don't buy it, Ubisoft have decided that they are going to fuck over PC gamers, one way or another.

I was being sarcastic, but yes, this is true.

 

[shadow skill]

Just pirate it.

That'll fix the problem.

Unfortunately Piracy only compounds the problem.

Its a damned if you do, damned if you don't type situation.


Buy Game, Support the DRM.
Buy Game, Pirate/Crack Game. Fiscally Support DRM and Justify DRM.
Boycott Game, Justify Limited PC Releases or Console Only Releases.
Pirate Game, Encourage and Justify DRM and Limited PC Releases.

Buy it or don't buy it, Ubisoft have decided that they are going to fuck over PC gamers, one way or another.

I was being sarcastic, but yes, this is true.

Tis very sad indeed, but I like spending money on games that don't try to rape me. Especially not as bad as this.

 

[Firenz]

This is lifted directly from the Silent Hunter 5 Steam store page:

A PERMANENT INTERNET CONNECTION AND CREATION OF A UBISOFT ACCOUNT ARE REQUIRED TO PLAY THIS VIDEO GAME AT ALL TIMES AND TO UNLOCK EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. SUCH CONTENT MAY ONLY BE UNLOCKED ONE SINGLE TIME WITH A UNIQUE KEY. YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 13 TO CREATE A UBISOFT ACCOUNT WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT. UBISOFT MAY CANCEL ACCESS TO ONLINE FEATURES UPON A 30-DAY PRIOR NOTICE PUBLISHED AT http://silent-hunter.us.ubi.com/silent-hunter-5/.

And unfortunately it's put me off buying the latest game in one of the best simulator franchises around.

PCs and their owners are viewed as the rebellious teens of the industry and market. We cannot be controlled as tighly as our console cousins and everytime they try we work our way around it. Maybe some mutual trust and respect needs to be fostered? Then they'll stop treating us like untrustworthy children and we can stop having to pirate their games so as to not have to install SecuRom and their other DRM and be able to play our games without an internet connection whilst installing it as many times as we want.

As it stands we pay a lot of money so that we can, what in any other circumstances would be considered, rent a product that they then maintain a firm grip on. To continue this laboured metaphor further: It's as though they are giving us a fun toy to play with and then keeping one hand on it so that we can't share it with our friends or take it out of their sight!

But hey, what can we do? We enjoy playing games, they make games. They've got us by the short and curlies.
As we've seen from many previous attempts boycots don't work and olive branches being offered by either side are few and far between (Paradox and Stardock I give you a nod of gratitude).

 

[summitus]

It does'nt matter what anybody does this game can not be cracked and even if it could be , there will still be enough people buying from Ubisoft regardless,so they wont care what anybody does.

it looks like Ubisoft have beaten the Pirates....

 

[Ataxia]

It does'nt matter what anybody does this game can not be cracked and even if it could be , there will still be enough people buying from Ubisoft regardless,so they wont care what anybody does.

it looks like Ubisoft have beaten the Pirates....

You do realize that DRM never works? It always gets cracked anyway. Don't believe me? Then go read Shamus Young's articles on DRM. Pirates always win when it comes to DRM.

 

[Danpascooch]

This doesnt help though, if sales remain constant Ubi will consider the new DRM a success and it will be on everything. If you agree that we have to punish Ubi for this then the only way is by not buying it at all. The only morality choice then is to not play it or to pirate it. But if you disagree with the DRM under no circumstances should you fork out for it

You make a valid point, but when I spoke of an ideal I was referring to one that satisfied both the player's (playing the full game free of idiotic hassles) and the publisher's (getting paid for their product) individual ideals. If playing the game is less important to a specific player than objecting to the convoluted, unnecessary measures they have to take in order to satisfy both of those, then they might make a different choice.

In any case, the point I was trying to make was very similar to the one made in the recent Experienced Points article: preventing piracy is impossible. The only things actually accomplished by increased efforts towards that goal are a greater feeling of accomplishment in the pirate when they break down the barriers, a greater degree of inconvenience to the people who are actually paying for the official version of the game and, if you're really really lucky, an extra hour or so after your game is released before pirated versions are available.

I just wish publishers would realize that fact and focus not on preventing the act, but punishing it when it occurs. Drawing again from Shamus Young's recent article, people plagiarize books all the time, but you don't see book publishers making that process harder, you seem them doling out incremental punishments as it's completed. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that the industry is just in a transition period towards that state.

Agreed, the industry are as large a part of the piracy problem as the pirates. They have been going the way of the music industry and look how that turned out. You have to embrace new tech and move with customer demand. If the customers are demanding DRM free you must supply it or you wont sell, pirates are secondary here. It really baffles me because in theory I understand it, if the DRM was 100% effective I would support it, if DRM meant pirates got no game and legit players were rewarded I would support it. But in practice its not even close, pirates get a superior game with no invasive strings attached and dont have to pay for the pleasure, while legit players shell out a large chunk of change to be slapped by the industry they are supporting? I would love to ask the guys who come up with DRM like this what is wrong with them.

The only way to possibly prevent pirating before the fact, is to make the DRM feel as though it is essential to the game, and that by pirating and removing the DRM, you are getting a watered down version of the game. That is to say, make the DRM a FEATURE rather than a problem.

This is why I cannot possibly give Valve more credit for Steam. Yes, all of those online games are pirate-able, but many pirates actually choose not to pirate them because of the fact that they would be missing out on the benefits of the Steam network.

 

[Epitome]

This doesnt help though, if sales remain constant Ubi will consider the new DRM a success and it will be on everything. If you agree that we have to punish Ubi for this then the only way is by not buying it at all. The only morality choice then is to not play it or to pirate it. But if you disagree with the DRM under no circumstances should you fork out for it

You make a valid point, but when I spoke of an ideal I was referring to one that satisfied both the player's (playing the full game free of idiotic hassles) and the publisher's (getting paid for their product) individual ideals. If playing the game is less important to a specific player than objecting to the convoluted, unnecessary measures they have to take in order to satisfy both of those, then they might make a different choice.

In any case, the point I was trying to make was very similar to the one made in the recent Experienced Points article: preventing piracy is impossible. The only things actually accomplished by increased efforts towards that goal are a greater feeling of accomplishment in the pirate when they break down the barriers, a greater degree of inconvenience to the people who are actually paying for the official version of the game and, if you're really really lucky, an extra hour or so after your game is released before pirated versions are available.

I just wish publishers would realize that fact and focus not on preventing the act, but punishing it when it occurs. Drawing again from Shamus Young's recent article, people plagiarize books all the time, but you don't see book publishers making that process harder, you seem them doling out incremental punishments as it's completed. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that the industry is just in a transition period towards that state.

Agreed, the industry are as large a part of the piracy problem as the pirates. They have been going the way of the music industry and look how that turned out. You have to embrace new tech and move with customer demand. If the customers are demanding DRM free you must supply it or you wont sell, pirates are secondary here. It really baffles me because in theory I understand it, if the DRM was 100% effective I would support it, if DRM meant pirates got no game and legit players were rewarded I would support it. But in practice its not even close, pirates get a superior game with no invasive strings attached and dont have to pay for the pleasure, while legit players shell out a large chunk of change to be slapped by the industry they are supporting? I would love to ask the guys who come up with DRM like this what is wrong with them.

The only way to possibly prevent pirating before the fact, is to make the DRM feel as though it is essential to the game, and that by pirating and removing the DRM, you are getting a watered down version of the game. That is to say, make the DRM a FEATURE rather than a problem.

This is why I cannot possibly give Valve more credit for Steam. Yes, all of those online games are pirate-able, but many pirates actually choose not to pirate them because of the fact that they would be missing out on the benefits of the Steam network.

Tell the publishers that? But still DRM s a feature is just repackaging it? A well marketed kick in the nuts is still a kick in the nuts. Think about it, Imagine all that Steam offers but without the need to be online all the time (exclude the online only features here Im not entirely 100% on what Steam does provide). Wouldnt it then be a better service, Imagine DRM as a kick in the nuts for customers, Steam is no more than a kick in the nuts, followed by a very nice ice cream. Steam dont do what they do for you, they do it for themselves and pretend its for your benefit.

 

[Danpascooch]

This doesnt help though, if sales remain constant Ubi will consider the new DRM a success and it will be on everything. If you agree that we have to punish Ubi for this then the only way is by not buying it at all. The only morality choice then is to not play it or to pirate it. But if you disagree with the DRM under no circumstances should you fork out for it

You make a valid point, but when I spoke of an ideal I was referring to one that satisfied both the player's (playing the full game free of idiotic hassles) and the publisher's (getting paid for their product) individual ideals. If playing the game is less important to a specific player than objecting to the convoluted, unnecessary measures they have to take in order to satisfy both of those, then they might make a different choice.

In any case, the point I was trying to make was very similar to the one made in the recent Experienced Points article: preventing piracy is impossible. The only things actually accomplished by increased efforts towards that goal are a greater feeling of accomplishment in the pirate when they break down the barriers, a greater degree of inconvenience to the people who are actually paying for the official version of the game and, if you're really really lucky, an extra hour or so after your game is released before pirated versions are available.

I just wish publishers would realize that fact and focus not on preventing the act, but punishing it when it occurs. Drawing again from Shamus Young's recent article, people plagiarize books all the time, but you don't see book publishers making that process harder, you seem them doling out incremental punishments as it's completed. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that the industry is just in a transition period towards that state.

Agreed, the industry are as large a part of the piracy problem as the pirates. They have been going the way of the music industry and look how that turned out. You have to embrace new tech and move with customer demand. If the customers are demanding DRM free you must supply it or you wont sell, pirates are secondary here. It really baffles me because in theory I understand it, if the DRM was 100% effective I would support it, if DRM meant pirates got no game and legit players were rewarded I would support it. But in practice its not even close, pirates get a superior game with no invasive strings attached and dont have to pay for the pleasure, while legit players shell out a large chunk of change to be slapped by the industry they are supporting? I would love to ask the guys who come up with DRM like this what is wrong with them.

The only way to possibly prevent pirating before the fact, is to make the DRM feel as though it is essential to the game, and that by pirating and removing the DRM, you are getting a watered down version of the game. That is to say, make the DRM a FEATURE rather than a problem.

This is why I cannot possibly give Valve more credit for Steam. Yes, all of those online games are pirate-able, but many pirates actually choose not to pirate them because of the fact that they would be missing out on the benefits of the Steam network.

Tell the publishers that? But still DRM s a feature is just repackaging it? A well marketed kick in the nuts is still a kick in the nuts. Think about it, Imagine all that Steam offers but without the need to be online all the time (exclude the online only features here Im not entirely 100% on what Steam does provide). Wouldnt it then be a better service, Imagine DRM as a kick in the nuts for customers, Steam is no more than a kick in the nuts, followed by a very nice ice cream. Steam dont do what they do for you, they do it for themselves and pretend its for your benefit.

True, but as far as I'm concerned, the ice cream makes it worth it, I have nuts of steel