Ubisoft Planning Its Own "Project Ten Dollar"

[Woe Is You]

I realize that 100% of the known space on Earth doesn't have the ability to get the internet at ideal speeds, but if you look at it differently, you should see that it is a problem with internet service providers, not game developers.

It isn't really. Unless we're talking about games that absolutely require you to be online for their main functionality (like, say, MMOs), there's no reason for anyone to think that requiring the player to always be online is at all reasonable.

I mean, hell, Ubisoft has had huge problems with keeping their servers up for legitimate players of Assassin's Creed 2 for the PC. The guys who got that through Bittorrent will play their version of the game. With hitches, maybe, but at least they'll be playing the game unlike the legitimate owner who is stuck waiting that the servers come up for a game that shouldn't have to need to go online. Nothing to do with connection speeds, just a plain dumb move from Ubisoft's part.

 

[Audioave10]

This may be a good way to charge money for the same game over and over again.
They will make less games.

 

[shiajun]

I'm not really sure whether you're trolling on purpose here.

It's funny because anyone who wants to yell at me, has internet access, and so they should be able to play any of these games if they pay for them.

The thing is that you'll never have 100% working internet access at all times. It's simply impossible. That's why it's reasonable to assume to that games/apps/whatever that wouldn't otherwise require a connection don't.

If any of you really can't play video games because of drm, I would love to have you explain exactly why not.

Project Ten Dollar is essentially what everyone was afraid of when developers started selling chunks of their game online.

So I was right! Thanks for the reply! You state that it clearly isn't the fault of a game company, but it is the lack of a internet connection where you live. If you can go to a cafe for an internet connection, is it false that you can pay more for a better connection where you live?

I realize that 100% of the known space on Earth doesn't have the ability to get the internet at ideal speeds, but if you look at it differently, you should see that it is a problem with internet service providers, not game developers.

When we were born (or if you are young, when your parents were born) there was no such thing as cell phones. We are living the birth of the internet, technology is becoming better, it will just take time. The real enemy isn't drm, it's your local connection speeds.

No, you're still wrong. You're basically saying that game companies should be excused for including in their code something that assumes that technology will be eventually catch up to the code in order for the game to work properly. Right now, with technology as it is, the game is non-functional. No way around it. I'd be paying for something that might, potentially, be a usable product somewhere in the future. From my perspective it's just ludicrous to advocate for such things. If you don't mind getting scammed, that's entirely your choice, but when I buy something (even a license as it seems games are now turning into) it should work right off the bat. Maybe it's the internet provider's problem for the unstable connection but the game company is comepletely aware of this and they still have built in their "pirate countermeasures".

As for Project Ten Dollar, I'm just amazed how cynical game companies have become. We all know they're in it for the money, but this blantant and non-apologetic display of greed is insulting. "Protect itself from losses incurred via used game sales". Excuse me? As was said before, used game sales are now even more criminal than pirating, apparently. So, if a game is five years old, way past its prime, and someone tells me nostalgically about it and convinces me to play the game I'm screwed. Why? Because at lauch date someone forgot about the finite life of companies, their servers and shelf space and mutilated their game so it would only be functional for about a year. Don't even bother trying to buy it used from anywhere. It won't work. It's butchered and there's no one to receive your 10 dollars to make the game actually work.

All these things are piling up and turning into one of the most abhorent inventions of cosummerism: Programmed Obsolescence. Think about it and then decide if you really want your games to turn out like those radios that magically die 3 years after you bought them while your gradma's tube radio is still working 60 years and counting.