Ubisoft Watches Used Game Debate To See Which Console To Back

[erbi79]

Also CD Projekt Red as a big antagonist to DRM was at Microsoft's show

CD Projekt doesn't have a large marketing budget (it one of the reason they can develop a AAA game without astronomic budget) and cannot pay itself conference in front of such a large audience, so I think they are just gladly taking whatever free important marketting spot they can get. (And considering Microsoft reputation, they might also be laughing from getting paid for something they would have done for free)

I am sure of that, and this is pretty much what I was getting at.
But also why I think they might do something interesting in the coming years we might not expect today. It's funny I don't even like The Witcher all that much, yet I kinda love those guys ^^ Hope their Cyberpunk game will be more to my taste

Well, Erbi79, to be honest, I always felt Microsoft as a very bureaucratic, (...)

Oh, I have been a PC User for over twenty years, believe me I know that ^^
But I still had a little hope for them, just because I believe that good competition is good for consumers, just watch how much Sony improved since the PS3 Reveal...

 

[Vivi22]

I don't think I've ever seen a quicker about face by a company, even in the face of such massive hatred for what one platform is doing combined with adulation for another that isn't doing the same.

Of course, we all know Ubisoft is full of shit and simply responding to the clear message about which way the wind is blowing. But I guess we'll take it. Something is finally starting to get through.

 

[fix-the-spade]

What startled me is that everything Microsoft did right with the 360, they are making wrong with the launch of the Xbone. And they are even repeating some of Sony's own mistakes with the PS3 (the non-committed console that only happens to play games, the super expensive price, communicating that it is a luxury item, the corporate friendly language, rather than the consumer accessible approach). Everything in this dance makes me think that Microsoft lost some key people during the 360 life and some corporate douchebag that doesn't get gaming is running the show unimpeded.

This may make you laugh, but the guys in charge of the Xbones launch... are some of the same guys who were in charge of the PS3's launch, that's not a joke either, I've lost their names but at least one of the speakers at the Xbone launch show was a Sony guy prior to landing at Microsoft about a year after the PS3's epic opening year.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Some of this is deeply baked into the console. The XBone installs games like a PC. It calls home to validate them. Can they undo all of hat? Probably. But no way before release.

Installing is probably there for the long haul, call home, not so much.

All the call home systems in things like Steam or Origin have been found to be incredibly arbitrary and simple to remove. For Simcity and Battlelog they literally boil down to a couple of lines of code that do nothing more than shout and wait for the echo, then stop the game if they don't hear it fast enough. They can be disabled by nothing more than highlighting the offending lines and hitting delete, all the game, stats, processing etc being done on the user's computer.

Microsoft's system will be very similar, if they're clever they'll bin it, otherwise the internet will be full of cracks/fixes/workarounds after release.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Ubisoft sure love to flip flop about on gaming issues, maybe a move into politics would suit them better. Likely they already knew about Xbone's used game policy and are merely hoping to jump on some positive PR in light of the negative reception of the xbone.

 

[flaviok79]

Some of this is deeply baked into the console. The XBone installs games like a PC. It calls home to validate them. Can they undo all of hat? Probably. But no way before release.

Installing is probably there for the long haul, call home, not so much.

All the call home systems in things like Steam or Origin have been found to be incredibly arbitrary and simple to remove. For Simcity and Battlelog they literally boil down to a couple of lines of code that do nothing more than shout and wait for the echo, then stop the game if they don't hear it fast enough. They can be disabled by nothing more than highlighting the offending lines and hitting delete, all the game, stats, processing etc being done on the user's computer.

Microsoft's system will be very similar, if they're clever they'll bin it, otherwise the internet will be full of cracks/fixes/workarounds after release.

Yes, Fix-the-Spade, that is clearly what will happen.

Piracy has always been a problem here in Brazil, with generations of gamers growing up to find it normal to buy pirate games for a tenth of the originals. What brought many gamers from that path (myself and my many friends on XBL) was a friendly and worthwhile service, namely Xbox Live, that created value in having an original un-modified console and playing only originals.
By changing the strategy from carrot to stick, Microsoft will drive flocks of people to piracy again, via modchips, console hacking and clandestine servers ? even software mods, as you tell us is possible.
Their current strategy is surely a step back from their path of success.

 

[flaviok79]

Ubisoft sure love to flip flop about on gaming issues, maybe a move into politics would suit them better. Likely they already knew about Xbone's used game policy and are merely hoping to jump on some positive PR in light of the negative reception of the xbone.

I agree with you.

Clearly their statement is a public move, putting Microsoft?s policies on check.

On a side note, high ranking managerial level people are, in essence, corporate politicians.

 

[Trishbot]

Let me just say this...

Ubisoft, I'm buying a PS4. I was a 360 gamer. Xbox One is a draconian, anti-consumer, restrictive rental machine that's not getting my money.

And so if YOU want my money, it'll only be through the PS4 games I buy, so... keep that in mind.

 

[erbi79]

Microsoft's E3 Presentation was good, that's what makes it so sad, imagine they wouldn't have had those features, and wouldn't have obviously shifted their target audience...

Also CD Projekt Red as a big antagonist to DRM was at Microsoft's show, I wonder if in the long run they will create an exclusive for the ps4. I think this generation of consoles could be much more a competition in politics then ever before in gaming.
Let's see what is to come

correct me if i'm wrong, but microshaft's E3 presentation was not "all exclucive" titles. MGS5 is comming for all current gen , next gen and PC; twattlefield 4 is multy too (etc). So M$ only got a handful of EXLUCIVE titles, the rest are multy.

Yes! That's why I said "good" not "great" or "awesome"
They needed to blow our minds with their exclusives, which they did not do, still their presentation was basically good, lots of games, but nothing special

 

[Drummodino]

Mr. 95% strikes again. It is a good thing that Ubisoft haven't had a decent game for the longest time.

Woah there buddy. Now Ubisoft have pulled some shit in the past few years but they do still have some pretty damn good games *cough* Farcry 3 *cough*. The only major game of theirs that disappointed me recently was Assassin's Creed 3.

 

[GAunderrated]

Mr. 95% strikes again. It is a good thing that Ubisoft haven't had a decent game for the longest time.

Woah there buddy. Now Ubisoft have pulled some shit in the past few years but they do still have some pretty damn good game *cough* Farcry 3 *cough*. The only major game of theirs that disappointed me recently was Assassin's Creed 3.

Sorry man I had to edit the post and bold the part I edited to reflect accuracy. There has only been one good game from ubisoft lately and the rest is pretty shit.

 

[Adon Cabre]

[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/11/e3-2013-assassins-creed-iv-watch-dogs-get-exclusive-ps3-ps4-contenti]​

[HEADING=1]playing politics[/HEADING]

Looks like Ubisoft is reaching for a deal. That's the only reason to even talk about taking a side so early in this console war. Ubisoft wants to see what each platform will give them before moving in. But I have a feeling that SONY might already been dealt a good chunk of content on Watchdogs and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does to ensure an equivalent standard of these 3rd Party titles.

 

[Lightknight]

Well, the Xbone just allows developers/publishers to decide how limited used games can be. It doesn't force those mechanics on developers. Sure, we all hate Microsoft for allowing them to pull those shenanigans but from a developer perspective it doesn't matter. It's all about what they want to do. So one publisher can release a game for the Xbone that is riddled with DRM and such while releasing another version of the game for ps4 that people actually own.

If they can only pick one console or another, then this reasoning makes sense. But with both consoles being x86 then going only one machine is kinda dumb with porting costs being so low.

 

[faefrost]

Some of this is deeply baked into the console. The XBone installs games like a PC. It calls home to validate them. Can they undo all of hat? Probably. But no way before release.

Installing is probably there for the long haul, call home, not so much.

All the call home systems in things like Steam or Origin have been found to be incredibly arbitrary and simple to remove. For Simcity and Battlelog they literally boil down to a couple of lines of code that do nothing more than shout and wait for the echo, then stop the game if they don't hear it fast enough. They can be disabled by nothing more than highlighting the offending lines and hitting delete, all the game, stats, processing etc being done on the user's computer.

Microsoft's system will be very similar, if they're clever they'll bin it, otherwise the internet will be full of cracks/fixes/workarounds after release.

The problem is are the XBone games built with the system in mind? And how would disabling the system on the consoles impact all of the games? Or each game individually? Yes in Simcity it was found to be a few simple lines of code. But that's one game. In an environment where most games are not engineered with the expectation that such a check will always be there. With the possible exception of a few platform specific games such as Simcity being dedicated to Origin or Diablo dedicated to Battlenet, the DRM stuff generally is an afterthought for PC games, that is tacked on at the point of distribution. But XBone games are all expecting this feature. That might be a much more complex organism to slay at this point. I'm just doubtful that it could be removed and everything be successfully retested and evaluated this late in the process, to have the changes in place by he launch window.

 

[fix-the-spade]

But XBone games are all expecting this feature. That might be a much more complex organism to slay at this point. I'm just doubtful that it could be removed and everything be successfully retested and evaluated this late in the process, to have the changes in place by he launch window.

Whilst that's possible, I'm expecting this 'feature' to be embedded in the console's OS rather than the games themselves. If it was in the games I don't see how they would make non-first party developers or publishers follow the rules (not so much re-sale blocking, but 24 hour check ins and Kinect connection especially). Also, since both the PS3 and Xbone are X86 based, most devs will develop with both and a PC port in mind, even the exclusives should have a huge asterisk next to them saying timed. It's a much cheaper proposition compared to Cel/PowerPC/X86 this gen.

Since the Xbone is the slowest piece of hardware (against PC/PS4) it'll likely be the lead platform for development, it's possible that they'll integrate the DRM in deeply, but that could make porting complicated and expensive for non-exclusives. If the system's buggy and gets disabled (even temporarily, expect it to creak like crazy at launch), having it in the games and not the OS could be disastrous as it could mean running updates for everything right when you need it least.

I'm just postulating, but that's what I think.

 

[faefrost]

But XBone games are all expecting this feature. That might be a much more complex organism to slay at this point. I'm just doubtful that it could be removed and everything be successfully retested and evaluated this late in the process, to have the changes in place by he launch window.

Whilst that's possible, I'm expecting this 'feature' to be embedded in the console's OS rather than the games themselves. If it was in the games I don't see how they would make non-first party developers or publishers follow the rules (not so much re-sale blocking, but 24 hour check ins and Kinect connection especially). Also, since both the PS3 and Xbone are X86 based, most devs will develop with both and a PC port in mind, even the exclusives should have a huge asterisk next to them saying timed. It's a much cheaper proposition compared to Cel/PowerPC/X86 this gen.

Since the Xbone is the slowest piece of hardware (against PC/PS4) it'll likely be the lead platform for development, it's possible that they'll integrate the DRM in deeply, but that could make porting complicated and expensive for non-exclusives. If the system's buggy and gets disabled (even temporarily, expect it to creak like crazy at launch), having it in the games and not the OS could be disastrous as it could mean running updates for everything right when you need it least.

I'm just postulating, but that's what I think.

It's embedded in the console AND its use is supposedly at the publishers discretion. At least that was the line of BS MS spat out about it last week. That indicates to me that parts of it may exist in both spaces. And if that is true what happens if MS shuts off one piece. I'm thinking at a minimum every game that touches that feature or code will need to be patched. Not fun.

 

[Strazdas]

That's it. The first publisher to begin distancing itself from Microsoft. And it is a huge one.

a publishers whos games i will never buy thanks to AC2, you know, the first Always-on DRM in the market that failed spectacularly.

What brought many gamers from that path (myself and my many friends on XBL) was a friendly and worthwhile service, namely Xbox Live, that created value in having an original un-modified console and playing only originals.

head -> desk
did you just called Xbox live friendly? what is this, aprils fools day?

Installing is probably there for the long haul, call home, not so much.

All the call home systems in things like Steam or Origin have been found to be incredibly arbitrary and simple to remove. For Simcity and Battlelog they literally boil down to a couple of lines of code that do nothing more than shout and wait for the echo, then stop the game if they don't hear it fast enough. They can be disabled by nothing more than highlighting the offending lines and hitting delete, all the game, stats, processing etc being done on the user's computer.

Microsoft's system will be very similar, if they're clever they'll bin it, otherwise the internet will be full of cracks/fixes/workarounds after release.

Not sure if you know, buty Sim City has been cracked and released as a pirated offline game for a few days now. Bsically they made the localhost imitate the "Echo" and thats all it took. now i havent tried that myself for obviuos reasons but from comments it seems to work just fine. And before you ask i go to that site for forums. these pirates have the best forum in lithuanian language. the best in whole country. the only forum where i could begin comparing it to escpaist greatness. (and as you can see from my postcount i lvoe forums )

 

[Link Kadeshi]

I'm loving all the companies who seem upset and concerned for the plight of the consumer. Seems a lot of people in "the know" are all of a sudden not seeing trades as a scorn of the industry anymore.