DRM Blues: Ubisoft PC Titles Rendered Useless Next Week

[__-_-_-__]

already asked for a refund from all my ubisoft games. I buy a game and I can't use it????????

 

[mr_tuel]

So is this to also say that it is Illegal to make these games playable during the blackout? That it is illegal for regain the functionality that the (paying) user once had? Screw DRM and the DMCA!

 

[skaz]

Why not just disable the DRM completely while they move to new servers. Why disable the entire fracking game. Its a horrible business model and they will only learn by the consumer speaker with their money.

Goodbye ubisoft, from the consumer.

 

[drwho1]

I don't have any of this games, but this sucks just the same.

I own a few Ubisoft titles (not mentioned on this article) so I guess they are not affected.

But still, this should never be the case, once you pay for a game/software, is YOURS, (or I would think it is) why should we have to go thru this nonsense?

 

[anony2004]

One thing; nothing is killing PC gaming, it's alive and bustling - get this fact of yours straight.

 

[beardguy]

I hope scenarios like this keep happening (and I"m sure they will)

Finally people will get really pissed off, and these companies with crazy strict DRM policies will be forced to stop or change them. Otherwise, nobody will buy their titles.

Personally, I won't buy any titles with this form of DRM. And all the people in here bitching should do the same. Don't buy the titles, and then when sales tank, we'll see how long Ubisoft continues this bullshit.

 

[leakingpaint]

...sigh...another reason DRM just doesn't work....

 

[AntiZig]

Garbage DRM like this is what forces people to resort to piracy. If companies could figure this part out then maybe they would cry wolf less over "piracy killing gaming" and focus their resources and money on making games, what video game companies are supposed to do, instead of figuring out new creative ways to F their legit customers in A

 

[gogogadgetliver]

That's it, I'm not buying any more ubisoft games!

Think I'm bluffing? Pfft. These are words I said back when they started this crap and I've stuck true to my word.

The market is *saturated* with awesome AAA and Indie titles right now. It's not hard to pass on a "must have blockbuster" when there are more blockbusters than I will have time to play.

 

[hardcore_gamer]

This doesn't affect me. I stopped buying Ubisoft games after AC2

 

[4745454b]

This is why I don't buy games from anywhere but steam. I'm too worried that new place will just disappear and take my games with them. For the record, I worry that steam will just go away as well. It is however the best place to game on the PC right now so I stay.

 

[leadpoop]

This only affects people dumb enough to buy games with that kind of DRM in it. I wont buy games like that, you have to hit them with your wallet so they know better. No! No DRM!

 

[Crush3d]

Sounds like an incentive for the loyal gamers to start pirating games. If you can't play the game you paid for whenever you want then you might as well get the cracked version for free.

 

[Trueno07]

Am i seriously going to have to crack my purchased copy of Anno 2070 so I can play the game like it was meant to be played?

 

[tomfreak]

[citation][nom]Crush3d[/nom]Sounds like an incentive for the loyal gamers to start pirating games. If you can't play the game you paid for whenever you want then you might as well get the cracked version for free.[/citation]lol no, the "correct" legit way these days without feeling guilty is buy an original copy put it in ur drawer then go download the pirate copy. Wtf. I laugh I cant believe we gonna end up like this LOL

 

[rantoc]

[citation][nom]Razor512[/nom]What some people fail to consider is what happens when the company finds it to no longer be profitable to keep the DRM servers running, or if they go out of business, taking their DRM servers with them.[/citation]

They do what UBI done in the past, officialy release a scene group cracked version of their game =P

 

[belardo]

Hence, I rarely buy PC games anymore. This is exactly why I don't. And it doesn't stop piracy one bit.

Biohazzard and other games that only allow 3 or so installs, SecuROM7 games - I don't buy. Yet, they are available cracked and ready to go with unlimited installs.

So I don't buy/own/pirate those games.

Again, DRM doesn't STOP PIRATES! Just do the CD-Key / online thingy... it'll stop the casual computer user from piracy... anything else is just an extra step work-around and cost the publisher lots of money for DRM that doesn't work.

 

[razor512]

[citation][nom]rantoc[/nom]They do what UBI done in the past, officialy release a scene group cracked version of their game =P[/citation]

The odds of them doing that if they are in the process of going out of business will be pretty low. Programmers are expensive.

 

[Guest]

1. If anything is killing PC gaming is companies like UBI, EA and Activision, intentionally pushing PC gamers towards the console market, then again, the PC market dying is pure propaganda instilled by these same companies.

2. Oh no, how worried I am! I won't be able to play all those UBI titles I don't have.

It's time to start voting with your wallets ladies and gentlemen, stop mindlessly supporting this kind of crap, they will still blame it on piracy of course, but stop buying their crap is what hurts them the most.

 

[hoofhearted]

I think DRM is great in that it it is allowing the smaller guys to be more competitive now. The big studios that are spending boocoo bucks on their games have the most invasive and restrictive DRM schemes because they want to "so hard" protect their money. While the little indie devs can't afford these measure, so their only recourse is to spend their time, money and effort on their game. I just wish more of the review sites would add this as a review criteria: gameplay, graphics, sound, DRM hoopage-to-jumpthrough ...

 

[soccerplayer88]

[citation][nom]PG[/nom]Actually, the first thing I am going to do after buying a new copy of Diablo 3 is to search for a no-DRM patch so that I can play while offline.[/citation]

Good luck. Seeing as everything from A.I. to events to loot drops are all hosted on Blizzard servers. If anything you will be playing on an emulated server. Similar to WoW emulated servers.

It's a shitty prospect, but I think I'll take online connectivity over item duping any day. Especially with the RMAH in place.

 

[the_crippler]

[citation][nom]JECHO[/nom]I don't believe there was ever any fine print buying these games that said they will not be able to be played after a certain point. I see this as a corporation unlawfully prepossessing property. There were no purchase agreements. I don't own any of these games but if i did i would be really angry.[/citation]

They don't need any fine print - the main print of the EULA on almost every piece of software you will ever buy says that you are buying a license to use the software, not the software itself.

You guys read the EULA, right. Right?

\Stupid EULAs...

 

[crapfacednoob]

Buys game, plays.
Ubisoft shuts down DRM server, "oh sorry, but I wanna shove some sticks up my a**, permanently"
Lolwhut? I don't get to play my game anymore?

Kinda like buying a car with an online login for ignition of the engine.
Then this login server going offline because its too old or wasting power.
Oh man I bought this car but I can't drive it because they are wasting money for their own fault.
>_>

 

[jimmysmitty]

[citation][nom]pharoahhalfdead[/nom]So many times I bought a game just like RoboTree did, only to find out only part of the install is actually included in the box, I had to download the remaining 30% of the game. Piracy is what's keeping my PC gaming alive. I've bought dozens of games off Steam, Direct2Drive(formerly), amazon, etc, but I don't use their services. After I bought them, I found a way to download them else where. I want to have the entire game at my disposal without the need for online downloading, verification, etc. I don't always have the internet, and a couple times a year I do a fresh Windows install. Without certain torr sites, I would have stopped buying games long ago.I know people will disagree with my approach, and they have their right to their opinion just like I have a right to mine.[/citation]

The thing with Steam is that the only games that actually need to have Steam open and running while playing are games that use Steamworks. A lot more are doing it. At first it was only VALVe games, but most non-VALVe games have started using it more often for achievments and such.

Besides, Steam is the best DRM to have. Its non threatining, I have never come across, personally, a time when I couldn't play a game and its all in one library.

This DRM however is just crap. I haven't bought any Ubisoft titles since FC2 because of non interest but I wont buy any of theirs from here on out it seems.

 

[triculious]

I love the complains, the yelling, the flame wars.

No one seems to even remotely agree with the draconian DRM we are all subjected since the new Inquisition took the power. And really, there's nothing to agree with on it.

Yet I don't see a significant drop in sales for games with the most retarded DRM in existance. They still sell millions of copies. Why do you think companies like Ubi keep pushing such abuses against their customers? Because it doesn't affect them and their customers' dollars keep on coming at a steady pace.

Most readers of this site and many others actually related to videogames may complain about it. Some even may not purchase the product, but the number is near insignificant. Add that some people stop buying the PC game and buy it for consoles as some kind of "protest" which actually doesn't help their supposed cause but quite the contrary, it sends the message that PC gaming is dying and that people prefer to play on a console. And still, the same company they are "boycotting" keeps getting cash for a game they should be getting a gigantic finger!

Many complain and many actually speak their minds through their wallet. Yet the number, as impressive as it can possibly be, is insignificant agains those who only complain but still keep on buying great games with stupid DRM.

Truth is, until tight DRM can be related to low sales we'll keep on seeing it around on big brand games.