DRM Blues: Ubisoft PC Titles Rendered Useless Next Week

[GroBeMaus]

It's sad that the paying customers are no longer treated like paying customers. I was going to buy an Assassin's Creed bundle and perhaps Anno 2070 on Steam until I read the articles about Anno INSANE (I mean who the hell thought this up?) DRM BS!! You only get 3 hardware changes then no more game for you?

I personally upgrade, at least my video card once a year. Much less the other components, I also seem to remember this failing for some other company doing the same BS.

 

[kreed_uk]

@ triculious
I think the issue is that most of the people that complain pirate the games anyway which is the most illogical and foolish way of combating DRM.

 

[Guest]

Thank god I didn't buy a single PC game in years and instead relied on console gaming.

But when I do come back to PC gaming, GOG.com for the win!

 

[xFriarx]

I stopped buying Ubisoft games (among others) for this reason alone. I will not support a company that has an "always on" requirement for a single player game. I gave them $30-50 to play their game, I should be able to play it whenever I see fit (that is the point of buying entertainment media isn't it?). I don't need to have my Bluray player connected to DRM servers to watch my Blurays do I? I can't even remember the last Ubisoft title i bought, maybe rainbow six 3? I understand they want to protect their IP, but that is NOT the way to go about it. When you have DRM that restrictive you give the PC community a REASON to pirate it. *Not that I have pirated any ubisoft (or other games) as I don't believe that is the way to combat it. I simply do not play them. After all, if I don't play the one of the first games of the series, I'm less inclined to pick it up later in the series. Besides, there are so many other games out there, they keep me busy enough.

 

[leaderWON]

this makes me miss the days of a simple disc check. *sigh*

 

[redeye]

bad idea... i may be wrong, but i thought that i dcma that i prevision that stated that you could crack the game to allow use due to the activation going offline... or something like that.
i suppose ubisoft knows this and is going to act like the new activation service will be online "REAL-SOON-NOW" (a quote i got from BYTE mag back-in-the-day, from science fiction writer jerry p.) so the pirates can not use the activation server being turned off as an excuse to pirate/ crack the software.

 

[eodeo]

It seams only logical to use pirated software as it has all the benefits and none of the downsides of a legit release- more so in Ubisofts cases.

I pay the games I like, but I'll be damned before I let random crap DRM get a hold of my precious system. I have very strict "0 malware tolerance" policy. In fact the only ubisoft game I installed from disk was Prince of Persia 2008. Their only game to meet my minimum requirements to be installed on my system- ie crap free.

When will they learn they are doing nothing to stop piracy, but only harass legit customers... sad, really....

 

[Guest]

Ive already been boycotting ubisoft because of their DRM, ill continue to do the same.

 

[gm0n3y]

This is the reason I will never buy another Ubisoft game until they change their draconian policies. Doesn't mean I won't play them, I just won't buy them. Funny, I haven't pirated any games since I was in college (7+ years ago) but DRM is driving me to it.

 

[keplar]

I already avoid some companies' products entirely due to DRM, whereas without it (or with less invasive versions) I would happily be shelling out hundreds of dollars for their products. This is just the latest demonstration of DRM's dedication to harming real customers, while doing nothing to stop piracy.

 

[chaoticdisposition]

people who pirate, are statistically more likely to buy more annually than those who do not. in my opinion its about saturation of the market, and if you can show off to more people what you have to sell, chances are you will sell more. in sales regardless of any other information, you always have a 1 in 10 chance of finding someone to buy something.

since steam, which i started to use due to the prices of games being more reasonable. ive paid for 60 + games already. even games i had already played in the past, knew were good, and thought that the developers deserved the cash for it.
but after paying full for skyrim on steam, and finding out the first update locked the main esm file, from having homebrew mods run. i see that DRM is just another hoop to jump through for doing the "right" thing and actually paying for the game.

i understand the fighting between people who think pirating is ok, and people to think its damaging the industry. but at what cost? it seems the only people paying for it, are the legit customers not the pirates. if i had a pirated copy of skyrim, i would be able to run mods on it.

why cant we all just work it out like adults, and the people who download, just get a smaller increase in service charges, to cover the bandwidth and lost revenue? why do we need to lock everything up and sue everything that moves?
canada figured out how to recover lost revenue's for the music industry, by simply adding a small increase of cost to blank cd media. now we can copy music without fearing the music industry's blatant lack of compassion.

DRM just doesnt work. so why implement it large scale, so that customers have to worry about un necessary issues like these.

 

[bak0n]

Lets see. I own Heroes of Might and Magic 3,4,5 and HAWX 1 legitimately. I didn't buy 6 or HAWX 2 specifically because of the DRM.

I've got plenty of other games that don't require it where I can spend my cash.

 

[agnickolov]

Time is ripe for a class action lawsuit methinks... That's the proper way to fight DRM.

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

beardguy

"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[citation][nom]beardguy[/nom]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.[/citation]
long Ubisoft continues this bullshit. "


But when we stop buying their titles and game sales tank, they make bogus claims that "Pirating is killing out sales." I agree with you, just like many of you I don't remember the last Ubisoft game I purchased, and now they blame their lack of sales on "pirating." We've done our job but they will never accept the fact that they are "Biting the hands that feed them," with all of this DRM.

Anytime a company or product is boycotted some kind of lame excuse will always be made for why profits have dropped. First it was a bad economy, second was bcuz of pirates, third is hard drive shortages, next it's bcuz too many people's A.D.D is out of control and they can no longer sit still long enough to play a game.

 

[beardguy]

@pharoahhalfdead

I hear you, for sure. But I do think we still have the power as consumers over these companies with our actions. They can deny the facts all day, but when sales continue to tank, they eventually will have to face the truth.

I wonder if Ubisoft will ever make the real connection that:

Insane DRM = Increase in pirated copies of their games, not less!

 

[rantoc]

Purchased AC2, AC BH, AC Rev, Settlers VII, Anno 2070, Ruse, Avatar as well as the last Silent Hunter from UBI and if i see the next title from UBI have this kind of online all the time drm even while playing singleplayer - UBI made me a pirate! I had enough of this crap, Ubi should let their paying customers enjoy the games without hazzle or they don't deserve them. Easy as that!

Many people including myself understand fully well that the publishers needs to protect their investment, but when that protection starts to hurt those that paid for it (yes the customers, without them there would be no money for it) its been pushed to far. UBI should really ask themselves, should we work for the customers that pays the bills or against them... its the later road UBI have been selecting more and more as of late with this kind of crap!

 

[heartburnkid]

[citation][nom]kreed_uk[/nom]I think that this applies:http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/02/19[/citation]

The mere fact that the argument in that comic can be made is proof that DRM doesn't work.

 

[chudei]

i spend more money on my fremium games than on complete retail ones.

 

[Jprobes]

[citation][nom]rantoc[/nom]Purchased AC2, AC BH, AC Rev, Settlers VII, Anno 2070, Ruse, Avatar as well as the last Silent Hunter from UBI and if i see the next title from UBI have this kind of online all the time drm even while playing singleplayer - UBI made me a pirate! I had enough of this crap, Ubi should let their paying customers enjoy the games without hazzle or they don't deserve them. Easy as that!Many people including myself understand fully well that the publishers needs to protect their investment, but when that protection starts to hurt those that paid for it (yes the customers, without them there would be no money for it) its been pushed to far. UBI should really ask themselves, should we work for the customers that pays the bills or against them... its the later road UBI have been selecting more and more as of late with this kind of crap![/citation]

So let me get this straight, the restrictions that a company puts on their products forced you to break the law and become a criminal.

Interesting defense.

"Your Honor, I never had any intentions to murder anyone with a gun until i went to purchase one and faced all of these bullshit restrictions"

Ubisoft didn't make you do anything, (except play their games online). You chose to steal and using their policies as justification is quite possibly the most ludicrous alibi one could ever present.

Quit lying to yourself.

Your moral character is dwindling faster then SGK's.

 

[katfishgr]

[citation][nom]James296[/nom]it had to happen sometime, when DRM forces a company to shove it's own foot up it's own A**[/citation]

anyone care to illustrate that?

 

[rantoc]

[citation][nom]Jprobes[/nom]So let me get this straight, the restrictions that a company puts on their products forced you to break the law and become a criminal.Interesting defense.[/citation]

Defense? Its a stand. Had enough of it and don't want to sponsor a company that alienate their customers. Guess you find it alright to spend money on something that don't work as intended, guess what... not everyone like to lie to themselves and pretend it was the best purchase they ever did... only a fool would!

 

[beardguy]

[citation][nom]Jprobes[/nom]So let me get this straight, the restrictions that a company puts on their products forced you to break the law and become a criminal.Interesting defense."Your Honor, I never had any intentions to murder anyone with a gun until i went to purchase one and faced all of these bullshit restrictions"Ubisoft didn't make you do anything, (except play their games online). You chose to steal and using their policies as justification is quite possibly the most ludicrous alibi one could ever present.Quit lying to yourself. Your moral character is dwindling faster then SGK's.[/citation]

The criminal here is Ubisoft. How would you feel if you bought something from me, and then a few months down the road I stole it back from you for an undisclosed amount of time without warning?

 

[jaber2]

Time to break out Yahtzee and Monopoly .

 

[upgrade_1977]

So..... Buy game with drm, get screwed. Got it.
Who still gets to play? Anyone who pirated the game.

Great work ubisoft..

 

[triculious]

@kreed_uk
Indeed.

Don't like DRM? Don't buy the game AND don't pirate said game to make your voice heard.
Pirate the game and you're stating DRM is right and should probably be even harsher.
Buy the game even if it has DRM and it seems like you don't care about it.