Ubisoft DRM confirmed to boot you from your singleplayer game when the net drops out

[Rosbjerg]

dammit..

[aries101]

[T]he Norwegian consumer agency has begun investigating the DRM and there is a possibility that requiring an internet connection in case of single player games may not be legal under Norwegian law. They did post an article on the matter.

 

Wow, those Norwegians think of everything don't they?

 

The Scene: The Norwegian High Court

 

"Hey, Thorvald, are you done writing up those legal statues yet?"

 

"No, Knut, I'm still considering the jurisprudence concerning the viability of single-player computer games vis-a-vis persistent internet connections."

 

"Coolio, it's all about detail."

 

---

 

Here is a link to the article: http://www.vg.no/spill/artikkel.php?artid=579754

 

As I said, I don't speak any Norwegian, so I cannot verify it. The link was posted by Kalah, the Norwegian administrator of the Heroes of Might and Magic fansite called Celestial Heavens: www.celestialheavens.com

 

Perhaps somebody here speaks Norwegian and can fill us in about the details of the article and whether Kalah interpreted it correctly?

 

I don't speak Norwegian, but I can read it - as all Danes can (or should be able to). So here's a very short summary:

 

summary

And yes, the article from VG linked above basically says that pc-players are furious over copy-protection(drm) in Ubisoft's games - especially for single player games. And the article also tells that the Norwegian Consumer Agency is looking into the matter since 'they are aware that some games requires an internet connection to play even if it is an online game'. The Consumer Agency in Norway will have games on their fall agenda, especially in relations to personal data-protection, drm and other consumer-asked question. Then the article quotes two-three gamers from Ubisofts forums. One Ubisoft forumnite points out that not everyone has an internet connection and that it could those that did (illegally) copy the game that gets the best experience. At the end, the article mentions the troubles with pc games and the illegal copying of pc games. And it also mentions the failure that was Spore...

/end summary

 

Personally, I would like to add that it feels like the publishing houses are out to get rid of pc gaming all together...

[Humodour]

Personally, I would like to add that it feels like the publishing houses are out to get rid of pc gaming all together...

 

And companies like Valve are there to rape them all over with a wildly successful monopoly if they try.

[Oner]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/...With-Free-Games

[BicycleOfDeath]

EA has followed suit. [Link: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/comm..._giving_ea_fits ]

[Magister Lajciak]

Another Ubisoft game with the DDRM has been released. It is called Settlers 7. The servers appear to be malfunctioning again and there is no Ubisoft response: http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6.../4821038448/p/1

[Mamoulian War]

/nelson

[Humodour]

Another Ubisoft game with the DDRM has been released. It is called Settlers 7. The servers appear to be malfunctioning again and there is no Ubisoft response: http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6.../4821038448/p/1

 

Hahahahahahahahahaaha

[WorstUsernameEver]

Another Ubisoft game with the DDRM has been released. It is called Settlers 7. The servers appear to be malfunctioning again and there is no Ubisoft response: http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6.../4821038448/p/1

 

So strange, never imagined something like this would happen...

[kirottu]

GO UBI GO!!!

[RPGmasterBoo]

Another Ubisoft game with the DDRM has been released. It is called Settlers 7. The servers appear to be malfunctioning again and there is no Ubisoft response: http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6.../4821038448/p/1

 

I must confess this is more entertaining than any Ubisoft game released in years. If they go bankrupt over this (fat chance of that though) I'll be popping the champagne.

 

[Purkake]

It's Settlers, I'm surprised that anyone noticed.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Purkake

[Walsingham]

FAIL.

[Magister Lajciak]

I still cannot find any sales data for Assassin's Creed II or the other games from the new DDRM crop. The only thing I have found that might be remotely indicative is a chart of players on Steam:

 

View Steam players per game

 

 

Top 75 games by current player count

 

Current Players Peak Today Game

 

53,238 96,304 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Multiplayer

53,172 91,866 Counter-Strike: Source

43,428 76,097 Counter-Strike

17,568 23,976 Team Fortress 2

16,748 23,401 Football Manager 2010

16,059 21,979 Battlefield: Bad Company 2

11,604 17,565 Left 4 Dead 2

6,491 10,692 Empire: Total War

5,600 9,937 Napoleon: Total War

5,546 7,618 Garry's Mod

5,241 9,080 Condition Zero

4,595 10,551 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

4,272 6,239 Torchlight

4,255 6,463 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising

3,598 5,261 Left 4 Dead

3,491 6,166 Day of Defeat: Source

3,457 5,059 Football Manager 2009

3,252 5,130 R.U.S.E. Beta

2,696 4,330 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

2,460 3,737 Dragon Age: Origins

2,227 3,441 Just Cause 2

2,138 3,535 Supreme Commander 2

1,373 2,509 Half-Life 2: Deathmatch

1,371 1,942 Killing Floor

1,258 2,077 Half-Life 2

1,151 3,437 Metro 2033

1,089 1,618 Day of Defeat

927 1,342 Mass Effect 2

893 1,217 Grand Theft Auto IV

881 2,010 Aliens vs Predator

858 1,380 Borderlands

801 1,047 Global Agenda Live

759 1,165 Star Trek Online

712 731 Mount&Blade: Warband

688 935 Plants vs. Zombies

658 924 America's Army 3

637 899 Portal

548 864 Assassin's Creed II

538 898 The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom

524 813 Mass Effect

505 723 Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

498 715 Mount and Blade

488 645 Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

449 771 TrackMania Nations Forever

440 628 Zombie Panic! Source

416 645 Half-Life 2: Episode Two

389 887 RACE 07

381 499 EVE Online

376 897 Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45

371 552 Rome: Total War - Gold Edition

359 557 Company of Heroes

350 451 Titan Quest: Immortal Throne

334 607 Saints Row 2

327 499 Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat

311 509 Half-Life 2: Episode One

300 434 Half-Life

299 410 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

287 385 Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

276 443 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition

272 374 Global Agenda - Demo

271 378 Medieval II: Total War

261 433 Pirates, Vikings, and Knights II

243 306 Team Fortress Classic

232 323 Audiosurf

225 338 League of Legends

224 351 Sid Meier's Civilization IV

221 416 Batman: Arkham Asylum

220 352 DiRT 2

219 295 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

219 285 Battlefield 2

214 361 Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight

213 308 Defense Grid: The Awakening

208 268 EVE Online Demo

207 367 RailWorks

200 414 F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

 

The table is from about 6pm EST 29 March 2010. The bolding in the table is mine - I bolded both Ubisoft games with this DDRM - Assassin's Creed II and Settler's 7. Another Ubisoft game with the DDRM is Silent Hunter 5, but it does not appear in the top 75 games played today. I have also bolded Command and Conquer 4, which is a DDRM game by EA also requiring an always online connection.

 

I would say the numbers are rather unspectacular, given that Assassin's Creed 2 was released about 3 weeks ago, Settler's 7 was released 6 days ago in North America and 3 days ago in Europe. Silent Hunter 5, I believe, was released about 1 month ago. EA's Command & Conquer 4 was released on 16 March 2010, so just under two weeks ago.

 

However, this is only an indication that sales might not be stellar for a game release of that magnitude - it does not act as a confirmation by any stretch. For that we will have to wait for some sales numbers and those can be hard to come by (and can be interpreted in different ways).

[Mamoulian War]

when we use some statistical guessing

 

MW sold 5M+ copies (but every single copy has to be connected to Steam to play) 53,238 96,304 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Multiplayer

 

548 864 Assassin's Creed II

538 898 The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom

 

that could theoretically mean that both game sold about 45000 copies on Steam... But not every game has to be connected to Steam... so my non-educated-out-of-ass-pulled guess might be 150K-200K games sold in total for each title... if that is enough sales to justify the cost of maintenance and customer support for the DRM servers i have no clue...

[Purkake]

What's DDRM, digital digital rights management?

[kirottu]

Draconian DRM.

[Purkake]

As opposed to the normal puppies and rainbows kind?

 

Stop inventing new, unnecessary and ambiguously defined abbreviations!

Edited March 30, 2010 by Purkake

[Morgoth]

Isn't Ubisoft always complaining how the PC market has declined and that there isn't a point releasing PC games anymore? Why do they even bother?

[Magister Lajciak]

As opposed to the normal puppies and rainbows kind?

 

Actually, pretty much yes! It is meant to leave out DRM such as serial keys or disc checks.

 

Isn't Ubisoft always complaining how the PC market has declined and that there isn't a point releasing PC games anymore? Why do they even bother?

 

The PC market is larger than it ever was if we ignore the decline due to the recession. It's just that the console market has grown (again, ignoring the recession) much faster than the PC one and is much bigger still. Also, games cost more to produce these days than in the past, so the investment requires a larger market to support. Hence, the PC market has declined in relative terms.

 

However, I think a revival in the relative importance of the PC market may be in the offing. Both Intel and AMD are beginning to integrate GPUs on their processors, which in the space of a few years promises to greatly expand the base of computers capable of relatively advanced graphics that games require.

[Killian Kalthorne]

As opposed to the normal puppies and rainbows kind?

 

Stop inventing new, unnecessary and ambiguously defined abbreviations!

 

Yes, indeed! Thats the job of the US Federal Government!

[Humodour]

New errors popping up: many Australians are unable to connect to any servers to play their single player game:

 

http://www.fragland.net/news/Ubisofts-DRM-...d-victim/22874/

 

Ubisoft says they're "getting to the bottom of it". The bottom of it? I can tell you what it is: many Australians have ****ty, slow internet connections you corporate arseholes, and that's not something you can fix without getting rid of your ****ed up DRM.

[Walsingham]

As opposed to the normal puppies and rainbows kind?

 

Stop inventing new, unnecessary and ambiguously defined abbreviations!

 

I dunno, man. Surely our argument has to be that managing the publishers rights can be done in other ways than DDRM? If not, then we're basically saying they should quit making games.

[Mamoulian War]

New errors popping up: many Australians are unable to connect to any servers to play their single player game:

 

http://www.fragland.net/news/Ubisofts-DRM-...d-victim/22874/

 

Ubisoft says they're "getting to the bottom of it". The bottom of it? I can tell you what it is: many Australians have ****ty, slow internet connections you corporate arseholes, and that's not something you can fix without getting rid of your ****ed up DRM.

 

+1