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

[213374U]

"The gaming industry is doing just fine" is incorrect, and that's pretty much inarguable.

Good point. And yet, the gaming market and the considerable economic activity it generates are expanding, and that's pretty much inarguable too.

 

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/games-t...illion-in-2013/

 

So, if the industry isn't doing too good, either they adapt their business model to market demands, or crash and burn.

 

Digital distribution, DLC and episodic content releases are acceptable changes. Punishing legit customers and encroaching on consumer rights are not.

Edited February 23, 2010 by 213374U

[Humodour]

http://www.destructoid.com/mad-as-hell-abo...is-164565.phtml

 

Seems like the best way to boycott Ubisoft. It would actually hit them were it has potential to hurt.

[Purkake]

Nah, that sounds like too much work. Just not buying it seems much easier.

 

 

Besides, a lot of stores don't give full refunds on software, even if it's unopened

 

[Nepenthe]

Nah, that sounds like too much work. Just not buying it seems much easier.

 

 

Besides, a lot of stores don't give full refunds on software, even if it's unopened

 

They should, if it's faulty, as it basically is, in this case.

 

In civilised countries, at least.

[Purkake]

It's more of a store thing than a country thing, my civilized northern neighbor.

 

I'm also guessing the internet connection requirement is mentioned on the back in some capacity.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Purkake

[Humodour]

Besides, a lot of stores don't give full refunds on software, even if it's unopened

 

This is typically enforced by your federal consumer watchdog agency, it certainly is in Australia.

[213374U]

I'm also guessing the internet connection requirement is mentioned on the back in some capacity.

Yeah... no.

 

 

3. Ubisoft are not taking responsibility for it effectively. Of all the retailers selling AC2, only two at time of writing actually state that it requires a constant internet connection to play.

http://savygamer.co.uk/2010/02/19/drm-assa...age-to-ubisoft/

[Purkake]

Perhaps, still seems like a lot of work, though.

 

The time for a revolution is not here yet.

 

@Numbers: As long as some kind of "internet connection" is mentioned, I'm fine with it. Constant schmonstant.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Purkake

[213374U]

The time for a revolution is not here yet.

Famous last words.

[Purkake]

I was kidding.

 

 

...or was I?

 

 

Do MMOs state that they need a constant internet connection on the box?

[Humodour]

Looks like I won't get to play Beyond Good and Evil 2.

 

At least until they release it on Good Old Games in 10 years time.

[Humodour]

Do MMOs state that they need a constant internet connection on the box?

 

Yes.

 

But again, that's a legal requirement in my country.

[Purkake]

I'll get BG&E2 even if it comes with an Ubisoft employee who looks over my shoulder the whole time I play it.

 

 

You guys are fighting small battles while we are still losing the war

 

 

@Krezack: Shouldn't that law apply to this DRM as well then?

Edited February 23, 2010 by Purkake

[Malcador]

Seems like the only option is to fight the small battles. But that's a good idea though, you can then hold the Ubi employee hostage. Hm.

[Purkake]

Seems like the only option is to fight the small battles.

That's because the time isn't right.

 

 

Greater things are afoot

 

[Calax]

I was kidding.

 

 

...or was I?

 

 

Do MMOs state that they need a constant internet connection on the box?

Yes they do, it Most boxes state "requires internet access and paid subscription". At least the former, not sure about the latter.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

The time for a revolution is not here yet.

 

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me."

[Purkake]

Yes, make Godwin proud.

 

I'm pretty sure Ubisoft will do enough on its own to turn anyone off their new system.

[Mikhailian]

Well that didn't take long:

http://kotaku.com/5485179/rumor-ubisofts-n...doed-by-pirates

[Purkake]

In other news, so is Blizzard's Starcraft 2 beta.

[Thrall of Draugadr]

woops... looks like i made a thread in the wrong area. made a similar thread in the off-topic section of the forum..

 

anyway, basically, this guy summarizes my feelings for me. http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4...57/m/3711066638

[Killian Kalthorne]

I just have to shake my head on this. The best way to promote piracy is to piss off enough gamers with stupid copy protection schemes that makes them want to pirate the game in protest. No single player game should require the person be online to play the game. Stupidest copy protection ever.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

It'd be news if they hadn't cracked it yet.

[LostStraw]

What made me a little sad is that Ubisoft put all this work into what ended up as a run of the mill DRM scheme that seems to have no benefits over any other DRM solutions already on the market. I was expecting a little more robustness out it I suppose. They no longer have to pay license fees for other DRM so I wonder if there was a cost aspect to it .. but then again they now have to pay for an internal team to keep it updated.

 

Anyway...

 

http://kotaku.com/5485359/ubisoft-making-e...anges-to-pc-drm

Example: Assassin's Creed II isn't even out yet on PC, yet Ubisoft has already upgraded the game to v1.01, the main change awaiting purchasers of the game being the fact the game "can now be continued from the exact same point when connection is restored".

[Sannom]

You know what? I don't think the DRM as an anti-piracy measure was the point of the system. The point was the centralized game saves and community. And the DRM's main objective is stopping the second-hand market, not fight piracy. The hardest part of the whole system can't be a regular check on the web to see if the copy is legit, not does it ask for a whole lot of servers and infrastructure. Stocking all the saves, on the other hand, ask for a lot more server and storage capacity, don't you think?