Great read Alaric. The only thing I have to ask you is why do you think DRM’s exists then if you think that saying it’s use to fight piracy is a pathetic reason? I would think that is the only reason it could possibly exist and why the idea for them ever came up. Why would a company intentionally alienate part of it’s potential consumers for any reason other than piracy? By no means do I think that this form of DRM is right because of pretty much all the reasons you gave above. Like you said, there are situations where people are not always connected and it sucks that they can’t play unless they are. There’s gotta be a better way.

Personally I believe that DRM is a way for the corporate leadership to cover their [donkey's backsides] at shareholders’ meetings. It’s their way of saying, “Yea, piracy is still rampant, but look we did this, and we did that, and it’s not our fault that it’s not working. And who knows why gamers hate us now. 90% of them are pirates anyway.”

In any event, let Ubisoft know what’s going on! Their phone number in the United States is (415) 547 4000. For numbers and addresses in other countries go to this page: http://www.ubisoftgroup.com/index.php?p=62

Honestly, for me, it’s not a big deal. Look how many fans of Steam there are, how many users, and personally, I have so many issues with offline mode that really, there’s no difference between this and Steam for me. So I say eh, whatever.

Yeah, I’ve been in the position where I didn’t have an Internet connection, or an unstable one, and… I couldn’t play my games on Steam, either. Sucks for those who can’t, but sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

I also don’t really get the whole deal over DRM. I have -never- had an issue with it, and I’ve owned games with Starforce and Tages and whatever the other was. Didn’t have a single issue. Again, sucks for those that do, but if you look at the Steam forums as an example, there are plenty of others that don’t as well, it’s the vocal ones you’re hearing from. If it’s working, people probably aren’t going to be on forums talking about it not working anyway.

Just my 2c.

I can’t agree with you more. To be denied access to something you paid for is unacceptable. In fact, what I can’t understand is why they think this will boost profits. Unless they put in the EULA “At any time, we have the right to deny your access to the game because we feel like taking the server down,” they are even putting themselves in a position for class action lawsuits. And if they do hedge their bets in the EULAs, then they might be dealt with in other legal ways.

What is most disappointing about all of this is that at least with an MMO, if service is spotty, or you get denied access, or whatever, you can vote with your dollars. With non-MMO titles, you pay for a product and how no recourse if they want to play DRM games. (Well, no legal or ethical recourse, at any rate; I’m not going to endorse piracy as a way around stupid DRM at the moment.)

One of the things I like about GamersGate is that, even though they distribute games online, they don’t have stupid DRM to go along with it. I can download Mount and Blade, EU3, or Sword of the Stars and then play them without a connection. GamersGate seems to be a vibrant, profitable venture, and they don’t rely on authentication servers to keep themselves in business.

Profits with DRM? What a novel concept…

That should read “Profits without DRM? What a novel concept…” but that’s what I get for not paying attention.

For years now we have been seeing PC software publishers foist upon their customers various vile DRM schemes, each more vile than the next. They have infected our computers with dangerous rootkits (Sony) and trojans, downright destroyed hardware (Starforce) and forced upon us onerous activation schemes that every so often would leave our computers crippled and lead to much frustration and lost productivity (Microsoft and everyone under the sun it seems). The state of affairs has reached such a nadir, that for all intents and purposes the only way to get a functional product is to get a cracked version through illicit means. However, this recent slap in the face by Ubisoft reaches such a new low, that an extreme response is in order. A mere boycott is not enough.

Ubisoft must die.

If one has to render a guess, the executives at Ubisoft asked themselves, “What’s the most invidious thing we can do to our customers?” and proceeded from there. I, for one, am hard pressed to come up with a more onerous policy. Ubisoft must pay the price for their arrogance and affront to the dignity of free people.

Ubisoft must die.

It goes without saying that from this moment forward, not one penny of your money should go to purchase a Ubisoft product or service. Tell all your friends, your relatives, your coworkers that they should stay away from Ubisoft. Hit them where it hurts, in the pocketbook.

Ubisoft must die.

Give Ubisoft games negative reviews on gaming sites and online stores. Always make sure to mention Ubisoft in a negative light on forums. If you see a person in a store looking at an Ubisoft game, be sure to tell him, “Hey, this game’s broken. If your internet ever disconnects, you lose your progress and your savegames.” Yes, it’s an exaggeration. But this is war, and wars are not won with clean hands. They have struck the first blow but we must finish it.

Ubisoft must die.

I repeat, a mere boycott is not enough. We must make life impossible for Ubisoft. Ubisoft must become a synonym of utter destruction, like Sodom, Gomorrah and Carthage.

Ubisoft must die.

Understand one thing; should they relent on this policy, it is not enough. They have gone too far, and now only an unconditional surrender will do. Ubisoft must remove all DRM from all current and future products. They must give a binding promise to never employ DRM in any future product. They must promise to do nothing in their power to prevent a customer from exercising his fair-use rights. Anything else will merely encourage this nest of serpents to try again once they think the time is right.

Ubisoft must die.

If we wish to live in a world where a person can go to a store, buy a game and install it knowing that it will not damage his computer or impede his use of it in any way; where he can make as many backup copies of his game as his heart desires; where he can sell his copy of the game to his friend knowing that it will work; where the very idea of product activation is anathema; we must show Ubisoft no mercy, we must not falter, we must not yield.

Ubisoft must die.

Well, this is quite upsetting to me, I know many pc gamers with out net so does this mean no hard core gaming in a new apartment for me with out net? I think I’m going to shed a few tears, why must people does this? Ruin all the fun! And for what?! NOT EVERYONE CAN AFORD THIS! -clears throat- I think I’ll take my soap box somewheres else before I lose my tongue… But yes I agree with Inkstain

Ubisoft, must and will parish, or so help me I will die trying…-hires the dragons, bats, werewolves, and knights of the round table from stronghold legends-

THIS IS WAR!!!!!!

Sorry to hear about that for you PC guys, but honestly and seriously…… go and buy yourself a XBOX 360.

I’ve played games on both and the Xbox is superior.

Pick one (elite 120GB memory) up for one hundred and fifty pounds now.

I look back at the number of times that I thought that I had my PC up to spec spending X amount of extra money to do so only for the next game that I wanted to play installed but having frame rate problems. This won’t happen on a console.

I know I sound controversial, and I always get someone taking what I say the wrong way, but what the hell, sometimes the truth hurts.

You don’t sound controversial at all, so don’t worry. Misinformed maybe. An Xbox is just a really old PC, that’s all. =) It can only be superior to either a REALLY old, or completely misconfigured, or an entirely non-gaming PC. I’d love to show you a proper gaming PC, but it sounds like you live across the pond, and even though I will be in Heathrow for a few hours in April, I won’t have my system with me. =) Perhaps if you are ever in the States…

This XBox 360 you speak of intrigues me. Please describe your experience of taking your XBox on the train on your way to work to pass the time. Or perhaps on vacation.

LOL, Inkstain! =)

That’s funny Inkstain. I think though that’s a great point as to why people who don’t primarily game on the PC may not really feel threatened by this. I game on both platforms but primarily do it on the consoles. When I go on vacation it’s just that, vacation. I get away from my console. Sure I may play some Peggle on my iPhone or carry along the DS but I’m not freaking out because I don’t have access to a TV with a 360 hooked up to it. I know going in to a purchase of a console game that there will be moments when I can’t play it and I’m fine with that. In this instance sure it may be different that you can’t play these games on the run but I think it’s odd that you play games like AC2 or Splinter Cell on the train to begin with. If your internet service sucks then that’s a whole separate issue. At least Ubi let you know these things before release and were upfront about it. If you don’t want to deal with instances of possibly not being able to play at every waking moment then don’t buy it. I think it’s interesting too how this will be a true test for how good these games are. Can the quality of these titles out way the DRM controversy. I put my money on no.

I find it somewhat ironic too that all the uproar and time spent on the net discussing this whole situation only proves how much time people are actually connected. They could have been playing AC 2 the whole time if it was out.

Turks, let’s not turn it into a PC vs. Console argument. This is essentially a property ownership issue. What it comes down to is who actually owns the game you just “bought.” We expect to own pretty much everything we buy, why should games be an exception? Imagine a car that only drives when you have a cell phone signal. Sure most highways have reception, but what if you are one of those people who drives out in the wild for some reason? What if a tower was struck by lightning? What if it’s down for maintenance? Do you think that justifies your engine just turning off?

As to the rest of your argument, come on, when did we all agree that it’s ok to force people into something that someone else is ok with? For example I know a few girls who like to be tied up and flogged. Would you say it’s all right to do it to you, just because they don’t mind it done to them?

By no means am I turning it into a PC vs Console debate. Frankly I game on both and enjoy both. Inkstain began to do that by asking about gaming on a train with your Xbox. I just simply responded discussing why people who do not primarily game on the PC do not feel threatened by this.

In terms of ownership, I can’t imagine a car that only drives when you have a cell phone signal. If it did exist I wouldn’t purchase it because I know what it takes to use it and what it’s limitations are. I couldn’t meet them. Again, Ubi is letting potential consumers know what they need to do to play these games. I guess it can be looked at as a new system requirement. Like all the hardware system requirements for a game, if your PC doesn’t meet them and you’re dying to play the game then you need to drop the cash to meet them. If you can’t then just don’t play it.

I agree that it is a radical thing to do especially to a single player game because really it’s only multiplayer only games like MMO’s that require the internet all the time. One thing that is being overlooked and that I find interesting and very cool is that by requiring this they are allowing you to install it on as many PC’s as you want and access your save on any PC. If you purchase these games you can start your game at home in the morning, save, start where you left off and play during your lunch break, save, and finish up at home that night. That’s something consoles don’t have and I think that’s awesome!

Turks… im sorry buddy but you need to look at the future… *if* this works for Ubi (i hope it doesn’t, and i have long been a fan of Ubi) then why would any other publisher/dev ever have a reason of not implicating this DRM tactic?

In my case i live in the country, about 3 miles outside of the DSL circle, and with out enough neighbors (the way i like it =) they arnt apt to extend that service anythime soon; i have two options dial up ( umm no…) or satalite uplink… i currently employ the later and,let me tell you, its not a “fun” choice compared to dsl and cable (i had both when i lived in the city) sat is not fast or cheap and they limit bandwidth something fierce. I’ve exceded the limit a couple times and for a month im dinged down to or below dial up speeds… so if im already limiting my personal usage of my bandwidth, why should i allow a offline prog to have unlimited access to it? NOT to mention the inherent security risk involved (and yes no matter what a connection at all is a risk)

Oh and as far as not meting rec specs and and Xbox for low frame rates… my rig is a decade old dell 4300 p4 1.6 Willamette 400fsb with 1 gig 133 sdram (mobo max) and a Nvidia 6200 256vram and i can play TES:Oblivion, SoaSE, C&C 3 (though the videos have a small sound lag problem),Vampire Redemption, Hellgate, Heroes 5, and a whole host of other games that my system shouldn’t* run or run well… now if you add in constant internet to that mix i cant play a single one of them… i personally like SoaSE (ironclad/stardock’s) DRM scheme you don’t have a legit copy, you don’t get any patches ect (though most game company’s wouldn’t like this as it would require them to have worth while updates released and proper game support; it would be nice for a game to not need a patch after release…can anyone here remember a recent game that didn’t need at least one or tow major fixes made?)

My vote is NO Ubi you’ve (helped) make my life a more fun place to be, however even if i had the bandwidth and didnt care about the security hole you wanna blow in my game time; i still couldnt support this decision… throwing fans under the bus to “punish pirates” is a god way to get ppl to pay to stop paying, and i kinda doubt any pirates are gonna shed too many tears over this one… only hurting the inverters…way to go… btw thanks for sticking it in and breaking it off

And what happens when Ubisoft decides to take the authentication server offline in a few years? What happens when that server gets DDOS’ed?

As a matter of fact, what service level guarantee is Ubisoft offering?

more the reason for pirates and hackers to laugh their way to the bank.

great job, ubi!

@ Inkstain thanks mate, i remembered that i had forgotten to mention that in my rant (that what i came back for) but it really is the linch-pin in this…no ubi, no game? look how fast hellgate boomed, and there is no us support now, though in Korea its still being updated (i hear)…

Well, I think that we are going to see another 1983 on the horizen. Instead of crappy games, we are going to see DRM-crippled games, both resulting in a loss of customers and a gain in piracy.

Uhhh. PSP used games cost an extra 20 bucks, games that you have to be online to play (maybe you need to create an account, and they are so bad that you can get your account suspended and you are shut off of games in the future), EA may have the worse then ever SecuROM that may only allow 1 install per game, and then your F’ed once your one install is dome (that on top of having to be online), as well as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo having a 1-console lock between games.

I think that this is what’s going to happen. Maybe the motion picture and the recording industry will start locking out music and movies after a time when consumers buy it. In the case, for a regular price, consumers can license a movie or a music for one year for (29.99 per movie, 14.99 for an album, or .99 per song). E-books may see a 1-year-license.

Yea. What a bunch of money grubbing pigs these big-name companies are.

Ubi’s DRM is cracked already it seems.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/03/04/rumor-ubisoft-drm-already-cracked/

Hello folks,

From what I can tell (and I’m not up-to-date with PC games these days), this DRM system is a system devised by Ubisoft as an anti-piracy tool.

The up and coming Ghost Recon Future Soldier will have the DRM system on the PC format
only.

Let me know if I’m wrong, but it seems to suggest that there is a bigger problem with piracy
on PCs when compared with consoles- enough to warrant such an anti-pirated device to be intergrated into the programming.

Could it be that if PC users didn’t committ so much fraud by using pirated games then there would not have been this DRM system in the first place.

Looking at some of the comments above – some say they have ‘cracked’ the DRM already, which implies they are again willing to or are about to commit fraud.

I probably will get a lot of flak from some of the users on this forum, but if you want to get your own back on me for what is actually stating the truth, get yourself a Xbox 360, legitamately buy the next Recon game when it comes out (will be before PC version or even the BETA version in the summer) and play against me and my team. My gamer tag is displayed above.

Don’t bother asking me to play online on the PC version because I’ll need about 2000 pounds to upgrade my PC together with a PC friendly desk and swivvel chair to put every on, all done so I don’t get Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. Hand on a minute! there is a version of the Xbox controller (well ergonomically designed) that can be used for PCs as well as Xboxs. Forget the other bits, I haven’t got the spare money.

PS.. Xbox 360 has got …three-3.2GHz processors in it.. not weak by any means.

The PS3 has got…. seven-3.2GHz processors in it… show me a PC with anything like seven- 3.2Ghz in it and it’s probably working for NASA or on Bill gates desk.

I’ve got a 8-core Mac Pro sitting beside me at the moment… it’s not a traditional PC (running Mac OS), and the cores are running at only 2.66Ghz, but if your comparing the 360 & PS3 to PC’s on such simple (and inaccurate) metrics as # of cores/speed of cores – the hardware is no where near as obscure are you suggest (NASA/Bill Gates).

In terms of hardware accelerated graphics, the components available for PC are well ahead of what the 360/PS3 were locked into at their release (approx Radeon 3000 series/nVidia 7800 respectively).

As for DRM and cracking software, although the laws probably vary (I haven’t any interest in researching the variations) – It is acceptable in at least some countries, including mine, to crack games you have actually purchased. I personally find this useful given the DVD, after a full install, often seems to serve no other purpose than to authenticate my ownership and force me to bother FINDING the disc when I decide to play.

Additionally, some games have DRM schemes that work quite well – or are atleast IMO reasonably constrained (Steam for example will allow some play between connections to their servers).

My two cents – No votes for the ‘best system’, they are all great so long as your enjoying it. After all, Isn’t it really just about having fun?

@Pineapple762,

Once again, I don’t think you are going to be catching any flack simply because you don’t appear to be malicious, but instead grossly misinformed. There are a number of fully legitimate arguments for the supposed superiority of gaming consoles over gaming PCs, but yours isn’t one of them. Comparing the hardware (and by extension the graphics and processing ability) of Xbox360 and a modern gaming PC is always going to be disastrous for Xbox360.

Like I said before, Xbox360 is simply a really old PC. It was released in 2005, and it’s hardware makeup is even older. So in an essence you are comparing a 5-to-7 year old computer to a modern one. A single year is a colossal amount of time in computer terms. 5 years is an era. 7 years is an age.

Billy, who is one of our podcasters, makes an excellent point for consoles. They are usually played on in one’s living room, while sitting on a couch. For some people it is very important, and as such to them it makes a console superior, because one’s gaming area is part of the experience. Even Billy, however, freely admits that the computing power of Xbox360 is nothing next to that of a gaming PC.

As to the piracy, you are very wrong to assume that console games are not pirated. They are in fact pirated left and right. You are also wrong to assume that the majority of PC gamers are pirates. Moreover it is completely outlandish to state that honest people should be punished for what criminals do. As I said in my article, the pirates will crack the game anyway and enjoy it without any restrictions. It is the good guys (us) that will have to suffer needlessly.

This is a familiar trend. we move from having FULL ownership of the [stuff] we buy to ownership under some license agreements (something the author of this article supports as a concept ) to renting while they want you to have it. However all of these transactions are still called “buying”
I am sure everyone remembers how much bad publicity Amazon got just recently for removing some book from their customers’ Kindles. Apparently Amazon didn’t have the license to sell that book in first place so they figured they going to remedy the situation by removing the book from customer devices and issuing a refund. Ask for permission? Neah! It’s all covered by the fine print in the licensing agreement.
I don’t play games (no time for that) so for me this is just another indication of where we go with today’s ideas of ownership.

all gamers on this earth have internet connection ? Sales are decreasing !!! it’s the fault of piracy? No No… Ubisoft transforms their licenses for casual gamers (Ghost Recon, Prince of Persia etc…)

finally they penalize honest peoples

indeed I am on with not buying their [stuff]. Won’t carry it either, I just got reamed out over the phone about how I wasnt supposed to take Silent Hunter 4 at a return when some guy told me it wasnt working. So here’s my thought, anyone who has bought the full version, TAKE IT BACK TO THE STORE RIGHT NOW, and demand your money back. My manager is already yelling at other people on the phone along the lines of, “well if we sell it and it doesn’t actually work just what are we supposed to do?”. If another 5 people walk through our doors tomorrow and try to return SH4 and Ass2 then imagine what my manager will have to say? What will his bosses say? What will happen when it comes time to decide at a corporate level what to inventory the stores with? I mean think of the asspain that it would cause, I mean it sure pissed us off here at Future Shop. That asspain will FIND ITS WAY to Ubisoft eventually. Imagine the Walmart guys calling them up and saying, “Uhh ubisoft, we just had 75% of the copies sold from Assassins Creed 2 and that sub game for the PC, returned… as in not working. So WE are going to want our money back, and we don’t care about your bs, we’ve got lawyers and we will eat your children”. MAYBE then Ubisoft will pull its head out of its [butt]. In addition Its like OLD dudes who bought SH4 as well, not normal young gamers, haven’t had any ass2 returned yet and we sold way more if it than sh4. Methinks its a crossover between older gamers not having consoles, having a home PC and older gamers liking the WWII sub geekery.

I first ran into trouble with UBISOFT with Silent Hunter 3 and the Starforce DRM. It didn’t destroy anything in my case, but it did end up causing unexplainable kernal mode exceptions (blue screen of death). It took me several days to pin it down on the hidden starforce drivers, and that’s when I was introduced to the wonderful world of modern copy protection schemes.

It goes without saying that any product with a protection scheme that requires an Internet connection or has limited activations, etc., is one that I refuse to pay for.

The publishers will learn the hard way that you can push your customers only so far before they wise up and abandon you. They are in fact driving piracy up, even to a customer like me that has no reason to pirate a game. I can pay easily, but I won’t pay for a game that hasn’t been fully cracked. I hate to say it, but it’s the truth

Ubisoft must die?
Jesus, no wonder people think us gamers are all weirdos. That post made me worry about the poster shooting up Ubi-headquarters. Yes this is bad, and we should do our best to make them realize that although their intentions are right in idea, they fall on their flat on their face in practice. You cant blame anyone, one man, a group of people, or even a major corporation for wanting to protect their creation..their work. Sorry but yes, I believe this also means you shouldn’t copy and sell these companies work to your friends. Its people the people who do this that make major corporations incorporate DRM’s in the first place, to protect their work, and who can blame them. But i guess I’m not being entirely fair, my internet connection is just fine and my PC gaming time far less my 360 gaming time, lower graphic quality sure, but cheaper and less problems..for me at least, yes. And im sorry maybe its just me but…not being able to game on a plane, if a squirrel chews through your cable, or you move into a new house and cant play your game….OMFG! Come on people. Does that suck, yeah sure it does, but is it the end of the world…?

Dear sir, would you kindly not dismiss legitimate grievances of others lest your own be dismissed. If you don’t need to play on the plane, or whenever you have no connection – it is your prerogative. We are all extremely happy for you. Overjoyed even. Congratulations. Some of us, however, believe in such archaic notions as private property. That means, in case you were wondering, that we like owning whatever we purchased. The concept may seem alien to you, but it makes perfect sense to us.

You know, though, you’ve all offered many criticisms, but (sorry if I missed it) I didn’t see any solutions. The only thing close was that someone said they liked SoaSE lack of DRM, but why would Ubi do that, when the last time they did (Assassin’s Creed, wasn’t it?) it got the crap pirated out of it. Granted, they were being rather silly by with-holding the PC version for no apparent reason, but regardless of that, it doesn’t somehow automatically give people the right to go and pirate the game.

Steam? It’s been cracked so many times, so many ways already.

Sure, Ubi is catching a lot of criticism for this, but really, what other choice do they have but trying new forms of DRM? And yeah, people can ignore any Ubi game with this DRM, in which case they’ll either 1) Try something new next time (I highly doubt they’ll do 0 DRM), or 2) Ditch PCs and go to consoles.

Even if I haven’t had problems myself, I’m not a big fan of DRM, but considering what’s happened, and what’s happening, I don’t see where people think Ubisoft is supposed to go.

Also, one small niggling point -> What games do you own as private property? Even Diablo 2 (oldest game I have installed) of ~2000 only granted you a license, not ownership. Sort of a technical distinction, but it’s there.

And the servers are getting a lot of problems. The twitter messages from Ubisoft are hilarious

Pineapple762 again,

Just a little point I want clearing up. Since you guys seem like Pc experts. I’ve been checking the specs of PCs on the net, since some of you guys rate them so much , it may be worth my while looking to get one in the future for gaming.

I looked up the Floating Point performance of the XBOX 360 which equalled 1Tera FLOP.
the PS3 which equalled 2 Tera FLOP

and the advert for the performance of a very expensive very recent computer [Oct 2009]by ASUS in the website ‘Gizmag’… see detail below.

Check it out.. does this mean that the consoles are comparible?

…”….Goodbye to the days when supercomputers had to fill a room and welcome Asus, purveyor of all things Eee and its first ever supercomputer – the ESC 1000. Produced in conjunction with NVIDIA and the National Chiao Tung university in Taiwan, the desktop-sized machine is capable of speeds up to a mighty 1.1 teraflops, which may pale in comparison to the petaflop Roadrunner, but then so does the footprint.

The ESC 1000 houses a 3.33GHz Intel LGA1366 Xeon W3580 processor and 960 graphics processing cores spread between Tesla c1060 processors and a Quadro FX5800, which require less electricity than microprocessors while offering higher speeds.

Backing up this smorgasbord of cutting edge micro-technology is 24GB of DDR3 1333Mhz RAM, an 1100 watt power supply and as if it would make a difference, a 500GB SATA II hard drive.

Though gamers may be salivating at its potential, it’s intended primarily for use with scientific research, image manipulation, engineering and medical purposes, and though prices are yet to be confirmed it’s expected to cost around US$14,519 to build
…………” !!!!!

Can U guys confirm any of this for me please. I checked out also top cgraphics cards and they produce a bit less than 1 T flops.

The specs for the consoles are for the total combined output.

Pineapple762,

That is a very good question, and the one that often rises to add to the confusion surrounding console vs. PC performance.

The short answer is that this is not an “apples to apples” comparison. Consoles have vector processors to speed up certain graphics calculations, those are not produced by general-purpose FPU’s.

For the long answer, please read this article: http://en.allexperts.com/e/f/fl/flops.htm

If you don’t want to read the whole thing, at least read the section entitled “FLOPS, GPUs, and game consoles.” It starts with the words: “Very high FLOPS figures are often quoted for inexpensive computer video cards and game consoles.”

Thanks for that Alaric.

I found this on the web about DRM

“A Tale of Two DRMs

Posted by Rocky on Tuesday, February 23 2010

While Ubisoft is taking severe and significant bad press in the wake of it’s Persistant Connection DRM for upcoming titles including Ghost Recon Future Soldier, CR6 has posted how another publisher has taken a slightly different stance that has been universally recieved in a far more positive fashion.
Electronic Arts have announced that their upcoming blockbuster of a game BF Bad Company 2, uses SecuROM to offer customers a choice, which includes an option to play offline. It’s worth reading their explanation of how this will work for PC gamers, check it out.

Our GR:FS DRM discussion spans nine pages now, join in!”

http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/battlefield_bad_company/archive/2010/01/26/BFBC2-PC-Copy-Protection.aspx##

My first thought on Drm brings gabe newall and valve to mind. Heres a fella who likes to make money as much as any other Ceo . His view on piracy i think nails it and makes a WHOLE lot of sense. Honestly this kind of Drm does nothing to stifle piracy . Good localization strategies and customer relationships are the key to putting the kybosh on Pirated games. Besides this is more about Re selling games than it is about piracy. A 5 year old could figure as much out . Companies like EB games etc are the real culprits here. I can handle steam, a minor inconveniance , But it works.. and it works in offline mode.. I can install my game.. go to work in the oilpatch where there is NO internet and still play my single player games at night
Even Games for windows live has this feature.. IE . i can play GTA 4 {not that i like the game that much } in offline mode and save my game.. again .. a minor inconveniance with being online to activate and setup a game.. but once done.. its DONE.. i can play offline.
I will not buy any ubisoft Titles with this new draconian DRM.. I reccomend to all my freinds to do the same, and i Discuss these things when ever im chilling at the local game store looking for something to play. spread the word people. Through logical and civil discourse. Its the best way

Guys, add C&C4 to the list of games to boycott. It’s not Ubisoft, it’s EA, but it’s the same bull-feces all over again. You HAVE to be online. I for one and not buying C&C4. They can go screw themselves.

Um, no, it’s not Alaric. Try checking some things out. I have C&C4, and there’s online and offline profile progression, which is why you have to be online.

Yeah, it’s part of the DRM, but it’s also part of the features, so no, it’s NOT the same thing.

The way I was explained, you have to be online to play a single player game. Is it not so?

Yes, that is true, but because by playing single player, you’re furthering your online account. The two are tied together in ways.

And if I don’t care about “furthering” my online account? If I just want to play single player? Do I have that option? If not than this so called “furthering” is nothing but just a useless shiny bauble, invented to make people swallow the intrusive and insulting DRM. Surely we both can see past the gimmicky “feature.”

No, you don’t have the option to turn it off, because it’s not just about online. By playing, you gain experience, getting unlocks for your commander, getting new units and abilities. As games online can be ranked, if they have them twined together (which makes it easier to get into online, and makes for a good tutorial/learning curve using the campaign and non-multiplayer), hacking could skew results of ranking, thus having them off-client makes a lot more sense.

Also, as the emphasis is definitely on multiplayer, I would argue that games like Modern Warfare 2 could be similarly guilty. Yeah, there’s offline play, but the campaign is ridiculously short and unbalanced, and not only that, many Spec Ops missions require you to play Co-op, meaning you either have to buy another copy and run it on another machine to play with someone, or play online. I don’t see how there’s a big difference, it’s still limiting what you can do offline. And if you’re the type of gamer who wants that 100%, it’s impossible to do without one of those two options.

Thus, shouldn’t you be announcing a boycott of that system? What about Steam? Yes, there’s offline mode, but as I said above, it’s never been reliable for me, or a lot of people I know. There’s constantly updates that ‘fix’ offline mode, still isn’t working for me. Going to boycott Steam?

And again, as I said earlier, you’re criticising, without offering any suggestions. How exactly can they fix it? Because people have already shown merely not putting DRM on it doesn’t work.

Pretty much the only way DRM is going to go away is if people stop pirating, and obviously that’s not happening.

I try to avoid using Steam if at all possible. However, Valve provides enough services with Steam to warrant me tolerating it. For example I can download games from Steam.

C&C4, on the other hand, does NOT provide ANYTHING at all to justify forcing me to be online to play the single player campaign.

I play single player, Anakhoresis. I am not interested in being ranked. Nor am I interested in playing against anyone else. I will be on a plane for 10 hours next month, and I was looking forward to completing a few missions. I was also looking forward to paying $50 to EA for this game.

While the idea of DRM is idiotic and worthless in the first place (since it does absolutely nothing to stop piracy) this particular kind of DRM is too invasive to bear. I could maybe live with a CD check or something of similar magnitude. This, however, is a complete deal breaker for me and many other people.

If your local grocery store would yell “STOP, THIEF!” at you each time you finished paying, gave you a full cavity search, and refused to accept returns… I suspect you’d stop shopping there. Even if they gave you a balloon (that you don’t need) every single time.

In my country piracy is ubiquitous: Homes, offices, schools, everywhere there’s a PC. The Illegality of piracy is quite blurred. Ask me how many people actually buy Microsoft Office. Why?

First, it’s an African, so we are relatively poor. $50 for a game, only rich kids can keep up.

Second, there are just no new games on the shelves. Want to buy online? Hahaha, many online payment services have banned us from paying for stuff with cards from here or paying for stuff from our location.

Third, even if you get someone to buy stuff for you, they couldn’t ship it directly to you online.

Fourth, Internet is expensive, slow, and breaks from time to time. And if that’s not enough the lights go out quite a number of times every week. The list goes on.

Now, I follow all of the major game releases so I’m pretty familiar all the good games and those which are yet to follow. So no matter how tempting piracy looks, no matter how long it would take me to play my fav. with these kinds of DRM, once this drm this can stop piracy, I am fully behind Ubisoft. If this system really works, they would improve it.

The world would be a better place without it.

If, as you said, in your country the Internet is expensive, slow, and breaks often, you may as well say goodbye to these games. So by being fully behind Ubisoft, you will simple prevent any legitimate customer over there from playing. (Pirates will of course still play, because these games WILL be pirated, just as ANY software that came before them.)

Alaric, I agree that legitimate customers should not suffer. But looking at the situation from my part of the world, piracy is the norm, the “only option available”. Saying “goodbye to these games” hasn’t sunk in into people, and fighting only the publishers/developers would only strengthen this bad notion. If you must know all the latest software are installed on many desktops. Photoshop CS4 is virtually installed on every desktop here (even for people who don’t know what it does) and do you know how much it costs. Sadly, the larger population is ignorant of the illegality of piracy. Unless, something is done, people here won’t start thinking of options out there.

Piracy is taking pc gaming downhill. Just look at the time it took for AC2 to be released on PC. Oh, and the last time I head Splinter Cell Conviction for PC release date has been pushed back 2 weeks. If you think Console gaming is safe, think again, AC2 is available for download on Xbox 360, while the pc version is waiting to be cracked. So the death of PC gaming could lead to the death of console gaming. Note: despite the cost, a lot of guy here are buying consoles cos of the rate at which gaming spec are shooting so high. They do not intend to buy to the game due to reasons stated above. So guess what would happen.

Again piracy leads more to the advantage of pirates than legit customers cos they don’t have to worry about drm, and get to play games even before preordered customers do esp when the game leaks. Remember Sims 3?

I read Teplitsky’s plea to a pirate, it is was just too little an effort, considering he decided to come down hard on Ubisoft. You guys also need to fight for the rights you truly deserve, and importantly, fight the very people who are causing Companies like Ubisoft to behave this way, cos remember, you guys take much more damage than the pirates.

Having been born in a country where piracy is equally rampant, I know what you mean.

I disagree with you, however, on the notion that it will end PC (and/or console) gaming. Far from it. The profits of the gaming industry are now equal to those of Hollywood. Nobody will pass on that much money. Sure they could have been higher, but I assure you nobody is quitting the business due to piracy. It is just too damn lucrative.

Also, not all pirates are lost customers. Like you said, people have Photoshop on their machines and don’t even know what it’s for. Yes, they are pirates, but do you really think they caused lost profits? No, because they would NEVER have bought that software to begin with.

As far as I’m concerned, piracy was, is, and will be. DRM does nothing to prevent it. The only end that DRM achieves is that of punishment of legitimate users. Would I like to live in a perfect world where there is no crime? Yes! Is it possible? No! So why should we suffer extra at the hands of the publishers.

At this point, even though I am firmly against piracy, I see the publishers an the enemy, not the pirates.

Well I certainly do not condone piracy, and never would. I would however like to personally thank the games publishers at large for helping me ween myself from playing games. Thier antics with assanine DRM, their selective removal certain multiplayer aspects, and this thinly veiled attempt to transition digital entertainment (PC and Console games) from a buy and play, to the mythical financial gold mine that is the SAS (Software as a Service) erternal revenue stream.

I’ll be more than happy to pick an MMO or two, and to hell with the rest of ‘em. Let them produce their bajillion copies, or their bajillion digital downloads of the ‘hot title of the week’, let them line up the next 30 DLC packs to come, and let em chock on em.

Once upon a time, I was big proponent for games. Now, I think I’ll finish a fleet assault on a POS in EVE Online, take my monies that were allocated for those other games, and maybe throw on new set of tires on the Charger and go for a drive.

A point of view from an honest gamer:

Hey Alaric,

While I don’t condone piracy, I also don’t condemn downloading either. Maybe I’m in a unique position as a gamer, I don’t know. Quite frankly, I think too many game publishers hold too narrow a view of people downloading their games. They simply see a download and assume it’s an outright theft. While it may be true in a lot of cases, I can attest to the fact that it’s not always the case. I’m a downloader. That’s right, I admit it. But I actually do buy every game I downloaded that I liked. Some of my friends make fun of me for it asking why I’ve bought a game I already downloaded, which I reply “I Liked it, So I bought it.” It doesn’t get any simpler than that. If a company makes a good game that I like, then they deserve my money and I’m more than willing to give it as that shows my support to those comanies. If I don’t like the game, then it gets deleted. Who’s going to play a game they don’t like anyway. I’ve even scolded several of my friends for not buying games they like as I feel that is stealing. Some of my friends I’ve managed to convince to start buying the games they like and they are starting to come around. But not all of them. I do this for several reasons:

If I buy a game that turns out to be crap, I can’t return it. Wasting money. I can’t afford that.

As I’m exclusively a PC gamer there is no option to rent a game. As a result, downloading is the only means I have at my disposal of truely trying before I buy.

Game Demo’s are misleading. I have seen many a crap game made to look great in a demo only to be disappointed by full game. And I’ve seen many a great game unintentionally made to look crap by the demo. Full game is the only real way to know if it’s good or bad.

Many game stores will not buy some PC games due to “one use only” online serial keys. Again, if it’s a crap game = Wasted money.

You may say many claim the same as I do… The difference is I can actually prove that I actually do buy the games I like. Quite frankly, game companies have made more money off of my downloading had I not downloaded. I have bought more games in the last 5 years than I did in the previous 10. More than half of which I never would have bought had I not downloaded them first such as X2: The Threat which lead to me buying the following generations of the X series. Even buying the recent Ubisoft title Anno 1404 which I initially tried as a download (how’s that for irony? A game I bought from Ubisoft, “as a result” of the very thing they’re trying to stop. I can assure you I never would have Anno 1404 had I not tried it first.). Some of them I had even never heard of until I downloaded them such as the Total War series, Silent Hunter series and Nexus: the Jupiter Incident (Yes, Nexus is an excellent game). Three of them, such as MVP Baseball 2005, I had to go as far as importing them from the states just to buy them, because they weren’t sold anywhere here. I am a hardcore PC gamer. I am a downloader. But I “am” an honest gamer/customer. If game companies provided me with a way to “truly” trying a game with no obligation to buy before I decide to buy, then I would consider giving up downloading. But since there is no option out there, then downloading is my only option.

Now for the DRM. I have now boycotted Ubisoft for their current DRM Scheme. I will not buy any Ubisoft game which utilizes their current DRM scheme. You may be surprised to hear me say that it doesn’t have anything to do with my being prevented from playing a downloaded copy of the game. As a matter of fact, I originally had Assassins Creed II on preorder (as a result of my love of the first), but cancelled my order because of the DRM. I also will not buy Splinter Cell Conviction (as much as I want it) if it has this DRM in it. While I understand game companies trying to protect their products and believe they have the right to do so, I also believe they need to know their limits and learn to show restraint. This new DRM scheme clearly crosses the line of reason for protecting their product. The pirates will eventually circumvent it. It treats us legitimate customers like criminals. And will result in turning this game into a future paper weight. I still play games that I bought back in 1997. If this DRM isn’t removed, I will not be able to say the same for any game using this DRM. Customers will feel like they’re being punished for offenses they haven’t committed (I may have committed, but bought anyway). And not only that, but they’re footin us the bill for it, by making consumers pay an extra $10 premium on the game just for the DRM they put in the game that we never wanted in the first place and has caused nothing but headaches for everyone forced to use it. I really want to buy Assassins Creed II and Sprinter Cell Conviction, but I don’t want the headaches that come with it. When I buy a game, I want to play it whenever I want. I don’t want to have to jump through assanine hoops just to get the game to run, nor do I want to have to deal with recurring game interruptions as a result of those same hoops. But hey… Eventually the pirates will circumvent the DRM and they won’t have to deal with those hoops, while legitimate consumers will still be dealing with the headaches. I agree with you Alaric in regards to flat out pirating and never buying. All I’m trying to advise you is that there are downloaders out there who actually do have morals and actually do live by them.

– Nick

The last Game I bought from ubisoft was Far cry 2.. huge dissapointment, and now with thier Retarded DRM , they will never get another dime from me , or anyone else i know personally. At least eidos has the rights for deus ex 3 , heres hoping. Alpha protocol is NOT an ubisoft game ? if so that should be good as well.

Hello Alaric,

Ok I’ve bought a brand new PC.

The processor is rated at 41st on the fastest list above i3, i5 and some i7m.
It’s the Intel core 2 quad processor Q8300 2.5ghz. The only slow thing on it is the graphics card – nvdia 7100 or something like that.

I loaded an old 2006 game into it (previously unplayable on my old PC). I thought it would work for sure no problems now. No frame rate problems etc.. etc.. that I dread from PC games [see above], which is why I play the Xbox 360. Guess what.? frame rate problems… Can you suggest a good, ok priced graphic card that I can buy that doesn’t need me to buy a new power unit on my PC. I don’t know what mine is right now. Make and model is Packard Bell iXtreme X5620 uk.

P.S here is some Hi Def action with me playing GRAW2 on my 360 uploaded by xD3L3T3x.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XQRAIggn0w

@pineapple762 – Are you trying to come off as silly? Nvidia 7100? We’re 4 generations beyond that card (8xxx, 9xxx, GT 2xx, and now onto GT 4xx. GT 1xx and 3xx don’t really count since they’re hardly even refreshes). Plus, the last three numbers show where it falls in that line, and obviously, 100 is very, very low. A computer is more about just the processor. If you’re going to try and say how consoles are better than PCs, at least try and do some research.

Also what game exactly?

@Alaric – As to your previous comment, I think you’re approaching the game in the wrong way. Yes, sure, you want play single player, offline etc… etc… But the thing is, they’ve billed this game since the beginning as being more akin to an MMO. So, take for example Guild Wars. The campaign is at its core single-player, requiring no one, and technically, no reason to be online. But it’s billed as an online game in the first place, so I imagine you’d avoid it. But I doubt you’re going to go all “THIS IS DRM” on Guild Wars, it’s just the game and how it works.

And as such, same with C&C4. My point is you’re saying it’s DRM, when my point is, it’s how the game works. It’s not just DRM slapped on, it’s integrated into the game. Sorry that you don’t want to have any part of it, but that’s how it was made, and I guess it wasn’t aimed towards you as an audience.

By the way, I’m glad that you found the PS3 a good system [ read your review earlier].
Might as well buy a PS3 or Xbox to play the new recon game. No DRM bull on them.
Just to clarify a point. I know for sure that there is a HDMI connection on new Xboxs that allow for 1080p on TVs. It even allows 108op without the HDMI on older systems using only the RGB + two other cable setup. 100% sure on that.

Anakhoresis,
I played the company of heroes. 2006 . Can you give me the full name of a graphics card that doesn’t need me to upgrade my power pack?

@pineapple762,

Hi! I’m glad to hear you’ve decided to buy a gaming PC, but am dismayed at learning it is a Packard Bell. I didn’t even know they were still around, and when I last heard of them (ten years ago) they were pretty crummy.

Either way, I am not certain a previous generation quad core will give you much advantage when gaming. Some games do support multiple cores, but most don’t. i7 makes up for it with brute force though.

As far as the graphics card, yea, the 7100 series are completely adequate, you are right to want to replace them. I currently play on two 9800GTX cards in SLI. They are old, but this set up allows me to run all modern games at 2560×1600 at the highest settings with no problems. Since you are very likely running a much lower resolution there is no sense for you to invest in SLI, but I believe a single 9800 GTX would solve most of your problems. They cost roughly $100 on newegg.com.

With that said, it is quite an old card. There are many out there that offer more. Take a look at nVidia’s 2xx series, or ATI’s 47xx and 48xx series. If you are willing to spend a little more, then 57xx and 58xx series are your friends. For now I’d ignore the most recent nVidia cards. The 4xx series are highly suspicious and I am not at all convinced that 480 is better than 5870.

Keep me posted of your system-building adventures!

@Anakhoresis:

I am afraid we will have to agree to disagree. In my opinion the “features” used to justify the online-only aspect of C&C4 are nothing but gimmicky afterthoughts.

Guild Wars, was primarily a social game, with the single player campaign being a bone thrown to those who can’t or won’t play with other people. In C&C series, however, the story is the main element. My enjoyment of fighting against smirking Kane, does not require other people. Nor does it require the tracking of my progress.

Thanks Alaric

@Aleric

Actually, I would disagree. Yes, maybe the first 2 were about stories, but if you look at C&C3 and Red Alert 3, it was obvious that they were moving towards a multiplayer focus, and like I said, since the beginning, C&C4 has said that they were revamping multiplayer. Heck, the campaign was decent, but as you said with Guild Wars, the campaign felt like more of a bone thrown into the game.

You’re not basing your opinion of the game on the DRM, but on your opinion of the C&C series, which, in this debate, is irrelevant.

Oops, forgot.

@Pineapple762

If you can afford it, I would suggest a 57xx card. Though, they are rather expensive. But if you make sure you get one with a Molex to PCI power converter, you almost certainly won’t need to upgrade your PSU. I ran a 5770 on a 300w PSU (with a 95w CPU).

Also, Company of Heroes was one of the titles that when it first came out crippled high end computers. So just saying it’s from 2006 doesn’t mean a lot. For example, Crysis is from 2007… And it still hurts current computers, and a console wouldn’t be able to handle it. Crysis 2 on consoles is about Crysis 1 on medium to high (graphically, and not ‘ultra high’).

Thx Anakhoresis

@Pineapple762

If your on a tight budget, try going for last years generation of ATI’s budget cards. The ATI HD4000 series are excellent cards for their price and you can still get a good price on the HD4850. Sure its one generation ago, but it will still run most games on high settings. Especially Company of Heroes. And supports up to Directx 10.1. But these guys are right, that PC gaming is not as straight forward as you think. And No, Consoles can’t come even close to matching PC gaming ability. Just like Anakhoresis said. Crysis was a very good example to use. Crytek themselves even said publicly that Crysis would never be released for any console as it is technically impossible to get the game to run properly on consoles as their technical specs simply can’t handle the game.

Further to advice, gaming PC’s, the 3 key areas to making at least a decent gaming PC are Processor, Memory, Graphics Card. There’s a lot more to it such as motherboard, power supply (PSU), sound card, bus speed/bandwidth etc, but for the novice, the first three I mentioned are what you should research first. I’ve been building PC’s of all types for near enough 10 years now. So far the guys above have been giving you some good advice. If you want a good gaming PC for a good price, then you have to learn how to build them yourself. Most proper gaming PC’s made by companies are over-priced. It’s cheaper and better to build it yourself, which is where all the guys above are giving you advice from. Their own experience. And Packard Bell don’t make gaming PC’s. If they did, I would most likely be hard pressed to find anything positive to say about them, given their history.

@Aleric

You have any thoughts on my previous post. Oh, and yes Packard Bell is still around (although, mainly in Europe) and they are still pretty crummy (as you put it).

@Nick,

I’m not sure what to tell you. Yes, there is a whole philosophy behind pirating games, movies, and music, but I still think that downloading is wrong. For every game that people download and then buy, there are many that they download and then don’t buy.

I agree with you that some games are crappy, and it sucks when you end up buying one of them. Still, it is illegal to acquire them without payment, and probably shouldn’t be done.

thx Nick

Well Steam has managed to do this for years
it is just as bad, you not only have to connect to the internet to play their games
you have to completely go through them to play the games you paid for
meaning you need to be running steam while you run the game
this could cause problems for older computers

Chris wrote:

“Well Steam has managed to do this for years
it is just as bad, you not only have to connect to the internet to play their games
you have to completely go through them to play the games you paid for
meaning you need to be running steam while you run the game”

@Chris

That is only true to a point. Yes for the most part, when playing a steam game, you are likely to be online. And yes you are generally online to activate steam games. But there is a major difference between the way steam works and the way Ubisoft is doing things.

1: If you can’t get online to activate a steam game… There is a phone in option. Ubisofts new DRM does not allow this.

2: Steam games “CAN” be played offline by selecting the option in steam to run in offline mode. Again, an ability that Ubisoft does not allow.

That’s the problem we have with the Ubisoft DRM. It has nothing to do with them “wanting” us to be online. It has everything to do with them “Forcing” us to be online in order with “No” option to play offline for a game we’ve legitimately purchased even though the game is a single player only game. And to then have the desgrace/insult that should we lose our internet connection for any reason:

A: Wireless drops out (Happens all the time for many people) Wireless not 100% reliable
B: ISP goes down temporarily
C: Inconsistent connection because your brother/sister is a bandwidth whore
D: Ubisoft’s own servers go down (This has already happened several times)

Any reason at all, and the game kicks you out until the connection is re-established. That’s the problem with Ubisoft’s DRM. It’s demanding too much of it’s consumers and it’s a spit in the face to everyone responsible for keeping them in business. Their legitimate consumers. That’s why I’m participating in the Ubisoft boycott. There is no excuse that they or anyone else can give, that could in any way ever get to think that this form of DRM could ever be considered acceptable. It’s not acceptable. Pure and simple.

DRM aint there for the pirates, DRM is there for the control it gives the publisher over the game. DRM aint needed, never was. Just look at Galactic Civilization series. No copyprotection and it managed to top the salecharts, same with Sins of a Solar Empire. Even the Ceo of Stardock say copyprotection is a waste of time – make quality products, which can run on most machines and you will get customers, its really as simple as that.

When it comes to pc’s, gamer setups the exception, not the rule. Very few people got top hardware in their machines and run into trouble running Crysis or any of those other games that got a high system requirement. Bad sales aint mainly because of piracy (allthough it can be blamed to a certain degree) but its because people cant run the damn game in the first place on their computers and aint willing to shell out 100′s of dollars on new hardware. Either that, or the game is crap, like a few ports we’ve seen lately. Shoddy work to say the least.

Whelp.

Have a PC connected by wire to a router, no wireless, DSL connection.

During my playthrough of Splinter Cell: Conviction(oh god don’t even get me started on how they ruined this franchise. Beat this stupid game in seven hours with barely an ounce of stealth. It’s just a run and gun of a different breed. Thanks Ubi, definitely looking out for your core fans, there).

It lost connection to the Ubi servers countless times. Over and over and over it would lose connection, pausing the game for 1 to 2 seconds, then continue. I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I was downloading something in the background. I don’t know. I don’t care. There are a million reasons this DRM is idiotic and insulting, and I’m not paying good money for games that are degrading in quality and becoming more and more of a hassle to play.

I used to love Ubisoft, hell I wanted to work for them. Now, as far as I’m concerned, they’ve surpassed EA in terms of being assholes to their customers. Way to go.

Boycott a-go-go.

I will buy another of your games when you drop that idiotic DRM.

Oh, and for the record, Steam is not as bad, at all, ever.

I have never been booted out of a single player game for losing connection. The games check on startup for a connection and then leave you alone. You could unplug your router after that and keep the game running for weeks if you wanted.

Ubi’s DRM requires a constant connection. Even the slightest blip will cut the game. On your end or theirs. This has never happened with Steam, for me.

And of course Steam has an offline mode that has always worked for me.

Alaric,
You’ll be glad to know that even C&C4 has been cracked… in a manner of speaking. The “crack” modifies your HOSTS file then spoofs a server before starting the game’s executable. Presto… no more need to be online. Though, to be honest, it really isn’t worth it… if you want to know what Kane’s really been up to, you can just ask me. Because the game has been redesigned mostly for multi-player, the single-player game seems more tacked-on than ever.

The DRM issue is like hopping movies at the theater.

Some people are gonna hop no matter what. But, it’s a small percentage of the overall theater-going population. (Pirates.)

Most people will pay for it, and they’ll either enjoy the experience, or they won’t.

If they don’t enjoy the experience they will tell their friends and then their friends won’t go see the movie (or buy the game). Sure, you can call up Steven Spielberg and tell him his movie sucked. But, that won’t change the existing movie, and it probably will have very little effect on the next one he makes.

But, if you write horrible reviews everywhere, and you tell all of your friends how horrible it is, and to save their money, only THEN will a studio realize they’ve done something wrong.

Inkstain’s first comment says it. Talk it up. Drive sales down.

Ubisoft must know that DRM doesn’t stop pirates one bit. But, until they fully realize how much it hurts the average user, they’ll keep doing it, because it has to look like they’re doing SOMEthing to protect their property.

I think a novel approach that is now becoming an affordable option is using hardware keys for games. For example. The game comes with a USB thumb drive with encrypted code on it. Without the USB drive plugged in, you cannot play. This technology exists in the professional audio world. I have multiple applications that require me to have a USB “key” plugged in to unlock the software. Heck, the games could even COME on the USB drive. If it is not inserted, the game doesn’t boot, period. And they have the technology for very highly encrypted flash drives that are next to impossible to make an image of or decode.

I know one thing that people will complain about is “what if I don’t have an extra USB drive?” Well… Maybe it can also come with a little USB hub/splitter. The amount that they spend on these anti-piracy measures like Star-Force will come close to the price for all of the hardware, i’m sure. Maybe even in the near future, it could be done on a Bluetooth drive. That way it doesn’t even have to be plugged in. Just keep the Bluetooth key somewhere in the room with your computer and it can use the hardware to authenticate that you own a legitimate copy.

Just a thought.

This used to be called a “dongle” in the olden days. The problem is that it adds another physical object to the equation, which people will lose and/or break. Also, if dove via USB it will very likely be circumvented, and counterfeit USBs made. The old dongles used to connect to a parallel port (sometimes serial) and were unique devices which could not be copied easily. Still, they went away because they were simply impractical.

I totally support this boycott, Ubi deserved everything that’s coming to them and more. Xbox and PS gamers should realize that if the situation would have been reversed they wouldn’t have liked being in our position one bit. We are all gamers, and we all deserve to play the same games at the same time, and if possible with the same amount of hassle.

It’s one insult that the PC version is delayed until there are no more secrets to a game, and a totally different thing when after months of delay you get stuck with a forced internet play for a single player experience.

They used this for Assassin’s Creed 2, and look how well it worked out… 10 days after the game was released, some Russian pirates had already released a clone version of Ubi’s servers that ran locally on computers, and you could play, save enjoy the game to the max without paying one penny. Most of the people who bought the game used this solution to skip the online madness.

And what good did that do for Ubi’s sales? Their product still got stolen, but now at least their loyal customers started using illicit copies as well. (I have to admit that i had felt some sort of sick pleasure when hearing the news of the total failure of DRM).

So bottom line what they did is squat in regards to piracy, but they alienated a good portion of the honest fan base.

As for the last idea, the USB encrypted dongle, that would really work. Most people that use pirated stuff are happy to download some software off the internet and install some programs to crack a game but won’t go trough the hustle of purchasing fake dongles, let’s be serious.

I will buy any Ubisoft game that I want to play regardless of the DRM.

Knock yourself out. Just don’t expect to be able to come back to it in a few years when the authentication server is no more. Those who forfeit their rights deserve everything that happens to them.