Hopefully not for long! My sympathies are with the hackers who are risking their money and freedom to bring Ubisoft down and teach the rest of the industry a lesson.

It is a little ironic though, that it takes people operating outside the law, to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens such as myself. I need to ponder this further.

Or it could just be the mindset of doing it to see if it can be done. We can’t really know the motivations of the guilty parties unless they decide to come forward.

Just like a job I had a while back. I told them the issue of doing it a certain way and the powers that be did not listen even though what I described came to pass. This is basically what people have been saying and the publisher blew them off. I feel sorry for the gamers that have the games but Ubisoft deserves every headache they get.

Nevermind that the best way to ‘teach a company a lesson’ is just to not buy stuff that you don’t want. Too easy.

Generally I would agree, however it obviously doesn’t work in this case. Most people simply don’t know about this DRM, and those who do – often dismiss it because “nothing can happen.” This way at least it is demonstrated that something can and will happen. And it will also be brought to the attention of more consumers. A clear win-win if anything.

While I sympathize with Alaric’s position, in particular that DOS attacks demonstrate the worst flaws of online-based DRM, I am of the opinion that because dollars are at stake, a more carrot-stick approach is required. It is not enough to simply refuse to buy DRM products and/or demonstrate system vulnerabilities with attacks. You must also demonstrate that there is profit in NOT using DRM. While I have too much on my plate at the moment, I have always wanted to interview insiders in the industry who are important managers of companies that do digital distribution but that do not use DRM. They exist and are apparently profitable, but they do not get enough press. I figure that if you can show that DRM-free products are profitable and competitive, then not only will management figure its not worth the hassle, but stockholders who own the companies will be favorable to management that chooses not to use DRM in their products.

Easy: World of Warcraft.

You may say that by the virtue of being an MMO it is protected by always online DRM by default and as such in impossible to pirate. That would not be true, however. People hacked WoW a long time ago and plenty play on private servers without paying a penny to Blizzard.

So why is this game so damned profitable?

Certainly not because of DRM. Instead it is because Blizzard continuously provided new content, new changes, new fixes, etc. People are getting VALUE for their money, and that is why they end up paying more and more money.

VALUE is the very reason for any monetary transaction. You are supposed to get something when you pay. This image is about movies but it illustrates the point very well: http://cdn-www.i-am-bored.com/media/87983_piratemoviechart.jpg

(Note: I am STILL against piracy.)

This reminds me when Half-Life 2 came out and required STEAM activation. I bought the physical media believing Steam would most likely be overwhelmed, which it was. I felt ripped off I wasn’t able to play it right away. But look where we at today, Steam is a major distribution system know. People will pay (money/time/aggravation) to play.

Look at Stardock as well with Sins of the Solar Empire. I think a Q&A with Stardock or Blizzard over DRM would make a fascinating read.