Ubi DRM: Their Side of the Story

[tgr]

I wouldn't be too surprised if it actually does cost the industry billions. Didn't MW2 manage to pull in close to half a billion in its first week, or am I way off my rocker?

As for the steam style activator is, you're still dependent on that internet connection at some point in the chain, which I got a painful reminder of. I was actually somewhat positive to that system up until that point, yet I'm currently only buying games I expect to be shitty and have a very very short lifetime for me. Granted, it's much better than Ubisoft's latest asinine solution, but there's still the problem of being dependent on a 3rd party.

Having said that, if that would be what would be required to get them to unfuck the current batch of consoleitis-infested titles, then I'm almost inclined to say bring it on. Almost. I still can't get completely over the whole "you can't do whatever you want with the game" deal, even though realistically very few games actually keep me interested more than a few weeks. It's the principle of the thing, though.

[ghost]

Is this really a big deal?  I can't think of a time in the past 5 years that one of my computers wasn't on line. 

[Tebonas]

We here might not exactly be the norm regarding these things.

Yes, I know people that still have dial-up connections. I also know people that have broadband connections with a mandatory disconnect every 24 hours. And there are notebooks where people disable Wireless if they don't need it to extend uptime.

[kildorn]

Is this really a big deal?  I can't think of a time in the past 5 years that one of my computers wasn't on line.  

My only PC now is a laptop. It's offline frequently.

edit: this system will also immediately terminate the game if say, your cat plays with your router, your cable goes down, or any router between you and there decides it just doesn't feel your packets should go anywhere for a minute.

The DRM is so far into the paranoid that it's atrocious. I should be able to play the game I bought while on a 3 hour layover. I should be able to play it even if a storm knocks out my internet access for the evening. Honestly, there is no reason a 100% single player game should require five nines of internet connectivity.

[caladein]

Is this really a big deal?  I can't think of a time in the past 5 years that one of my computers wasn't on line. 

That's not really the issue.  It's that the entirety of the network/Internet infrastructure between your PC and their servers (and the servers themselves) needs to completely stable, and if it isn't, you lose all progress back to your last checkpoint.  That's even worse than an MMO, an inherently online game, which essentially saves your state exactly as it was when you lost connection.

[tgr]

Is this really a big deal?  I can't think of a time in the past 5 years that one of my computers wasn't on line. 

Let's take this one step further. You're in the mood for reading a book. You're reading it on a kindle or whatever it will be in the next 10 years. Suddenly the book disappears, because your internet connection just went down. Or the publisher's server is DDoSed.

Would you just shrug it off and try again later, or would you get annoyed because the story was just getting interesting, and you now know absolutely NOTHING about when you might resume reading the book, if ever?

[NiX]

Much like their decision to go with StarForce, this will be overturned when they realize it only made the situation worse.

[Samwise]

You don't make money from people not-pirating your software, they have to actually buy it.

This should be carved into the foreheads of anyone who whines about lost sales due to piracy.

Utter nonsense.  It's statistically proven that for every person who does not pirate a game, a wizard conjures a gold coin into the developers' purse.

[tgr]

Much like their decision to go with StarForce, this will be overturned when they realize it only made the situation worse.

You would've thought EA's foray into online activations and periodic reauthentication would be a hint to Ubisoft that maybe, just maybe, requiring an online internet connection or you'll be dropped out of a singleplayer game might be a bad idea.

Nah. Who am I kidding.

[Threash]

I keep forgetting that when it comes to piracy, the pretty-damn-intelligent-on-average F13 posters start in with the stammering, paper-thin contortions of logic and rationality of the type that they instantly and concisely excoriate when it comes to any other topic.

Pirates: yarr! we are gonna fuck over the gaming companies!

Gaming companies: Fine! then we are just gonna have to fuck over our paying customers to somehow punish the pirates

Paying customer: fuck you, we are taking the pirates side

Gaming companies: BUT WHY!!!! THEY ARE THE BAD GUYS!

[Sir T]

I like Stardock's Impulse as it installs the game I downoad, validates it, and then you can leave it off and not be connected to the net forever more.

[Sheepherder]

As for the steam style activator is, you're still dependent on that internet connection at some point in the chain, which I got a painful reminder of.

Shit happens, hardware breaks, files corrupt, and driver quality is always dodgy.  Check to see if your game runs on your current system setup and you won't have a problem with Steam activation.  In the meantime, you're actually something out of the deal, so you at least have to recognize the fact that Valve knows DRM and authentication is for knobgoblins and is trying to make amends.

[BitWarrior]

Quite a similar story, although trailers are not nearly as bad as DRM:

[kildorn]

Trailers are not nearly as bad, but for the love of god can my main menu button PLEASE fucking work during them? No I do not care about your trailer, and even more than that I do not care for a coming soon trailer for a movie that came out 4 years ago because DVDS AGE YOU MARKETING FUCKS

[Sir T]

Quite a similar story, although trailers are not nearly as bad as DRM:

This is a comment from that site that provides the counterpoint

very true for legal dvds, but, hey guys, not true at all for pirate movies (not talking about "dvd").

Here is the proper one :

Search title .rar -> find list of sites -> search for blog -> open 3 or 4 relevant blog posts -> test the first RS link in the first post -> "content deleted by user or due to infringment stuff" -> test the second one -> it's ok, copy paste url in a new window -> open all RS links in new tabs -> click on "Premium user" in every page -> then click on download in every page -> wait for 20-30 minutes -> open first rar archive and unrar it -> test movie in VLC -> obtain fps information -> go back to browser and access opensubtitles.org -> type in name of your movie to get the local subtitle -> get list of subs -> find the sub matching your fps -> there is none -> choose one randomly -> download it -> open it in text editor to check language -> rename it as the movie's exact file name -> launch the movie -> wait for 2 minutes to check synchro -> bad synchro -> back to sub site -> get another file -> download it -> open it -> test it -> rename it -> still bad synchro -> go back to browser -> back to sub site -> search for subs in english -> browse list, check fps -> you are lucky, there is one matching your 23,976 movie fps -> download it -> rename it -> launch the movie -> enjoy.

This is reality.

[BitWarrior]

Wow, people seem to suck at pirating. Here's a better flow:

Search for title on Newzbin -> Click Download -> Burn -> Insert into DVD player

You can have nzb files automatically open in Newsbin, you can have Newsbin automatically download pars, repair damaged files, and extract the content. I'm shocked to learn how some people do it.

But remember kids: Don't do it.

[Tebonas]

Wow, I just took the time and wrote Ubisoft that they can go fuck themself from now on (with kinder words) and wrote them all the games I bought from them.

It were only 12 in about 20 years of gaming. I now feel better because boycotting them won't hurt me at all.  

[Samwise]

This is a comment from that site that provides the counterpoint

blurf

Even if that were true (it is NOT anywhere near that hard to grab a high quality rip of a popular movie off bittorrent) it's not a good comparison since you only need to go through the hassle of acquiring the movie once, whereas the unskippable DVD stuff happens every time you play it.  The original chart didn't include the process of tracking down the DVD in a store, opening the goddamn shrinkwrap, peeling off all the stickers...

[Musashi]

I have a theory about good products and the postulated need for DRM.  It goes something like this:  If you make something worth buying, people will buy it.

Your theory is flawed when it comes to many things, including piracy.

A good game without DRM gets pirated at the same rate (and maybe higher) than an ordinary game without DRM. However, there is a chance it will make its money back, whereas the ordinary game doesn't. Some might think of this as a good thing, but it becomes a game of publishers only picking sure things when it comes to what they release, of which sure things include IP-titles (which are likely to sell well, even if they are crap), franchises and sequels. Innovative games that might have borderline chances of financial success (i.e. not going to be a big seller) get knocked back.

Piracy is slowly choking the PC single player game industry, pushing it inevitably towards subscription services that force players to have accounts to log in and play. Ubisoft is following this model, minus the sub fee / set-up cost. Someone will probably find a way to circumvent it and then Ubisoft will respond, going in a patch fix - pirate hack circle, but it's the way things are going.

Now, PC gaming is never going to die, but it isn't a healthy place at this point either. Plus a lot of devs are finding the solution to PC piracy is to release on consoles instead (which have their own piracy issues, yes, but it requires a physical pirate copy whereas PC pirates only require a connection to a torrent site).

Dude.  Totally missed the point.  Not flawed in the slightest.  Let me try again.  It's not about the fact that good games still get pirated.  I'm aware.  It's about value.  The quality of the game-play experience is only part of the value.

How valuable is Battle.net?  What about the goodwill generated by Blizzard trough their proven dedication to their products and free updates?  How valuable is Steam?  How valuable was Torchlight at 20$?  I almost hesitate to say, but how valuable was the Sony Station Pass when it had games that were relevant?  Social networks, goodwill, price-pointing/packaging, and I'm sure I could think of more examples of shit you get that isn't part of the game you're buying.  Piracy a huge problem for any of the games associated with those non-gaming things?  Why is that?  It's because having a valuable product is the best DRM.

[Bandit]

Is this really a big deal?  I can't think of a time in the past 5 years that one of my computers wasn't on line.  

My only PC now is a laptop. It's offline frequently.

edit: this system will also immediately terminate the game if say, your cat plays with your router, your cable goes down, or any router between you and there decides it just doesn't feel your packets should go anywhere for a minute.

The DRM is so far into the paranoid that it's atrocious. I should be able to play the game I bought while on a 3 hour layover. I should be able to play it even if a storm knocks out my internet access for the evening. Honestly, there is no reason a 100% single player game should require five nines of internet connectivity.

Attaching internet connectivity to single-player games also leaves the potential to be screwed if the company for whatever reason shuts down authentication servers.  EA recently cut servers for some older titles and titles less than 2 years old (LOTR: Conquest).  These are multiplayer servers, but the same upkeep and maintenance reasoning could be applied.  I don't normally go back to very many single-player games after I have finished them, with a few exceptions.  But the perception of not being able to access a game in the future, which I have purchased, makes me uneasy. 

If it is a game that I must have, then I don't really care about whatever DRM they employ. I am not into raging boycotts.  However,  if it is a game I might want and I am thinking about it, they have probably lost a sale.

[Azazel]

This is a comment from that site that provides the counterpoint

blurf

Even if that were true (it is NOT anywhere near that hard to grab a high quality rip of a popular movie off bittorrent) it's not a good comparison since you only need to go through the hassle of acquiring the movie once, whereas the unskippable DVD stuff happens every time you play it.  The original chart didn't include the process of tracking down the DVD in a store, opening the goddamn shrinkwrap, peeling off all the stickers...

Nod, that's a very weak counterpoint since it's pretty much all made up.

[Samwise]

In fact, it's so easy to grab a rip of a movie off BT that I've actually downloaded movies that I've already purchased on DVD because I want it in a more convenient format and downloading it is easier than ripping it myself.  Although that was before I discovered Handbrake, which makes the ripping process a good bit more friendly.

[lac]

This has been a long time coming. Ever since the MMO business model proved so profitable other publishers have tried to find ways to use online play to incentive users of their products to buy a legit copy because of the added value their online services could provide.

"Internet lan servers" on which you could compete against players worldwide, all sorts of ranking systems, unlockable achievements, DLC's, all attempts to secure more paying customers which probably were able to attract a percentage of the playerbase who would otherwise pirate their games but nothing that reduced piracy to the level MMO's did.

DRM has failed, every game is pirated and as the arms race progressed it has become more and more a hassle to legit customers who aren't blind to the easy access pirated games provide. Publishers know that too.

The only model that stands with almost 100% paying customers are the MMO's. The client server model.

And that's why we are seeing the shift to mandatory internet access and great lan franchises who move their next itineration to online play only.

Publishers have seen the light, online play is the chain by which they can bind their playerbase.
Maybe it will be prove to be another futile attempt to stop piracy but it's pretty much the only winning ticket out there right now.
All big houses will move in that direction.

[Azazel]

Online play is only a hook to those games that are really popular, though. Every FPS game has Multiplayer deathmatch tacked on, but who really gives a shit about playing online deathmatch in, say, Far Cry/2, The Darkness, etc etc..

[lac]

Hence mandatory online play.
It makes sense in the publishers view of things. These are the guys who never considered you might not want that rootkit along with every game you bought until it blew up as a PR nightmare in their face and even then.
They have no feeling what so ever for the fact you only want to go online to play the good stuff.
They see the good stuff attracting people online so they'll make it mandatory for everything else they push out.

[ghost]

It sounds like where we're going is that every game will be an MMO in the future-  to what extent the online is necessary for gameplay might vary between games.  In a way I actually like MMOs because then it really doesn't matter which computer I'm on-  like a poor man's cloud computing.  I just pay for the client and access.  Guildwars might be a great example.  They get their DRM and I get my accessibility. 

[HaemishM]

Is this really a big deal?  I can't think of a time in the past 5 years that one of my computers wasn't on line. 

It's a big deal because if for whatever reason your Internet connection dies while you are playing the game, you can't play the game until your Internet connection comes back up. Any unsaved progress is lost. The cracked version will be a superior product in every way, rewarding the people who circumvent the DRM while abusing the people who pay good money for the product.

Fuck UbiSoft in its earhole. As I said when I blogged this on Friday, the only way to handle the piracy issue is to deal with your customers respectfully - DRM can be done without being a nuisance, such as the way Valve has handled its products through Steam.

[ghost]

such as the way Valve has handled its products through Steam.

I certainly agree that Steam is doing a good job. 

[lac]

Steam did a great job in providing ease of access to games and providing added value to paying customers.

It however does nothing to prevent the loss of income because of piracy and it costs money to publishers to get their games on there. Steam is a place brick and mortar consumers went to for easy access.
It changed nothing in the 'how do I get all my game copies to generate me money' biz, it's another outlet but not a game changer.

Ubisoft is the first with mandatory online play, others will follow.
Blizzard is going battlenet only, they know why.
We are talking about making every user pay. Facilitating easy downloads while adding perks like steam does, won't change the landscape.

Finding a way to bind every player to your servers will. This shit has only just begun.

[AutomaticZen]

Steam did a great job in providing ease of access to games and providing added value to paying customers.

It however does nothing to prevent the loss of income because of piracy and it costs money to publishers to get their games on there. Steam is a place brick and mortar consumers went to for easy access.
It changed nothing in the 'how do I get all my game copies to generate me money' biz, it's another outlet but not a game changer.

Ubisoft is the first with mandatory online play, others will follow.
Blizzard is going battlenet only, they know why.
We are talking about making every user pay. Facilitating easy downloads while adding perks like steam does, won't change the landscape.

Finding a way to bind every player to your servers will. This shit has only just begun.

And it'd work if console gaming didn't exist.

This will be as stillborn as when EA gave it a shot.  The first class action suit from gamers who buy one of these games and don't know about the DRM will shut it down.

[IainC]

Not every publisher can take that option though. Companies like Ubisoft, EA and Sony can but a whole lot of smaller publishers can't realistically set up that kind of network. Those guys are either going to slap Starforce on everything or take the losses on the chin. I can see a business opportunity for a steam-like authentication service for hire arising in the near future.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Blizzard doesn't need to worry about people pirating single player SC or D3 at all simply because their online play is so robust and that they know it is the reason people are going to buy their games. If people pirate SC2 it only serves as advertising money to get the full version and play on Bnet

[caladein]

Blizzard doesn't need to worry about people pirating single player SC or D3 at all simply because their online play is so robust and that they know it is the reason people are going to buy their games. If people pirate SC2 it only serves as advertising money to get the full version and play on Bnet

Also because SC2's Battle.net integration is pure win.

[Musashi]

Not every publisher can take that option though. Companies like Ubisoft, EA and Sony can but a whole lot of smaller publishers can't realistically set up that kind of network. Those guys are either going to slap Starforce on everything or take the losses on the chin. I can see a business opportunity for a steam-like authentication service for hire arising in the near future.

Diablo 3 comes with B.net, Blizzard's goodwill track record, and a virtual guarantee I will have at least one orgasm while playing.  All this for 50$.  So why in the fuck do I buy Splinter Cell with none of the above for the same price?  The answer?  I don't.  But I do buy Torchlight on Steam for 20$.

The answer doesn't have to be that they add all that stuff.  They just can't charge as much money as the people who do.  It's like they think I'm retarded.  Nobody pays Rolls Royce money for a Hyundai.  Not all games are the same just because in the past you could dictate a price point from on high.  Internet created a path where there was less resistance.  And so it won't work anymore.  But if it wasn't pirates, it would have been something else.  Maybe not now.  But eventually.

Also the idea that small companies can't somehow do the same thing Blizzard did is quite frankly a cop out.  You can do it.  Runic is trying.  It's just hard.

DRM is the Tarkin Doctrine.  "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."  Google fu is strong with me today.  You should search your feelings, or something.  Don't you have a bad feeling about this?  Oh did I just nerd the fuck out there?

[naum]

Blizzard was a small company once.