Ubisoft Crosses The Line With New Form Of DRM

[VA1N]

The PC version of Assassin's Creed 2 will be released soon on the PC. Right now the game is in reviewer's hands and they are taking it for a spin and seeing how it matches up against the console version. Unfortunately, most of their time is being spent on something else besides the translation of the game from the console to the PC...the DRM put in place by Ubisoft is mind blowing.

WARNING: I'm about to tell you about a new practice of DRM that could blow your mind...literally...so be careful. You will be angry.

In case you aren't aware, DRM is 'Digital Rights Management.' It is the security put in place by companies to make sure that pirates (no, not those pirates, software pirates) can't play their games without actually purchasing the product. Sure, it sounds like a good idea, but it doesn't work. Most of the times the settings on the DRM are so strict, the person who actually bought the product legally gets hurt in the long run. Take for example Spore that was released last year on the PC. Spore allowed you to install the game 5 times before it became dead. If you tried to install the game a 6th time, it just wouldn't work. So, if your computer crashed a few times and you bought a new computer and you ended up installing the game 5 times, that's it...the disc is now done. This type of DRM made people angry, but at least it didn't really interfere with their game because most people installed once and that was it. Well, that's all about to change.

Ubisoft is implementing a new type of DRM in release copies of Assassin's Creed 2 and Settlers 7 that will kick you out of your game if you lose internet connection. Yes, you heard that correct. Let's say you are playing and a thunderstorm hits and your internet connection hiccups, well I hope you saved because you're now back at the main menu with a whole bunch of lost progress. What happens when Ubisoft's server hiccups and resets? Yeah, you'll lose your progress too. As someone who works in the technology field, I can attest to the fact that server hiccups are a norm. There's no way to guarantee it will be up at all times, something paying customers will require.

Something else that I don't get is the fact that if you don't have a constant internet connection, you can't play the game. I remember back when I moved into my new home before I had internet. I ended up playing a lot of games on the PC because my PS3 and 360 weren't unpacked yet. I wouldn't have been able to play AC2 at all on the PC since I didn't have an internet connection. That is unheard of.

This is a blatant form of disregard for any paying customer of Ubisoft. I have always been a fan of Ubisoft's games. Assassin's Creed 2 was an amazing feat of gaming brilliance. It's just really sad to see Ubisoft turn it's back on the PC gamers out there. It's kind of like terrorism in the US. 9/11 happened, and as a result we live our lives in fear every time we fly. We have to go through multiple checkpoints, security is tight, they won't let you take certain things on board, etc. In this regard, I feel the terrorists have won because they have instilled terror in us, hence, their name. Looking at this form of DRM, the pirates have won. Ubisoft is so against people playing their game illegally that they will do whatever it takes to make it unplayable by pirates (this DRM will make illegal copies of the game unplayable because you won't be able to connect to their servers). In the end though, the pirates will just move onto the next game without DRM and the customers are left to carry the burden of this absurd DRM policy. It's a shame really since this is going to spread through the internet like wildfire and PC gamers are going to boycott, as they should. I really want to see what the sales are for AC2 in it's first week compared to other PC games out there. If I find the stats when it's released, I'll be sure to post it.

What do you guys think about this new form of DRM that Ubisoft is putting in their PC games?


Update:
(02/19/10) 11:00 AM EST

Ubisoft has just broken the silence on the DRM issue. Ars Technica followed up with Ubisoft and found out the following:

"As long as you do not quit the game, the game will continue to try to reconnect for an unlimited time ... once the game is able to reconnect, you will immediately be returned to your game ... AC2 reconnects you at the last checkpoint ... There are many checkpoints so you're back to the point where you got disconnected in no time."

So, there you have it. The game will kick you out if you lose internet connection and this is a real thing. I like how the guy at Ubisoft says that it will take you back to the last checkpoint and you'll be back to you were in no time. Right...what if you just beat a boss and you're watching the cutscene after the boss fight. Usually the save takes place after the cutscene so you'd be out of luck. This has bullshit written all over it and I hope people boycott it.

[danimoose]

This is retarded. I play Diablo still on a offline computer I have. I wouldn't be able to play it if this was the case. I guess its a good thing I don't really game on the PC anymore.

[VA1N]

Exactly. I can't believe they are doing that. Not everyone has a dedicated internet connection. What about people who don't have broadband? I work for AOL in the advertising department and I can assure you that people still use dialup AOL, a lot of people.

[VA1N]

There is a post on reddit that put it nicely. Look at the picture below. In the gif, the man running across the street is software pirates. The car are paying customers. Finally, the bus is Ubisoft DRM...

...exactly

[danimoose]

Nice pirates get away customer f'ed. lol I hate how Apple has there iTunes DRM it sucks big balls. My HDD crashed had to completly download all of my music again even though it was still on my Ipod. Pissed me off.

[VA1N]

Originally Posted by danimoose

Nice pirates get away customer f'ed. lol I hate how Apple has there iTunes DRM it sucks big balls. My HDD crashed had to completly download all of my music again even though it was still on my Ipod. Pissed me off.

Same thing happened to my fiance. She had a computer that had a corrupted HD and she lost everything. She could still listen to it, just couldn't do anything to her iPod or it would have been gone forever.

[danimoose]

Yeah I had to take the time and redownload all my cds. The worst part about it I went out and bought a 120gb external HDD to download them all to when I first got my Ipod to not have all the music slow down my PC. I found out later that it ran Itunes through my external HD but all the music files were on my PC which was way to complicated.

[SpikedDeception]

Yeah, this kinda blows my mind a bit. How blatantly stupid do you need to be to release something like this and call it a "good idea"? I would be a little less upset if the game was an MMO of some sort - it would make perfect sense to do it this way, and hell, it throws you off when your connection goes gown (I'm recalling WoW here) - but a game like Assassin's Creed 2? An offline game requiring an ONLINE connection?

Where's the logic here?

[VA1N]

They are so obsessed with stopping pirates that they have blinders on to how much it's actually hurting the consumer. Trust me, you'll see a boycott. I wouldn't be surprised if they changed it too by the way.

[VA1N]

Ubisoft has just broken the silence on the DRM issue. Ars Technica followed up with Ubisoft and found out the following:

"As long as you do not quit the game, the game will continue to try to reconnect for an unlimited time ... once the game is able to reconnect, you will immediately be returned to your game ... AC2 reconnects you at the last checkpoint ... There are many checkpoints so you're back to the point where you got disconnected in no time."

So, there you have it. The game will kick you out if you lose internet connection and this is a real thing. I like how the guy at Ubisoft says that it will take you back to the last checkpoint and you'll be back to you were in no time. Right...what if you just beat a boss and you're watching the cutscene after the boss fight. Usually the save takes place after the cutscene so you'd be out of luck. This has bullshit written all over it and I hope people boycott it.


Also, something I forgot to include yesterday...here is what the PC Gamer reviewer had to say about the issue...

The game first starts the Ubisoft Game Launcher, which checks for updates. If you try to launch the game when you're not online, you hit an error message right away. So I tried a different test: start the game while online, play a little, then unplug my net cable. This is the same as what happens if your net connection drops momentarily, your router is rebooted, or the game loses its connection to Ubisoft's 'Master servers'. The game stopped, and I was dumped back to a menu screen—all my progress since it last autosaved was lost.