For shame, Ubisoft.

[Chaos]

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/ubisoft-drm-doesnt-sound-like-such-a-good-idea-anymore/

Congratulations, Ubisoft.  Now I'll pirate Splinter Cell: Conviction, instead of buying it, so I can have a crack that bypasses your retarded-ass bullshit.

It baffles me that it doesn't seem to get through developer's thick !@#$ing skulls.

They want:  People to buy their games, and not pirate them.

They do: Punish the people who buy it by making their product ridiculously inconvenient to anyone who DOESN'T pirate it.

WHY CAN YOU NOT COMPREHEND SIMPLE PSYCHOLOGY THAT A THIRD GRADER COULD FIGURE OUT?  DO YOU GUYS HAVE A !@#$ING GRIP ON REALITY? 

[Bloodseeker]

That's bullshit and for Assassin's Creed 2 , OMG , they're going to fail and the number of people buying their games is going to fall badly.

[Seifer]

This is a joke! I have to have internet to play? Oh your funny.

Oh shit, I just moved and my internet isn't getting installed for another week. Have no fear, I've got an awsome SINGLE player game, assasins creed 2 to play. Ohshit... I need online? gtfo.

[ARTgames]

That's bullshit and for Assassin's Creed 2 , OMG , they're going to fail and the number of people buying their games is going to fall badly.

I don't think they really care how many people buy this game on pc. They make there money off the console. That is why this game comes out months after the console with all this DRM.

@other people
Yeah i agree, and i have been saying this for a while now.

It might be a good idea to make a game with no drm to get good press right now in this bad press instance. It will make you look good.

[Lucifer]

Woopie! Another excuse for being a pirate!

[Cactuscat222]

Woopie! Another excuse for being a pirate!

Eh, as ridiculous as it is, I would still never say its a legit reason for pirating - nothing is.

[Seifer]

I'm a proud Pirate. Yarrr!

[Scotty]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/07/ubisoft-drm-snafu-reminds-us-whats-wrong-with-pc-gaming.ars

[Meiun]

I agree that DRM's can be mildy annoying at times (this one sounds maybe a bit more annoying than usual) and I by no means like them, but at the same time I can understand the need to at least attempt to combat piracy. So many gamers can be so one sided and selfish about the whole ordeal, but hate to break it to you, losing millions of dollars in sales from pirates is a big deal no matter how you cut it. Music in some cases can be a bit of a different story for a number of reasons (in some cases can actually help bands, not that it is an excuse per say), but games... Not so much. What is really unfortunate in my mind, is that pirating has become a big enough problem with the games to begin with in which it is even neccessary to try and come up with methods to prevent it like this.

[mikkelet]

My school blocked Rapidshare /cryFace - I'm living on a college, so the school's internet is MY internet D:

[Chaos]

@Seifer:  Yeah, that comic is how I first heard about it.  I didn't know what it was talking about, so I googled it, and holy shit.

@Scott:  Yeah, read about that last year.  Nice to see Ubisoft never learns.

@Meiun:  That's all fine and good, except for one problem.  These anti-piracy protections do NOTHING to stop piracy.  All they are doing is punishing the people who buy it legitimately.

Frankly, I love the Splinter Cell series.  I want Splinter Cell Conviction when it comes out, and I am going to get Splinter Cell Conviction when it comes out, end of story.  Now, I have a choice.  Buy it legally, and be extremely inconvenienced by this DRM that doesn't work, or pirate it, and have a crack that bypasses their bullshit altogether. I don't care about the legality of the issue, I don't care about the spending of money to purchase the game.  And incidentally, yes, I had EVERY intention of BUYING this game.

Now, you tell me.  Which is the more logical selection?  

[Jake]

I agree that DRM's can be mildy annoying at times (this one sounds maybe a bit more annoying than usual) and I by no means like them, but at the same time I can understand the need to at least attempt to combat piracy. So many gamers can be so one sided and selfish about the whole ordeal, but hate to break it to you, losing millions of dollars in sales from pirates is a big deal no matter how you cut it. Music in some cases can be a bit of a different story for a number of reasons (in some cases can actually help bands, not that it is an excuse per say), but games... Not so much. What is really unfortunate in my mind, is that pirating has become a big enough problem with the games to begin with in which it is even neccessary to try and come up with methods to prevent it like this.

Like Chaos stated, it doesn't really stop pirating. People will find a way to bypass the DRM, like always, and then the people who actually payed for it are stuck dealing with it. Chaos and I were going to buy it, but if they include this crap, we might just have to pirate it to get a better version.

[Scotty]

I won't condone pirating anything publicly, as I like to support companies and industries that I take pleasure in investing in (good example would be BioWare).  I have recently ceased the downloading of all music illegally (yes, I will admit that I have pirated in the past), as I do genuinely feel bad that I am ripping off bands that I do enjoy listening to and would feel bad if they went out of business or even worse "sold-out" (I hate that term) because of the lack of income partially due to piracy.  Couple that with the fact that I am now in a more stable financial position with the new job, and I cannot listen to anything other than Compact Discs at work if I want to listen to music.

Regarding games though, I did throw a tantrum once, when I had heard that Spore was implementing DRM in their game.  Then I pulled my head out of my ass and realized that people were making a mountain out of a mole hill over it.  I fully understand that when you deal with the amount of expected revenue that games should bring in (4-5x as much as a CD for instance), it is a slap to the face, and it is no surprise that companies suffer because of it.  Do I think such extreme methods of protection are the correct route to go?  I honestly don't know, because I can't offer an alternative solution.  It's actually a well known fact that some software out there is actually pirated by the employees who developed the software to begin with (see Adobe).  Developers realize they aren't going to get a good cut for their efforts, especially when they are the leading standard in their field of development (i.e. Photoshop), so what better way to rake in some extra revenue than to go and crack your software, then anonymously sell the crack for a minimal price to a couple hundred (if not thousand) potential buyers, therefor making yourself a little extra rent money.  At least that's what I've heard.

I won't bitch about DRM software too much now-a-days, because as Meiun said, piracy is a legitimate problem, and this is the "solution" for now.  I don't have a better solution to offer to companies, and I am one that will never bitch about a situation without at least having an alternative solution to offer.  I hate it when people do that, so you won't catch me doing it.  Now if I had an alternative solution and I won't even be heard on the idea, then I will bitch, and then I will bitch some more, and more, and more, until I am heard.

Oh, and Jake, DRM will not stop people, you are correct, nothing will stop people.  It is there as a deterrent.  Think of it like barb wire.  You lay it out, knowing full well that someone could easily just take a rug and throw it over the wire, then walk across it and continue on trespassing, but at least they had to get the rug to do it.

EDIT: So with all that said, for everyone here who bitches about DRM and how it's punishing those who actually pay, I challenge you to think up of an alternative solution that would be more effective on piracy, as well as not as much of a burden to buyers (and effectively earning the industry it's due revenue for their hard efforts).

[Meiun]

I agree that DRM's can be mildy annoying at times (this one sounds maybe a bit more annoying than usual) and I by no means like them, but at the same time I can understand the need to at least attempt to combat piracy. So many gamers can be so one sided and selfish about the whole ordeal, but hate to break it to you, losing millions of dollars in sales from pirates is a big deal no matter how you cut it. Music in some cases can be a bit of a different story for a number of reasons (in some cases can actually help bands, not that it is an excuse per say), but games... Not so much. What is really unfortunate in my mind, is that pirating has become a big enough problem with the games to begin with in which it is even neccessary to try and come up with methods to prevent it like this.

Like Chaos stated, it doesn't really stop pirating. People will find a way to bypass the DRM, like always, and then the people who actually payed for it are stuck dealing with it. Chaos and I were going to buy it, but if they include this crap, we might just have to pirate it to get a better version.

True, I was more getting at the point that I dont exactly blame them for trying. I think we all agree that it would be nice if they could find a better way of doing it though (easier said then done, but still).

[Torch]

Pirating's only a problem for PC games. Just design your games for consoles and you'll be fine.