Ubisoft's Despised DRM Continues To Annoy, Fail

from the how-is-that-working-out-for-you dept

We've been covering how Ubisoft's new DRM requires that users be constantly connected to the Internet if they want to play even the single-player portion of the game. That didn't exactly thrill customers to begin with, but the DRM was made considerably worse by the fact that many paying customers couldn't play the game they owned because Ubisoft's servers initially kept going down or their connection wasn't particularly reliable. Of course like all DRM'd games Ubisoft's games eventually wind up being cracked anyway -- which makes all the annoyances customers experience all the more pointless. Ubisoft's latest game to carry this DRM, Assasin's Creed 2, has also now been cracked, with hackers sending a personal message to Ubisoft in the pirated copy's .nfo thanking them for the challenge:

"Thank you Ubisoft, this was quiete [sic] a challenge for us, but nothing stops the leading force from doing what we do. Next time focus on the game and not on the DRM. It was probably horrible for all legit users. We just make their lifes [sic] easier."

This latest title lasted all of a month before being fully cracked (there was an earlier crack that worked, but only for certain localized versions), and while the crackers may not be the best spellers, they apparently understand that Ubisoft leeches value from their products by layering them with obnoxious DRM solutions. Hmm, perhaps if Ubisoft makes their next DRM solution even more annoying....

 

Filed Under: drm, warez
Companies: ubisoft

Despite Plenty Of Warning EA Still Decides To Follow Ubisoft Down The Wrong Path With DRM

from the this-is-a-mistake dept

Last summer, we wrote about some reports that EA was going to require a constant internet connection for Command & Conquer 4. At the time, many people argued that this was a bad, bad idea and would backfire greatly. Given EA's serious problems with bad DRM pissing off customers, you would think that EA would tread carefully here. In fact, late last year, EA gave some signs that it was moving away from annoying and draconian DRM.

On top of that, we all saw what happened when Ubisoft tried to require an online connection as a form of DRM. The game was cracked within hours of release -- and then the DRM servers crashed and were offline and slow for quite sometime -- pissing off all sorts of legitimate customers.

Given all of this, you would think that EA would know better than to move forward with plans to include this same form of DRM with C&C4. No such luck. Brian was the first of a few of you to send in the news that EA appears to be sticking with the plan. While that news report seems to indicate this is a new thing, it's not. It was announced last summer -- but it's really unfortunate that EA hasn't yet seen the strategic error in moving forward in this manner.

Filed Under: command & conquer 4, drm, internet connection
Companies: ea, ubisoft

Is Amazon Blocking Reviews Of Assassin's Creed Over DRM Issues? [Update]

from the civil-disobedience dept

See update below. Well, well, well. You may recall back in 2008, when EA used annoying DRM on Spore, consumers revolted by giving the game one-star reviews on Amazon. There was some controversy when Amazon deleted some of those reviews -- but it claimed it was just a glitch (the algorithm treated so many rapid one-star reviews as an attack of some kind). However, it's now become quite popular when someone selling books or games does something stupid, for people take to Amazon to express their displeasure in one-star reviews.

So what's happening with Assassin's Creed 2 -- the Ubisoft game that is using incredibly annoying DRM and has had trouble keeping its servers up. Well... reader Aaron points out that for the PC version of the game Amazon appears to be showing no reviews at all. Either it deleted them or has proactively blocked the reviews. Of course, the reviews somehow are magically working for the PlayStation3 and Xbox versions of the game... Funny how that works.

Update: Some are pointing out that since the PC version isn't officially released until tomorrow, that could explain the lack of reviews on Amazon. They also note that elsewhere, such as in the UK, there are numerous angry one-star reviews...

Filed Under: assassins creed 2, blocking, drm, reviews
Companies: amazon, ubisoft

Ubisoft's 'You Must Be Connected To This Server' Annoying DRM Servers Go Down

from the but-of-course dept

Sometimes you have to wonder if folks like Ubisoft, who keep insisting that it needs to use DRM, are just messing with everyone. As you certainly know, Ubisoft decided to go with some incredibly annoying DRM for some new games, requiring you to be online at all times, even for single-player games. So, what happens? The servers that you must be connected to crashed, making those games completely unplayable for many, while creating lengthy login delays for others. That basically makes the game useless for many. Well, unless you downloaded the cracked version. Once again, DRM is shown to harm buyers, but do nothing to stop unauthorized use.

Filed Under: customers, drm, servers
Companies: ubisoft

Ubisoft's Annoying New DRM Cracked Within Hours Of Release

from the well-that-helped dept

We recently wrote about Ubisoft's annoying new DRM that requires you to be online to play even as a single player game (and which will stop your game even if your WiFi connection flakes out). Many people responded by saying that while they would have bought the game otherwise, now they would just wait for a DRM-free cracked version to show up. Turns out they didn't have to wait long. The DRM was cracked within hours. So again, we're left wondering what good this did? Those who were going to get an unauthorized copy of the game no matter what still did so with no trouble. The only people who are put out are the legitimate buyers, who now have to hope their connection always works and can't play while away from the internet. How does that help anyone?

Filed Under: cracked, drm
Companies: ubisoft

Ubisoft DRM Gets Worse And Worse: Kicks You Out Of Game If You Have A Flakey WiFi Connection

from the lovely dept

Last month, we wrote a bit about Ubisoft's bizarre anti-consumer policy of using DRM on games that requires an internet connection to check in (even if you're just playing locally). But, it gets worse. As a whole bunch of you sent in (but compgeek was first), apparently it doesn't just check once to see if you have an internet connection, but regularly checks, and if you've lost that internet connection, it will boot you out of the game and you'll lose everything that you've done since your last checkpoint or save. This is a serious problem for anyone who has even slightly flakey WiFi or an internet connection that goes down frequently (all too common these days). Ubisoft's history with DRM is filled with similar missteps, and it's really amazing that the company seems to be so oblivious to why treating fans badly is such a bad idea.

Filed Under: drm, internet connection, video games
Companies: ubisoft

Ubisoft's New DRM: Must Be Online To Play

from the yeah-that'll-make-people-like-you-more dept

Ubisoft has this bizarre and misguided obsession with DRM. Rather than focusing on providing value, it's always looking to take it away in a fruitless battle to "stop piracy." The company doesn't seem to understand that if it gives people a reason to buy, they will. But limiting value doesn't help anyone. In the past, the company has made a series of bad choices about DRM and suffered because of it. The company also seems to misunderstand how unauthorized file distribution occurs and what it means. In cases where it finally came around to scaling back its DRM, it seemed to do so petulantly, with a passive-aggressive "open letter" about it.

The latest move, sent in by a whole bunch of you, is to require copies of games to call back home to Ubisoft every time they're used. Yes, you will need to be online, and the game will need to phone home before you can use it. Of course, if Ubisoft actually thinks this is going to hold back those getting unauthorized copies of the game, it's mistaken. The Ars Technica article above quotes one file-sharing gamer:

"This is fine. I only have to access the Internet once to get Ubisoft games. You're the ones paying for a broken copy."

Filed Under: drm, online, phone home
Companies: ubisoft

Ubisoft's Passive-Aggressive Decision To Drop DRM

from the yet-again dept

Ubisoft has a long history of bad DRM choices, and tops it off with a usual misunderstanding of DRM, but its latest move is curious -- in a sort of passive-aggressive way. The company has decided not to include DRM in Prince of Persia, but posted an accusatory note about it:

You're right when you say that when people want to pirate the game they will, but DRM is there to make it as difficult as possible for pirates to make copies of our games. A lot of people complain that DRM is what forces people to pirate games but as PoP [Prince of Persia] PC has no DRM we'll see how truthful people actually are. Not very, I imagine.

Of course, no one said that the only reason people pirate games is because of DRM, but it is most likely a contributing factor. So, there will certainly be plenty of piracy, but other experiments have shown that if the game is good and worthwhile, plenty of people will buy it as well. But of course, part of getting people to actually want to buy the game is treating your customers with respect, which is exactly the opposite of what this guy's note did.

And, of course, the guy is wrong in saying that DRM makes it "as difficult as possible for pirates to make copies." Once someone makes a copy, it's available everywhere. That's the core reason why DRM is ineffective. It's not about stopping each individual. For DRM to work, it needs to stop EVERY individual, because as soon as one makes a cracked version available, it's available to everyone, and no amount of DRM in the world will matter.

Filed Under: drm, prince of persia
Companies: ubisoft

Ubisoft Says It's Delaying A PC Game Due To Piracy; But That Makes No Sense

from the a-little-logic,-please dept

Ubisoft, the video game company that has a history of doing exactly the wrong things in response to unauthorized sharing of its video games, is at it again. A bunch of readers have sent in some odd quotes from Ubisoft exec, Michael de Plater, who blames PC game file sharing for a delayed release of the new game EndWar on the PC platform:

To be honest, if PC wasn't pirated to hell and back, there'd probably be a PC version coming out the same day as the other two. But at the moment, if you release the PC version, essentially what you're doing is letting people have a free version that they rip off instead of a purchased version. Piracy's basically killing PC."

Now, Plater may believe that, but it's hard to square up with reality. The video gaming experience on a console is quite different than on a PC. And you'd be hard pressed to find a serious console owner who would focus on playing a good game on their PC rather than on the console. You could potentially make the argument that if the game really sucked some might test it out on the PC and decide it's not worth paying for -- but unless he's saying the game sucks, it's hard to take the claim seriously.

Filed Under: delays, endwar, michael de plater, piracy, video games
Companies: ubisoft

Who Can You Sue When It's Your Own Copy Protection That Hurt Your Reputation?

from the sue-everyone! dept

Video game maker Ubisoft has a rather long history of employing crappy DRM (and then even using someone else's code to crack their DRM when it caused problems for legitimate customers). However, this latest story involving a Ubisoft copy protection scheme may be the most bizarre. Chris Gruel writes in to let us know that Ubisoft is suing the CD duplicator firm it used to produce the video game Assassin's Creed, claiming that employees from that firm were responsible for the game leaking to the internet. It appears they have pretty good evidence that this did, in fact, happen (the leak was traced to an IP address controlled by an employee of the firm, and a copy of the game was found at that employee's home). So you can understand why they'd be upset about that (though, they had to realize that it would be pirated eventually).

However, here's where the story gets bizarre. Because Ubisoft was afraid that this might happen, the pre-release copy it sent to the CD duplicator included (on purpose!) a bug that would crash the game partway through. That was the copy that the employee leaked, so Ubisoft is complaining that this leak harmed their reputation, because people claimed the game was really buggy and crashed. Try to keep this straight in your mind here. Ubisoft put their own (crude, yes) DRM on the game because they were afraid it would leak. The game was leaked, and the DRM acted exactly as intended, and thus Ubisoft's reputation was harmed.

It makes you shake your head in wonder.

If Ubisoft had not included this DRM, then it would apparently have less to complain about. Thus, I think the only logical conclusion is that Ubisoft should be suing itself for including such damaging DRM on its own pre-release copies of Assassin's Creed.

Filed Under: copy protection, drm, lawsuits, leaks, reputation, video games
Companies: ubisoft