I played the demo for this last night, it is a REALLY fun game and I want to buy but after all this nonsense I checked out their forums to see if it really is that bad and yes, tons of server outages and people being locked out of a game they legitimately bought. Until Ubisoft gets their stuff together and stops treating paying and potential customers like thieves they're not getting $50 out of me. Really really sad, I also feel sad for the devs of this game. It's terrific and worth a purchase but not with this DRM.

KilrathiAce wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 17:16:
I will shift to silent hunter game series(same drm).

I am silent hunter fanboi, I own every game(boxed) until 4. I bought 4 even though I knew it was going to be just as buggy as 3 but I am just lover of this series. However, I did not buy 5, why? one reason DRM. I may consider the game if they remove DRM with a patch down the road along with more fixing(game is buggy as previous games). So I wouldn't jump to conclusions that faithful, fanboys and addicts will buy games regardeless, I did not. I was a hardcore addict besides fanboy as I used to even run biggest unofficial buglist for sh3 with submissions around the world.

Great avatar and quote btw! Brought back great memories of that series!

I did not buy Settlers7, no AC2, no SH5 and no ModernWF2. The first 3 because of the DRM and the last one because of no-dedicated servers.
I don't miss out on those games because I simply don't play them.
FUCK UBI!

I do support PC-gamers/developers like Mount&Blade.

SpectralMeat wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 11:05:
Settlers 7 is still on the top 10 seller list on Steam, ever since it's been released.

Which has been what... 1 week? Two weeks? Not much else has come out in the last week or two to push it off the list entirely.

I will shift to silent hunter game series(same drm).

I am silent hunter fanboi, I own every game(boxed) until 4. I bought 4 even though I knew it was going to be just as buggy as 3 but I am just lover of this series. However, I did not buy 5, why? one reason DRM. I may consider the game if they remove DRM with a patch down the road along with more fixing(game is buggy as previous games). So I wouldn't jump to conclusions that faithful, fanboys and addicts will buy games regardeless, I did not. I was a hardcore addict besides fanboy as I used to even run biggest unofficial buglist for sh3 with submissions around the world.

Elessar wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 15:16:
I'm not new to gaming by any stretch, but thanks for the foolish assumption.

You're obviously new to sarasm too, and the only foolish assumption I made was that you weren't.

The point is they should care about customer satisfaction, because in this case their sales are hurting because of it.

Both in this case and in countless others, sales don't appear to be suffering because of DRM. And, this could even be due in part to sales from those who would otherwise have pirated a game offsetting any loss of sales due to a game's DRM. When you don't have to stand behind your product and give refunds, then you don't have to worry about customer satisfaction. The faithful, the fanboys, and the addicts will buy your games regardless, and the rest of your potential customers will have either forgotten about the past problems by the time the sequel comes out or weren't old enough to remember them to begin with. This is an industry-wide practice, and there's never been enough consumer backlash to change it. And, since video game consumers as a whole have a short memory and attention span and see games as disposable entertainment, I doubt there ever will be.

This comment was edited on Apr 6, 2010, 17:03.

Saying "no you cant say that" isn't really an argument though. Most of my friends have modded PSPs but few have modded 360's. I suspect most of them don't want to risk their gamertag even though gamertag bans are rare. Hardware based modding is never as prevalent as softmods.The general public doesn't usually open up consoles in general. I agree that "pirates" will move to the console if the PC side dries up but that doesn't translate into masses of the casual crowds who comprise the majority of the industry doing it. Softmods are a different story but unfortunately they are difficult these days due to all of the protection that prevents unsigned code and the industry in general wising up about exploits that allow that.

I wish it were different, I wish people would really be well educated about this stuff because they would be more careful about what rights they give away to companies like Ubisoft. But wishing and reality are two very different things.

Nah, they will just go console only, then "shock horror" they find that their console games will STILL get pirated too.. What will they do then?

And dont give me that "Most people dont pirate on Console" garbage, I can name pretty much everyone I know who owns an Xbox360 have modded the firmware, got the "Safe Lists" and are all playing copied versions of games... The sooner people see this, the better. Make good games, make them without draconian DRM and they will sell. Dragon Age, and the Witcher are sterling proof of this (Mind you the Witcher did use TAGES but sold by the bucket-load in a dying PC market)

What I think will happen is that these big studios have gotten too big. Just peruse back at the massive layoffs these companies have done in the past 12 months, yet the smaller more independent studios who actually innovate have been doing quite well. What is happening is the "Publishers" are losing ground as its now quite easy to publish a game without a big name publisher. I for one welcome the new age...

Hehehehehe. Rot in fucking hell, Ubisoft. I hope this fucking bankrupts you monkeys.

Creston

Money, Greed and Power are all universal things. Nationality really has nothing to do with it.

Verno wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 10:51:
I have news for you man, not all French people are the silly stereotype you have been spoon fed by the media.

While I agree with you, the French (as a Nation) have some pretty fucked up ideas when it comes to "Content Provision". They're the ones that came up with the 3-Strike Law without due process... against the rest of the EU.

Other Countries also have some fucked up ideas when it comes to Content or the Internet... Germany pretends the Nazi era never happened and censors swastikas and blood... Australia censors out Adult rated games... China just outright censors everything.

So with all that in mind, it's no surprise that the French would come up with such fucked up DRM, and stick to it.

That's not saying that all French people are ridiculous about this topic... but you do have to look at the culture... they are a Nation that prides themselves on Art, and will go to extreme lengths (even the ridiculous) to protect it.

I've Got The News Blues wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 11:29:

Elessar wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 10:36:
It amazes me how Ubi is stubbornly sticking with this DRM. I mean, this shit is getting bad and until they fix it completely or remove it, they're conveying that customer satisfaction simply does not matter.

You're obviously new to the ways of the game industry. Customer satisfaction doesn't really matter. Which part of "no refunds" don't you understand? This industry is built upon this principle. While I certainly hate this new DRM scheme, the games that use it aren't the first to ever ship broken or unplayable or even remain as such.

Confrontational much? I'm not new to gaming by any stretch, but thanks for the foolish assumption. Even still, I'll forever be woeful about the counterproductive business practices companies like Ubisoft employs. The point is they should care about customer satisfaction, because in this case their sales are hurting because of it.

Then again, I should be one to talk, as I saw Transformers 1 and enjoyed it...

I thought transformers 1 was fun, it was a good movie overall. The sequel was complete trash. They skipped the whole awesome trilogy approach that star wars took and went straight to pile o shit on the second film. (maybe it's a bit of a stretch to say that the first transformers movie could have been part of an awesome trilogy...)

And it makes sense, why waste all that time building a franchise that is cherished by a nation and the world, that commands the upmost respect from fans, and sends people to the movies, toy stores, and game shops by the millions...why do all that when you can just turn it around and sell it out for a quick buck. It worked for homer simpson when his stock went up $20 and he sold instantly! He was able to buy a whole beer at the bar that night!

This comment was edited on Apr 6, 2010, 15:14.

Popularity and quality are two things that should rarely be discussed together

Sales /= quality...

Huge brush-stroke here, but one might say it's telling of the sort of "quality" of most of the population that goes to see Transformers/buys Setlers 7...

Then again, I should be one to talk, as I saw Transformers 1 and enjoyed it...

Dan =0)

Verno wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 10:51:
Ignorance is not a virtue.

To be fair, it is if you're a Mac user.

Prez wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 12:34:

Now THAT I knew already, so no harm done.

Verno wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 12:26:
Sorry I don't sit by the computer clicking refresh on warez forums And I haven't verified this myself so *shrug*. People said AC2 was day one cracked and that turned out to be false too.

All I can say is that it works, so no more server troubles for me, I should ask Ubi for my money back with all the damn issues they have been having...

Anyways didn't I hear somewhere, that once it was "cracked" (shock horror telling people things they don't know) and UBI was going to remove the DRM anyways?

CythrawL wrote on Apr 6, 2010, 12:31:
Well you know what, There's a game out next week that will be cracked before its released too... May as well ban me for that too, seeing you didn't know it, till I told you :-/

Now THAT I knew already, so no harm done.

If I have to choose between this and software DRM I'd take this.