News Ubisoft's DRM servers go down, games unplayable

The only thing that history has shown, is that piracy on the PC will continue unabated. Thats it and that all. Theft is where it's at on the platform. Make no mistake about it. It makes no sense to continue to develop multi-million dollar, AAA games, on a weezing and declining platform, only to have that game stolen! All of that money and effort gone! Why?!! I hope UBISOFT leaned a lesson here, as they were the ones running their mouths earlier about DRM. Not only was the game stolen, the company is now being attacked and their user base effected! There is a reason common sense people avoid bad neighborhoods, the chances of you being assaulted are greatly increased! Once UBISOFT gets plooked in the booty a few more times by PC gamers maybe they'll catch the hint. Right now the PC is a bad neighborhood and the ghetto area of gaming. Develope, publish and game at your own risk.

 

Yes. Theft. Were the five previous links supplied to modchip stores not enough to convince you that piracy is equally prevalent on the console, as on the PC? Perhaps you'd like some more? What you're seeing is the debilitating effect of intellectual property theft, committed on consoles.

Not true. We have Steam bans, various anti-cheat software, but of course what you've omitted to mention is the reason console makers are cracking down on console players who don't follow the rules is because you are their cash cow. You are nothing but a big, fat, source of revenue thanks to the hefty premium you pay for games that are released on PC at a third of the price with infinitely more flexibility (incidentally, when you say the consoles get better games - actually, they get the same games). They don't want people upsetting the artificially inflated prices of console games any more than they want people pirating PC games.

If it's clear, where's the evidence? From over here, a million Xbox bans looks pretty severe, you know?

If it's hacking you're worried about, really, it's consoles you ought to avoid. From the latest big release alone, after all. I'm not going to respond to any half-baked response your 13-year-old arse can cook up - I've already allowed the thread to wander far, far off topic - but I just want you to know that you have my everlasting contempt for your complete inability to construct a coherent argument in any of the four threads you've posted in

[/HANDBAGS]

 

Oh no, again? Lock up all tools before you continue. You lost last time you debated me, this will be no different. Oh, I forgot to tell you...I'm anti-pirate, anti-piracy, anti-hacker, anti-cheat, anti-exploit, ect. I like to play fair (my skills vs yours) and I "pay" for my games, so there is yet another reason to hate me. "EVERYBODY" wins! The devs, publishers, gamers and the industry as a whole, everybody! Most so called "PC gamers" (ummm...you!) own consoles anyway, and those that don't will, if they want to play AAA games. If not, then die on the vine.

 

For fun, and to rub some salt into those gashing wounds:

Well Piracy occurs on every platform, even on cartridge based game systems, so saying that it only occurs on the PC is simple a denial of truth.

It makes no sense to develop games for that so coveted platform that just had 1 million banned from it because of piracy.

Yeah they have, don't under estimate the fact that a constant connection will kill servers on opening night. It's their fault for not realizing that there's more PC gamers who legitimately bought it than pirated it.

The problem with this statement is that there are people who legitimately bought it, are you implying that someone should screw over paying customers for the sake of a few dollars?

That's horribly flawed thinking, I do legitimately buy my games, but there's something in knowing that you have a freedom of choice.

Not to mention that AC2 has some framerate issues on the consoles, why would I pay the same price for something that looks better on the PC?

Also I might add that I'm against Piracy, but in all honesty and being realistic, it exists everywhere.

DVDs, Blu-Rays, Console games, PC games, Music, all forms of entertainment short of Records are pirated, the thing is whether or not you do it, and the industry should not under any circumstance screw over the paying customers, because at the end of the day, doesn't the industry keep the consumer happy? It exists for that reason.

 

Luckily I avoided this mess by not playing any of their games...

 

It should be noted however that mod-chips are not just used to bypass copy protection. When I had my original PSX i had it chipped because as I was living in a PAL area, I missed out on a lot of quality NTSC titles. So i had it chipped, and legally imported original copies of titles like Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger + FFIV, Persona, Persona 2 from the States... Sure, it allowed me to play copied discs but the point is I never did.
Likewise my PS2 was modified to boot from a hard drive again allowing me to play imports like Grandia 3, Grandia Xtreme, Xenosaga 1 and 3 (2 was released in PAL strangely enough).

With the latest generation of consoles though i haven't had a need to do this and my 360 and PS3 are both unmodified and will be staying that way.

Point is mod-chips are not always used for piracy.

 

You be trollin' here... this is a hardware enthusiast forum, don't go around calling us retards because of how we decide to spend our money....

Yes, there is something wrong with Assassin's creed 2, it is called useless DRM that hurts the legitimate, paying customer. If I BUY a game, I expect to be able to play it, when I want to play it, not only when the server feels like playing nice. in that same vein, what happens years down the line when Ubisoft gets sold off, goes bankrupt, or decides to stop supporting the game, then, I can no longer play the game that I paid for. Really, cracking the game is looking like an extremely nice option.

Obviously you haven't been playing CS:S or any other VAC games lately.... or WoW, or Guild Wars, or Runescape, WC3, or (wow, can't think of games this late at night).... well, really any online game with any kind of multiplayer element

Just because you pay more, doesn't mean that you are getting a better game... all you are getting is the same game, optimized for console controllers, and gimped graphics

No, just.... no.... If I wanted to listen to a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds yelling about penises, your mom, and mudkipz, I'd either go to /b/, or start working at camp again.

"everybody", obviously means everyone except PC gamers.

Sounds to me like you need to stop trolling, No one here accepts your opinions, as they are completely invalid.

 

Um... You are aware that piracy on consoles is just as prevalant as the PC and has been for some time, right? Name any current gen console and I can tell you there are people playing its games illegally. PS3, 360, PSP, DS, Wii... proprietary media doesn't work either, look at the PSP's UMD, there's always a work around, and there's always going to be people who will try and defeat the copy protection if for no other reason than to prove they can do it.

Say that your theory is employed (even though it never would be but let's run with it) and they stop releasing games on PC, where do you think these people will turn their attention? Piracy is a problem for every industry not just gaming; and it's not limited to, or more prevalent on one system or another.
Hell, piracy has been blamed as being a major contributing factor for the poor sales and "death" of certain consoles. The Dreamcast being a prime example.

 

This is the "gaming news" section, NOT the "hardware news" section, so maybe you should learn how to navigate your way around the site. I don't care how you spend your money, you know the old saying "A fool and his money are soon parted". If you want to spend $500 on a card that can't do AA thats your business. If the shoe fits...wear it!

Since you don't have that problem on the console, playing the game on that looks like a extrememly nice option! So is keeping the game off of the PC, as it should've never been there in the first place! Then this would never have happened.

Yep, just naming off games "you" don't obviously play!! I play Guild Wars, and can tell you first hand that the game has been hacked up to the point it's no longer fun. They warn you as soon as you log in about account thefts, ect. The PVP section is full of bots! They're not even trying to fix it anymore, they've let that game go along time ago. This is what happens to any online game with any kind of multiplayer element on the PC. It invites hackers, cheaters, and thieves, then they ruin the enviroment for everybody else.

Yes, I am!! My experience is better because the damn game at least works!! The PC doesn't!! The game is under $40 new and can be traded in for a discount on other games! Sorry PC, won't happen! Isn't the PC version more, and it sucks on top of that?

http://www.walmart.com/search/searc...int=2636&ic=48_0&search_query=assassins+creed

As opposed to a bunch of 13yr olds hacking, cheating, stealing and sabotaging games, and ruining the whole experience for everbody. Also yelling about penises, your mom, and mudkipz!

Majority rules, most *ahem* (rolls eyes) PC gamers have consoles now anyway, you'll avoid all of these problems.

An invalid opinion? That ONLY could've been said by a PC gamer!

 

Oh you trade in games, don't you realise you are hurting the developers of the games since they don't get money from second hand sales.

Also you do realise that ignoring evidence isn't the best way to have a discussion but then again you seem more interested in just trolling anybody who replies to you.

 

When I found out about this awful DRM I cancelled my PC pre-order of Assassins Creed and bought it for the Xbox second hand of eBay; glad I did now.

I hope this debacle makes Ubisoft think again about treating it's paying customers in such a way.

 

People are entitled to their opinion, but personal insults will not be tolerated. Any more and I'll start handing out 24hr bans.

Don't confused (some of) Warrior's valid points with troll. He's entitled to his opinion as much as anybody.

In my personal opinion - as much as I hate to admit it, he's probably right to some degree. If I was a publisher and with my business hat on, I would not develop for the PC. It's fact that console gamers pay more, they buy more, they score games higher and there is less piracy. PC gamers should not be angry at (him or) publishers, they should be angry at those who pirate PC games for killing the platform. Get the priorities straight: everything costs money, people should pay for what they enjoy. This is outside the argument for DRM btw.

 

There is still obviously some money to be made on PC otherwise these publishers wouldn't bother either. It's also unfair to blame piracy for this so called death of PC gaming.

The problem here is the knee-jerk reaction to the rampant piracy problem by just piling on more DRM which ultimately does little to hinder piracy at all and just punish legitimate customers. And Warrior hasn't really presented any valid points in my view other than some vitriolic rambling.

If publishers don't want to put their games on PC then that's fine, some people simply won't buy the game and publishers lose 10% or whatever small percentage of revenue that their PC port might have brought in.

 

So, considering Assassin's Creed 2 is a game based around the concept of stealthily killing people, when does this thread turn into Pirates Vs Ninjas?

On-topic, I'd quite like my single-player games that have little/no use for internet connectivity, to not require a drain on my bandwidth, ta. I'm sure that's reasonable, especially if people's broadband connections have bandwidth caps.

I'm not gonna cry "Death to DRM!" - just to the stupid DRM solutions. Steam, as many of you agree, is amazing at what it does. You buy the games, you donwload the games, you install the games on as many machines as you like, but sign in with a username to play your AAA titles (and if you tick a box, you don't even need to sign in - it's all done for you!)

Spoiler

Off-topic, the Xbox is fun for a more casual gaming audience than the PC attracts. It's the age-old arguments:

XBOX (or indeed any console):
Plug & Play
Connects to every TV on the planet
Cheaper on the hardware front
Guaranteed compatibility (Batman:AA, Saboteur, etc - take note)

PC:
Infinitely customisable
Better multiplayer support
Graphically superior
Steam

Controller support is a mixed bag, but with a wired Xbox controller next to the PC, it's a "best of both worlds" situation.

We're all getting the shaft from the gaming industry - we might as well get along!

 

Warrior24_7 <3

On topic, I kinda want to play AC2... I am prepared to wait until it's REALLY cheap though. Hopefully all this crap will be sorted by then?
Probably not.

PS: Remember when Ubi only put a disc check on PoP and said the sales would determine the level of future DRM and everybody pirated it to hell? Yeah, I bought that game to avoid this situation. Way to go pirates.

 

FFS, if you don't like DRM/price don't buy/pirate the game then. Some of you would say "vote with your wallet" but unfortunately it doesn't work in this case as there's no easy way to tell Ubisoft you don't buy their games because of DRM or price - they'll blame it on piracy...

The problem with Ubi is that their PR are completely out of touch with PC gamers. They don't ask gamers questions why they have or haven't bought this game. If they're fine with price of games or this form of DRM. And unless Ubi change their attitude they'll keep failing. Not to mention Ubi's CEO whose opinions are sometimes nearly an insults to all paying customers, that's just wrong...

I've loved AC1 and I've bought it. Of course as there was no playable demo(at least I couldn't find one) I've waited until it's price was "an acceptable risk" ~20$. I'd buy AC2 even for slightly higher price but never with this form of DRM. *This* is a lost sale and not due to piracy, Mr. Guillemot...

 

This has been happening for some time. The quality of PC games has been going down hill for years where main stream PC games have all been developed for a console then ported over. Textures, effects, maps sizes, draw distances and control systems are suffering for it.

I've bought every game I play, even the ones that are so awful on PC, they've been consigned to Steam's uninstalled list, (Call of Juarez 2, AvP3 I'm looking at you.)

There is no answer to piracy. Cracking a new game is a challenge for the people who do it and downloading the cracked game is easy for people who can't be bothered to pay.

DRM has become a necessary component of PC games, and while it is something that we should learn to accept, it needs to be done correctly. Obviously, stopping people playing a game altogether while your online DRM server falls over is not the way forward, but online activation isn't such a bad thing. Steam has shown us the way forward in this area and (IMO) more developers should be using it as a universal platform to launch new titles.

Hell, I'd be all in favour of a hardware DRM solution if it meant that developers went back to making quality PC Only titles. Stick a hardware component on the graphics card or motherboard to force a disk check similar to consoles and have done with it. People will complain bitterly, but if it stops consolified titles, (Deus Ex 2 ,) ridiculous online DRM checks, limited installs, Star Force et al, then it might not be so bad.

 

i dont know why people are complaining there is allready a patch out and im not talking about skid-row
and the animus problems are fixed

 

It's only because, again, we're in the ever widening gulf of PC performance versus console performance. It happened back when DirectX 9 arrived and the PS2/Xbox were several years old. Back then we had the benefit of FarCry/Doom/UT engines dropping allowing developers another method of design.

Unfortunately for us, the UT3 engine is so popular and so firmly DirectX 9 it is holding back game development because publishers and developers know the code inside out and can design games cheaper. It takes massive investment by Nvidia and ATI to push developers forward - DirectX 11 will do this to some extent and this year it should bring people back to the PC side of things a bit. However it also requires a hardware push from NV and ATI too.

Plus, most mainstream games review sites who do PC games dont comment on the quality, they just go "yea it's a good game to play" so there's no incentive to make it super awesome.
Plus remember, those who buy performance PC parts are a small proportion of those who PC game also so publishers push for the lower specs. You only have to go to a LAN party or read a "gaming" forum to see that: "My G45 graphics cant play MW2" <-- I have read this!

On the other hand, I also think you're being typically performance-PC-centric: recent games have looked good. Hell Crysis still looks good, Mass Effect 2 and AvP look great and so do many others.

I think Valve and Steam have saved the PC market. It's the right way to do things: more companies should go down this route.

 

Yeah, I guess. After Crysis I was hoping PC games would adopt it's graphical quality. You tend to forget that most people who walk into a Game or HMV store identify their computer model as 'Dell'. While it's not their fault, I just have an itch to see another evolution in graphics. [/nerd]

If I ever met Gabe Newell, I'd probably stroke his face and cry. Valve have done so many things right and Steam is firmly embedded as my PC gaming gateway.