Ubisoft is moving their DRM servers

***Cosmonautical*** · 02-03-2012, 10:20 AM

For an inspecific amount of time, it will be impossible to install and play certain Ubisoft PC games, thanks to their DRM authentication servers being relocated.

Some Of Ubisoft’s PC Games Won’t Work Next Week. Not Even Singleplayer. | Kotaku Australia

I can't stress enough how terrible this is, as an anti-piracy measure. All it's doing is pissing off their potential customers, and it does not impact the availability or functionality of pirated copies. There are plenty of AAA titles out there to spend your time on. Until Ubisoft takes the cue, I'd suggest buying somebody else's games.

***Ace Mercury*** · 02-03-2012, 12:39 PM

There's two sides that a publisher can do to combat piracy. The first one, the one where they try to lock down everything, doesn't work. Lobby for laws to make trivial infractions federal crimes. Everyone knows that DRM is bad for us; it's an anti-feature. It's purely for the sake of inconveniencing would-be pirates. Pirates work around DRM and release cracks, and legitimate consumers get boned because of faulty/overzealous DRM.

The benefit of the lockdown strategy is you get to charge your full arm-and-leg price because you're the only source, an monopoly. The old guard is familiar with this business model because it works really well with physical products. They own the factories, the printing presses, the brick-and-mortar stores.

The alternative is to make your game easier to purchase than it is to copy. That involves putting trust in the consumer that they'd fork over money. That involves producing a quality products and services to make the money forking easier. That involves making the customer feel like they're getting their money's worth. Hoping that the fan base creates a social norm that piracy is bad and shaming would-be pirates to forking over money. It also involves turning a blind eye to those who do pirate your game anyways, because those guys will always exist. I think even Ubisoft is getting the hint; I heard that its latest releases have activation-on-install only.

It doesn't work with software. It's free to copy. When I buy a game, I buy because it's convenient and well-supported (e.g. Steam), or has some physical product or service that it's giving me (e.g. MMORPG server maintenance, physical art books and CDs).

heh · 02-03-2012, 03:34 PM

good news, if you pirated a ubisoft game you can still play it during the blackout

:ironicat:

***Ace Mercury*** · 02-05-2012, 03:57 PM

I just read an interesting article on Forbes website; apparently even Forbes might be in on the idea that piracy is about service and convenience.

You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You - Forbes

02-03-2012, 10:20 AM	#1
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,151 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	Ubisoft is moving their DRM servers For an inspecific amount of time, it will be impossible to install and play certain Ubisoft PC games, thanks to their DRM authentication servers being relocated. Some Of Ubisoft’s PC Games Won’t Work Next Week. Not Even Singleplayer. \| Kotaku Australia I can't stress enough how terrible this is, as an anti-piracy measure. All it's doing is pissing off their potential customers, and it does not impact the availability or functionality of pirated copies. There are plenty of AAA titles out there to spend your time on. Until Ubisoft takes the cue, I'd suggest buying somebody else's games.

02-03-2012, 12:39 PM	#2
*Ace Mercury* Marshmallow Knight ☆ Supermod Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Southern Ontario Gender: Posts: 23,274 Thanks: 568 Thanked 3,297 Times in 1,582 Posts Blog Entries: 1	I didn't really think this through, but I'm posting it anyways. There's two sides that a publisher can do to combat piracy. The first one, the one where they try to lock down everything, doesn't work. Lobby for laws to make trivial infractions federal crimes. Everyone knows that DRM is bad for us; it's an anti-feature. It's purely for the sake of inconveniencing would-be pirates. Pirates work around DRM and release cracks, and legitimate consumers get boned because of faulty/overzealous DRM. The benefit of the lockdown strategy is you get to charge your full arm-and-leg price because you're the only source, an monopoly. The old guard is familiar with this business model because it works really well with physical products. They own the factories, the printing presses, the brick-and-mortar stores. The alternative is to make your game easier to purchase than it is to copy. That involves putting trust in the consumer that they'd fork over money. That involves producing a quality products and services to make the money forking easier. That involves making the customer feel like they're getting their money's worth. Hoping that the fan base creates a social norm that piracy is bad and shaming would-be pirates to forking over money. It also involves turning a blind eye to those who do pirate your game anyways, because those guys will always exist. I think even Ubisoft is getting the hint; I heard that its latest releases have activation-on-install only. It doesn't work with software. It's free to copy. When I buy a game, I buy because it's convenient and well-supported (e.g. Steam), or has some physical product or service that it's giving me (e.g. MMORPG server maintenance, physical art books and CDs).

02-03-2012, 03:34 PM	#3
heh Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: lo-ca-tion; Noun- 1. a place or situation occupied: That house is in a fine location Gender: Posts: 9,849 Thanks: 710 Thanked 955 Times in 628 Posts	good news, if you pirated a ubisoft game you can still play it during the blackout :ironicat:

02-05-2012, 03:57 PM	#4
*Ace Mercury* Marshmallow Knight ☆ Supermod Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Southern Ontario Gender: Posts: 23,274 Thanks: 568 Thanked 3,297 Times in 1,582 Posts Blog Entries: 1	I just read an interesting article on Forbes website; apparently even Forbes might be in on the idea that piracy is about service and convenience. You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You - Forbes