Comments on: Comic: “Different Time, Just as Bad”

By: Legolla

Legolla — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:16:37 +0000

imho the problem is layed in human itself. If no one would illegaly copy stuff no DRM or any other copy protection would be needed. So the main problem is “human stupidity”.
And for all those who want no copyprotection at alll … just look at the great game Demigod (no copyprotection) from Stardock and read what happened on the launchday.
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/46624/Demigod-Status-Update-So-Much-For-Piracy

By: JaFO

JaFO — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:46:01 +0000

Lost sales = pirates.
Lost sales != crappy product
These are the definitions the entire games- and media-industry have used and will continue to use.
That is why anti-piracy measures continue to be the #1 reason for the use of Digital Restriction Management. DRM software never managed my rights and it never will.

They never ever mention the real reason for DRM : total and absolute control.
The goal ? Being able to make software obsolete whenever they want.
Just look at how EA managed to kill old software by simply deactivating a few servers (in order to ‘improve service’).
Without DRM and an on-line requirement such things would not have been possible.

By: velt

velt — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:47:35 +0000

They are loosing sales on good games because of their own DRM, thats it. They will come around, the system sucks, and it wont work, pirates will get around the problem.

By: Jaramide

Jaramide — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:34:27 +0000

This type of DRM is exactly the thing that makes me pirate games. It’s just more user friendly in the end which is hillarious when you think about it. This is exactly the wrong way to go about making people buy your game. Pissing on your customer base is not a way to build a good rep. And rightly or wrongly gamers will pirate the game if they feel that the developer is trying to punish them for buying the game instead of the other way around.

By: Stone Dog

Stone Dog — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:23:28 +0000

I’ve always found UbiSoft to be one of the most arrogant companies out there. I have already been living the “Never going to purchase another of their games” lifestyle and am much better off for it.

I wish them nothing but the worst in the days, weeks and *shudder* (hopefully not) years to come.

By: PurrNaK

PurrNaK — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:15:03 +0000

Um… ebay and pawn shops and usedeverywhere.com and craigs list. Who the hell buys new anymore?

I’m glad ubisoft got hit hard. The only way to stop piracy is to stop putting out games. You just have to realize copy protection only forces people who would normally buy the game to break terms of service.

Anyone that would normally pirate wouldn’t have bought the game anyway.

Ubisoft.. try this next time. Release the game to the public.. Then release a messed up version on the internet. Different story, full of bugs.. People will then go buy the full copy cause they want to finish the game. And no I don’t mean a demo. I mean something that lets you think it’s real then at some random points in the game have the character just die for no reason.

Now you can not only track things like who played the broken version illegally cause they posted it in a review… but you can stick it to the pirates.

By: Beaverius

Beaverius — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:51:04 +0000

Ok I’ll confess to downloading a lot of TV shows (I still pay for cable though) and music, but I’m just not a big fan of pirating games. The short version is that the risk of malware and often lack of working multiplayer (since I basically only would buy a multiplayer game which has endless replay value in my mind) ruins it, and if it’s the kind of thing I’m going to play for a while, I’d be more than happy to pay.

I guess the point I was trying to make is that for the games I’d buy, it’s nearly always worth it to buy it. In a situation like this though, I’d be hard pressed to pay for any single player game that had such debilitating DRM like this, and more importantly, requires you to be online FOR A SINGLE PLAYER GAME?????

If I absolutely had to play this on PC, i’d buy it and crack the crap outta it as soon as I could get the box open. This kind of DRM basically says, if you want the game to play like it should, i.e. not requiring an internet connection for a SINGLE PLAYER GAME, you should either steal it or break the law and crack your legit copy. Frankly though, I’d have no moral qualms about cracking a copy of the game I purchased.

FWIW, I did buy AC2 for Xbox 360, albeit a used copy which means the devs didnt’ get a single penny for it ironically.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:27:22 +0000

You have to be online to purchase/activate a steam game, but then you can play it in offline mode w/o internets.