Ubisoft WIN

[RefaelBA]

Hello friends!
Perhpas you've heard about the DRM system that came with Assassin's Creed 2 (and some other game). AC2 has been on the shleves for a while now, and so far, not even the best of game crackers managed to release a pirated version of the game.
The new DRM system requires constant connection to the internet, and it basically communicates with Ubi's servers all the time. The crackers are attempting to "listen" to this communications and record the RAM while the game is running, so that they will be able to emulate the DRM servers. However, to fully unlock the game, they must fully record every bit of communication, which means - they must unlock the game 100% and then some, if not "worse". So far a few groups released partial and buggy versions of the game, none offering more than a few hours of gameplay (out of 60+ available to purchasers).



I'm not supporting any of the sides here, I just want to know your opinion - do you believe that Ubi has managed to code the holy grail of game security, a perfect DRM that cannot be hacked (because it's just too much work)? Is this a new era in gaming, in which piracy is out of the picture?

[pk_hunter]

Have Ubisoft succeeded here?
Absolutely not, and it's completely ridiculous to even suggest that they've come up with a good idea here.
Making a single player game completely reliant on something as flimsy as an internet connection is a dreadful idea. A fallen branch, a dodgy ISP, a server issue or a dead router are but a few of the all-too-common reasons people suffer connection issues and should not prevent you from playing the game. It's infuriating.
I personally don't pirate games, and as such I, and everyone else I know in my position feels that it's unfair for publishers to punish everyone because of those who pirate.
Am I ever going to spend money on a game the publisher can't guarantee I can play? Fuck no.

People get butthurt enough at Valve for requiring an internet connection to merely activate a singleplayer game with Steam - imagine what this will do to sales.

[Smurftyours]

You have a lot of "What if" or "Is this" question threads. No piracy will always be real.

[RefaelBA]

Have Ubisoft succeeded here?
Absolutely not, and it's completely ridiculous to even suggest that they've come up with a good idea here.
Making a single player game completely reliant on something as flimsy as an internet connection is a dreadful idea. A fallen branch, a dodgy ISP, a server issue or a dead router are but a few of the all-too-common reasons people suffer connection issues and should not prevent you from playing the game. It's infuriating.
I personally don't pirate games, and as such I, and everyone else I know in my position feels that it's unfair for publishers to punish everyone because of those who pirate.
Am I ever going to spend money on a game the publisher can't guarantee I can play? Fuck no.

People get butthurt enough at Valve for requiring an internet connection to merely activate a singleplayer game with Steam - imagine what this will do to sales.

I see your point, I think the same way too.
But you have to admit the system is doing a great job in keeping the same secured.
I'm not very angry with the demand for permanent connection, because it's clear that we're taking slow and steady strides towards cloud computing anyway. A few years ago, activating your copy online was insane. Today, being connected while playing is less groundbreaking.

The only issue with this system and most other DRM systems is that the pirated version eventually takes off all of the disadvantages, and makes it easier to just play the game, while purchasers struggle with the DRM anyway. That's annoying.

You have a lot of "What if" or "Is this" question threads. No piracy will always be real.

What if I changed the way I phrase, is it that important to you?

[TicTac]

it might be un-hackable, but like it's been said it poses a ton of problems. Internet connection is not guaranteed, and an offline, single player game shouldn't need it to begin with. Personally, I don't pirate games. My friends, however, do quite often. Why? They don't want to spend the money. Are there games that they still buy, even though they can pirate them? Sure. Just like you might buy a few albums to support a favorite band, people are likely to buy a game if they want to support the company. To get to my point, if people are pirating your games (I think) it's because they don't like it enough to support the company and buy it.
erm...
/off-topic
/post-that-belongs-in-the-random-thread

[Kremator]

It's only a matter of time till they find a way to hack it, it's a game of one-upmanship - even Ubi admitted that it'll probably be eventually cracked.

Pointless attempt imo, people never learn how gay DRM is, I pirate games, sure - but I buy them afterwards if they're worth my money. The devs who expect me to pay $60 for a demo-less game that I will find out later to be shitty can suck my dick - I'm not made of money.

[Chopium]

Perhaps Ubisoft won this time. So far after the release and still no working crack? Maybe postponing the inevitable is the only defense they have against piracy.

[source-maps]

Yarrr, they will never win!

[Gary]

I pretty much agree with everything pk said.

Because of this, I don't buy any Ubisoft game for the PC. Only X360.

[RefaelBA]

You don't get it - Ubisoft already won this round.
The innability of crackers to ship an instant cracked version means that Ubisoft already won loads of money from people who really wanted the game, and didn't mind pirating it. They already made the most crucial hump of money, that's earned right when the game starts selling. Game sales are on a constant decrease once released, so this initial "hit" was most important, and they had it nailed.

@CREAMATOR: I don't want to preach, but if you don't have money, you don't have to buy the game. I'm not going to say I never pirated games, but I also recognize a company's right to at least try and defend their IPs... If that's the way they want to sell it, that's the way it has to go. Consider that if this DRM proves successful, more and more games will use it, and eventually nobody will have a choice but to count on our luck and buy the game (even though that's not really an excuse, nowadays you have varied reviews, gameplay videos and whatnot).

[Puffenstuff]

You don't get it - Ubisoft already won this round.
The innability of crackers to ship an instant cracked version means that Ubisoft already won loads of money from people who really wanted the game, and didn't mind pirating it. They already made the most crucial hump of money, that's earned right when the game starts selling. Game sales are on a constant decrease once released, so this initial "hit" was most important, and they had it nailed.

I'm not convinced yet. My own highly scientific study, consisting exclusively of the people I discuss video games with, indicates that the new DRM has resulted in a %100 drop in sales.

The problem with all of the analysis surrounding DRM and piracy is that it is based on counterfactuals that can't be tested easily, i.e., how many people would have bought the game without the DRM? I don't know if the people who converted from piracy to get AC2 outnumbered the people who were turned off by the DRM. Furthermore I don't know how anyone could find out reliably.

So, Will Ubi's Always-On DRM be a long term success? I doubt it. Is it breakable? Almost certainly... eventually. Will it be accepted? Hard to say but I, for one, DO NOT welcome our new, ever-watching, DRM overlords. I will never buy a game that uses anything like Ubi's always-on DRM and I will encourage everyone I know to do the same.

[Gary]

It's impossible for DRM to be un-hackable. It's only a matter of time.

[Kremator]

@CREAMATOR: I don't want to preach, but if you don't have money, you don't have to buy the game. I'm not going to say I never pirated games, but I also recognize a company's right to at least try and defend their IPs... If that's the way they want to sell it, that's the way it has to go. Consider that if this DRM proves successful, more and more games will use it, and eventually nobody will have a choice but to count on our luck and buy the game (even though that's not really an excuse, nowadays you have varied reviews, gameplay videos and whatnot).

Well in that case I apologize for being a poor sap and therefore should refrain from any form of unaffordable entertainment. The last time I trusted a review the reviewer's taste and mine was completely different and I ended up buying a shitty $50 game that has a DRM certificate that expires early this year, necessitating me (and other legitimate purchasers) of the game to scour the internet for a hack to temporarily solve the problem on a game I BOUGHT. In case you're wondering it's Gears of War WINDOWS edition, which ran like shit on Windows. I'm sorry if my first impression of DRM is not as good as yours, I guess that's my fault for distrusting a system that tends to cause products not to work properly and resorting to other means to verify the compatibility of the goods I would or would not be purchasing in the future.

If you don't want to preach, then don't. You asked for opinions in the thread starter, I gave mine.

[nub]

You don't get it - Ubisoft already won this round.
The innability of crackers to ship an instant cracked version means that Ubisoft already won loads of money from people who really wanted the game, and didn't mind pirating it. They already made the most crucial hump of money, that's earned right when the game starts selling. Game sales are on a constant decrease once released, so this initial "hit" was most important, and they had it nailed.

You make it sound like pirates are competing for money or something. Pirates only want to be able to obtain and play games for free, that's it. It doesn't matter how long it takes for them to crack this DRM, because in the end if they still crack it, they still "win." There are no "rounds," pirates couldn't give two shits about how much money Ubisoft is making or losing, that's why they're ok with pirating their games in the first place.

The only way they can win against piracy is to make a DRM that is virtually impossible to crack...and at least non-obtrusive to gameplay. Maybe they have now, or maybe they haven't. All I know is this DRM is a piece of shit. But I don't really care since I found Ass Crease II to be...a boring piece of shit.

[coder0xff]

I should crack it.

Lol, no I'm just kidding. I like challenges, but the kind where I'm creating something novel and exciting - not trying to have a battle of wits with a whole team of software engineers.

I guarantee though, that it can (and prolly will) be done. And the fact that it is so aggressive means that crackers wont stop until they break it. it's like going on stage at Wrestle-Mania and saying, "bet you can't beat me." - not that I'm into that sort of thing.