Slashdot Mirror
Future Ubisoft Games To Require Constant Internet Access
Following up on our discussion yesterday of annoying game distribution platforms, Ubisoft has announced the details of their Online Services Platform, which they will use to distribute and administer future PC game releases. The platform will require internet access in order to play installed games, saved games will be stored remotely, and the game you're playing will even pause and try to reconnect if your connection is lost during play. Quoting Rock, Paper, Shotgun:
"This seems like such a bizarre, bewildering backward step. Of course we haven't experienced it yet, but based on Ubi’s own description of the system so many concerns arise. Yes, certainly, most people have the internet all the time on their PCs. But not all people. So already a percentage of the audience is lost. Then comes those who own gaming laptops, who now will not be able to play games on trains, buses, in the park, or anywhere they may not be able to find a WiFi connection (something that’s rarely free in the UK, of course – fancy paying the £10/hour in the airport to play your Ubisoft game?). Then there's the day your internet is down, and the engineers can’t come out to fix it until tomorrow. No game for you. Or any of the dozens of other situations when the internet is not available to a player. But further, there are people who do not wish to let a publisher know their private gaming habits. People who do not wish to report in to a company they’ve no affiliation with, nor accountability to, whenever they play a game they’ve legally bought. People who don’t want their save data stored remotely. This new system renders all customers beholden to Ubisoft in perpetuity whenever they buy their games."
I think the rampant PC game piracy (almost 80-90%) can be blamed for this somewhat. The best battle against piracy is to make the game use online features as much as possible. It will require complete rewrite of the back-end systems or the game code to get those features in pirated version and that is a huge amount of work. Just look at how succesful MMO's and online multiplayer games are with this. This is just taking it to next level and protecting the single player games too.
While this will be little pain in the ass for some customers too, something definitely needs to be done for PC piracy. The profit margins could be really improved if it was impossible to pirate games, resulting in better and more games. There would be more indie games released too, because publishers would be able to take more risks. Otherwise the publishers will just forget about PC gaming and make games for consoles. MW2 was already a little bit in to that direction.
At least they're stated this (which can be considered legally binding)
What if Ubisoft decides not run these online services in the future? Will my game stop working?
Ubisoft is committed to being a forerunner in providing new exciting online service. If any service is stopped, we will create a patch for the game so that the core game play will not be affected.
Pirated games treat me like admin of my own computer.
Unfortunately, pirate games also often have accompanying software which allows other people to be even more of an admin of your computer.
I literally don't want just these publisher's games cracked and released to the masses but I want these companies to suffer and go out of business entirely.
Piracy is the reason why AC2 haven't been released on PC yet. They like to give consoles a few months ahead so they get most of the sales and people won't just pirate it for PC.
Seriously, every publisher will start doing this and ignoring PC market if PC players continue pirating their titles. If you care for playing games on your computer or getting PC-exclusives (already non-existent), people need to stop pirating games and start buying them.
For one thing, having to go on line prevents parents with multiple children from enjoying multi-computer games with them.
So that's the reason that PC games, even those rated E or E10+, tend not to include modes designed for multiple USB game controllers and a 32" monitor.