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Ubisoft Has Windows-Style Hardware-Based DRM For Games
New submitter Man Eating Duck writes "Guru3D describes how the activation system in Ubisoft's RTS game Anno 2070 also tracks hardware changes: 'So yesterday I started working on a performance review. We know (well, at least we figured we knew), that the game key can be used on three systems. That's fair; the first activation is used on my personal game rig. The second we installed on the AMD Radeon graphics test PC and the 3rd on our NVIDIA graphics test PC. ... For the NVIDIA setup I take out the GTX 580, and insert a GTX 590. When I now startup the game, 'BAM', again an activation is required. Once again I fill out the key, and now Ubisoft is thanking me with the message that I ran out of activations.' Guru3D subsequently discovered that Ubisoft was less than helpful: 'Sorry to disappoint you — the game is indeed restricted to 3 hardware changes and there simply is no way to bypass that.' I, and many with me, will never buy games with such a draconian DRM scheme, as it's very likely that I'll swap out enough components to run into this issue. Even the Steam version includes this nice 'feature.' It's probably a good idea to let Ubisoft know why we'll pass on this title."
At least we don't have to put up with too much of this activation DRM hassle on the console versions...for now anyway. Of course, consoles do tend to follow on the heels of PC developments. And you can bet Ubisoft and other developers would love nothing more than killing off the secondary and rental market for consoles the same way they've killed them off for the PC market. I don't look forward to a day when I start up and console game and it saying "Sorry, you need an internet connection to activate this game," or the day when I can't loan a game to a friend or sell it (or buy it) used.
I'm not a pirate, but I can definitely understand why some otherwise honest people might turn to it (in light of the way honest people get screwed these days).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
When some idiot from ubisoft execs or something told that 'Game demos are a thing of the past' a year or so ago - when ubisoft was again throwing around drm stuff and accusing demos for piracy or this or that :
"As long as razor1911 has anything to say about it, we will have game demos..."
i think that applies to this situation as well.
Read radical news here
the effort to control game piracy through DRM is futile.
The only thing that might work is if you keep the game online either by not releasing the server code for a multiplayer game or keep the the whole thing on line by using a system like OnLive to keep the whole game code in the cloud.
Short of that... it will be pirated.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
When I pirated the game, it didn't have that restriction.
If this isn't made clear to consumers before purchasing -- or licensing, I guess -- the game, this is a great opportunity to make DRM even less profitable for Ubisoft:
1) Buy game. Keep receipt and copy of terms.
2) (Legitimately) Update/change your hardware more than 3 times over the course of a a year or two
3) When the game stops working, ask for an activation
4) When they decline, ask for a refund
5) When they decline, sue in your local small claims court. It's usually free to do
6) Let Ubisoft either issue thousands of refunds or defend thousands of small claims cases
(Note that if the issue is described but is buried in fine print or displayed as grey-on-black, it's likely still arguable as such a material condition that hiding it is itself deceptive).
The ability to mod games & to use a mouse & keyboard are the main reasons I'll never bother with a console.
That being said, I swore off Ubisoft sometime after they ruined the Might & Magic franchise.
There is a war going on for your mind.
These guys are walking billboards highlighting the value of Steam vs the crap DRM-ware of Ubi, Origin, MS Games, etc.
I was stuck at the office very, very late one night. Nothing to do. So I logged into Steam, downloaded a game I owned ("Bloody Good Time", excellent FWIW), and played a while until I could get of there.
The MBA's at Ubu/EA/MS would explode at the very concept. And it is why I will be spending my money at Steam.
(And Gabe, if you read this, I can haz HL2e3/HL3 now plz?)
People bitch about Windows activation, but on the few occasions I've experienced where Windows needed to be re-activated because of a hardware change, the process was completely painless. As in, "I'm helping out my mom on Christmas Eve and dinner is going to be served in a half hour" painless.
The first couple of times I called, I spoke to an Indian man who asked me a few questions and gave me a code. More recently, it was a fully automated system. I don't think the process has ever taken as much as five minutes from beginning to end. It seems to me the for individual users, Windows Activation is more of a way to scold you than anything else: "You do know you're only allowed to use this copy of Windows on one computer... right?"
Now, if Ubisoft is really claiming that you get three activations and after that your software is useless, well, that seems like something else entirely.
Breakfast served all day!
"Sadly, all four games from Ubisoft used in our benchmark failed to work on six out of our nine configurations."
Ezekiel 23:20
I'm surprised that Steam allows the additional DRM scheme on top of the Steam system. It totally wrecks the value of Steam. Now we have to research which titles are draconian before a Steam purchase. I haven't really worried about it up to this point.
The worst is they never seem to respond to the customers needs. I have Heroes VI (one of the games with the always networked DRM of horribleness). I bought it for christmas and there was a period of 36 hours straight where the server was down. There were three separate days where it was down for at least an hour. And this primarily a single player game. The reviews for Heroes VI on Amazon almost all complain about the DRM and it has 2.5 stars as a result. At this point, there seems to be nothing to do except to refrain from purchasing from them until they go belly up.
I dont bother with ubisoft games anymore, I wont even waste my time pirating them because THEY NO LONGER EXIST outside of the fact that people should know that Nazisoft is a worthless shit company who blames all their problems on piracy and not the fact that 99% of their games suck donkey dick.
The article has an update:
Update monday Jan 16 - 2012: We have been contacted by bluebyte over the weekend, the company that developed the Anno series. Our key has been pretty much unlocked allowing us to properly work on this article. To be continued ....
Uh, NO, NO, NO! Ubisoft and other vendors will continue this trend of archaic stupid DRM until it hits them in the wallet. The 'review' industry should take a stance - no reviews, no press, nothing, until Ubisoft (and any other vendors that do this kind of shit) stop the excessive DRM.
Do you really think the developer of the game will give out an 'unlocked' code to anyone OTHER than a high-profile website reviewer? What if you ran into this at home, which with a grand total of 3 registration attempts, is easy to do over the course of a short period of time: "When contacting Ubisoft marketing here in the Netherlands, their reply goes like this: 'Sorry to disappoint you - the game is indeed restricted to 3 hardware changes and there simply is no way to bypass that. We also do not have 7 copies of the game for you'.:"
THATS what average joe-user will get, a simple 'tough shit'. STOP REVIEWING THEIR GAMES
To answer your question, no you cannot buy the same game twice; even if bought retail you cannot register two keys to the same account.
You would have to make a second account for the second key/copy.
Consoles aren't general purpose, they're game appliances.
DRM on the console won't interfere with my ability to do other things that aren't related to games.
THIS. This shit right here is what _creates_ people who pirate software. Not because it is "free", but because it is FREE OF RESTRICTIONS on what I can do with the software that I (would have) legally paid for and own.
Hey, Ubisoft employees! Start thanking your bosses now for the loss of your jobs, especially those in the PC gaming section. I have a business idea for you: Start a new gaming company with the best and brightest among you and put out your games for the PC market WITHOUT DRM of any kind. Skip the major distributor route (no EA, no Ubisoft, no Company X). Put it on Steam. Put it out at a good price (_not_ $59.99 US). Put in GOOD game play with replayability. We will fill your coffers with gold and jewels.
Those that ultimately pirate your title? Well, fuck em because they were never going to pay for it anyway. They aren't a lost sale, they are just lost.
Dream as if you'll live forever.
Live as if you'll die tomorrow.
~Anonymous~
Indy gaming is why to stick with the PC. It's inexpensive and user-centric, compared to $60+ DRM'd AAA titles.
-- "Oh. This guy again."
Rant and rave about Windows DRM all you want, but the way Windows activation was designed, it actually appears intended to stop piracy. You activate once, and store that hardware key on their validation servers. It doesn't repeatedly poll the server to ensure validation, it only gets used during updates, and it will only block a new update until you re-activate. If you change hardware after a certain amount of time, it will allow you to validate a new install, invalidating and blocking updates on the old install. If you do so before that certain amount of time, all you have to do is call a number, claim you replaced hardware, and replace the existing validation. They're not going to care unless you start doing that multiple times each month.
This, you get three times, period. There is no expiry period. There is no way to call and flush out an old install. Three times, and then the product is dead. This sounds more like a mechanism to prevent resale of games, rather than a way to prevent piracy. How dare someone else get to play the game without paying them additional money! Just wait until they start requiring a webcam, so they can perform facial recognition and ensure you are the only one playing the game.
I've actually spent quite some money recently on games produced by EA and Ubisoft. When I learnt about the bad behaviour of the Ubisoft activation scheme, I stopped playing the game immediately and reinstalled my workstation to clean up. Shortly afterwards I wanted to sell an EA game and got told on the hotline that there is no way I can transfer the activation key to another Origin account (Steam à la EA, with lots of privacy issues). I told them they have just lost a customer who paid lots and lots of money for their games. Because of the privacy issues I again reinstalled my system and I will not buy games from large producers anymore. I will either choose DRM free indie games, or ... well you know what the other option is.
Video game industry, you can thank EA and Ubisoft for not getting any money from me anymore.
In the adult industry the trick of the trade is to show just enough free content to convert people who want to see more without giving them to much. The to much is very simple, if they "come" before they join, they don't join.
Conversion ratios are very low, 1% would make many an adult web site owner cream his pants. But the idea that you can get 100% if only you do X has yet to take hold although companies that sell anti-piracy scams sure are trying.
PC gaming has a LOT of "gamers" who want to try a game, or have zero budget. They are the equivelant of kiddies watching the scambled porn channel for just enough signal to "get off". People with ancient PC's downloading games they can't play or afford. There is no way to convert them to paying customers but the anti-piracy scam industry, the makers of DRM or the anti-piracy lawyers, sell the idea that those 1 million downloads from brazil where computers are 486's for the rich can be turned into paying customers for Crysis 2.
The proof? I got none EXCEPT that completely and utterly crap games or very early releases that barely work or 3D CAD software only people with engineering degrees can use are STILL downloaded in their millions. I am not saying piracy doesn't have an effect, I myself pirate games I once would have bought because the companies behavior disgusts me (Bethseda, fuck you and your horse armor) but its total effect is over-rated. A game like Anno 2070 has a niche appeal, a lot of the people downloading it just don't really want to play it, they are not even trying it out as a demo, they just want the "street cred" for having had it, played an hour or so and then discard it. Ubisoft might be having a wet dream that if there is no option to pirate it, then they would pay full price for it, but that just isn't there.
If piracy goes away, the sales might double, that sounds amazing but Ubisoft is dreaming of a 1000% increase, remember that they think every illegal download is a missed sale. But with DRM sales actually decrease because for a lot of people, they just got to many bad experiences. Like me and Betsheda game.I am not even bothering with a single player RPG anymore until it latest "expansion" pack has been announced and someone wrapped it all up with some user made bug fixes and released it. The pirate experience both in DRM and in getting the "whole" game has become fastly superior to the bought experience. Smart move Betsheda in limiting certain starter packs to certain regions, gods knows RPG players are not known for being completionists who want to experience everything and so you force them to pirate sides to get content already included in the game but withheld from them because they bought it at store X instead of store Y. That is like forcing a good kid to get his coca-cola from the coke dealer because you don't want them to know about drugs. No that makes no sense and neither does region restricted content in the modern age.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I was talking about games that use Steam DRM, vs just the Steam store. The only two non-Steam games I have are Fallout 3 and Arkham Asylum. Past that, if you don't use Steam DRM, I don't buy it. Respect your customer, or you won't have customers.
DRM on the console won't interfere with my ability to do other things that aren't related to games.
You mean like installing Linux?
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
Many pirates pirate because of DRM. Some also pirate out of an interest in trying the game before buying it, some because they feel entitled to their license even though the CD got scratched, some because they have no disposable income of their own (or no room in their budget for it), and some out of sheer sloth/greed.
But to say that DRM doesn't create pirates is to completely fail to grasp some of the most basic principles that drive human behavior.
Would I ever purchase Skyrim on a console when the PC version allows mods, better graphics, etc? No.
Would I ever purchase Madden on the PC and play with mouse and keyboard rather than on my PS3 and big screen? No.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
That kid you knew in pre-school who, when the square peg didn't fit in the round hole, first tried to force it in until his fingers were bloodied and then finally hammered it in with his forehead? He grew up to be the CEO of Ubisoft.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Sony put Linux on the PS3 solely to avoid EU taxes that apply to consoles, by pretending that it's a general computing device.