Despite all the nerd hate, I think this DRM eventually succeeds.
As a reformed Everquest addict I've spent thousands of hours with a system that requires a constant internet connection. Yes, there were errors, and yes we bitched about it ferociously, but the complaints were quickly forgotten because the vast majority of the time it just worked.
I think if Ubisoft or the next dev team manages a technically sound implementation that is noninvasive and generally reliable it will succeed. Not only that, it will be a huge cash cow when they license it to others.
In BS sessions with friends I've long proclaimed this system was coming. I'll go out on a limb and say that by the end of the decade even your mobile devices will require always on internet to play your media. I'll preempt one objection by suggesting that populations in geographies where this won't be possible don't have enough money to effect the market anyway.
So long as there are competing media authentication services so the consumer isn't too abused, I think this may even be a boon. How nice will it be to stream a song you bought on your desktop, ipod, car, phone, jetpack, etc without any copying or config, just a login?
Slashdot Mirror
Despite all the nerd hate, I think this DRM eventually succeeds. As a reformed Everquest addict I've spent thousands of hours with a system that requires a constant internet connection. Yes, there were errors, and yes we bitched about it ferociously, but the complaints were quickly forgotten because the vast majority of the time it just worked. I think if Ubisoft or the next dev team manages a technically sound implementation that is noninvasive and generally reliable it will succeed. Not only that, it will be a huge cash cow when they license it to others. In BS sessions with friends I've long proclaimed this system was coming. I'll go out on a limb and say that by the end of the decade even your mobile devices will require always on internet to play your media. I'll preempt one objection by suggesting that populations in geographies where this won't be possible don't have enough money to effect the market anyway. So long as there are competing media authentication services so the consumer isn't too abused, I think this may even be a boon. How nice will it be to stream a song you bought on your desktop, ipod, car, phone, jetpack, etc without any copying or config, just a login?