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Thread: Future Ubisoft Games To Require Constant Internet Access [Slashdot]

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    Post Future Ubisoft Games To Require Constant Internet Access [Slashdot]

    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."
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    Pretzel (Level 4) shopkins's Avatar
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    Now this really is bullshit. I hope they don't try to do this on consoles. My internet isn't the most reliable thing in the world and I don't always leave my consoles hooked to it anyway. Even with my PC it's been off for days a couple of times.

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    Looks like I won't be buying Ubisoft PC games any time soon.

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    Didn't this happen with the Ghostbusters PC game? Where you have to be online for the game to work.

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    I know some developers have seen this as the only way to completely combat piracy. The article doesn't say but I wonder if that's the reason.
    "Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...

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    I understand the desire to combat piracy but this anti piracy stuff is just getting a little bit extreme. What happens if Ubisoft goes under someday; will you be able to play the game anymore? Of course I suppose they don't really care if you can play it if they're out of business....
    It really doesn't matter what companies do, pirates will always find a way to overcome obstacles. But should the regular consumer suffer because of it?
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    I have got to the point where I don't get worked up about this crap anymore.

    Because it is obvious to me that companies do not want me to spend money on their games anymore.

    Possibility is infinity! You must be satisfied!

    You just can't handle my jawusumness responces. -The Sizz



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    So now its like this... Instead of being able to play the game whenever you want, you must have stable, fast internet in order to do so. Ugh.
    DERP

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    This is an issue until, ya know. Cracks are made.

    I don't bother playing my legit copies of games with their CD-ROM in the drive; I just mount an image of the disc and use that, or a NoCD crack. These won't be any different.

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    I will certainly not be purchasing a single game that does this. They are out of their minds.
    Last edited by j_factor; 01-27-2010 at 11:49 PM.

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    So their solution to piracy is...irony?

    I don't see how this could do anything but encourage piracy by alienating the very people that buy their games.

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    I'd be more upset if I cared about ubisoft. It's great to see a company kill off an entire market.

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    Ubisoft is just a publisher right? If they go under some other company would publish the games instead.

    From their own FAQ;
    http://support.uk.ubi.com/online-services-platform/

    Can I resell my game?
    Not at this time.

    Can I resell my game along with my Ubisoft account?
    Your Ubisoft account features your personal data and cannot be given or sold to anyone.

    Do you plan to implement this system on home consoles?
    This system is for PCs only.

    Why is Ubisoft forcing their loyal customers to sign up for a Ubisoft account when they don't want to give their private data and only play single player games?
    We hope that customers will feel as we do, that signing up for an account will offer them exceptional gameplay and services that are not available otherwise.

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    Can I resell my game?
    Not until we find a way to make money from it.

    Can I resell my game along with my Ubisoft account?
    What? Do you think that you actually own the game?!

    Do you plan to implement this system on home consoles?
    Eventually.

    Why is Ubisoft forcing their loyal customers to sign up for a Ubisoft account when they don't want to give their private data and only play single player games?
    Because we own the game, you and your first born son.
    Fixed.
    Mario says "... if you do drugs, you go to hell before you die."

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    At least this doesn't install a rootkit, which can potentially screw up your PC or limits the amount of times you can install the games like some EA games ..so I guess it makes it better... Nah it still fucking sucks.

    I don't mind needing to have an internet connection to start the game, sorta like the way Steam works. But for everything else, it's just going to make the piracy problem a bigger one for them.

    Ubisoft is just a publisher right? If they go under some other company would publish the games instead.
    They are both, publisher and developer and you can add idiots to their title now.

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    I like how such methods in the industry are satired in mgs4.
    U GAIZ JUST DONT LIKE CHANGE , (builds a artificial foundation here)

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    This is why if I'm playing a game on the PC, it's pirated. If it's on console, I bought it.

    Other than a few gems.

    Fuck them :P
    <Sothy> its the internet <Sothy> who cares

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    Actually, I've heard that this new method that they are using could make pirating the game "extremely" difficult. I will admit to not understanding the whole technical method behind it, but the way I understand it, in laymans terms it works like this:


    The reason you need a constant internet connection for the game to work, is that bits and pieces of the game are streamed to your PC, and installed "temporarily", seconds before they are needed for the game to function properly. Thus, you lose your internet connection temporarily, and the game is automatically paused. The reason the game is paused, is because the game needs these "bits of code", to function. If you lose your internet connection, then it doesn't get these bits of code, and the game becomes unplayable. Another way to think about this is kinda similar to the whole "OnLive" thing. With OnLive, you aren't actually playing a game on your computer, the game is streamed to your computer, and you're playing it from a remote server. This isn't exactly how the Ubisoft thing is going to work, but it's somewhat similar in theory. Supposedly, about 95 percent or more of the game code will be on your computer, but the other 5 percent (or less), won't be. This small amount of data that is critical for the game to function, will be streamed to you, just ahead of the time in which it's needed for the game to function. This is why you need to "always" be connected for the game to work.

    Now, will it be completely impossible for hackers to get around this type of security? Probably not. But, I've heard that if hackers are able to get around this issue, to play the game, they might actually be able to play the game, but they will end up playing a busted, incomplete game. Imagine, playing certain levels where the enemies are completely missing from the level. It could end up being something along those lines.

    I will say that everything that I've said above could be 100 percent inaccurate, but I was on another message board, and this is what people were talking about. This is how they kinda explained what Ubisoft is actually doing here. It's sounds really harsh for Ubisoft to take such measures, but hey, I don't really blame them. Piracy on PC is pretty rampant. Probably almost half the people playing their latest games on PC aren't paying for them. They feel like they got to do something drastic to change this, and this is definitely a drastic measure, but I give them credit for having the balls to actually try this. The key factor is whether or not this actually truly eliminates the ability for pirates to hack it. If it really does, then I think their efforts are justified considering the climate of piracy on PC. If it doesn't work, then it's just something that is going to really piss off their legitimate customers.

    We'll have to wait and see what happens. The bigger question is when is this going to hit the home consoles? Could Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo get away with requiring an always active internet connection to be able to play your games?
    Last edited by WCP; 01-28-2010 at 01:21 AM.

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    It was awfully nice of Ubisoft to design a system for PC gaming expressly to make me either pirate the game or just not play it at all. Swell guys.
    scooterb: "I once shot a man in Catan, just to watch him die."

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    It needs to be posted:


    Possibility is infinity! You must be satisfied!

    You just can't handle my jawusumness responces. -The Sizz



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