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Always On DRM Dropped for Driver, Replaced by On-At-Launch DRM

mindcycle

mindcycle

Golden Member
Ubisoft has heard the complaints about its decision to force Driver: San Francisco players on PC to be online at all times, and it's opted to ditch that particular requirement.

That's the good news.

The bad news is another form of DRM is replacing it, albeit one that is slightly less intrusive. In order to play Driver, you'll need to be connected to the Internet when you first launch the game, according to a Rock, Paper, Shotgun report confirmed with Ubisoft by 1UP. Once a connection is made, you're free to disconnect from the web and play for as long as you wish. Until the next time you wish to play, that is, when you'll have to be connected once again.
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It's a step in the right direction, for sure, it's just not big enough of one. These restrictions hurt only those who pay for the right to play the game, while those who resort to illegally downloading it -- as seen in the past -- end up with cracked copies that are free of these hindrances. Previously, we've even seen paying customers suffer when hackers attacked Ubisoft servers, thereby preventing gamers from being able to play because they couldn't get the server to authorize their game.
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Read the full article here:
http://www.1up.com/news/always-on-drm-dropped-driver-replaced-on-at-launch
 
Easy enough solution. Don't buy. I don't understand why people don't grasp that concept.

Marketing is marketing. They said that to get preorders up. Which is another thing people don't seem to grasp. Screw preorders. Sheeple.
 
Well, seeing that just as of today, Ubisoft misrepresented the type of DRM being used in the game "From Dust" and Steam is actively taking refunds right now because of it, it's gonna be just a liiiitttlllee harder for me trust them this time.
 
I think Ubisoft has finally moved well beyond EA. Their antagonistic attitude towards PC gamers really is unprecedented. Their PC products usually ship late, still in an unfinished state. At the point of which many tiles have obvious game breaking bugs. Then they don't support the title via patches until much later if at all. There isn't the same level of quality control that goes into PC development as there is on consoles. Far from it. They've released a number of games that were virtually unplayable at launch due to bugs, and they continue to do so. The poorly done port of From Dust shows they've made no effort to correct these issues.

The always-on DRM is just a final middle finger to PC gamers. Universally reviled by gamers and the press, with no proof that it actually works. Despite more user friendly alternatives, like Steam, they continue to push it. The number who leak copies onto torrents is probably quite small. Piracy is an issue but this seems overkill. It's the equivalent of Walmart putting miniguns at the door to take out shoplifters. One plausible conspiracy I've heard is the DRM functions to collect usage data. In a way, that makes sense. See who is playing the game, when, where, how often, and how much.

It's pretty clear that Ubisoft doesn't trust PC gamers, nor do they have much interest in developing for the platform. Makes me wonder why they don't drop PC entirely and focus on consoles. Don't get me wrong, I do like some of their games. Assassin's Creed 2 was nothing short of masterful. I'm just tired of putting up with these shenanigans.
 
LessThanDan said:
Well, seeing that just as of today, Ubisoft misrepresented the type of DRM being used in the game "From Dust" and Steam is actively taking refunds right now because of it, it's gonna be just a liiiitttlllee harder for me trust them this time.
Click to expand...

crap 🙁 - pre-ordered that game via steam, now hear it has crapular DRM as well? Guessing I best hop in line for a refund 🙁

well, I'll read about it first, but work's internet has any site that would tell me blocked 🙁
 
Fuck Ubisoft in their stupid asses. I used to like them and the games they released, but that's going too far. It's bait and switch and we consumers shouldn't put up with that at all. I would like to hope that maybe gamers will start to realize we don't have to put up with this type of stuff and stop buying shitty Ubisoft products. But I know that won't be the case.
 
I just recently started playing Assassin's Creed 2 (on steam) and aside from having to create a login to play, I don't see a problem with the DRM. I've never noticed it.
 
Well that doesn't change much. If you have to be connected whenever the game is launched, then you're fucked if you have an intermittent connection. Just slightly less fucked.

Isn't the big issue that deployed troops are unable to play games with this kind of DRM? They never have internet access on their own computers, even sporadically.

Oh well, I haven't bought an Ubisoft game in years, and I don't intend to start anytime soon. I'm missing out on, what, Assassin's Creed? Do they have any other games of note? I guess Splinter Cell, I dunno, never played it myself.
 
A shame because I'm really enjoying the Assassin's Creed 2 story line. I guess I'll just buy Ubi games used on console. Maybe.
 
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@DaveSimmons - thanks for posting the ars technica article. It's pretty interesting to read about the lengths they'll go to back up their broken DRM.
 
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