Ubisoft PC sales down 90% since always on DRM was implemented

[zokudu]

I haven't bout any Ubi games because they all seem meh. Well i got the Prince of Persia collection on steam but if they released a game tomorrow I wanted to buy with the always on DRM I honestly don't think it would stop me from buying it.

 

[frozentundra123456]

They use to use securom till they started their always on BS and Punkbuster is a anti-cheat program, not DRM.

MMO/Multiplayer isn't comparable when you have always on DRM for a single player game. My internet is decent, it drops here and there for a minute or so sometimes but it does go do it at least once a week. I have no other choices though for internet where I live (besides satillte which isn't an option imo). So it isn't as easy as switching to another provider and many many people are in the same boat, one provider and that's it. Then to top it off, I do take my laptop and go to some places for a few days at a time that I do not have any net access at all. So not being able to bring along a game I want to play cause of always on DRM is a no go for me.

Even if I had perfect internet everywhere I went I still wouldn't buy always on DRM games out of principle though. It isn't right and there are plenty of others that don't have the luxury of a reliable net connection. People need to stop thinking about themselves only for everything and look at the big picture. If always on DRM games sell just as well or close to as well as non always on DRM games then nearly every game that comes in would soon have it. I'd rather give up gaming before being bent over like that.

Well I am clearly in the minority, and I wasnt really defending Ubisoft. I also know that Punkbuster is an anticheat program. However, I basically gave up playing some shooter, A COD game I believe, because it required punkbuster and it caused so many problems on my computer.

I guess I would disagree with you when you say "it isnt right" though to require an always on internet connection. I mean the publisher can make whatever conditions on the game they want. Conversely, as you say, you can refuse to buy the game in protest.

Perhaps one reason that I am not as upset as most is that there are not many Ubisoft games that interest me and I live in a large city and have a relatively reliable (but expensive) DSL internet.

Unfortunately, (because I prefer single player games also), MMOs, co-op, online multiplayer, and social games, etc are probably where PC gaming is going.

 

[Locut0s]

Any idea what caused the catastrophic drop then?

Their games are getting crappier? Like MikeG said no way a 90% drop in sales has anything to do with DRM. I would buy a 5-10% drop maybe, nothing more. Most people who buy games haven't even heard of the concept.

 

[Ross Ridge]

Their games are getting crappier? Like MikeG said no way a 90% drop in sales has anything to do with DRM. I would buy a 5-10% drop maybe, nothing more. Most people who buy games haven't even heard of the concept.

The average PC gamer isn't that ignorant. And anyone who's buys a Ubisoft PC game is going to quickly become aquainted with the concept.

 

[Attic]

Ever since Ubisoft upped the insanity with their DRM policies i've voted/vetoed all their games with my wallet. Splinter Cell Conviction was the first game that I avoided due to DRM despite wanting the game, there have been a few others.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Ever since Ubisoft upped the insanity with their DRM policies i've voted/vetoed all their games with my wallet. Splinter Cell Conviction was the first game that I avoided due to DRM despite wanting the game, there have been a few others.

You and all the others who feel the same way are certainly free to boycott Ubisoft games.
I am not sure that that tactic will change anything though.

If enough people quit buying their games on the PC, instead of changing or eliminating their DRM they might just quit making games for the PC altogether.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

You and all the others who feel the same way are certainly free to boycott Ubisoft games.
I am not sure that that tactic will change anything though.

If enough people quit buying their games on the PC, instead of changing or eliminating their DRM they might just quit making games for the PC altogether.

While there's a market for PC games someone will make them. I won't cry for ubisoft.

 

[coloumb]

You'd think after a game has been out for about a year - they'd get rid of the always on DRM and just perform a check during install. Heck - the latest Settlers was on sale for about $10 recently - is it really necessary to have always on DRM for a game that only costs $10 and has been out for quite sometime?

 

[RebelCapitalist]

Like most said, I think it's just because of so-so games.

They have a few interesting titles, but there's a lot of junk in there. Unless the market for Where's Waldo and Voodoo Dice is much larger than I realize.

I also agree that many or most pc gamers don't really pay attention to DRM (or know what it is) until something messes up. Those voting with their wallets are most likely a small blip on the revenue map in reality.

 

[Via]

I probably would have bought the latest Settler's game if not for the DRM.

 

[Ancalagon44]

*Puts on exec hat*

Clearly people are not buying our wonderful games because they are pirating them. Lets make even more intrusive DRM. From now on, all PC games will come with an anal probe that must be rectally inserted prior to playing the game.

 

[Locut0s]

*Puts on exec hat*

Clearly people are not buying our wonderful games because they are pirating them. Lets make even more intrusive DRM. From now on, all PC games will come with an anal probe that must be rectally inserted prior to playing the game.

That IS and issue. But I think the bigger one is

*insert anal probe
*identity recognized
*thank you for buying Labrador Retriever Sudoku 360!

 

[Sulaco]

I wont argue that their games are crappier but plenty of people have been voting with their wallet as well. I would have bought Silent Hunter 5...

Be glad you didn't.

Even without the DRM, it was a horrendously buggy, oversimplified bastardization of the franchise.
Better off with SH 3 or 4 and modding them

/rant

 

[Ross Ridge]

If enough people quit buying their games on the PC, instead of changing or eliminating their DRM they might just quit making games for the PC altogether.

Honestly, I think this is exactly what Ubisoft should do. If they can't figure out how to make money in the PC market, they can leave it to those that can, Activision/Blizzard, Valve, EA, 2K Games, Bethesda, Sega, etc...

 

[Locut0s]

Honestly, I think this is exactly what Ubisoft should do. If they can't figure out how to make money in the PC market, they can leave it to those that can, Activision/Blizzard, Valve, EA, 2K Games, Bethesda, Sega, etc...

Blizzard introduced the requirement for a persistent internet connection in DIII. Even if you are playing solo, if you lose your internet connection DIII kicks you out.

 

[HeXen]

the DRM of GTA 4 when it came out was atrocious. i had to wait 2 weeks for the first patch to come out before i could even get the game to run. 2 weeks!! wtf. even then it was a pain, had to have rockstar social club running just for that one game. i hear they cut that out with the latest patches though

the idea of always online doesnt bother me though...cause really you have to have always on for most everything else. Cell phones, ipads, laptops, Netflix..etc...well anything net related. even though the game is single play, the actual act of always on is nothing really these days.

were moving into more media requiring constant netz, like Streaming video which many are exclusivly using, no more land line phones..etc. Our whole world will one day require always on to do many things

 

[Ross Ridge]

Blizzard introduced the requirement for a persistent internet connection in DIII. Even if you are playing solo, if you lose your internet connection DIII kicks you out.

Sure, and if Diablo III flops while Blizzard touts how well their DRM has prevented piracy then maybe it'll be time for Activision/Blizzard to exit the PC market as well. The goal of a game publisher is to make money, the success of any DRM they might implement is judged solely on the net additional sales it generates. Publishers don't make money when someone decides not to pirate a game, they only make money when someone decides to buy it.

Any publisher that puts preventing piracy ahead of making money, like Ubisoft apparently, shouldn't be in the business.

 

[mussan]

As others have said, your connection can drop out and you're assed out, or even worse, when Ubisoft's servers crapped out and no one could play.

That's true. On the other hand, that will cause problems with single-player games also on e.g. Steam (which "no one" seems to have issues with), unless you have a crystal ball to see in the future so you have prepared your Steam games into offline mode beforehand, before the internet (or Steam server) outage hits you.

For these situations, the only "good" DRM would be one that requires online authentication only when you install a game, not when you start playing it, or even during the gameplay. Or no DRM at all, like www.gog.com or www.dotemu.com

 

[mussan]

the idea of always online doesnt bother me though...cause really you have to have always on for most everything else. Cell phones, ipads, laptops, Netflix..etc...well anything net related. even though the game is single play, the actual act of always on is nothing really these days.

Untrue. I use my gaming laptop lots of times in places were only very poor (GPRS) or no internet connection is available.

Same for the GPS navigator on my mobile phone, if it required constant net connection, I simply wouldn't be able to use it effectively where I need it the most, ie. abroad. GoogleMaps running on mobile phone was COMPLETELY useless abroad because it required constant net connection, thank god I had an offline navigator software as well to get me safely to my destinations. Especially if you go around in e.g. Europe, good luck trying to buy a prepaid net SIM that is valid in several European countries (with affordable prices, data roaming costs are insane!). Are you supposed to buy a new SIM whenever you cross a border?

Also, at least for me the data usage on mobile phone is not constant, ie. I definitely are not online all the time with it. I normally use net apps on it only shortly, just to check something quickly, after which the net connection is turned off automatically. Even all the games I have on my phone are offline-only, how come they don't require always-online as well, if it is so common as you claim?

Furthermore, I think we will see more and more monthly caps to internet usage from ISPs, when internet data usage keeps rising.

 

[mussan]

experience. It provides much general information.

"Experience" and "personal preference" are not synonyms.

 

[AdamK47]

The PC Gamer article is a very good and interesting read. I'll say that I don't have as a significant opposition to Ubisofts DRM as others do. I was very leary of it when it was first announced ~2 years ago. I'm lucky to have Internet access that rarely ever drops which does influence my opinion of it. When I play Splinter Cell Conviction or Assassins Creed 2 / Brotherhood, the experience would be the same as if I were playing a game without the DRM. My attention is never drawn to it when playing. Of course, if given the choice, I would rather the DRM not be there, but it does not hinder my experience. There are far worse DRM mechanisms out there in the form of console hardware. The thought of being trapped on ever aging hardware is frightening. The freedoms given to PC gamers is immensely greater when compared to console gamers.

 

[gothamhunter]

Their sales would be better if any of their games were worth buying.

I did buy Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes though

 

[Golgatha]

My experience is that people who are so clueless as to not even know what DRM is, are usually playing on consoles not on PC.

I would agree. Most of the people I know who are regular PC gamers know about and avoid DRM if at all possible. My solution for Ubisoft has been to not buy their PC games period, and rent or buy 2nd hand copies of the Assassin's Creed games. If Ubisoft goes bankrupt or exits the PC market due to my and others actions; so be it and good riddance to a cancer of the PC gaming industry.

 

[gothamhunter]

DRM doesn't bother me that much; I'll "put up with it" if the games are quality enough to, which they usually aren't, hence why the correlation with Ubisoft.

 

[Fayd]

looking at their game releases from 2009-present it looks more like they just don't release games that PC gamers are really interested in

http://store.steampowered.com/searc...rt_order=DESC&publisher=Ubisoft&category1=998

dunno...assassin's creed is pretty damn awesome.