Ubisoft pirates its own soundtrack for PC version of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

[AstroManLuca]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...dtrack-for-assassins-creed-brotherhood-pc.ars

Can't make this shit up.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is finally coming to the PC later this month, after hitting consoles last November. To make amends, the publisher is releasing a digital deluxe version of the game, complete with a wide range of extras, including a copy of the game's soundtrack. The problem? It looks like that soundtrack may actually be a torrented version.

As one Reddit user discovered after preordering the game, all but one of the soundtrack's 23 songs lists the phrase "encoded by Arsa13" in its ID3 tag. A quick search reveals several uploaded versions of the AC:B soundtrack that came packed with the collector's edition of the game on various torrents, attributed to one Arsa13.

So did Ubisoft actually take a pirated version of its own soundtrack to include as a bonus? It certainly looks that way, though the company doesn't seem to have much to say about it, telling Eurogamer simply that the situation is under investigation.

But this wouldn't be the first time that something like this happened. Back in 2008, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 users who had digital versions of the game were having issues, as the game required a disc to be playable. Ubisoft updated the game with a patch that allowed the game to be played without a disc. Problem was, that patch was actually created by pirate group Reloaded and used without attribution.

Ars has contacted Ubisoft for comment but has yet to hear back.

This is why I will never buy another Ubisoft game. Last time was when they had some of their older games on sale (Far Cry and Beyond Good & Evil). They haven't released anything worthwhile in years, to say nothing of their ridiculous (and as it turns out, hypocritical) stance on DRM.

 

[Kabob]

Wow...now that's just lazy.

 

[Red Storm]

LOL!

Keep up the good work Ubisoft. I don't buy your games but you supply me with plenty of laughs.

 

[Maximilian]

lmfao!! Wow i never knew about the reloaded patch they used heh, the patch team probably thought screw it this DRM is a waste of time lets just rename the reloaded patch and release it.

 

[smackababy]

This is why I love Ubisoft. They are morons.

 

[KaOTiK]

It would be nice to see Ubisoft go under. Let some good devs/publishers get a hold of some of their IP's. I'm sure Tom Clancy will cry a river of gold though.

 

[Childs]

This actually makes some sense. Someone was going to rip it and torrent it anyways, which they did. Ubisoft just made it easier for its customers to obtain it. Now you dont need to go to a torrent site and get porn popups and trojans.

And if arsa13 doesn't like it, he/she can take Ubisoft to court.

 

[zerocool84]

People need to stop supporting Ubisoft.

 

[AFurryReptile]

It would be nice to see Ubisoft go under. Let some good devs/publishers get a hold of some of their IP's. I'm sure Tom Clancy will cry a river of gold though.

No kidding. I miss the old Splinter Cell.

 

[Dumac]

Lol I don't see how this is an issue.

I think it is pretty ballsy (albeit lazy) on Ubisofts part, with lots of lulz included.

And if arsa13 doesn't like it, he/she can take Ubisoft to court.

Exactly haha

 

[KlokWyze]

I don't really see this as a major problem or anything. Just laziness.... and hilarity. :awe:

 

[Schadenfroh]

Hahaha, cannot make this stuff up.

Ubisoft... from Starforce to this, managed by fools.

 

[JSt0rm]

This is why I will never buy another Ubisoft game.

Really? Of all the reasons this is the one?

 

[Bateluer]

Stay classy, Ubi-Soft.

 

[Veliko]

So what? They already own the IP for the soundtrack so how can they pirate something they already own?

 

[Throckmorton]

So what? They already own the IP for the soundtrack so how can they pirate something they already own?

Why would they do that to begin with?

 

[smackababy]

Why would they do that to begin with?

Why would they pay someone to do it when a "pirate" would do it for free and give it away. Seems like a valid strategy. Its not like the guy can sue them.

 

[waggy]

I don't really see this as a major problem or anything. Just laziness.... and hilarity. :awe:

lol i think its great. what is the guy going to do? sue them?

 

[evident]

what good game has ubi soft made anyways besides rayman? and that wasn't even that good

 

[Malak]

It's not even lazy, it's just plain stupid. They already have the soundtrack, but they went out of their way to find a torrent. Whoever was responsible should be black listed in the gaming industry, don't know if I've ever seen something that stupid.

 

[Martimus]

It's not even lazy, it's just plain stupid. They already have the soundtrack, but they went out of their way to find a torrent. Whoever was responsible should be black listed in the gaming industry, don't know if I've ever seen something that stupid.

I think it is awesome. They use the guys work and use it for free. Since his work was illegal, and hurt them directly, it is kind of a F-U to the guy who did the work, since they are now profiting off of it and he can't do anything about it.

At the same time, I still won't buy any Ubisoft games that have any of that ridiculous DRM they implemented.

 

[Veliko]

It's not even lazy, it's just plain stupid. They already have the soundtrack, but they went out of their way to find a torrent. Whoever was responsible should be black listed in the gaming industry, don't know if I've ever seen something that stupid.

Who is 'they'? The person in charge of getting the soundtrack may not have even had easy access to the files.

What should 'they' be blacklisted?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Really? Of all the reasons this is the one?

No, there are a lot of reasons. 1. Their games all suck. 2. Overly restrictive DRM (constant internet connection required). 3. They are stupid. Pirating their own soundtrack, oh and not even bothering to remove the CD check in a digital version of one of their games and instead pushing out a warezer-made no-CD crack to customers? It's just a symptom of a problem.

what good game has ubi soft made anyways besides rayman? and that wasn't even that good

I know right? Some of the Splinter Cell games were good I guess. And people seem to like the more recent Assassin's Creed games. Doesn't seem like I'm missing out on much by avoiding them.

It's not even lazy, it's just plain stupid. They already have the soundtrack, but they went out of their way to find a torrent. Whoever was responsible should be black listed in the gaming industry, don't know if I've ever seen something that stupid.

I'm guessing it was one person's decision, not a group decision. I doubt they had a meeting one day and were all "okay we need the soundtrack, I know let's download it from a torrent site." They likely put it on one guy's to-do list and instead of getting the files he just torrented them. So maybe it's not Ubisoft's fault per se, but it still reflects poorly on them that they're so badly organized they can't even get the soundtrack to the guy responsible for putting everything together!

Anyway, here's an issue - when he downloaded that soundtrack, he likely uploaded at least some of it too, unless he set his BitTorrent client to never upload. And that's one of the game industry's criticisms of BitTorrent - not just that people are downloading copyrighted content, but that they are uploading content as well. It's how they go after people - they go after the uploaders first. And now at least one Ubisoft employee is most likely guilty of uploading his own company's copyrighted content to several people on the internet who didn't pay for it.

 

[Veliko]

I'm guessing it was one person's decision, not a group decision. I doubt they had a meeting one day and were all "okay we need the soundtrack, I know let's download it from a torrent site." They likely put it on one guy's to-do list and instead of getting the files he just torrented them. So maybe it's not Ubisoft's fault per se, but it still reflects poorly on them that they're so badly organized they can't even get the soundtrack to the guy responsible for putting everything together!

Anyway, here's an issue - when he downloaded that soundtrack, he likely uploaded at least some of it too, unless he set his BitTorrent client to never upload. And that's one of the game industry's criticisms of BitTorrent - not just that people are downloading copyrighted content, but that they are uploading content as well. It's how they go after people - they go after the uploaders first. And now at least one Ubisoft employee is most likely guilty of uploading his own company's copyrighted content to several people on the internet who didn't pay for it.

Ubisoft own the copyright so it would actually be legal for them to upload the soundtrack.

 

[JujuFish]

No, there are a lot of reasons. 1. Their games all suck.

The Assassin's Creed series has been fun, particularly 2, and I am looking forward to Brotherhood. I've also enjoyed the Prince of Persia series.

2. Overly restrictive DRM (constant internet connection required).

They removed the requirement of a constant internet connection (at least on AC2, the only game I've played with that DRM). You still need to be connected when you start the game, but it's significantly less restrictive now.

3. They are stupid.

I won't argue with this.