Ubisoft sees decline in piracy thanks to draconian DRM

Ubisoft has been in the headlines the last year due to its use of DRM that requires an "always-on" Internet connection.

If you ever have a connection hiccup, or just plain lose service, you are returned to the main menu. With the DRM, you cannot play games offline, even in "single player" modes. This has happened multiple times where an Ubisoft authorization server has gone down, leaving legitimate players standing idle while those with pirated copies play happily.

The most recent game to feature the DRM is "Driver: San Francisco," which will launch in August.

In an interview with PCG, the developer says the DRM has been a success, seeing "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection."

Despite the outcry over the DRM, it appears Ubisoft believes it is here to stay.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2011 17:01

HxCMANIAC

They've probably seen a decline in sales overall, too.

29.7.2011 17:05 #1

leviticus

Haven't kept up/read much with this new DRM...But give it time and there will be a work-around, if there isn't one already.

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29.7.2011 17:06 #2

statomike

Originally posted by HxCMANIAC: They've probably seen a decline in sales overall, too. Yes, I think Ubisoft will see decline in everything. Then again, exactly how do you measure "decline in piracy," anyway? I really wouldn't trust Ubisoft to know that. To my knowledge, their DRM games were all cracked anyway.

This is the kind of misleading statement that Ubi management need in order to justify their decisions internally and externally.

29.7.2011 17:40 #3

Frogfart

I don't buy their stuff any more because all in our house are getting older and getting past gaming. The hurdles that you have to go over just to play a game are self defeating and DRM has ruined gaming.
If piracy is so bad why has gaming grown into such a massive industry year after year? The entertainment industry is like Banking and full of greedy bastards who want a luxury yacht in every port and a limo to take them to their private plane filled with whores.......... End of rant!............NO!...EAT THE RICH!

29.7.2011 18:25 #4

KillerBug

I know I did my part...skipped buying 4 different games when they were $60 (I won't buy them at all)...and they didn't all have always-on DRM...they were just made by Ubisoft. If I do get an Ubisoft game, it will be with piracy (even if I buy the game, I'll still get the pirate version without DRM).

If piracy really did go down (I can't imagine how it could), it did not translate to extra sales...so the DRM cost them customers, licensing fees, and server costs...and all it managed to do was to make some of their games less appealing to pirates because they were less appealing to everyone. Great work Ubisoft.

29.7.2011 21:45 #5

llongtheD

Nice work Ubisoft, you lost me as a customer as well. I will also not play a ubisoft game unless it has been stripped of its DRM. When will these idiots learn that they really only inconvenience the paying customer? The people that know how to get access to the drm free pirated copies were never going to buy your product anyway.

If your fish seems sick, put it back in the water.

30.7.2011 02:23 #6

Mik3h

It's funny but we are exposed to so much DRM now that it is incredible. If you use an iphone, you contribute to the DRM, Apple is just as bad as Ubisoft with DRM. Buy some songs on iTunes? It's locked to an iProduct. Transfer songs to phone? Must be done through iTunes. Use as mass storage device? Nope, Steven Jobs says you aren't allowed to.

I make a point of boycotting any kind of product with this kind of DRM-over saturation.

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30.7.2011 05:31 #7

llongtheD

Originally posted by Mik3h: It's funny but we are exposed to so much DRM now that it is incredible. If you use an iphone, you contribute to the DRM, Apple is just as bad as Ubisoft with DRM. Buy some songs on iTunes? It's locked to an iProduct. Transfer songs to phone? Must be done through iTunes. Use as mass storage device? Nope, Steven Jobs says you aren't allowed to.

I make a point of boycotting any kind of product with this kind of DRM-over saturation. Your right, and these large companies think we should always rent our media instead of own it. It's unfortunate that until people wake up to this and stop renting, it will only get worse.

If your fish seems sick, put it back in the water.

30.7.2011 05:42 #8

buxtahuda

I do wish they'd stop. I've enjoyed quite a few Ubisoft titles over the years, and I've seen a couple on the way that seem decent; but I refuse to give them money. I've always pirated (been here since the start, not going anywhere) and I've always paid for the content I deemed good enough to keep. But they made sure that wouldn't happen for their products, and now I won't even pick up a controller/keyboard if their name is on the game.

So yeah, decline in piracy of their games maybe, but a complete falling-out of interest in their games. Killing themselves.

~*Livin' Electronicallly*~

30.7.2011 08:43 #9

JGJD2001

the funny thing in this article is that they claim that piracy is down....but how did they measure this ?

i mean they probably had like i don't know 200 people buy the game and those 200 abide by the always on DRM connection to their servers.....while there are probably 1000's that play it offline without the need to connect to their servers and stay off their radar.

ubisoft is just killing all their fanbase, some days i want to play in the garden with my laptop and my wifi sometimes loses signal...so i am punished by them.....im not ever buying anything that needs an always on connection.

30.7.2011 10:18 #10

buxtahuda

Originally posted by llongtheD: and these large companies think we should always rent our media instead of own it. It's unfortunate that until people wake up to this and stop renting, it will only get worse. Really, it's all the fault of EULA's and Terms of Service agreements, as well as any other binding contract that is allowed to be made without proper knowledge and true consent. I read most of the ones I come across for products and software I'm buying/using, but they're far too huge and legal for the layman and there are far too many to actually be able to keep up with. They're allowed to practically do anything they like, so long as it's included in their little manufacturer/consumer prenuptial and you hit the "Ok" button.

But even if you do read, and find an unsatisfactory clause or two, it's not a negotiable contract; you just either have to be alright with it, or not use the product. And simply not using something can be hard depending on what it is, granted this is not such a scenario.

But the main point of all this is that it won't stop. People want their PS3's (I'm included, what can I say. Jailbroke mine until BlackOps, Crysis 2, and Killzone 3 came out but now I'm right back to the console-Nazis.) and their apps and their glittery, sleek whatever's. And they want it now, and they want it from that big brand they know about. So that big brand will continue to have lawyers and wayward developers do their bidding, and we'll pay for it in several ways.

~*Livin' Electronicallly*~

30.7.2011 10:38 #11

Mysttic

Did they every think that maybe piracy went down because their games that had the DRM was kyfe, with the exception of Creed 2.

30.7.2011 11:31 #12

DXR88

What they fail to mention is the amount of titles purchased vs the amount of titles with the DRM still active. if there going by Server Connection hits then they don't know the amount of purchased yet DRM striped titles active.

30.7.2011 16:30 #13

ZippyDSM

I tend not to buy DRM'd goods and when I do its 2nd hand, love my 2nd hand MP3s!

Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy!
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31.7.2011 01:10 #14

senator29

any drm protected games by any publisher has a crack for it.

ubisoft is blowing smoke

5.8.2011 18:48 #15

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