Ubisoft hates its customers.
It's true. Let's look at some proof of this.
1. StarForce and SecuROM 7
Several years ago, Ubisoft subjected customers to the buggy StarForce protection system, which had been known to cause glitches. It took years and thousands of complaints to get the company to start using better DRM.
Did I say better? Oops. Ubisoft's next releases used various copy protection schemes, ranging from none (Prince of Persia, Lost: Via Domus) to Tages and SafeDisc (Assassin's Creed) to the total POS that is SecuROM 7, perhaps even glitchier and more infamous than StarForce.
(Disclaimer: StarForce has worked harder on making its protection more user-friendly as of late, and the problems with SecuROM 7 frequently stem from the publisher's choice of protection suite and are difficult to avoid with such intrusive software. If the publishers chose less invasive versions of SecuROM that did not include features such as Ring 0 Access and program blacklists, there would be fewer problems.)
2. DLC: Definitely Lacking Content
Assassin's Creed 2's console versions have had two DLC packs. They were not new content, however; both packs were content originally removed from the game for deadline reasons. Selling an unfinished product and then asking the customer to pay yet more money for the "full game" is absurd.
On a related note, there's the matter of Prince of Persia. The console versions were released in two editions, a regular and collector's edition, and, like Assaassin's Creed 2, in order to get the "complete" game, after-market DLC had to be purchased. The PC version fared even worse - a regular edition was released the week after the console versions to little fanfare, patched once, and promptly forgotten. No special edition. No DLC.
(In the interest of journalistic integrity, it should be mentioned that the after-market DLC will be included "free" with the PC version of Assassin's Creed 2, which costs $10 more than most new PC games.)
3. Their new DRM system
Ubisoft's new DRM requires a broadband connection throughout gameplay, even in exclusively single-player games. If the player is disconnected from the internet, the game will stop and the player cannot play more until the connection is reestablished. This is absolutely unacceptable for obvious reasons.
4. General lack of respect and tolerance for customers' needs
Excluding EA CEO John Riccitello's patronizing remarks about SecuROM protesters and, well, Bobby Kotick in general, Ubisoft's staff seems to talk down to its customers more than any other publisher's.
After the aforementioned Prince of Persia PC DRM was never released for "financial reasons," an enormous backlash came from the PC gaming community. Ubisoft's responses ranged from messages that were essentially "tough shit" to outright locking complaint threads on forums like the Steam Community.
Even worse, CEO Yves Guillemot stated in an interview:
“The PC gaming community is very often against any kind of system that prohibits piracy, which I have difficulty understanding. They need to help us to make sure we can invest on the PC, because if we can’t get a return on investment with PC games then we will not invest.”What exactly does Mr. Guillemot have difficulty comprehending? That people dislike DRM protection schemes that drastically limit their freedoms and can potentially cause system damage? If those things are necessary for you to release PC games, we'd rather you just stop altogether rather than giving us sub-par, crippled products. That brings us to our final point.
5. Everyone knows DRM doesn't stop piracy. Stop pretending that it does.
"Why do you protect your game? It only affects legitimate users?"Ubisoft pushes two falsehoods regarding DRM: that it stops piracy and that doing so increases sales."Protecting games is necessary to secure the development of future Ubisoft games on PC. The activation is a quick process that does not affect the gameplay. You can fully uninstall any SecuROM component by using the SecuROM uninstaller available here. "
DRM does not and, without resorting to extremely user-unfriendly methods, cannot protect video games from piracy. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, one of Ubisoft's first StarForce games, stayed uncracked for over a year because of StarForce. This came at the expense of problems for many players, which must have been largely disregarded by Ubisoft, as they continued to use StarForce. After around 425 days, Chaos Theory was cracked, and many other StarForce games followed. On the other hand, Spore and BioShock, the two games most notorious for using SecuROM 7 with activation limits, were cracked very quickly. Just goes to show you that no matter how long one protection service works, eventually it will come crashing down and serve no purpose other than infuriating legitimate users.
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that DRM does prevent large-scale piracy. The idea that less piracy = more sales seems logical at first, and, on a very small scale, it's probably true. However, think about it like this: if I offered you a chocolate bar for free, would you take it? Of course. What if I charged you, though? Then you'd be less likely to take it. Ubisoft likes to push the idea that every torrent download is one sale lost which is obviously untrue. What they're arguing is that if they can't get it for free, they'll pay $50 for it, which is completely absurd and devoid of logic.
The truth is that DRM only affects legitimate customers; even Ubisoft themselves backwardly acknowledges this, as evidenced by the lack of a real answer to the above question.
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You probably get the picture by now. Question is - what can you do about it?
Easy. Only support Ubisoft if they're truly willing to go the extra mile for their customers instead of taking them for granted. Refuse to spend your good money on rentware. Here are the basic rules of the boycott:
Do Not Buy
- Any Ubisoft PC games using SecuROM 7, early StarForce, or their new DRM system (Ex: Far Cry 2, Assassin's Creed 2)
- Any Ubisoft console games - doing so will only cause them to care less about the PC market
- Any bad console-to-PC ports featuring missing content or poor optimization (Ex: Prince of Persia)
Do Buy
- Ubisoft PC games featuring DRM you find tolerable - SafeDisc and Steamworks are fairly well-done. Tages is slightly more problematic, but may be fine.
- Ubisoft PC games featuring no DRM (Ex: Ubisoft titles on GOG)
We will cease parts of the boycott for each of the following conditions that are met:
Our Demands for the new DRM SystemThis is the only way we can influence Ubisoft. Stop giving them money and they'll give us a bit more respect. EA thoroughly trashed its public reputation with the Spore fiasco and has since bent over backwards to please customers, removing SecuROM from new titles and providing revoke tools for older ones. Boycotting Ubisoft may elicit a similar response.Other Demands
- That it allow for offline play for those with erratic internet connections
- That it allow players to wait at least two weeks between activations
- That it allow dial-up users to use the program without long load times
- That it include a method for those with no connection to play the game
- That it allow players to resell their game as per the First Sale Doctrine
- That it be patched out no more than 2 years after the product launches
- That Ubisoft never again release a product with DRM known to be as problematic as old StarForce or full SecuROM 7.
- That Ubisoft publicly notify players before a game's release if DLC will not be available for a specific version.
- That Ubisoft delay games that cannot be completed before a deadline rather than sell cut content as after-market DLC.
Last Edited: January 27, 2010 - 6:46PM
