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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Ubisoft is Proud but I'm Not Buying

Since the Personal Computer version of Assassin's Creed II that was just released today still sports the new digital rights management protection that mandates players to stay connected to Ubisoft's sever, I have decided to get the console version of the game. I was really looking forward to playing the game with better graphics but Ubisoft definitely crossed the line here: even though they have tamed the DRM somewhat where you can continue playing the game at the exact spot when you lost connection to the server instead of from your last save point. Ubisoft also promised that a patch will be released to enable offline play of the game if the server is retired in the future. I support developers' DRM use because they have every right to protect their investments: people like to cry foul and claim that people will still pirate games even with DRM implementation but those same people are probably pirates anyway. I mean, yeah, people pirate games - and people steal outside of video games - but that doesn't mean that developers shouldn't try! It's like saying you shouldn't lock-up nor install a security system for your house because there will always be thieves out there. Funny how no one playing the current gen consoles complains much about this when firmwares are being periodically released to specifically brick modded console units. There are wild rumors running rampant all over the Internet that Ubisoft's new DRM has been cracked. The authentication server was definitely attacked with 5% of the players unable to connect to Ubisoft's server. The problem was fixed and Ubisoft was quick to address popular gaming websites that claimed ACII was cracked that despite the rumors, those who downloaded the pirated copy will not be happy with their big fat download because it will not work. Whether the truth lies with the pirates or with Ubisoft, this is not something to be proud of... for either parties! To me, locking contents and/or multi-player functionalities like what Microsoft is doing with Games for Windows Live and what Electronic Arts did with Mass Effect 2 is definitely the way to go with PC DRMs.


This is how the retail cover for the game should look like:
Why didn't Ubisoft go GFWL with the X-Box 360 version already available?

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