I hope they realized that their DRM system makes them lose customers rather than gain more.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-23-ubisoft-wants-to-offer-pc-gamers-so-much-value-the-need-for-drm-goes-away

Um, a change yes. For the better? Not really.

They're talking about taking most of their gaming into the cloud. Have a base game, and the rest of the game up in the cloud gaming so whatever you pirate is 'less'.

So yeah, their current DRM will become worthless, because what you *can* pirate will be worth almost that. Which is kind of the same EA said years ago. That single player is going out the window, which makes perfect sense, because the games linked with multiplayer that's inaccessible for pirates are the best working DRM these days. MMO's and Shooters, anything with a multiplayer key.

* cough* cough* diablo3*cough*cough*

I notice they're only telling half the story. I wonder if that "clear reduction in piracy" isn't complemented by a "clear reduction in sales". Well, you know that Blizzard can get away with doing whatever they want "because they're Blizzard".

and Diablo 3 will be used as an example of the effectiveness of this model, in same way HL2 were used for steam. And it will work also, justifying its use.

(After being clean for over 16 months, yesterday I bought a WoW annual pass together with my better half, and the inclusion of Diablo 3 was part of the reason (and we played worgens into the small hours last night, damn that game is a time-sink)...I am my own worst enemy, I did the same with HL2)

Although I agree it does happens sometimes, they're generally of low quality, not nearly as reliable long term (which is what you want from a MMO), and sometimes modded up to the hilt with stuff that ruins the game (for some).

For high profile MMO's there's generally not really good alternatives out there, and beyond that, you're also not part of the general populace, which is what drives games like WoW, peer pressure, playing what your friends are playing, playing with them. That's not possible unless all people are using the 'cracked' version, which is unlikely. I still say it's one of the most successful ways to get people to buy the game. Heck, multiplayer is one of the main things mentioned for people buying stuff on Day 1, single players can wait for sales.

The problem with other companies seeing the success of Diablo 3 and deciding to use the same model for their own next game is that they're not Blizzard. In the same way that any other new subscription-based MMO is not WoW. Everyone wants to get in on the action, but they're not Blizzard.

Ubisoft talks so much about DRM and protecting their games that i think it's getting to the point where they focus more on "how to put in more DRM" rather than "how to make good games"

I think it's becoming somewhat of a joke in the industry now, where ubisoft is immediately associated with DRM

Sounds like yet another attempt of spin doctoring to me. Maybe they should follow Valve's footsteps and come up with their own term to replace the infamous "DRM", like "Secure Customer Approved Management" or whatever.

I still think it would be worthwile for content creators to look for alternatives to DRM with e.g. watermarking, but maybe it needs some more technology before it is really useful (ie. not easily wiped out by even the most casual users by little googleing). With successful watermarking, I'm pretty sure casual piracy would decrease as well, which seems to be the reason for current DRM anyway (not the hardcore pirates).

I'll believe it when I see it :/

It's a shame, they have some really awesome games, but the awful restrictive DRM is keeping me from buying them even during huge sales.

Well i'm glad indie games are getting good...

I don't trust any of the majors since EA's infamous C&C4 "it's not DRM" spin and the numerous UPlay DRM fiascos.

Ubisoft is the one though that has really fucked me off and they would have to work fucking hard to get my trust again. This vague announcement about Rayman Origins being DRM-free at retail still has me slightly sceptical about what they term as "DRM-free", especially as their official channels are not saying anything about it.

My gut instinct tells me that they have disseminated this rumour through the media to arouse interest and get pre-orders but are then going to hammer it with DRM. That way nobody can claim false advertising. I just don't trust them - or the industry as a whole for that matter - to show any integrity.

Whether they are genuinely pursuing this line of thought about the need to reward people for buying the real deal instead of punishing them remains to be seen. It's been well-established that the best way to combat piracy is to provide added value in non-mandatory online services. Maybe they're finally learning this, but then, as timppu says, maybe it's just spindoctoring.

I find it hard to believe anything Ubisoft says any more. FIrst they used DRM, then they did away with it entirely, then they came back with the most restrictive DRM of any publisher.

It's like they're on a see-saw, going from one extreme to the other.

Anyway, they lost me as a customer a long time ago. Luckily there's nothing in their line-up that really interests me.

Ubi is very very unpredictable concerning DRM, almost to a schizophrenic level. Some games they release absolutely DRM-free, or patch it out completely within a couple of months, and others get the persistent online connection forever, and half the time the DRM'ed titles get billed as DRM-free beforehand, even though they obviously aren't. Personally, I've just been watching each title individually, and completely ignoring everything that corporate says.