ubisoft-drm posts

Last year Ubisoft announced that from that time forward all of its PC game releases would require an "always on" internet connection in order to be played. This move was nearly universally panned by the PC game community. Now it looks like Ubisoft might me softening its views on PC DRM set-ups.

VG247.com reports that an Ubisoft rep has confirmed that the upcoming PC port of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood will not need an "always on" internet connection to be played. Instead the game will require that the game log in to the internet at first and then the game's single player campaign can then be played offline.

While we are sure many folks are still not happy about the game requiring a login to begin playing its certainly an improvement from Ubisoft's earlier DRM stance for PC game titles.

Last week we reported that some players of Ubisoft's PC ports of Assassin's Creed 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction could now play the game without having to be always connected to the internet. Now a rep for the publisher has told Shacknews that some of its recent PC titles have been "patched out" to allow the games to be players without a constant internet connection although they will still require such a connection in order to start.

This decision, however, is being done on a "case-by-case basis" according to the story. Upcoming PC games from Ubisoft (such as the PC port of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood) could still launch with the publisher's controversial DRM "always on" internet connection requirement.

Earlier this year publisher Ubisoft decided that it would make all of its current and upcoming PC game titles require an "always on" internet connection in order to be played. This DRM set up, which affected even single player-only games like the PC port of Assassin's Creed 2, was met with massive protests by PC gamers.

Now a story posted on Reddit by a gamer claims that the "Always On" requirement has now been relaxed a little bit. While PC gamers will still need to have an active internet connection to start any of the affected Ubisoft games, it looks like the internet connection can now be cut and active games can still be played. Previously if you lost your internet connection during play of titles like Splinter Cell Conviction your gameplay would be interrupted as well. We have emailed Ubisoft to find out if they have indeed relaxed their DRM PC game policies or if this is just a lucky technical glitch.

[Via Blue's News]

It has become the number one grossing video game-based movie of all time worldwide and now Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time looks like its heading to DVD and Blu-Ray very soon. High-Def Digest reports that the Disney movie based on the game series created by Jordan Mechner will be released on September 14, according to early retail reports. There's no word yet on what the disks will contain in terms of extra supplements and features.

According to Box Office Mojo, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has now grossed $320 million worldwide, with the majority coming from overseas. The movie has now grossed $89 million here in the US which makes it the number two video-game based movie of all time in the US, behind Lara Croft Tomb Raider and just ahead of Pokemon: The First Movie.

It looks like Ubisoft's DRM "always on" internet set-up for its PC games has at least one publisher's support. Computer and Video Games is reporting that Namco Bandai believes that Ubisoft's set-up is best because, according to them, there's nothing else that will work.

The company's VP Olivier Comte is quoted as saying, "I will be very honest. I think it's a good [approach] for one reason: I have no alternative today." Some companies and publishers might disagree with that attitude, and Comte himself states, "Is the best one? Certainly not ..." However he adds, " ... as of today if I can make something else I'll do it, but it's better to do something than not do something."

Debates over how, or even if, DRM set-ups should be put in PC games have been raging for a long time now. This week the CEO of the developer Just Cause 2 has put in his two cents, saying that "ridiculous DRM solutions" actually harm PC gamers more than the pirates that the DRM is trying to thwart.

Chatting with Computer and Video Games, Avalanche Studios boss Cristofer Sundberg is quoted as saying, " ... piracy has scared the market to start implementing ridiculous DRM solutions that only limits the consumers that actually PAY for their games, not stopping the pirates." He also feels that PC games that also show up on other platforms should be designed specifically for the platform and not just be a simple port, saying, "If we constantly keep on delivering console ports and not games design (sic) for the PC player, the PC market will suffer from bad sales, piracy and bad DRM solutions." Indeed the PC port of Just Cause 2 is a DirectX 10 exclusive with a number of graphical features that are only on the PC version.

Gallery: Just Cause 2

The PC port of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is due for release on Jun 8 and now publisher Ubisoft has announced plans for a digital deluxe version of the latest game in the long running action game series. The deluxe edition costs $59.99 and has two exclusive player skins, a new map and the game's soundtrack.

If you purchase the deluxe edition via Steam you also get a free download copy of Ubisoft's first game in the series Prince of Persia The Sands of Time. Additionally, people who decide to pre-order either the digital deluxe version or the regular $49.99 version will get Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within as a free download.

In February 2008 a pirated copy of the PC version of Assassin's Creed found its way to the internet, two months before its scheduled release date. Now GamePolitics reports that the person responsible for the pirating was sentenced this week. Christopher Anzalone of Charlotte, North Carolina stole a copy of Ubisoft's open world stealth action game from Optical Experts Manufacturing, which was duplicating the game for its retail release.

Anzalone was sentenced to three months house arrest, five years probation and a $25,000 fine. All in all the final punishment seems to be pretty lax compared to the crime. The story points out that Ubisoft had once sued Optical Experts Manufacturing for the incident for $10 million but that lawsuit was later dropped.

When Ubisoft decided to launch their "Always On" internet DRM set-up for their PC titles in March, we figured someone would try to crack it. Last month a game pirate team called Skid Row claimed to have cracked the Ubisoft DRM set up but that claim was quickly refuted by the publisher. Now Cnet reports that the same team is claiming they have finally created a hack that eliminates the need for the Ubisoft games, including Assassin's Creed 2, to have a "always on" connection.

The story says that the hack file began to circulate among pirate web sites and other locations on Tuesday. Skid Row also supposedly wrote a note to Ubisoft saying, "Next time focus on the game and not on the DRM. It was probably horrible for all legit users." So far Ubisoft has yet to respond to this latest claim.

[Via Blue's News]

Another Ubisoft rep is trying his best to defend the company's recent decision to make their current and future PC games have an "always on" internet connection in order to be played. The latest such statement comes from Max Béland, the creative director behind their stealth action game Splinter Cell Conviction which will be released for the PC on April 27.

Chatting with VG247.com, Béland states, "We consider that protecting our PC games is vital to our business and will allow us to continue investing in the development of creative and innovative games on the PC platform.' We are all for Ubisoft wanting to make "creative and innovative games on the PC platform" but we think some legit consumers are still being turned away because of Ubisoft's new policy.