News

Ubisoft's PC 'always-on' DRM sees a "clear reduction in piracy"
Posted: 29.07.2011 13:09 by Simon Priest Comments: 7
Publisher Ubisoft is proud of their PC DRM with its persistent online connection demands as they've seen a "clear reduction in piracy of our titles", they note.

From that point of view it "is a success". Ubisoft has been using this system since Settlers 7, which then saw it expand to all Ubi PC titles released afterward.


There's no argument that Ubisoft's PC DRM system isn't controversial, however a Ubisoft representative said there's “a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success”.

Settlers 7, Silent Hunter V, Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood all use the 'always-on' DRM. The biggest issue of contention is the use of the system for singleplayer games, and that if the online connection is lost the game simply won't play.

PC gamers who've legitimately bought Ubisoft PC games complain that ultimately they're the ones being punished and not the pirates. Capcom introduced a similar system with Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition where offline play was restricted - it was withdrawn after a barrage of criticism from fans.

The latest PC Ubi game with the always-on DRM is Driver: San Francisco. Recently confirmed to not include it however was From Dust, which releases on PC later.

Source: PC Gamer

Comments

By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Jul 29, 2011
FoolWolf
Same fault through and through, how about checking the articles before publish them? Ass-Bro don't have the same always on-line, never had, it has a more lenient form of DRM.
By djole381 (SI Elite) on Jul 29, 2011
djole381
"Always online" DRM doesn't stop piracy. It only slows it down a bit and that's it.
By Knave (SI Core) on Jul 29, 2011
Knave
Even if it's true that the always-on DRM has prevented some piracy, I wonder how many sales they've lost due to people not wanting to have such intrusive DRM on their systems.

I'd wager quite a few. I know I personally have not purchased a single ubi game with this drm structure. And I used to buy ubi games frequently!
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jul 29, 2011
nocutius
Kinda doubt this is actually effective. How could it possibly lower piracy, it's not like the games don't get cracked anymore cause of it.
By steven101x1 (SI Member) on Jul 29, 2011
steven101x1
It's not effective at all, one of my friends has a pirated copy of this exact game and hes able to play it perfectly fine.
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on Jul 29, 2011
JonahFalcon
Clear reduction in sales usually lowers piracy.
By K3Spice (SI Core) on Jul 29, 2011
K3Spice
DRM is not effective. I see pirated games the same day they are released with this protection...