"Ubifail" is starting to sound more appropriate.

[owsf2000]

As shown on slashdot:

Ubisoft DRM Causing More Problems

I'm starting to wonder if I should keep a list of what games are using this online DRM shit, although it's far too easy to just say to hell with all of it. This time it's Settlers 7.

Want to know what the next gen consoles are probably going to require? :P

Sadly, I can see it happening.

Comments

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

Of course, all of the asshats in the comments posting things like "Oh yeah, the cracks are totally working now" or even what are supposedly direct links to server emulators and such for Assassin's Creed or C&C4 and whatnot certainly aren't helping matters.

And all of that in response to a comment at the top saying "Don't buy and don't download cracked games. Maybe then all these idiot companies will get the message."

There are two sets of reasoning behind it in the comments, it seems. Group A(sshats) are saying that everyone should pirate the game and not buy it because it shows them that their DRM doesn't work, and so they shouldn't be using it. Group B are saying that nobody should pirate the game or buy it because it shows them that their DRM is unnecessary and, moreover, is actively hurting sales, and so they shouldn't be using it. Sadly, Group A(sshats) far outnumbers Group B.

My overall take on it is that, while the purpose of DRM these days may or may not be solely in response to pirating issues, that's what it was originally intended to combat. As such, it is, and always will be, the people who illegally download these things who are the main, core, root cause of the problem, regardless of what the companies do or don't do in response. Everyone who gets annoyed at the companies who implement this kind of DRM, myself included, needs to keep that in mind and not completely demonize these companies for it. Just mostly demonize them, because they're using DRM schemes for things other than only combating piracy, such as combating used sales and so on. Oh, and also for implementing retarded, draconian DRM schemes like this that A) never work any better than less invasive DRM because pirates will always crack it soon enough anyway and B) only hurt legit customers who either aren't willing to use the crack at all or who feel forced into using the crack if they want to use an otherwise completely broken product. Of course, when people continue to pirate their stuff anyway, it's just going to make them try something even more draconian next time, which will in turn, make the asshats feel all the more justified in cracking and distributing it. It's a never ending cycle.

[owsf2000.livejournal.com]

You want to know the irony? It tends to be the majority of Kotaku that also go "second hand sales are wrong and about the same as piracy because it hurts the developers."

I guess it all depends on their mood.

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

This is seriously something that I've been trying to wrap my head around for a while now, pretty much ever since I first became aware of the issue.

How and why and where and when did game publishers get this nonsensical notion that they have any right to second hand sales, or that, because they obviously don't, they therefore need to start trying to put a stop to it through DRM and whatnot if they can't get their own fingers into that particular pie? And, worse, how and why and when did gamers start agreeing with this preposterous idea?

Of course, that second bit I can potentially just chalk up to my usual opinion that a good portion of the users on sites like Kotaku/Destructoid/Slashdot/etc. seem to be utter fucking morons. The first bit I can potentially just chalk up to the fact that those guys apparently are just greedy bastards.

[maverynthia.livejournal.com]

i thin people are agreeing to that idea because they are fanchildren to those companies and whenever Company expresses that it hurts them, the fans get all psychotic and start believing it... like religion.

Just try and reason with a Square fanatic that SE has lost their touch.

[owsf2000.livejournal.com]

That might be the reason, and you're correct about Square fans - the more zealotic of the bunch at any rate, but I think the real reason gamers are so quick to believe this is because of Gamestop.

We're not talking pawn shop sales here where you can reasonably expect to pay half price or less compared to a new game. People name Gamestop and the selling of used games for 5 dollars cheaper than new. I suspect they're more bitter that they're FORCING THEMSELVES to pay that rip off of a price so they're picking up the whole second-hand-sales-are-evil ranting.

I'd agree, it does seem to be ripping off the poor game companies to have used goods being sold regularly for just slightly less than new. But that's not the fault of how the system works. It's 100% the fault of dumb ass gamers who buy the shit, which makes gamers that rant on about this to look even stupider. (in my eyes at the very least.) If gamers wouldn't buy at Gamestop's outrageous used prices - GAMESTOP WOULD NOT TRY TO SELL THEM AT THOSE PRICES. (Caps for my fury!)

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

This is why it's all such a vicious, retarded cycle.

Game company releases game -> gamer A buys game -> gamer A sells game to Gamestop for half price or less -> Gamestop resells game for slightly less than full price to gamer B -> both gamer A and gamer B feels ripped off by Gamestop -> Game company says "Hey, we're supposedly losing money to pirates (oh and resellers, too) so let's put craptastic DRM into our games! That'll show Gamestop!" -> gamers A and B say "Ha ha, yeah, I agree with that practice because it screws over Gamestop!" -> piratesdouchebags say "Hey, that DRM sucks! Let's crack it and make the game available for free to everyone!" -> everyone else gets shat upon -> return to first step in the cycle and repeat ad infinitum.

As for the Square thing, Square hasn't been quite the same since Hironobu Sakaguchi and some others left to form Mistwalker, right around the time of FFX-2 or thereabouts. That's also around the time that Nobuo Uematsu left as well (although he's back for Final Fantasy 14, but that means nothing to me since it's a MMO). FFXI was also a MMO, which I ignored, and FFXII sucked for the most part. FFXIII has been the only FF game since FFX that I even kind of enjoyed. I did finish FFX-2, but I honestly don't remember much of anything about it now, aside from the fact that they slutty'd up Yuna's and Rikku's outfits and added new character Paine. The story? Uh... I don't know... something about spheres or some shit? Oh, and some dude that looks like Tidus but isn't.