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Dismissing critic's concerns about the most draconian DRM system for PC games, Ubisoft has defended the use of the DRM scheme, many now calling 'Ubi DRM', saying it has been a success.
Ubi DRM works by requiring a constant Internet connection even for offline games, and the game will even kick people out of the game if their Internet connection is disrupted even for one second, sometimes leading to loss of unsaved progress. Ironically, pirated copies of Ubi DRM'd games deactivates the DRM and allows gamers to have a full gaming experience even without an Internet connection.
Despite earlier signs showing Ubisoft was pulling back on the use of Ubi DRM, with several notable releases not employing the DRM, Ubisoft's next big release, Driver: San Francisco, was revealed recently to be back to using Ubi DRM.
But Ubisoft is defiant when critics say Ubi DRM drives away legitimate customers, and they told PC Gamer that Ubi DRM has been a huge success because Ubisoft has data showing "a clear reduction in piracy" for titles that employ this system.
However, Ubisoft was unable or unwilling to provide data showing any increases in revenue as a result of the clear reduction in piracy. If no revenue increase can be found, it can be reasoned that reducing piracy does not necessarily lead to increased sales because pirates will simply move onto other, more easily accessible, games.
There's also the possibility that Ubi DRM has lead to a decline in sales, due to legitimate customers staying away from games that employ this type of DRM. A quick search on the forum of online game distributor giant, Steam, shows numerous posts indicating some buyers will skip buying Ubisoft games that have Ubi DRM, even when they're on sale.
Ubi DRM works by requiring a constant Internet connection even for offline games, and the game will even kick people out of the game if their Internet connection is disrupted even for one second, sometimes leading to loss of unsaved progress. Ironically, pirated copies of Ubi DRM'd games deactivates the DRM and allows gamers to have a full gaming experience even without an Internet connection.
Despite earlier signs showing Ubisoft was pulling back on the use of Ubi DRM, with several notable releases not employing the DRM, Ubisoft's next big release, Driver: San Francisco, was revealed recently to be back to using Ubi DRM.
But Ubisoft is defiant when critics say Ubi DRM drives away legitimate customers, and they told PC Gamer that Ubi DRM has been a huge success because Ubisoft has data showing "a clear reduction in piracy" for titles that employ this system.
However, Ubisoft was unable or unwilling to provide data showing any increases in revenue as a result of the clear reduction in piracy. If no revenue increase can be found, it can be reasoned that reducing piracy does not necessarily lead to increased sales because pirates will simply move onto other, more easily accessible, games.
There's also the possibility that Ubi DRM has lead to a decline in sales, due to legitimate customers staying away from games that employ this type of DRM. A quick search on the forum of online game distributor giant, Steam, shows numerous posts indicating some buyers will skip buying Ubisoft games that have Ubi DRM, even when they're on sale.
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