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Ubisoft's copy protection cop-out causes anger

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Ubisoft's copy protection cop-out causes anger
By The Inquirer
Jul 29, 2009 | 14 Comments
Tags: ubisoft | copy | protection | drm | gfc | gaming | news

Opinion: Why adding value will always add sales.

An announcement from Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot has caused a collective sigh of despair from the joystick-joggling community. The Large Fromage of the French gaming house announced during a recent financial conference (whoa, fifty per cent down on profits? Ouch) call that his boffins were working on yet another fiendish tool to prevent the unwashed masses from stealing the company's software.

Guillemot would not be pressed further on the nature of the the new tool, but it is safe to say that it will not make the playing experience more pleasurable, and is certain to be met with howls of derision by the bedroom-dwelling denizens of Gamerworld.

But there is one solid fact about the battle against software piracy, much like the fight against drugs, or the war on terror, or the skirmish against people dropping their chewing gum on the pavement. It can never be won.
No matter how smart your DRM people are, no matter how much money you throw at the problem and no matter how many layers of protection you add... there is an army of people out there working in basements and bedrooms and bunkers, fueled by Red Bull and pizza, just waiting for you to announce that you have released an uncrackable game.

And with a network of underground undesirables assisting each other in some kind of freaky hive-mind cooperation, most games are cracked within days, if not hours. The biggest irony is that the people who do the hardcore cracking are almost certainly not the kind of people who would even think of wasting their time doing anything as mundane as playing games for hours on end. For them it's not about getting free stuff. It's about sticking it to The Man.

So what should Monsieur Guillemot do to stop the P2P crowd from dipping its sticky fingers into his pension fund? There is no simple answer. But there are a number of new models which reward honest software purchasers rather than punishing them with irritating, nagging, overbearing DRM schemes.

Adding value to retail boxed products seems to be having a positive effect on sales, according to Nintendo. Adding limited edition figurines, for example, means that gamers are more likely to stump up cash for a game rather than stealing it.

Exclusive online content - whether it be in the form of multiplayer gaming modes or downloadable content like additional levels, items or weapons - can also boost sales of genuine software.

Titles like the online-only RPG World of Warcraft, by far the most popular title in the history of gaming, have proved that content is king. Developer Blizzard offers free trials of the massive communal online experience, sells the initial software package at a knockdown price, then charges a hefty monthly subscription once users are hooked.
But the key here is that the online experience is constantly updated. New areas to explore, items and quests are regularly introduced in free point releases, which keeps the punters happy. And major new upgrades are sold as paid-for packages which keeps the cash registers ringing, and the shareholders happy.

 
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14 Comments
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
ArcaneMagik
Jul 29, 2009 12:15 PM
So it raises the question, will piracy lead to the demise of Offline play?
iamthemaxx
Jul 29, 2009 12:29 PM
Tards. It's not piracy that is making you lose profits. It's your bloated business model.

Take a look at SoaSE for example, no DRM and they made a killing.
smadge1
Jul 29, 2009 12:36 PM
Don't Ubisoft distribute some games on Steam?

That's my preferred method of buying games now. I often wander into EB nowadays and walk out empty handed.
moofactory
Jul 29, 2009 12:37 PM
I would rather beg the question, will piracy lead to publishers pulling their heads out of their asses and actually adress the problem in a positive and "USER FIRST" way. Rather than screwing over the people actually buying the games.

The problem is that the game has changed (pardon the pun) and publishers have not changed with it, With the exception of companys like valve that actually understand the problem and adress it to benifit the end user.
Jeruselem
Jul 29, 2009 12:53 PM
It's simple, sell a game without DRM people want to buy and people will be more willing to give you money ... sell them on Steam for decent price and people will happily download and install it.
A Hitman
Jul 29, 2009 2:04 PM
DRM is a big waste of time. Every game I own that has DRM gets cracked as soon I install it.
orcone
Jul 29, 2009 2:10 PM
Old people don't get it. That's all that's wrong with the industry (or any industry for that matter).
thesorehead
Jul 29, 2009 3:02 PM
SoaSE (and Stardock generally) are the poster-children of DRM-free gaming everywhere.

Hopefully games publishers will realise what Apple realised sooner rather than later: that it's a top-notch service rather than oppressive vendor lock-in that makes teh megabux.
Hoonbernator
Jul 29, 2009 3:50 PM
Steam FTW
A Hitman
Jul 29, 2009 4:35 PM
Steam Sucks!
H3VIW8
Jul 29, 2009 5:32 PM
cheaper prices and more value will most likely stop or stem piracy, the reason most people who use pirate stuff do so is it costs too much in the first place, 100 bucks compared to 4 hours of download.
MagnumXY
Jul 29, 2009 8:34 PM
"World of Warcraft, by far the most popular title in the history of gaming"
Not the sims?
ckalin
Jul 30, 2009 1:37 PM
i don't think Sims has rehab clinics...
i'm sober for one year now.... and now they announce a movie... "just when you thought you were out... they pull you back in!"
Argotha
Aug 1, 2009 8:11 PM
"Adding value to retail boxed products seems to be having a positive effect on sales"

I'm not surprised. The inclusions in the boxed games is horrible now days. The manuals from AOE, AOK were great (the boxed collectors eddition with included soundtrack :D ) the dungeon siege manual got several reads. Orange box manual? well so far ive look at it about twice, once for CD key other time to wite it down somewhere else. Include stuff like histories, maps, mans, and other cool stuff and people are more likely to buy it (see MW2 with night vission goggles)
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