The facts of life: A heartfelt defense of Ubisoft and DRM

[tater]

People see the box that says a constant net connection is required and buy the game. They do so because they know they have a constant net connection.

Their experience is that every time they fire up google, it works. Every time they go to buy something on Amazon, it works. They are operating under the assumption that the multi-billion Euro company Ubisoft can has similarly bulletproof servers. It doesn't even occur to them that UBI might fail the "constant connection" test—nor should it.

Ubi apologizing for "high demand" breaking there servers is rubbish, plain and simple. That's what you hear every single time you get most tech support call centers on the phone "due to high demand, waiting times are long, but calls will be answered in the order they are received. Many questions can be answered at poopyco.com." Note that if you aim for the sales floor, you are very rarely delayed.

It's NEVER high demand, it's demand in excess of what they chose to supply. They always lowball the capability to save money because in this case the servers or phone systems are not really mission critical. In the case of Ubi, the servers are not critical because they already took your money.

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

You guys are saying "Do something else" "Try something else". Well what would you do that has the end result of getting more money from each silent hunter unit into the pockets of the developers and distributors? "Make better games, be nice and hope for the best" is not a responsible business model.

I made suggestions that would work within OSP. Again, if you require 100% connectivity, then you MUST provide enough value that people accept the odd downtime (particularly if you go cheap on the server farm so you cannot deal with DDOS attacks).

Other than that, have some sort of offline mode. Heck, they could have OSP check your client on launch, then only recheck randomly during play. Some people would have the check during a session, others would have fewer than current checks, some would have none past startup. This would reduce server load. If the servers get above a certain number of requests, the refused connection could automatically enable play on all games—that should be the default behavior on a failure. Why would this not be just as good from a piracy standpoint as 100% on (particularly if it's cracked anyway?"

[Piggy]

Well first of all this post seems like a shill to me...

However, is SH5 a niche game? Just what exactly defines a niche game in UBI's (or the posters opinion). Is there a total sales # that must be reached for it to become a mainstream game?

Im not buying that SH5 is a niche game. A niche game is like War in the pacific, and hello, thye charge over $100 for their game!

Point #2... simple math tells me that the DRM and the issue's its causing will, if they havent already, killed off a portion of their anticipated sales to a point where it negates the low cost but hefty DRM approach the poster is implying.

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

So, now ubisoft ( lets just say, for example) has 5 options:

1. Stop making niche games, Il2 and Silent hunter are not popular, they are made in europe and sent over here to what i am sure is a pitiful audience, maybe a tenth the size of the latest assasins creed game. They have chosen not to do this. Somewhere deep down they covet that EA money, but have chosen not to do this.

2. Charge $250 for silent hunter 5- 1939-1945 edition. Its simple math people, they need to get more money from less people to even have a hope of staying afloat, or expanding. They have chosen not to do this, kind of. (see 4)

Edit: Silent Hunter is the most award-winning submarine series of all time, with nearly 1.5 million copies sold worldwide. This franchise's previous release, Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific, made a lasting solid impact on the franchise's growing fan base after it was released to worldwide critical acclaim, including being named 2007's "Simulation Game of the Year” by PC Gamer.

Niche game.... LOL

[ParaB]

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

You guys are saying "Do something else" "Try something else". Well what would you do that has the end result of getting more money from each silent hunter unit into the pockets of the developers and distributors? "Make better games, be nice and hope for the best" is not a responsible business model.

It might be a strange idea to you but delivering quality products and support them actually makes lots of money. Ask Blizzard. Ask Valve. Ask Bioware.

It's not as if previous UBI titles, games like Morrowind, Oblivion, Far Cry, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed and many, many more haven't actually sold well.

This is NOT about copy protection in the 1st place. It's much more about preventing 2nd hand sales and preparing the way for "gaming services" with pay-to-play schemes, something the gaming industry is aiming for in the not-too-distant future.

Start with enforcing online accounts even for offline, singleplayer games. Introduce DLC bound to said accounts. Offer "premium services" for monthly fees like MP servers, content packs, re-download guarantee etc. Reduce service for "free" accounts.

Voilà: welcome to your Silent Hunter series with monthly fees.

Which, I'm sure, you will welcome as a brilliant idea.

[Méo]

Originally Posted by Piggy

Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific, made a lasting solid impact on the franchise's growing fan base

SH4 sold 50 000 copies in the U.S.

U.S. represents approximately 45% of worldwide sales.

Originally Posted by Piggy

Niche game.... LOL

Originally Posted by ParaB

Start with enforcing online accounts even for offline, singleplayer games. Introduce DLC bound to said accounts. Offer "premium services" for monthly fees like MP servers, content packs, re-download guarantee etc. Reduce service for "free" accounts.

Remember, they need to make more money per unit sold to account for the lost units, optional downloads for money will not cut the mustard. Charging more would work, but thats a lot less subtle and is likely to lose the company money on sticker shock alone. Releasing a war game with half of a war is a nice way to double your income (which is a good thing/the whole point), actually a great idea.

[FIREWALL]

So when Ubisoft speaks it's, the voice of GOD and everyone bow and be believers....

Get a life.

[tater]

Actually really 1/4 the war. They could certainly do USN Fleet boats, and IJN boats. They could do u-boats for the ATO, and Allied escorts as another game. The latter is ideal for adding online content to a submarine game. Sell a "SH: Hunter Killers" or something using the existing DDs, DEs, etc, but with at least a bridge model in 3d. Maybe some guns, too.

Use the extant sonar stuff, maybe improved. Do convoy duty. Perhaps not as exciting as subs...

but allow players with the surface combatant game to "drop in" on u-boat players' games.

U-boat player (OSP) makes an attack, or gets detected (either tells the AI there is a sub around), and the game goes out and asks currently online "SH: Hunter Killers" players if they'd like to take over an AI escort prosecuting a player sub. they accept, and poof, that DE is now manned by a real person.

HUGE value added.

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Piggy

Edit: Silent Hunter is the most award-winning submarine series of all time, with nearly 1.5 million copies sold worldwide. This franchise's previous release, Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific, made a lasting solid impact on the franchise's growing fan base after it was released to worldwide critical acclaim, including being named 2007's "Simulation Game of the Year” by PC Gamer.

Niche game.... LOL

there was a discussion about this here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=161973

near as we can figure out, the total sales of all units are around 800,000

-sh 1 - 300,000
-sh 2 - 200,000
-sh 3 - 200,000
-sh 4 - 100,000

Not sure where the 1.5 million comes from, unless they count expansion packs like the SH4 U-Boat addon as a unit. SH1 had a few addons also, it sounds like a lot, but these are sales for the last 15 years, so yes the SH series is very mcuh a niche game.

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by tater

Actually really 1/4 the war. They could certainly do USN Fleet boats, and IJN boats. They could do u-boats for the ATO, and Allied escorts as another game. The latter is ideal for adding online content to a submarine game. Sell a "SH: Hunter Killers" or something using the existing DDs, DEs, etc, but with at least a bridge model in 3d. Maybe some guns, too.

Use the extant sonar stuff, maybe improved. Do convoy duty. Perhaps not as exciting as subs...

but allow players with the surface combatant game to "drop in" on u-boat players' games.

U-boat player (OSP) makes an attack, or gets detected (either tells the AI there is a sub around), and the game goes out and asks currently online "SH: Hunter Killers" players if they'd like to take over an AI escort prosecuting a player sub. they accept, and poof, that DE is now manned by a real person.

HUGE value added.

+1000

I though a while back, if they are keeping us online anyway might as well make use of it. Have bug/crash data sent back to help sort out problems. See other players sail in and out of port. X's U-boat sighted. A lot of positive things you could do with the DRM other than just being tied to a damn server to play.

[Eightbit]

Originally Posted by tater

1. Adopt a system like Napoleon: Total War where players can "drop in" and take the place of what would be AI in other players' campaigns. You'd never know if the DE near that enemy convoy was one of the various AI skill levels or some player hell bent on sinking a u-boat. Priceless.

2. The limiting factor on the immersiveness of the AI avatars is almost certainly their repertoire of audio files. Have the online connection trickle a new one to every copy of the game for every X hours of play (they'd need to have a special folder that these are pulled from so it doesn't continuously break mods that use the same files).

3. Weather? Perhaps a system that populates the game world with "real" weather where the clouds match current satellite pictures updated every so often (maybe pulled from X days back).

4. Streaming audio content (radio traffic, music, etc).

There might be more, though #1 would be a huge selling point, and #2 cool, but less spectacular.

you just made me cream my pants. Imagine something minor like radio reports of other peoples exploits. Would be pretty sweet.

[wetwarev7]

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

Ok guys i'll make this as simple as i can.

Piracy is having a massive impact on getting PC games funded and green-lit (approved for production), more and more people are gaining acess to always-on broadband and the software required to pirate any game, software or movie they wish. Due to the unique way in which the internet is decentralized and tends to treat censorship or intrusion in any way like a body treats an infection (Contain and replace), i dont see this stopping any time in the future, or at least the next 10 years.

At the same time the costs associated with making a video game have skyrocketed, gamers demand bigger worlds, more accurate animations, gone are the days when it was a 2d bar with buttons and text speech. So the income has simultaneously been cut, while the costs continue to skyrocket.

Facts???

People keep parroting things like "Piracy is having a massive impact" and "costs associated with making a video game have skyrocketed" and other suppositions and labeling them facts in defense of this goat rodeo.

And yet not a single person has ever offered actual figures on things like this.

Here's a fact for ya. I can't play the game I paid for!

[Piggy]

Originally Posted by Méo

SH4 sold 50 000 copies in the U.S.

U.S. represents approximately 45% of worldwide sales.

I noticed you omitted SH3...

Here's a thought, deliver a product that works, doesnt CTD, isnt full of bugs and if it is patch it quickly. But when you have a track record of releasing unfinished products (Sh3 and 4) time and time again and your sales for further incarnations of a series suffer, dont blame it on pirates and the game being a niche game, it's no ones fault but themselves.

Potential buyers are being turned off right now because when you google SH5 you get a ton of negatives.

Look, I dont want to argue with anyone here but when a poster with 3 posts comes in here and writes a blog about the reasons why UBI did this, it just stink of a Shill.

Here a test to see if a game is truly a niche game...

Is the game on mainstream store shelves? YES.

Not Niche.

[tater]

Hat tip to ducimus for this link:



DRM about 3:32. Spot on.

[Ragtag]

There was an article on Ubisofts new DRM in Norways biggest newspaper today. Looks like the Customer rights department is going to look into it. Spokesman from the department expressed that he was skeptical and said they would look into it. They are also going to look at other DRM's in games this fall. These things takes time but i'm glad that they will take a look at it.

Apple lost their case here a couple of years ago and had to remove DRM on MP3's that prevented the buyer to use the bought songs on other devices than the one it was downloaded to.

[|TG|gunjunkie]

Originally Posted by tater

1. Adopt a system like Napoleon: Total War where players can "drop in" and take the place of what would be AI in other players' campaigns. You'd never know if the DE near that enemy convoy was one of the various AI skill levels or some player hell bent on sinking a u-boat. Priceless.

2. The limiting factor on the immersiveness of the AI avatars is almost certainly their repertoire of audio files. Have the online connection trickle a new one to every copy of the game for every X hours of play (they'd need to have a special folder that these are pulled from so it doesn't continuously break mods that use the same files).

3. Weather? Perhaps a system that populates the game world with "real" weather where the clouds match current satellite pictures updated every so often (maybe pulled from X days back).

4. Streaming audio content (radio traffic, music, etc).

There might be more, though #1 would be a huge selling point, and #2 cool, but less spectacular.

This really, is the huge gap that exists between the right way to do this and what we currently have...

(first post by the way, hi all).

If only the suits thought this way. Kill two birds with one stone. Achieve the goals of the DRM, in a way that benefits customers and moves a game from evolutionary to revolutionary.

Sadly, this kind of thinking in the corporate echelons of the game biz is incredibly lacking. Quite frankly, I bought SH5 (besides reservations on the DRM) because I felt that I preferred this type of DRM to Starforce/Securerom that does things to my operating system that I would prefer not to have done to my operating system. That UBI can't run a server is the problem. That is the issue for me. I don't take their excuses for a second, because I do server stuff professionally, and I know that the issue they are having was completely, 100% avoidable, with enough care and design. That's sloppy. That is the problem. Spend the money, make it robust, this stuff isn't actually that hard.

I can only hope that developers of traditionally single player games (like sims) will figure out N:TW's drop in system (revolutionary), and decide to use it. I wouldn't complain about the DRM at all if it lead to this.