Hey Ubi, consider this...

ERPP8 · 04-19-10, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetwarev7

(I know, this isn't Ubisofts website, but they have very good ears here)
You know, when stores lose lots of money due to shoplifting, they usually bump the prices up on everything else a bit so the paying customers make up the difference. Not so great for the customer, but it is an established and accepted practice.

Considering that I've always thought any of the Silent Hunter games were worth more than I paid for them (once they were patched that is), why not have a less intrusive protection validation system and just charge a bit more based on how much you guesstimate your loss to be?

Let's do some math. I don't know the actual figures, so lets get a nice range. Lets start by saying the game cost $40. You sell 10,000 copies. That's $400,000. Let's say 1% get stolen, which would be 100 copies or $4000.

1% of 10,000 = 100 copies (at $40) = $4000 loss
10,000 - 100 = 9900 copies = $396,000 sales

Ok? I didn't misplace a decimal or anything did I? Good. Let's spread that $4000 loss over the other 9900 copies that got paid for.

$4000 / 9900 = $2.475

So what if the thefts were higher, such as 10%?
10% of 10,000 = 1000 copies (at $40) = $40,000 loss
10,000 - 1000 = 9000 copies (at $40) = $360,000 sales
$40,000 / 9000 copies = $4.44

What about 1,000,000 copies and 20% theft rate?
20% of 1,000,000 = 200,000 copies (at $40) = $8,000,000 loss
1,000,000 - 200,000 = 800,000 copies (at $40) = $32,000,000 sales
$8,000,000 / 800,000 copies = $10

So, you could have charged from $2.47 to $10 extra instead of having an always online requirement.

I would have paid more for SH5 than you currently charged to avoid the always online requirement. I'd have grumbled a bit, and maybe been a bit more vocal about the bugs, but I'd have paid it and would still be willing to buy your next product. And it just seems to make more sense to charge a bit more than to commit to the financial liability of running servers 24/7.

EULA: MyIdea is trademarked by me. If you use MyIdea, any products sold using MyIdea becomes my intellectual property rights and all profits must be handed over to me. Too late, you've already read MyIdea, you can't return it, you have to agree to this now or uninstall MyIdea from your brain. You may purchase the uninstaller program for MyIdea for $100, and yes, it does look quite similar to a hammer....

Nerd

Just kidding

Adriatico · 04-19-10, 06:19 PM

After AC2... the Settlers are also "DRM liberated" these days...
maybe it's time for Ubi to stop this mockery and apologize to it's real clients base... while black market is having fun and enjoying AC2 and Settlers.

Lord Justice · 04-19-10, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERPP8

Nerd

Just kidding

As you very justly thought!!

Fire_Spy · 04-19-10, 07:21 PM

Sooo Ubisoft is doing away with manuals to provide us with more robust manuals??

I miss the days of buying a game and getting a Manual to rival the size of "The lord of the Rings" novels. I still have old manuals that I like to read just for the extra content they have in them..

SilentOtto · 04-19-10, 11:11 PM

I think time is of the essence in this issues which you comment and in which I agree. And Ubi (again?) seems to have missed completely the point that us, their sub-gaming hardcore community are PATIENT, god, we have waited years for their releases, bought their games when we knew they were mostly unfinished, but we want them to go on developing this stuff we love, don't we?

WHY don't they understand, that some more time for developing, some more time (and care!!!) for good printed manuals, and maps, even if it has to be with a higher retail price (most of us have paid 40-60€ or $ or whatever for other releases, they come every two years so they are affordable for most of us) well, all that would make us buy their games. Kids who play shoot'em ups are NOT their public for this series. But they don't get the idea. Offer us all that stuff, offer us an amazing online league (of course there you can set all your anti-piracy controls on and whatnot, as for updates, etc), offer us things that make us want to pay, as you fellows have said.

I own every SH release (except SH5!), I got the collector's edition for SH4, I did all I could to enjoy the series, and also to help the company. But for me this is too much. I don't play SH4 much, since sadly (for me) it has never had the "edge" interest or fun I had with SH3, or even with SH2 and all its early problems...

I feel a sim-orphan now. It's time to take a look again at SH4 mods, and also at some the free projects that are around, slowly growing... Of course those will take long to complete, and are a big work, but there is no EVILNESS behind them.

So for me, SH series end here. What a pity companies are only lead by the ideal of making money (and lately, sucking all the information they can from their users!)

NOTE: This was my rant, and I feel I have the right to express it! :P

kylania · 04-19-10, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentOtto

NOTE: This was my rant, and I feel I have the right to express it! :P

But... but.. your name is SilentOtto!

SilentOtto · 04-20-10, 12:04 AM

¬¬ it is!

04-20-10, 12:33 AM

Sigh...the old Falcon 4 manual.

Remember the days when you would spend almost a week reading the manual before playing the game?

I understand this is not cost-feasible any longer, all I ask is that developers stop claiming that pdf manuals and materials will be robust or immersive. Stop it, it's insulting.

04-19-10, 06:19 PM	#2
Adriatico Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2007 Location: Periscope depth Posts: 860 Downloads: 119 Uploads: 0	After AC2... the Settlers are also "DRM liberated" these days... maybe it's time for Ubi to stop this mockery and apologize to it's real clients base... while black market is having fun and enjoying AC2 and Settlers. __________________

04-19-10, 07:21 PM	#4
Fire_Spy Mate Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rockingham,Western Australia Posts: 52 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Sooo Ubisoft is doing away with manuals to provide us with more robust manuals?? I miss the days of buying a game and getting a Manual to rival the size of "The lord of the Rings" novels. I still have old manuals that I like to read just for the extra content they have in them.. __________________ The Russians knew where the carrier group was, but it would move in the four hours required by the bombers to get there. Their missiles needed precise information if they were to home in on the raid's primary target, the two American and one French carrier, or the mission was a wasted effort. The game was hide and seek, played over a million square miles of ocean. The losers died. Last edited by Fire_Spy; 04-19-10 at 07:21 PM. Reason: Frodo made me do it!

04-19-10, 11:11 PM	#5
SilentOtto Engineer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: BF79 Posts: 209 Downloads: 71 Uploads: 0	I think time is of the essence in this issues which you comment and in which I agree. And Ubi (again?) seems to have missed completely the point that us, their sub-gaming hardcore community are PATIENT, god, we have waited years for their releases, bought their games when we knew they were mostly unfinished, but we want them to go on developing this stuff we love, don't we? WHY don't they understand, that some more time for developing, some more time (and care!!!) for good printed manuals, and maps, even if it has to be with a higher retail price (most of us have paid 40-60€ or $ or whatever for other releases, they come every two years so they are affordable for most of us) well, all that would make us buy their games. Kids who play shoot'em ups are NOT their public for this series. But they don't get the idea. Offer us all that stuff, offer us an amazing online league (of course there you can set all your anti-piracy controls on and whatnot, as for updates, etc), offer us things that make us want to pay, as you fellows have said. I own every SH release (except SH5!), I got the collector's edition for SH4, I did all I could to enjoy the series, and also to help the company. But for me this is too much. I don't play SH4 much, since sadly (for me) it has never had the "edge" interest or fun I had with SH3, or even with SH2 and all its early problems... I feel a sim-orphan now. It's time to take a look again at SH4 mods, and also at some the free projects that are around, slowly growing... Of course those will take long to complete, and are a big work, but there is no EVILNESS behind them. So for me, SH series end here. What a pity companies are only lead by the ideal of making money (and lately, sucking all the information they can from their users!) NOTE: This was my rant, and I feel I have the right to express it! :P

04-20-10, 12:04 AM	#7
SilentOtto Engineer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: BF79 Posts: 209 Downloads: 71 Uploads: 0	¬¬ it is!

04-20-10, 12:33 AM	#8
trotter Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Sigh...the old Falcon 4 manual. Remember the days when you would spend almost a week reading the manual before playing the game? I understand this is not cost-feasible any longer, all I ask is that developers stop claiming that pdf manuals and materials will be robust or immersive. Stop it, it's insulting.