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[Amagon]

It happened during the maturity of the CD format. Blood allowed you to copy the Smack videos to a special folder so you could play without a CD and using MIDI music instead of red book audio.

It wasn't the norm, but a bunch of games gave you the option to perform full installs (very costly, since they could take up to 800 MB, and most people's drives were 2.5 GB or less.) Then Safedisc and Laserlock came to fuck everyone in the ass.

I've been out of the loop from PC gaming for years but dont they usual offer 'cracks' to play without the cd still if you look around for it on some sites? Either way, all my available pc games are DD anyway.

 

[MMaRsu]

I've been out of the loop from PC gaming for years but dont they usual offer 'cracks' to play without the cd still if you look around for it on some sites? Either way, all my available pc games are DD anyway.

Yes but those are "illegal" and the full install option/no cd necessary was actually put in by devs themselves to spare PC gamers the trouble of changing discs or keeping it in the drive.

 

[SiriusTexra]

Wow. I literally had this in my wishlist, I was going to buy it.

That's a shame.

 

[NBtoaster]

Remember when developers allowed you to make a full install so you wouldn't even need to have the CD on the tray?

Good times.

This industry is so fucking backwards.

I think EA disc games today give you a choice between online authentication at installation or disc authentication. At least that's how Crysis 2 is. Hopefully Battlefield 3 is like that.

Though I think it uses securom too, so limited activations. I understand that's a problem for people who uninstall alot because of pc upgrades or whatever..

 

[Saty]

On a related note: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/28/ubisoft-our-drm-is-a-success/

Ubisoft see the DRM as a success, however. Speaking to us earlier today a Ubisoft representative admitted that the developer has seen “a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success.”

Now, it's fine that these games were pirated less, but the key question is: did these games gain sufficient sales?

 

[beje]

So, how much until /v/ DDoS the fuck out of their servers like they did with AC2 so nobody except pirates can play?

 

[MadScientist]

Doesn't HAWX 2 PC still has that DRM too?

yup and still remains uncracked 8? months later, not many games you can say that about on pc

Interesting.

HAWX 2 is not really a high profile game, so maybe the hackers just don't bother.

Yet I believe that a server-client based game can be superbly pirate-proof, if enough code can be put on the server side. If Ubisoft indeed developed a method to prevent piracy for a meaningful time span, mass adoption would certainly flush a lot of money into the market allowing for more, bigger and better PC games.

 

[Buzzati]

So, I'm going to say a non-internet-needed version of this will be hacked and released almost immediately, while legit buyers get screwed. Cool.

 

[subversus]

So, I'm going to say a non-internet-needed version of this will be hacked and released almost immediately, while legit buyers get screwed. Cool.

as a person above posted HAWX2 is still uncracked.

 

[BobJustBob]

On a related note: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/28/ubisoft-our-drm-is-a-success/

Now, it's fine that these games were pirated less, but the key question is: did these games gain sufficient sales?

I don't see how they were pirated less when AFAIK the copy protection was broken on every game using the DRM, leaving the pirates with the superior version once again. Ubi: source plz.

 

[NE1WeKnow]

I'm sensing a mixed reaction. Those who genuinely have poor Internet and cam foresee difficulties playing the game for a sustained period of time. Then there's those who just want to rebel and pose that the DRM does little to stop piracy but have no facts to back that up.

Is it possible that the DRM is flexible enough to work through server and connectivity issues i.e. if Ubisoft servers go down, the game will withstand that for a while? Similarly, if the client loses connectivity the game can cope with that? Perhaps it is "always on within reason"?

Anyone had first hand experience with a game with this type of DRM?

 

[Deadbeat]

as a person above posted HAWX2 is still uncracked.

But Assassins Creed 2 was done in 3 weeks. Its all about the game's quality.

 

[brotkasten]

But Assassins Creed 2 was done in 3 weeks. Its all about the game's quality.

3 weeks is an excellent result. Publishers are usually happy, when they can prevent day 0/day 1 piracy, but 3 weeks is really, really good. That's the timeframe when the games sell.

 

[The M.O.B]

According to Wikipedia it took over a month.

Sorta

EDIT

Silent Hunter 5 was cracked in under 24hrs after release.

No AC2 like I originally thought, that was cracked in 3 weeks, but Silent Hunter that uses the same type of DRM was cracked quickly.

 

[domlolz]

I'd like to play From Dust but this news has made me question purchasing it...I'll still buy it probably

 

[gabbo]

Really not loving where the video game industry has gone this generation.

• Sell now, fix later line of thinking with the rise of downloadable patches and broadband internet.
• Games requiring services
• Games with "limited" editions or special releases with bonus content.
• DDs of individual classic titles instead of nice, boxed collections.
• In-game advertising.

I'm running out of companies to give my money to.

- PC gaming has always had patches and updates. They used to be significant and have a lot of bonus content, so i'll give you half for this one.
- Gabe Newell really pushed this line of thinking into gaming, with Steam. Where is your BasedGabe now?
- Limited/special editions have been around for ages, or do I need to show you a Quake 3 tin case?
- GoG is not your enemy. This isn't necessarily bad, if only a couple games in a series were any good.
- In game advertising is also older than this generation, it was just rare.

I'd like to play From Dust but this news has made me question purchasing it...I'll still buy it probably

I'm worried about this too.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Well according to Ubisoft this DRM is a success.

An Ubisoft representative told PC Gamer earlier today that the company had recently seen "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success."

So we can sure as hell expect it to keep going well past this game.

 

[subversus]

But Assassins Creed 2 was done in 3 weeks. Its all about the game's quality.

it's all about game's popularity. I think Driver isn't as popular as AssCreed.

 

[Htown]

Not buying the new Driver game, then.

I mean, I probably wasn't going to, anyway, but it's nice that they've taken that decision entirely out of my hands.

 

[NullPointer]

Is there a single person on GAF who was semi-interested in this game?

Very.

But where I thought I might have jumped in with the PC version that idea is now dead in the water. And even buying it for a console feels dirty. I think I'll have to wait for bomba pricing.

 

[epmode]

Well according to Ubisoft this DRM is a success.

It succeeded in getting me to wait for 75%-off sales before I buy something I would have had on day one. Or I just don't buy at all. Anno

 

[Nabs]

Well, this is a quick way to kill any interest from me.

 

[SapientWolf]

On a related note: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/28/ubisoft-our-drm-is-a-success/

Now, it's fine that these games were pirated less, but the key question is: did these games gain sufficient sales?

Furthermore, they need to determine how many legitimate buyers were dissuaded from purchasing due to the draconian DRM. Those are real lost sales, as opposed to hypothetical lost sales from piracy.

 

[SneakyStephan]

as a person above posted HAWX2 is still uncracked.

Because nobody cares about it.

ACII was cracked pretty fast. (2-3 weeks? and only because it was a learning process to figure out how to deal with it).

Perhaps driver won't be cracked either, but it'll just be because there isn't enough interest in it for the scene groups to bother.
If that was ubisoft's goal, success I guess?

Besides, if their only goal were to stall piracy by 2 weeks to get initial sales, they could patch that shitty drm out of the game after a month or so, so legit users wouldn't be fucked a while down the line when ubi inevitably shuts down the servers that handle the drm connection and uploads.

If I want to play pop 1 , a 22 year old game, I load up dosbox and can still play.
(or doom or any other old game).
GL playing driver in 10 years, but I forgot, games are a completely throwaway product now, unlike music or movies.