PC Piracy at 95% according to UBISOFT.

Am I the only one that doesn't have a problem with uplay? I bought a few games from their weekend sale and they all work perfectly; I don't see why everyone hates it more than steam or origin.

That 95% statistic is completely bogus; I doubt 95% of PC gamers even know how to use torrent clients or find and install pirated games from the internet.
 
Q-BZ said:
It's DRM. That's what everyone's bitching about right? All DRM is bad, isn't it?
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Steam is DRM? How so? I've always been fascinated if not puzzled by this way of thinking that people have that Steam is DRM.

It's an online game store. Oh, but I get it now.....Steam games require Steam to play, right? Well, the first time they run, sure. After that, they all work in offline mode. I know, because I've tried quite a few. But surely Steam can go down one day in a blaze of glory and take my 225 games along with it, right? No, not exactly....since Valve has said that if they ever have to shut down, they will release, free, clear, and easily attainable, the tools to be able to play all our Steam games without needing to use the Steam client anymore.

Versus

Ubisoft, who puts shit in their games that requires online connectivity, which refuses to work in any fashion if there is no online connectivity no matter if it's the first or the hundredth time you've played the game. Who also puts users at security risks because their software has exploits and holes that require patching. And rootkits...those too.

Yeah, these two are totally alike! :rolleyes:

Look, you can argue all day if you want that Steam is DRM. I suppose from a definition standpoint, maybe it is. However, IMHO - Steam (and Origin) are both inobtrusive. I have no problem running the Steam client while playing games, because then I can use the other features built into the client. It's not bothersome. It doesn't secretly put other shit on my computer or leave me open to a security risk.
 
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zero2dash said:
Valve has said that if they ever have to shut down, they will release, free, clear, and easily attainable, the tools to be able to play all our Steam games without needing to use the Steam client anymore.
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Talk is cheap.

And it wasn't until a day or so ago, 8 years into the service, that they finally fixed their offline mode so that it correctly worked for me.
 
djsb said:
Talk is cheap.
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The notion that Steam is going to "shut down" is laughable at this point. :rolleyes:
I bring it up because it goes to show that Valve has actually stated that just to shut people up from spreading FUD; then again, there's still plenty of people wearing tinfoil hats, possibly such as yourself.

Two minutes on wikipedia pulls up:
Sales figures for Steam have not been released by Valve. However, Stardock, the previous owner of competing platform Impulse, estimated that, as of 2009, Steam had a 70% share of the digital distribution market for video games.[8] In early 2011, Forbes reported that Steam sales constituted 50 to 70% of the $4 billion market for downloaded PC games and that Steam offered game producers gross margins of 70% of purchase price, compared with 30% at retail.[92] In 2011, Steam served over 780 petabytes of information, double what it had delivered in 2010.[93]
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I was not "sold" on Steam when I made an account back when I did. At this point, it's the only online DD service that I really trust.
Clearly Valve cares about PC gamers. They bend over backwards for us when you really think about it. All the stuff you can get in Steam for free and all the free updates for TF2 that have increased the replayability of the game exponentially. Their daily, weekly, and yearly sales.
I'm sorry, you and anyone else can naysay and doubt Valve and Steam all you want, but IMHO they can do no wrong in my book. I'll freely admit that yes, I'm a Valve/Steam kool-aid drinker; I have no reason not to be. :)
 
zero2dash said:
Steam is DRM? How so? I've always been fascinated if not puzzled by this way of thinking that people have that Steam is DRM.

It's an online game store. Oh, but I get it now.....Steam games require Steam to play, right? Well, the first time they run, sure. After that, they all work in offline mode. I know, because I've tried quite a few. But surely Steam can go down one day in a blaze of glory and take my 225 games along with it, right? No, not exactly....since Valve has said that if they ever have to shut down, they will release, free, clear, and easily attainable, the tools to be able to play all our Steam games without needing to use the Steam client anymore.

Versus

Ubisoft, who puts shit in their games that requires online connectivity, which refuses to work in any fashion if there is no online connectivity no matter if it's the first or the hundredth time you've played the game. Who also puts users at security risks because their software has exploits and holes that require patching. And rootkits...those too.

Yeah, these two are totally alike! :rolleyes:

Look, you can argue all day if you want that Steam is DRM. I suppose from a definition standpoint, maybe it is. However, IMHO - Steam (and Origin) are both inobtrusive. I have no problem running the Steam client while playing games, because then I can use the other features built into the client. It's not bothersome. It doesn't secretly put other shit on my computer or leave me open to a security risk.
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Simplified....

Almost transparent DRM done right vs shitty,intrusive DRM.
 
This guy and his immediate employees tend to shit talk PC gamers really often. Now he is saying his DRM is completely useless by presenting fictional statistics, yet still supports it. Methinks mental instability is the root of his problems.
 
I don't think that Valve will shut down Steam any time soon. I have plenty of games on Steam. Point is, companies can and do change their EULA at any time for any reason. Treating DRM as a safe deposit box for your purchases is silly. But as you said, you drank the kool aid. And as I said, it was only until yesterday that Steam wasn't intrusive and obnoxious when it came to running games offline.
 
djsb said:
I don't think that Valve will shut down Steam any time soon. I have plenty of games on Steam. Point is, companies can and do change their EULA at any time for any reason. Treating DRM as a safe deposit box for your purchases is silly. But as you said, you drank the kool aid. And as I said, it was only until yesterday that Steam wasn't intrusive and obnoxious when it came to running games offline.
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I can't even remember the last time I didn't have an always-on internet connection. It's been at least a decade if not longer.
 
djsb said:
Treating DRM as a safe deposit box for your purchases is silly.
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Potayto, potahto.
All my games are in 1 spot. I consider that a positive, you apparently consider that a negative.
Fact is, my games won't get stolen, lost, or broken in the cloud.
I can re-download and install them as much as I want.
If I wanted physical copies, I could burn disks of the install files; the EULA of each game is still the same whether it's a store bought shelf physical copy or a digital download...you're still paying for the right to use the game, you don't actually own the game.

Rizen said:
I can't even remember the last time I didn't have an always-on internet connection. It's been at least a decade if not longer.
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+1 and that's why I don't have a problem with it.
The only time my connection goes down is when the power goes out, and when that happens, the computer goes down too. :D
 
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Thats because 99% of their games suck. there is a whole forum of disappointed paying customers here they basically aren't competent to help (http://forums.ubi.com/forumdisplay.php/185-Ghost-Recon-Future-Soldier-PC). Mine still looks like 720p stretched and all the promise of dx11, etc, etc. Yea, right!

Seriously, this guy needs a reality check. Funny how max payne 3, BF3 and diablo 3 can sell millions of units and UBIsoft titles can't. ....maybe it's time to look at the crappy ports you bang out 3 months after the console version - and realize its YOU!

we need this guys twitter account
 
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Well, I was considering buying Assassins Creed for my Vita since Ubisoft had shut the fuck up recently but I was wrong and I won't be buying shit now or ever from this company.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Every other study ever done using fact says that number is about 70% too high. Unless you count countries like Kazakhstan.
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Given the statement
The advantage of F2P is that we can get revenue from countries where we couldn't previously - places where our products were played but not bought. Now with F2P we gain revenue, which helps brands last longer.
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I'm going to guess that counts places like Kazakhstan, or more realistically, China in which case I can see 95% of the copies running those countries being pirated. Places like that are not going to represent much in the way of potential sales or revenue to being with.

If you're talking about places like Western Europe and the North America, yea, it's a fabrication.

It's a typical appeal to emotion from the games industry: We have to make it always online and hit you with micro transaction every 30 minutes because otherwise only 1 in 20 of you will pay us anything.
OK, that's nice. But the 19 who wouldn't have paid before aren't going to sit through being nickle and dimed in your online game, nor would a lot of them be able to support the model if they wanted to. So how is this going to increase revenue? Or make for a better player experience? Or help you reach out to your paying customers?

Free to get into - pay to play games can work, especially in markets where cost to entry really is a major factor in piracy, but it seems stupid to force that on to all your players, most of the ones who can afford to, and are willing to buy into the traditional sales model don't want it.
 
No snow/thunderstorms knocking out power or internet in the last decade? Lucky guy.
 
Right. The people who can afford to and want to buy the games already do. Many people in third world countries and/or countries that don't shun copyright infringement never will. If you can't treat the ones that obviously do, in large part, pay for the games with respect, you should step down as CEO.
 
Not interested in any Ubisoft titles, not even a pirated copy without their deplorable DRM.
 
BeastGTS said:
Am I the only one that doesn't have a problem with uplay? I bought a few games from their weekend sale and they all work perfectly; I don't see why everyone hates it more than steam or origin.

That 95% statistic is completely bogus; I doubt 95% of PC gamers even know how to use torrent clients or find and install pirated games from the internet.
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I don't think i believe the 95% but some of you are just saying its so high it can't possible be right.

world of goo experienced a 90% piracy rate

i think 95% is probably a little inflated in this regard, but don't think that piracy is anywhere near the kitten level that some of you in this thread or saying..

even infinity ward alluded to their piracy rate being about 40% , the original blog was gone, you can read a blurg about it here


I personally like F2P, like tribes ascend i can play for free, there are plenty of players to play on the servers.. and i'm one of those that has no interest in paying for weapons etc.. because i am content with the free weapons.

now the Mechwarrior online, i may be persuaded to buy a few things but IMO the F2P model is a great way to try and get around the piracy problem. Give away the super low base game and require in game transactions to get the rest.

For those that support piracy, this takes care of one of the stupid excuses of "I wanted to try before i bought it" or "I'm a poor college student"... well with F2P model games, you can try it before you buy into it and you don't even have to buy anything if you don't want to.
 
g1xx3r said:
Simplified....

Almost transparent DRM done right vs shitty,intrusive DRM.
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Simplified DRM would be.. No DRM.

I have had no issues ever with Uplay. It offers the same features as the competitors i don't see how its any different. Just another annoying app to run.

dnottis said:
Seriously, this guy needs a reality check. Funny how max payne 3, BF3 and diablo 3 can sell millions of units and UBIsoft titles can't. ....maybe it's time to look at the crappy ports you bang out 3 months after the console version - and realize its YOU!
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You clearly haven't played any of there Triple A titles on PC. Cause they are very well done. Might be some bug's ( Which every game has ) But as far as console port. I never feel like they are.
 
H-street said:
even infinity ward alluded to their piracy rate being about 40%
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How many would've bough the crap?
In Australia, most crap is $90....I've never paid more than $60, and that was Skyrim which I got 400hrs out of, LOL.
The bulk of games are actually crap, they're objectively crap, but crazy fanboys overlook all the crap and declare it had a interesting story{to them} or it was fun despite how objectively bad it was.
 
re Steam.....it works and is good value for money, but what's GFWL/Origin but a pair of turds...
 
And 95% of the words that come out of their mouth's is bullshit too, and products. Sooo who cares.
 
And another statistic - 95% of the UBI customers who paid good money for GRFS still can't play it online without it constantly crashing.

If UBI thinks the PC games market is such a problem - why don't they just can the PC as a platform? Why do they keep releasing PC titles if (almost) everyone is pirating them?
 
Oddly enough, the only games I've ever pirated were games I already owned. I only got cracked copies so I could play without the damn disc/inept DRM. I use to have DRM related crashes a lot.

But, the only PC games I buy now are purely on Steam since it's so damn convenient.
 
I like how the article is pulling the 95% piracy out of thin air. Unless the company is monitoring where everything is coming from, this number is pure unicorns.

The math does make as much sense as the article saying that 9 out of 10 games equals 95%. Is that the special DRM calculator?
 
I think they are covering the grave now, it was dug a while back.
 
Ubiwho?! Yeah, well its tiring seeing horrible publishers pushing out garbage and expecting people to hand out cash hand over fist for it.
 
:)
LeviathanZERO said:
This is [H].
You are wrong.
Last Ubisoft game I purchased was Rayman, on GBA. 2001.

But then again, you are right. This isnt a big deal.
Cats wont die, because of Ubisoft. Maybe Activision .....
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But then again you're a gamefly user. You're not supporting them, but you sure do play their games :D
 
Ubisoft is catering to pirates. Maybe they should launch a special store like , Ubi-bay or Pirate-soft..
 
Would make sense then, considering their horrific DRM. Has it gotten better? I haven't checked.
 
Sixthsense said:
:)

But then again you're a gamefly user. You're not supporting them, but you sure do play their games :D
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I do not have a gamefly account. ??

Wait a minute....
Did you really just res this thread and quote me, to say that?

Are you guys high, or am I? What the fuck is going on here?
 
·PitBuLL·;1039402204 said:
While I agree with you about Ubisoft, I can't support pirating. Would you walk into a store and steal a physical copy of Ubisoft's game?
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Please. You would get caught. :D
 
The funny thing is even if it is true, who cares? It still seems PC games can sell tons of copies. Some really sell a ton, Minecraft did 8 million copies, Diablo 3 10 millions, and most other good games did plenty. Witcher 2 did 1.1 million, Skyrim did at least 1.5 million (just on the PC) and so on. So it seems you can make plenty of money on PC games.

However you can see how silly that number is form looking at those sales. By that reckoning, there were 200 million pirated copies of Diablo 3. Really? You think that many people pirated it, and, more relevant, that they could have bought it if they couldn't?

I really don't get Ubisoft. They whine, bitch, and complain about PC piracy, but they keep making PC games, but just making them suck more. If it really was such an issue, you'd think they'd just stop making PC games, stick with consoles. While the PC is a big market, so are the consoles. You can release games on just a single console and still make plenty of cash.

However they keep releasing PC games which tells me they are making plenty of money on the PC, they are just being whiny bitches about it. They falsely assume that if you could eliminate piracy, it would lead to tons more sales.

For me it has been the opposite: Because of their crap DRM, I won't buy their games anymore. There have been a number of newer Ubi titles I've wanted, Settlers 7, HOMM 6 at the top of the list, but I won't buy them because of the always on DRM crap. No real matter, I have too many games and not enough time to play them. Other companies just get my money instead.
 
Yeah, I would love to buy Farcry 3, but negative.
 
Actually, with digital river, the only way to play the game legit is to pay for it then get it from somewhere else. Why? Bc they are fucking horrible and randomly completely fuck up and don't give you your key. I have been trying to get mine for ass creed 3 since last friday.
 
·PitBuLL·;1039402204 said:
While I agree with you about Ubisoft, I can't support pirating. Would you walk into a store and steal a physical copy of Ubisoft's game?
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You can't compare the two solutions. Ubisoft and their DRM has prevented me from playing their games before. I had to go through hell and back to get Splinter Cell to work, and then when they went online only their servers are POS. FarCry 3 multiplayer issues because they couldn't keep their servers up? Ubisoft is a horrible company when it comes to customer service, and they have a proven track record of not caring. So yes, i'm going to pirate the crap out of their games. Which is a shame for me because The Settlers is one of my favorite series of games. Your moral fiber may be better than mine, and congrats for that.
 
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