Steam is a really great idea. I think in order to convert pirates into customers you make it IMPOSSIBLE to play without going online, and then use something like steam. Of course the prices are a bit much.

@ Marc:

Nice. Good to know. I was concerned that maybe Ubisoft found a way to create unbreakable DRM. Fortunately they didn’t. :)

There is a 100% working crack. Ubisoft really got me upset with this drm as i have a unreliable internet connection. Is it just me or is rewarding original game buyers instead of hating them a good idea?

@ SapientIdiot:

Let me know how that works out. I’m curious whether or not it is actually crackable.

@ Agammamon:

I’m pretty sure we will never hear a word about the sales figures unless they are overwhelmingly spectacular – as in, using this new DRM increased their sales 100% as compared to their non-protected titles or something.

As for the death kneel for PC gaming – perhaps not. As I said – there are still companies out there which refuse to drink the cool-aid. Valve is one example. Stardock is another.

Besides, there are some game genres like RTS, turn based strategies and sim-whatever type games that have never picked up on consoles. There will always be market for those on the PC.

I wonder how the total sales gained from this DRM scheme will measure up against sales lost because of it.

I never had any intention of buying AC2, but Silent Hunter and Settlers I would have. Basically they’ve lost two sales already and who knows how many in the future. Heck, I was going to buy CNC on a whim until I saw that it requires an always on connection. There’s another one that won’t get bought.

Stuff like this is probably the death knell for PC gaming. I’ve been playing games exclusively on the computer for over 2 decades but with the increasing capabilities of the hardware and “goodness” of the titles coupled with this crap means I’ll most likeley be migrating over in a couple of years.

There is a cracked version of AC2 on torrentleech and I’ve seen it on IRC for a while too. I’m downloading it to see for sure if it works, but i’ve never known those sources to be bad.

Oh yeah and great links!

Great laugh. Thanks mate.