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Ubisoft explains DRM issues, apologizes for downtime
« on: 2010-03-08 20:52:17 » |
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The best layed plans .... copy write ... sigh
Cheers
Fritz
Soource: Ther Globe and Mail
Author: n/a
Date: Monday, March 8, 2010 5:58 PM
On Sunday, just days after the European and Australian launch of Assassin's Creed II for PC (it arrives in North America Tuesday), customers began complaining that they were unable to play.
It turns out that Assassin's Creed II employs a new digital rights management protocol that requires the player to maintain a constant Internet connection while playing. Ubisoft's PC servers were struck by a massive denial of service attack, limiting some players' ability to maintain that connection.
To find out more, I contacted Ubisoft Montreal's public relations manager, Christophe Grandjean. Here's what he had to say:
The Globe and Mail: Can you explain the new DRM system and why it is necessary?
Christophe Grandjean: Like all video games publishers and developers, Ubisoft’s innovation and creativity have a price and must be protected from the impact of piracy to whatever extent possible. We estimate the potential loss of revenue from piracy worldwide at approximately 15% of our total annual revenue, similar to the average of the industry.
This new online services platform frees the player from the usual constraints generated by anti-piracy measures such as limited installations or the need for a CD/DVD and provides him with an online saving system which allows him to pick up his game on any computer the game is installed on, simply using his Ubi.com account. All that is required is an internet connection.
TGAM: What is the nature of the problem that took place over the weekend?
CG: Our servers endured a massive DDoS attack. Around 5 per cent of people attempting to connect between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday received denial of service errors. We apologize to anybody who wasn’t able to play Assassin’s Creed II or Silent Hunter 5 yesterday.
TGAM: Has the issue been fully resolved?
CG: Yes, and our people are working hard to prevent such an attack from happening again.
TGAM: Is there no other way around the admittedly worrying issue of PC game piracy than to force players of an offline, single-player PC game like Assassin's Creed II to maintain a live Internet connection?
CG: There are other ways, and as you can see other developers are trying different solutions. Our decision to require the internet connection is based on a balance between our need to protect our titles and the fact that a live internet connection is a fairly common denominator for PC gamers.
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