So even with the draconian and just outrageous DRM they force feed all PC Gamers, they are STILL claming these piracy rates? Did it occur to them if they treated their customers better, they might HAVE more legitimate customers? I’ve stopped buying UBISOFT games some time ago, breaking my own rule only for Heroes VI which didn’t turn out to be a great reason to break my no-UBI games rule, but I have a hard time believing that they only sell 7% of their PC games.
In before Tom complains about linking to joystiq instead of the actual article.
In any case, he’s clearly using it to justify moving towards the free to play model and to justify their DRM policies, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. Specifically, we don’t have any information about how they’re measuring it, and the usual caveats that a pirated copy is not always indicative of a lost sale.
This is almost certainly true. It’s an awful way for consumers to rail agains DRM, but I do believe Brad Wardell is correct in his assumption that if you treat people fairly and don’t lock down your games with crappy DRM, people will honestly appreciate that and you will probably find a happier customer base is a lucrative one. Or I would hope that’s how it works.
I would say that’s likely. Such a shame that their DRM doesn’t appear to be working for them.
Brad & Stardock are an interesting example. Even with the fiasco that was Elemental:WoM and other trials and tribulations that the company has gone through, I’ve seen comments on how well Sins has done since the sale of Impulse and anecdotally I’ve seen slumping use of Impulse/Gamestop after the switch. There really seems to be something to the notion that treating your customers with decency even in an online transaction can keep them with you.
That is a very likely prospect. I just stopped buying their games due to the DRM, i don’t need their games ‘that bad’. So it is a simple choice, thanks ubisoft you’ve saved me money :)
So hang on, hes claiming the rate of piracy is the same as the rate of people who play F2P games without paying?
I can’t even be bothered arguing with that rubbish. But even if its true, it seems like terrible marketing. Shouldn’t he be telling us how Ubisoft are making awesome new games customers want to pay for? Rather than saying how he plans to monetize a “brand”. I’m surprised Ubisofts marketing guys let this guy out in public.
Yves, Yves, Yves. You’re a nice guy but can you just shut the fuck up please?
I’m sure his comments were meant to illustrate that in countries notorious for software piracy (hint, we’re not talking about the US or most of Europe) Ubisoft has histroically had a difficult time selling full-price PC games and that they’ve experienced more success recently with the free-to-play model with microtransactions so that’s how they are looking at marketing to such territories in the future. It makes sense, but his comments are overblown bullshit not supported by any real numbers at all. Worse, his unintentional (one would hope) vagueness seems to paint ALL PC games with his ridiculous 95% piracy rate.
Coming on the heels of all the Ubisoft DRM hate and some other recent blunders, I would have expected the Ubisoft PR people to be on high alert for nonsense like this. Obviously nobody at Ubisoft gives a rat’s ass about their reputation in the industry, as long as the sheeple keep snatching up Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, etc. so the money hats continue to flow.
Well UBIsoft had a stretch before their draconian DRM that their games WERE unprotected other than a simple keycheck around 2008-2009. Those games got raped. (Prince of Persia 2008 etc.)
This is true for so many companies. As long as the cash is flowing, management believes their own bullshit. I worked for a one time successful gaming company that no longer exists, they also became a victim of their own hubris.
Seriously, he was talking to an industry magazine, and he’s the CEO of a huge company. So, obviously it’ll be about “brands”, “revenue”, “customer retention”, and all that. It’s not like any of his statements will have a negative impact on the mass market audience publishers are gunning for. It’ll be discussed by people like us in forums like QT3, it’ll be mentioned in some gaming magazines, but we’re certainly the minority here - the rest of the audience will never get to read or really care about some business man delivering business language.
“93-95%” figure reeks of balderdash and cherry-picked, out-of-context data, particularly for a company infamous for its horrendous PC DRM.
Statement almost assuredly used to placate worried investors that Ubisoft’s continued investment into PC has method to madness, since free-to-play-plus-micro-transactions is path to Nirvana…but trumped-up piracy figure is both slap in the face to PC retail gaming and worse, potentially something that will spook other game company executives from developing PC games.
Inelegant statements at best, irresponsible and damaging at worst.
One could argue that Prince of Persia flopped on the PC due to its “you can’t die” mechanics and the fact that the “epilogue DLC” for the real ending never made it to the platform.
Frankly I have given up caring about Ubisoft’s fantasy view of the world of PC gaming.
As there games are usually already bargain-binned at release I pick up the few I care about and ignore the rest.
So if they’re still seeing 95% piracy rates, would that not mean that their DRM is a complete failure on that front and shouldn’t they remove it, as it’s an irritant and pain in the ass to paying customers?
Anecdotally, none of my friends or social circle purchases Ubisoft games anymore, ever since they implemented the DRM. It’s not just the DRM, it’s that combined with their always-delayed PC releases as well, but the DRM is the major component.
