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[Ranger X]

This is what leads me to believe Sony will follow suit. If they don't it'll be an amazing console but so was the Dreamcast and look at how far it got without EA.

But people had no other incentive to go Dreamcast. That's the problem. Now the CUSTOMER is having many incentive to go PS4. If its the consumer choice, its publishers that will follow suit. Would you seriously think publisher would have supported the Wii last gen if people didn't buy the machine crazy? Consumer dictate where the publishers will go.

 

[kuroshiki]

It still doesn't give MS a guilty free pass. MS and Sony are the ones who make the call at the end.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Of course it isn't the japanese companies because their home market is so tied to the 2nd hand market. At the very least PS4 will be open in Japan

Hmm, I wonder if that would lead to the return of region locking on PlayStation?

But then one could just buy a Japanese PS4 to play Square Enix published Collar Duty without DRM.

This is what leads me to believe Sony will follow suit. If they don't it'll be an amazing console but so was the Dreamcast and look at how far it got without EA.

EA makes a third of its revenue from Sony's platforms. It would be disastrous for EA to spurn the PS4.

 

[Madness]

If devs aren't getting the money and acclaim they deserve, they shouldn't blame used games, but the publishers and retailers.

Funny how the three biggest and money hungry publishers are the ones pushing for this.

 

[Ceebs]

So when they get their way, how long before they are brought to court on accusations of price fixing?

 

[metalslimer]

Hmm, I wonder if that would lead to the return of region locking on PlayStation?

But then one could just buy a Japanese PS4 to play Square Enix published Collar Duty without DRM.

The amount that will is minimal which is why I completely believed the PS4 will be region locked.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Absolutely believable. In fact its been a hunch of mine for some time they are behind the drive for it. You best believe they are going to "support" platforms that support it and ignore those that don't

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

So why is UBIsoft giving the WiiU so much support?

Not as much as the other systems though.

 

[Acorn]

I'm more pissed off at the people making this possible (Microsoft and possibly Sony). They are the ones taking away our rights.

Don't get me wrong, fuck these publishers too but without the platform makers work none of this would be possible.

 

[shola]

Prediction: Sony leaves DRM decisions up to the publishers. EA, Ubisoft, and Activision games will come with DRM. Gamers cry and rally together for a boycott and make hashtags and online petitions and all that jazz, then buy Mass Effect 4 anyway (it just looks so good!). Hooray, now there's DRM for everyone

basically this.

 

[Eusis]

Of course it isn't the japanese companies because their home market is so tied to the 2nd hand market. At the very least PS4 will be open in Japan

I have a feeling they probably wouldn't go for X1 in NA/Europe but follow their traditional plan in Japan, instead it'd probably be just allowing them to include activation keys but not depend on them universally. Which I'd kinda hope there'd be some backlash against the big publishers over this, even if it's just their slice of the pie shrinks due to alienating consumers and their voices aren't as important as they once were.

Prediction: Sony leaves DRM decisions up to the publishers. EA, Ubisoft, and Activision games will come with DRM. Gamers cry and rally together for a boycott and make hashtags and online petitions and all that jazz, then buy Mass Effect 4 anyway (it just looks so good!). Hooray, now there's DRM for everyone

After ME3's ending I don't think ME4 will be that game. Maybe DAIII if it's a true turn around, but even then to me that's a PC series, I'll just get it there if I give in, and I would hope it's not always online on PC after what happened with SimCity.

Most likely it'd be something like CoD or Battlefield that the masses eat up anyway, and thus we're stuck with it because a large number of people can't give a shit or because they see no alternative. Would be nice if that took a massive hit though and caused the military shooter to collapse.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Well let' just not buy any games from them then. We have to send a message.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Ill be boycotting ever company that wants DRM. Easy enough for me to do....

Spoiler

capcom and konami on the other hand might be hard for me. I need my RE and MGS

It'll still affect you. Because people aren't going to boycott the AAAA games. And they know it. It's just going to mean the people buying those games won't be refunding purchases of lesser tier titles. Which if that's what you like, tuff titties. Cause they'll be crushed as the market becomes AAAA only. So you're kind of fucked by the intended consequences of it all.

 

[Maztorre]

It's pretty hilarious how these three want it, because they're not stupid. They know the end game of this. Killing used doesn't bring in more money, it simply makes people incredibly risk adverse and drives the dollars to the AAAA titles. This will drive their market share numbers even higher. A big percentage of the same pie is what this about. The pie won't grow any.

The pie will shrink in the mid- to long-term. All it will take is consumer fatigue or boredom (which I would argue we're already seeing, even accounting for end of generation fatigue) with AAA garbage and sales will steadily drop over time. Then they'll need to spend more on marketing to try and drive sales back up and all of a sudden a $60 game with preorder content, season passes, DLC and price-fixed resale value won't be enough for them.

These companies do not have a sustainable business anymore, and their behaviour is no different to the record companies in the 90s/early 00s reacting to Napster and iTunes. They think they have cornered the market for high-budget games and can keep the money flowing by locking lower-budget devs out, but even a handful of indies and smaller publishers upping their budget as they grow will start competing with these guys, especially in areas like multiplayer FPSes where there are far lower development barriers.

 

[HaRyu]

Looking at my library for this gen (PS3, X360, Wii), if I had to, I don't think I'd have any problems boycotting EA, Activision, and Ubi. Maybe only 10% of my games are from any of those three companies.

If I really wanted a game from any of them, I'd probably wait for months after a game's release, and probably during one of Steam sales, when the game is amazingly cheap.

 

[stktt]

Shock! Awe!

 

[Pennywise]

Not as much as the other systems though.

Not ?
Why is there a Watch Dogs version for the Wii U then or an AC4 ?

 

[RoboPlato]

You know what? I hope there's a publisher opt in for PS4 DRM and these guys all do it so they can see how much less DLC they sell and how many fewer people will get into their series. Let the smarter pubs avoid it and reap the benefits.

 

[MetatronM]

I'm surprised at Activision being one of the three, they've never tried to do anything about it and used game buyers buy a lot of COD dlc.

"But now they're going to buy the game new AND buy lots of DLC!"


This is seriously the thought process behind this.

 

[Awntawn]

wouldn't this qualify as some sort of collusion?

if one of us does it, we're screwed. but if we ALL do it, we all win. secret handshakes wink wink nudge nudge

 

[Nags]

Free to play all of a sudden sounds like a better solution. Still bullshit though.

 

[1-D_FTW]

The pie will shrink in the mid- to long-term. All it will take is consumer fatigue or boredom (which I would argue we're already seeing, even accounting for end of generation fatigue) with AAA garbage and sales will steadily drop over time. Then they'll need to spend more on marketing to try and drive sales back up and all of a sudden a $60 game with preorder content, season passes, DLC and price-fixed resale value won't be enough for them.

These companies do not have a sustainable business anymore, and their behaviour is no different to the record companies in the 90s/early 00s reacting to Napster and iTunes. They think they have cornered the market for high-budget games and can keep the money flowing by locking lower-budget devs out, but even a handful of indies and smaller publishers upping their budget as they grow will start competing with these guys, especially in areas like multiplayer FPSes where there are far lower development barriers.

That's all true. But these are huge public companies run by rich CEOs that are disposable. All that matters is meeting short term stock goals. If you do that, you'll get massive bonuses and a golden parachute. They don't give a fuck about 5 years out.

This is why I'm passionate on the subject (despite shifting mostly to a CAG PC gamer of late). It's such a massive train wreck and you just can't believe they're stupid enough to go through with it all anyways. And yet they are. And dressing this shit sandwhich up in a way that some gamers are gullible enough to regurgitate "the benefits of."

I guess it shouldn't be surprising. It's been happening in all industry and most people just don't give a fuck until the end game slaps them in the face.

 

[Nutter]

Never buying a game from them ever again.

Can we hold you to this?

 

[kuppy]

Ubisoft? Then they would not have such a good relationship with Nintendo.

Cool video.

 

[RedNumberFive]

So the conclusion I've reached is that we have multiple groups of horrible people, not just Microsoft?

 

[Mortimer Brewster]

The Western AAA market needs to crash and burn to purge the video game world of these toxic practices.

 

[scytherage]

I thought they were already making money hand over fist, with all that bragging about beating the movie industry, etc etc.

:\ If games are going to be $60 - $70, we are looking at another video game crash.

 

[Tookay]

Ubisoft? Then they would not have such a good relationship with Nintendo.

Just because Nintendo didn't budge doesn't mean that Ubisoft still wouldn't push the other two.

They still have to run a business; they want their games everywhere. They'll take what they can get. Sony and Microsoft are just willing to give more.

 

[chertipros]

So why is UBIsoft giving the WiiU so much support?

Because they have a market on Nintendo consoles. Pushing for DRM is one thing, giving up money is another

 

[Strike]

Not surprised at all about EA and Ubi.

 

[graywolf323]

I'd be surprised if Activision is one of the pubs behind this given how they haven't really pushed it before (no online passes despite having Call of Duty)

 

[steveovig]

Might I chime in with "DUH"

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

I commented in the other thread, but MS has a long history of eagerly complying with crap DRM on the Windows side. They could have easily teamed with Sony and said no. And then what? They go PC exclusive? MS was an eager beaver because they want to monetize everything and this was their way of getting in on the action with Gamestop (Who's never been the enemy as this hilariously shows).

It's pretty hilarious how these three want it, because they're not stupid. They know the end game of this. Killing used doesn't bring in more money, it simply makes people incredibly risk adverse and drives the dollars to the AAAA titles. This will drive their market share numbers even higher. A bigger percentage of the same pie is what this about. The pie won't grow any.

worth quoting and repeating.

Long term this is going to bite everyone in the ass.

 

[_Ryo_]

Activision kind of surprises me, to be honest.

 

[ronito]

Of course they are!
Now to say that certain companies might not take cut too or got publishers to agree to give them more margin in return for servicing the DRM like...if said DRM were on servers....just sayin'.

 

[10k]

Yamauchi never would have let this happen.

I love Nintendo but Yamauchi is a stingy mofo who would love this if it meant more money for himself and Nintendo. He is the reason playstation exists and why Nintendo's current policies are outdated and the use of old tech and gimmicks is the new strategy.

Can you imagine if the Wii U came with the GamePad and features it has now, but was on par hardware wise with the XB1 or PS4?

 

[Tenki]

Now watch Sony implementing some DRM on PS4 too.

 

[kortez320]

I've been putting up with awful DRM from these three for a long time on PC. So yeah no surprise here.

Also Sony putting it up to publishers I almost dislike more then what MS is doing. If the top three pubs in the world make their games always online on the PS4 it's basically the same experience on both. Sony's just passing the blame. At least MS is being straight with you.

 

[WolvenOne]

Not surprising, seeing as these are the three worst companies when it comes to this sort of thing. To be fair though, I'd put Ubi in a somewhat distant third, since they seem at least a smidge more flexible.

 

[Daingurse]

That thing is so much garbage.

But what I mostly find amusing is that I don't play games from any of these publishers with the exception of Deadspace, AC, and maybe 2 more games.

I literally have one Ubisoft game on my gaming PC . . . it's not even like I'm actively avoiding them either hahaha. Guess Watch_Dogs will bump that up to 2.

On-topic, those publishers supporting used game DRM? Not very surprising, especially Ubisoft given their PC history.

 

[KotorFanboy]

MS and Sony just have to say no. Acti, EA and Ubi cant do ANYTHING, if M$ and Sony say no, M$ insists on bringing this DRM over

 

[Ein Bear]

They can push for it all they like, it's not like MS/Sony have to give in or anything. What are Activision, UbiSoft and EA going to do if they say no, not release games on either system? They don't have any real power, it doesn't excuse MS and Sony (if Sony go for it too) at all.

 

[Neuromancer]

Fuck EA up the goat ass. I blame them mostly, Activision has always been pretty cool about used games (no online passes).

Ubisoft has a history of badness (DRM and online passes that didn't work) so I believe they're responsible too, but they have nowhere near the clout of an EA.

 

[chubigans]

While publishers might have wanted this, I don't think they offered any ultimatums in doing so. I mean, they simply can't afford to at this point.

MS is in the business of digital used games because it's going to make THEM a ton of profit. Heck, the Take Two CEO said a few days ago that he's unaware of any used game block plans or if they'll get a cut of the profits if they do so.

Now if Sony goes with this too, then I'll probably change my stance. But I have a strong feeling they won't. We'll see soon enough.

 

[jay]

It looks like pretty soon anyone bothered by this stuff will have to give in or boycott everything. Good thing I like old games.

I love Nintendo but Yamauchi is a stingy mofo who would love this if it meant more money for himself and Nintendo.

It was mostly a joke but I don't think he would have caved to 3rd party pressure. History shows us he would rather do things his way than have support. Not that his ways were necessarily good or that he wasn't a douche bag of a businessman.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

EA better be prepared for less day one sales on their sports titles then. ex. If i cant trade in Fifa 14 Fifa 15 better be a big inprovement if they want me to upgrade less a year later.

 

[maquiladora]

It still doesn't give MS a guilty free pass. MS and Sony are the ones who make the call at the end.

Exactly. If MS told the publishers to fuck off what would happen then, no EA, Ubi, Activision games on Xbox One? LOL Give me a break, this is clearly something done in partnership between MS and the publishers, not MS with a gun to their head in a helpless situation.

It remains to be seen what happens with Sony, but I'm concerned as you can see by my avatar.

 

[Busaiku]

So why is UBIsoft giving the WiiU so much support?

They might face difficulties in Europe with DRM stuff, right?

 

[crozier]

So what is MS getting as a reach-around? I can't imagine they're actively pissing off millions of gamers just cuz. Something (big) is in it for them too.

 

[Sean]

Ubisoft? Then they would not have such a good relationship with Nintendo.

Cool video.

I guess you're not familiar with Ubi's DRM shenanigans on the PC side of things. Here's a selection from Ubisoft's Wikipedia entry:

Ubisoft had, for a time, used the controversial StarForce copy protection technology that installs drivers on a system and is known to cause some hardware problems and compatibility issues with certain operating systems[citation needed], starting with the game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, which was not compatible with Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for quite some time, until a patch was released by the makers of StarForce.[citation needed] On 14 April 2006, Ubisoft confirmed that they would stop using StarForce on their games, citing complaints from customers.[37]

In January 2010, Ubisoft has announced the Online Services Platform, which forces customers to not only authenticate on the first game launch, but to remain online continually while playing, with the game even pausing if network connection is lost. This makes it impossible to play the game offline, to resell it, and means that should Ubisoft's servers go down, the game will be unplayable.[41] In February 2010, review versions of Assassin's Creed II and Settlers 7 for PC contained this new DRM scheme, confirming that it is already in use, and that instead of pausing the game, it would discard all progress since the last checkpoint or save game.[42] However, subsequent patches for Assassin's Creed II allow the player to continue playing once their connection has been restored without lost progress.[43] In March 2010 outages to the Ubisoft DRM servers were reported, causing about 5% of legitimate buyers to be unable to play Assassin's Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 games.[44][45] Ubisoft initially said this was the result of the number of users attempting to access their servers to play, however Ubisoft later claimed that the real cause of the outages were denial-of-service attacks.[44][45][46]

In August 2011, Ubisoft released From Dust with DRM protection, contrary to previous statements that the game would not have any DRM related restrictions. Though a promise was made to remove it, after several months the DRM had still not been removed from many if not all copies of the game. Also, the game was widely described as "badly ported" from consoles. Joystiq reports that "paying players will find a capped frame rate, limited resolutions for the windowed mode, no anti-aliasing and plenty of bugs".[48]

Lots (all?) of their console games have online pass too which shows they're against used games.