Ubisoft drm

[Khrispykhicken]

I brought Anno 2070 awhile back and played it before I formatted hard drive, so after that I reinstalled without a problem it asks for a CD key, Well thats simple enough to then find out an error with it. After researching it does it after you used it on another machine so now I have to go through the hassle of sending an email to reset that key to play again -_- but thats not the best part I recived an email today telling me to do this before I get my game back:

 "Hello there

Thank you for contacting Ubisoft Technical Support regarding Anno 2070.

In order to respond to this email, please update this incident (Please do not create a new incident)

Could you please send me a digital image of each of the following:

1) Game Manual with the activation key's clearly visible.
2) Proof of purchase.
3) Barcode from the game’s box

When we receive these images we will be able to help you further increasing your activation.

Also can you please confirm your username and email address?"

WHY? I played the game once and to play it again I got too send you pictures and proof of purchase? What is with this complete garbage to play a game I already paid for again! Sorry UBISOFT for not playing on your console games! Complete joke

[T-Bag]

That sucks. Usually you get 3-5 installs before you have to deactivate games with most forms of DRM. DRM is a terrible idea and there are plenty of better alternatives. Just linking online play to a account is far more effective than any amount of blocking.

[Tutonic]

What a farce, especially when you consider the fact that a pirated copy won't suffer from these kind of draconian measures.

[TE_owner]

As far as I am aware this is only the case with Anno 2070 but they plan to do it with future Ubisoft titles. The game logs your current hardware setup when you install it and if any changes are made.... well you know the rest.

PC gamer link http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/01/17/ubi-drm-activation-limits-respond-to-graphics-card-changes/

[TheDvEight]

Surely if you register the game in your name and details (email etc) all you should have to do is provide your name,email and product key to get it reset/given a new one......

or like T-Bag said get 3-4 install's on a machine (the key registerd on 1 machine at a time only) before you have to faff with rubbish customer services I hope future titles are not like this

[smilodon]

This is why Steam still does well. It's simple, it works and you have zero hassle getting your games back (bandwidth use accepted.) There's a term called 'Oatmealing' (in the USA) which is the process of using a pirated copy of a game while buying a legitimate copy as well. You just shove the real copy in a draw and play the pirate version and avoid all the pointless dumb DRM. It's not about stealing a game it's about no being branded a potential criminal or made to suffer these dumb DRM games

Another increasingly common form of Oatmealing is to download a pirate copy of a movie as soon as it hits the movie theaters and when it is released in Blue ray buy a legit copy. It's not about stealing a film it's about watching in the way you as a consumer want to watch it i.e. at home and not in a cinema.

I won't advocate piracy but I can see why DRM actually drives more people to seek easier ways to install and play games than buying the official 'broken by design' version.