Ubisoft has over the past few months made quite a name for itself implementing restrictive DRM policies. The PC versions of Assassin’s Creed II, Silent Hunter 5, The Settlers 7 and Splinter Cell: Conviction all require a constant connection to Ubisoft’s online servers.
This has made the publisher pretty unpopular with PC gamers, but until now, console gamers have had little to complain about.
EA last week announced its diabolical plan to try and combat the second hand console game market, and monetise online gaming. All its sports titles will include a once off activation code for their online components. This effectively means that if you buy the game second hand, you won’t be able to play it online, assuming the first owner used the activation code.
Furthermore, EA is already including once-off keys with games like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. These keys give gamers who buy games new access to exclusive DLC. These measures give gamers incentive to buy new, or alternatively to buy DLC codes directly from EA for $10.
To make matters worse, Ubisoft’s CFO Alain Martinez has stated at an earnings call that “We are looking very carefully at what is being done by EA regarding what we call the ‘$10 solution,’ and we will probably follow that line at sometime in the future.”
While publishers are dedicated to fighting piracy on PC, there is a noticeable trend towards efforts being made to combat the second-hand market on console.
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