Game industry analyst and monkey juggler Michael Pachter does not think that Ubisoft’s DRM is a bad thing. In fact, as a lawyer he believes it is Ubisoft’s right to protect its games in any way the publisher sees fit.
“I’m an old guy,” he says. “I’m ethical and I’m a lawyer by trade. I feel if you steal a copy of a game by copying a friend’s file then it’s like going into the shop and stealing a copy. That’s how I feel about it. Please feel free to disagree. When a company sells you a game they have no problem if you resell it and someone else buys it and they have no problem if you give it away. If you make copies, though, it’s against the law. The guys that ran bittorrent are in jail: it is illegal.”
First of all, publishers have a HUGE problem with you reselling a game or giving it away, as their long history of bitching about used sales demonstrates. But let’s continue with what Pachter has to say:
“I think anything a publisher does to make sure you don’t rip off their games if their right, and I think that people who steal should be in jail. I welcome the flamer comments on this one; if you think that’s right good for you; we have no interest in your business since you don’t pay for stuff anyway.”
Pachter is doing exactly what publishers have done in this situation — hide behind “rights” in order to justify punitive measures against people who legally purchase videogames. The people stung by Ubisoft’s DRM the most are the people who dropped fifty bucks on a game that demands a persistent Internet connection and craps out when one isn’t available, or can’t access the publisher’s shitty servers. Pachter said it himself, that pirates “don’t pay for stuff anyway.” If they’re not gonna buy Ubisoft’s games, then DRM only affects real consumers. And I think real consumers have a right to be upset and offended by that.
The biggest publishers are the most butthurt, whiny, greedy, grasping companies in town. They hate used sales. They hate the idea of gamers sharing discs with friends. They hate freebies and discounts and they hate not having every last penny flowing their way. Don’t ever ask decent people to feel sorry for them.
