Ubisoft "changes" Driver: San Francisco DRM.

In response to the extremely negative reaction to their always-online DRM for Driver: San Francisco, Ubisoft took its fans reaction to heart, and made some “changes”.

“We’ve heard your feedback regarding the permanent internet connection requirement for Driver and have made the decision to no longer include it. So this means that Driver PC gamers will only need to sign in at game launch but can subsequently choose to play the game offline.”

So, basically, it’s pretty much the same, only instead of having to be signed in ALL THE TIME to play, you just have to be online every time you start the game. This isn’t really fixing the problem, Ubisoft. I’d go into detail about how this is a horrible (and completely useless) way to combat piracy, and that there are much better, less consumer-hostile ways, but I already have. Also, I’ll just copy/paste what Rock Paper Shotgun said about the matter:

“But Ubisoft – if you’re genuinely listening to the reaction against your DRM, then please actually hear what’s being said. With DRM that requires an internet connection to launch, every time, you are once again mindlessly and needlessly punishing your legitimate customers in a way that will not affect those with pirated copies. You will, once again, be selling a product with a serious and significant defect, that those who download it for free will not be encountering. There’s no logic or rationale that makes that okay. By requiring an internet connection for launch, on every launch, you punish anyone whose internet isn’t working, who wants to play away from home (on a train, on a plane, on a holiday in Cornwall, at their grandparents’ house, in their barracks…), or who cannot afford a broadband internet connection. It is cruel. It is stupid. It doesn’t work on any level. If you are listening, really listening, then stop this. Stop treating customers like criminals, and start showing respect to those who pay you significant amounts of money for your products.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

via – Rock, Paper, Shotgun