Ubisoft: Get used to not OWNING your games...

GamesIndustry.biz

The big talking point in question, as Christopher Dring simplifies in his tweet:

And... no, eff that, Ubisoft. I buy it, I own it. Sick of companies allowing this to happen and consumers letting them.

Ok Ubisoft, I'll get used to not owning your games. Not a big deal.

If you're buying anything digital, you only "own" it on PC services like steam.... And even then it can be removed. The real question here is what type of gamer are you and how do you consume the hobby? For some there is little meaning between renting and buying because they want the game experience and to move on.... I reckon things like this only perturb those who look backwards at their content and have the time to replay old content in the face of new experiences. I do not have that kind of time and so new experiences is what I'm after in almost every case when I game. Rent? Buy? What's the difference when you're one and done....?

lol :P

Me when Ubisoft/Youtube/Netflix ups their subscription cost and claims it will lead to higher quality:

They seem to confirm people own their games. Good to know a big publisher sees it that way.

I am comfortable enough in the "too big to fail" status of companies like Steam, Ubisoft, EA, and even GoG to trust that they aren't going anywhere. Additionally, even games that have been removed from the market on Steam are still available in my library if I have already purchased them, something that can't be said for console users and their respective market places.

Until a company clearly states "we are making all purchases timed ownership" or "you can't buy, only rent", this whole debate is nothing but a whole bunch of people claiming the sky is falling. You're like the people that read an article about how an asteroid or comet is flying by Earth and think there is a risk of us getting hit, but the context of the article is that "close" means a few hundred million kilometers away. In other words, zero chance of issues.

Pretty much this.

I don't really see the problem.

@R4gn4r0k said:

@SecretPolice said:

lol :P

Me when Ubisoft/Youtube/Netflix ups their subscription cost and claims it will lead to higher quality:

Ubisoft has been on a roll lately, to their credit. They had quite a drought for a while, though, so I get the hate. But this last half of 2023, the sub has more than paid for itself.

I've already gone full digital this gen it was just the right time for me physical media just doesn't interest me anymore. They should give gamers the choice though it shouldn't be thrown at people.

oh god if ubi start moving to a rental model, that's even more cut and paste filler content being added to their games.

plus inevitable monthly "expansions" to keep you subscribing.

just when you thought their games couldn't get away with any more padding

I don't mind renting these days, I'm confident I'll never go back and play a game again. Too much in backlog with great games coming out on a consistent basis.

Wait, a Nintendo fan talking about owning games?

@nintendoboy16: You don't own it now - you own a license.

I happen to have just finished Far Cry 6, right in time for Prince of Persia

Over the past couple of months we got 3 good to great games by Ubisoft: Mirage, Avatar and now Prince of Persia;

Avatar was my personal favourite and POP has scored a ton of 9s across the web.

I can't fault the coders and developers, they are doing a great job.

But I don't like what Ubisoft is doing. Yesterday I started my PC for another coop session in Far Cry 6 and Ubisoft had 'upgraded' my Uplay launcher to the ubisoft connect BETA launcher without me asking.

It's more cumbersome, slower, it shoves ads in my face and it defaults to the store and not my library. I gave them as feedback:

It is supposed to be a game launcher, it's supposed to launch my games;

Cuz that's the thing really, you have no choice. Ubisoft is gonna force you to use stuff (like their store) without you choosing to do so. Ubisoft wants to display it's Uplay + subscription front and center, you have no choice in the matter.

I make a big deal out of this now because I don't want to end up in a Dystopian future where I have to beg to play my own games (eventhough again, the games are of great quality).

Dear Ubisoft, I really like your games and all but, this is what I'll say here. A pirate should feel comfortable with all the booty they get! If they owned it, they wouldn't be a pirate. And a pirate is still a gamer, so...

And as always #UbisoftNeverDisappoints

Let's hike the base game price, make content exclusive to subscribers, and give subscribers early access.

Haha gamers. You mowons. Ubiswoft da best

Its my job to hate on Ubisoft, so please calm down with the negativity.

I can't really draw a line in the sand for this since Steam has been my go to for years. Ironically, the only time I buy physical anymore is Nintendo special edition items, because I'm going to keep them sealed and resell it for a profit down the road.

This is the mindset of every company that wants to focus on monthly subscription services. Don't get mad at Ubisoft for saying it out loud. Microsoft feels the same way.

Oh, you're one of those🤦‍♂️

People don't own physical media either. A publisher can patch a game and make it unplayable at any point. It's literally in the license people agree to when the begin a game. Most disks don't even have the full game on it and a day 1 download is needed. It isn't 1998 anymore. The constant internet connection has ruined game ownership.

Owning, renting.🤷🏽‍♂️

I mean, he's not wrong.

@nintendoboy16: they are right, owning is dumb...we are all renting at the end of the day, since nobody lives forever. Especially these days with the shift to digital.

Just subbed to Ubisoft+😎

Sucks when MS does it too.

All you fools paying for games/movies/music that are only useable with a specific digital platform.

Back when PC games were on physical media (which pretty much doesn't exist anymore) there was a time when you could do what you want with the game. Install it on whatever computer you want, play it when you want, how you want and so on. Eventually Steam came along. You could download a game or even physical copies of some games started requiring a Steam activation, even though the game was on the CD/DVD, you still needed to link the game to Steam to activate it.

When Steam started to take off and digital only was becoming more of the norm, the physical games became fewer and fewer and by this time any physical games (for example: Assassin Creed games to Uplay, Mass Effect games to EA and so on) required a digital DRM link to a digital platform and you were at the mercy of needing these digital platforms active in order to play a game you paid for.

Soon movies/shows and music were on the same path. Rarely do you see a new album release on CD and many movies/shows are no longer transitioning to physical media after they've left the theater or ran their run on TV. Many of these shows/movies are being produced and only available on some streaming platform or they're ran on TV or the theater and instead of going to physical they drop into a streaming platform that the developer/distributor owns. 5 years ago you could go into any local store such as Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and so on and you'd walk down several aisles of physical media for movies/shows/music (on CD) and now when you go into these stores you see a small end cap with DVDs or in the case of Best Buy, they no longer carry DVDs/Blu-Ray media.

People today are so okay with giving up their control for the idea of convenience of all these streaming channels or digital gaming platforms and then they have the audacity to turn around and bitch when they're told they will no longer own games. Ha, you fuckingretards, you brought this upon yourself. You already surrendered your control years ago. We won't get it back so shut the fuckup and take it up the ass.

I'm personally on a mission to get as much physical media as I can for older PC games (already sitting on 120+ older games I can play when I want) and movies (over 1300 movies and 40 complete TV show series owned on media which I've got all on my plex server) that I can watch on Plex or if I really needed to I can pull out one of my multiple DVD/Blu-ray players and connect them to my TVs to watch media that way. Any new PC games I get I strictly purchase off of GoG because I can download the game files to my side and install the game when I want, where I want and I don't need any kind of digital platform to run the games.

Do any of these companies allow you to rent single games, or do you need to have a subscription? I don't mind the idea of renting. Hell, I used to do it all the time as a kid. But I have no interest in subscriptions, so that might actually get some money from me. Well, probably not for Ubisoft. The last game of theirs I played was Child of Light. Whenever that was.

Ubisoft are a bunch of assholes for saying this. Ubisoft can go kick rocks. Ubisoft needs to shut the hell up. I like owning my games damn it. Ubisoft is a piece of crap.

@neatfeatguy: This is a point Christopher Nolan was trying to make with movies when he criticized streaming platforms on how they handle them, especially HIS projects.

I'm already used to not owning Ubisoft's games. Haven't bought or played a game from them in 11 years.

I don't understand why this is an issue when people sub Gamepass/PSExtra or other subscription services. Even if ur buying on PS/Xbox/Nintendo/PC unless ur buying physical technically your purchases is just license that these store fronts could revoke. Heck even if you purchasing physical you are pretty doomed when that provider decides they don't want to support legacy software

Over the last 10 years

More people rent houses

More people lease cars

More people watch subscription series/films

More people rent games

I just got my Samsung fold 5 on a subscription thingy so I get a new one in 2 years.

Its the way of the world.