Considering how upset people are getting about all of the DRM problems going on right now, I'm surprised nobody has gone this direction.
PC Gamers have spoken out for years now about problems with PC gaming. Piracy this, different specifications that. Perhaps DRM is their way of pushing everybody to consoles.
Have you ever gotten tired of doing something, so you decided to half-ass it? I used to hate working at the information desk when I worked at my local bookstore. One day I decided that I would put all of my effort into other aspects of my job, and only do what I had to when I was at the information desk. Eventually, I was taken off of the rotation and put into play in other areas of the store.
Now here come PC publishers. they complain about high development costs because they have to make a game that works on x amount of computers. Couple that with a customer base that will find any excuse to pay less, if at all and you have problems. How are they supposed to turn a profit? Blizzard found a way, but that profit model doesn't work for most games.
It almost feels like Ubisoft is looking at PC gaming as an investment in console gaming. Assassins Creed was just a test model. EA caught on and is running the same scheme now. Why buy this game and have all of the possible problems, when you can buy a "trouble free" version on the console?
PC gamers, get used to it. I would expect more of the same when it comes to Splinter Cell. Not necessarily the DRM problem, but it will have issues (what game doesn't) but I am willing to bet good money that the console version will run much smoother.
Watch out for R.U.S.E. as well.
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Here's what I think is the real reason: publishers are testing the waters on PC gamers and will eventually push this same DRM crap to console gamers.
What DRM will PC gamers harp on the most? Which will they tolerate? When they find the winning combo, that scheme will arrive on consoles in a (console) generation or 2.
I've said it I don't know how many times: DRM like this is coming to consoles soon enough. Look at DLC for games like GTA4 and Fallout 3. Bought the Broken Steel? Bought the Ballad of Gay Tony? Sure you can sell your GTA4 disc, but what about those add-ons? Can't sell those. Publishers are looking at that, and seeing that people are willing to give up their first sale right to have parts of a game sooner (the DLC vs. the GOTY editions, etc.)
It'll go down like this: eventually, games will come with codes. Those codes will be tied to XBL/PSN accounts. Similar to a code you'd get with a PC game. Since you used the code, you can't sell the game, because the code was used. And there goes your right to resell the game.
DRM as a method of fighting piracy is nothing but a LIE. DRM is nothing more than a way to control the way you use your media. DRM is nothing more than a way to keep you from selling a game, or buying a used game.
I'm sorry for the rant, but if people don't stand up to publishers and fight these bullshit DRMs, they'll take over consoles too.
Agreed on the fact that they want it to come to consoles, and essentially "poof" your game after a certain amount of time, or restrict it to one console.
One of the successes of WoW is that it runs on virtually every machine save the oldest of them all and still looks decent with everything on minimum (or near it anyway).