Ubisoft Suing Over Leaked Video Game

[News Reader]

Ubisoft Suing Over Leaked Video Game
Ubisoft is suing the company contracted to make game discs for the PC version of Assassin’s Creed. According to this news story, the game was downloaded over 700k times after being leaked six weeks early. Total PC sales were only 40,000 compared to the millions sold for Xbox 360 – PS3. Ouch.

NPD indicates that the PC version of Assassin's Creed sold only some 40,000 copies through June, nothing compared to the stellar sales on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. According to Ubisoft the version that ended up early on the internet was downloaded more than 700,000 times.

Comments


Publish Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:08:00 CDT
Read more...

Source: [H]ardOCP News/Article Feed
Description: News/Article Feed for [H]ardOCP

[FatherJack]

You can see why publishers are nervous about PC games when you see figures like that, but then it's possible that it was a shoddy console port.

[buzzmong]

True, concept seemed good (until the future crap was revealed) but I was put off by the mediocre reviews, the fact that roughly 4/5 of the game consists of repetive actions (at least, from what I've heard in multiple places) and that it's a console port (already makes me wary as often the controls are piss poor)

Besides, out of those (probably not true) 700,000 downloads, how many are actually lost sales? I suspect quite alot aren't.

I'd like to try the game but I've got a suspicous feeling I don't think it would be worth £35 of my hard earned cash just for the experience.

[HereComesPete]

hmm, first bit says total sales =40k, then the next bit says it was 40k in june. If this game had only sod 40k copies in tota to the pc market then it would have had to have been utter dogshit.

Besides, out of those (probably not true) 700,000 downloads, how many are actually lost sales? I suspect quite a lot aren't.

Very this, 700k+ illegal downloads does not mean 700k+ lost sales, for them to suggest it was a direct result of piracy smacks of desperation. It did badly, and they are throwing bullshit about to save their hides.

I'd like to try the game but I've got a suspicous feeling I don't think it would be worth £35 of my hard earned cash just for the experience.

Become number 700, 001...

But don't buy it, look at all the great stuff that's on the way!

[Dog Pants]

If this game had only sod 40k copies in tota

You have a broken L key, AICMFP


I had absolutely no interest in this - a console ported action adventure. Just sounded shite to me from the moment I found that out, and it seems that my instincts were correct. Publishers always blame pirates for crap sales.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

To be honest, I think they're on to something, not quite the right thing, but something.

Game leaks, everyone gets to try the first few levels, realises it's a horrible port, takes 2 minutes to close, controls designed for a controller, not a keyboard, and less fun than being raped in face by a heap of angry baboons.

So no fuck buys it.


Or, you could look at say CoD4 which was pirated at least as much, but from that, many, many people have bought the game. (I think 10+ 5punkers pirated it first, liked it and bought it)

[spoodie]

controls designed for a controller

You do know that you can use a controller on a PC right?

Going slightly off topic:
I regularly use both keyboard+mouse and joypads, depending on the platform and game, so I'm familiar with the merits and limits of both. One drawback with the standard PC control system is the lack of analogue control on the keyboard (plus it's not very ergonomic). Why not combine the analogue joypad control for walking, rather than the keyboard (assuming an FPS) and aiming with the mouse? This seems like the best of both worlds to me.

/edit
Perhaps there's a device already available, I haven't checked.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

You do know that you can use a controller on a PC right?

yes, and I often do, but I prefer not to have to, given I'm much happier with a mouse and keyboard.

Going slightly off topic:
I regularly use both keyboard+mouse and joypads, depending on the platform and game, so I'm familiar with the merits and limits of both. One drawback with the standard PC control system is the lack of analogue control on the keyboard (plus it's not very ergonomic). Why not combine the analogue joypad control for walking, rather than the keyboard (assuming an FPS) and aiming with the mouse? This seems like the best of both worlds to me.

It seems like it might be a good idea for some stuff, but any games where you need fast reactions (like an FPS) I think it'd fail a bit.

I think the reasons FPSses work so well on PCs is that there's actually very little hardware between you and the computer, maybe partly because you have 102 buttons at your disposal, so you can set stuff up just right, Maybe because I expect joysticks/controllers to act as they would in Zelda or something, rather than just forwards/backwards/left/right, the controller way seems to need more processing from my brain in a lot of stuff.

However, for 3rd person RPG stuff and racing games, I do prefer a controller. Just seems more natural to me.


Summary: WORDS.

[FatherJack]

GTA is a real problem game for me, controller wise. I find the driving and running around bits much easier with a console controller, particularly now they have the analogue triggers for accelerator and brake - but the shooting bits and camera control are so much easier with a mouse, even with the new auto-aiming stuff they use. The shooting while driving thing I still can't do on either.

I don't know what sort of controller would fit best, maybe a mouse that could 'lean' from side to side for steering, with analogue buttons for left and right click, perhaps some thumbsticks on the sides of the keyboard or an analogue stick+trigger you could hold in one hand. I only know the sixaxis is definately not the solution, and Far Cry showed me that shooting with the Wii remote isn't as easy as I thought it would be.