General Gaming Ubisoft: Gamers need to get used to not owning games

[crispy4000]

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"One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That's a transformation that's been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don't lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That's not been deleted. You don't lose what you've built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it's about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.

"I still have two boxes of DVDs. I definitely understand the gamers perspective with that. But as people embrace that model, they will see that these games will exist, the service will continue, and you'll be able to access them when you feel like. That's reassuring."

 

The new Ubisoft+ and getting gamers comfortable with not owning their games

WWW.GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ

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Ubisoft has rebranded its subscription offering and introduced a new service for PC players.Ubisoft's main all-singing,…

 

Nope, not me.  I don't like resubscribing to access my progress in a game.  I feel like I am the loser if I keep paying by the month for access to a game I'm partway through.  Or worse, it leaves the subscription.

 

Many games don't respect your time enough as it is.  I don't want to give publishers more incentive to pad or gaas them further.  Ubisoft is one of the poster childs of that approach.  It's one of the big distinguishing factors between games today and other media: games have busywork.  That and DLC, sold separately.

[Xbob42]

I feel like Ubisoft's general level of success is nowhere near high enough to warrant such bold speculation/proclamations.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Technically, we don't actually "own" the games that we actually purchase according to the EULA, only a license that can be revoked.

 

Having said that, I've pretty much decided that I really have no interest in the subscription services at all.

[crispy4000]

13 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Technically, we don't actually "own" the games that we actually purchase according to the EULA, only a license that can be revoked.

 

Many launchers that have gone bunk have just transferred their licenses to steam.  Plus the console manufacturers are all leaning towards persistent libraries that can be carried forward.  I trust most of those purchases will stick around in some capacity.

 

I trust that a lot more than I trust subscription providers not to jack up their prices unduly over the years.

[Pikachu]

[Brick]

Then maybe Ubisoft should get used to gamers not buying Ubisoft games. 

[Keyser_Soze]

4 hours ago, Brick said:

Then maybe Ubisoft should get used to gamers not buying Ubisoft games. 

 

I've been used to it for quite a while.

[crispy4000]

5 hours ago, Brick said:

Then maybe Ubisoft should get used to gamers not buying Ubisoft games. 

 

They'd probably be okay with that if people drop in and out of their subscription periodically.

 

Myself, I'd rather buy their once games when they're individually cheaper than a month of Ubisoft+.  The ones I'd actually play at least, which are few and far between.

[XxEvil AshxX]

I'd be more annoyed by this, but Ubi honestly hasn't put out much of anything that hasn't had Assassin's Creed or Far Cry stamped on the box for a while now. They used to be one of my favorite third party publishers, but they stopped funding other projects years ago.

 

 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

It’s fine. Ubisoft isn’t releasing games worth owning. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

2 hours ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

I'd be more annoyed by this, but Ubi honestly hasn't put out much of anything that hasn't had Assassin's Creed or Far Cry stamped on the box for a while now. They used to be one of my favorite third party publishers, but they stopped funding other projects years ago.

 

 

There last AAA releases were Avatar in December, and Price of Persia: Lost Crown  -- checks calendar, yesterday.  We know Star Wars: Outlaws and Skull and Bones are coming out later this year.

Of course, they also released new versions of The Crew, Just Dance, The Settlers, and Oddballers last year.

 

They may not be your kind of games, but they are releasing a fair outside of Far Cry and AC.

[Reputator]

Hot take: Ubisoft isn't wrong here. We're going to have to get used to it because that's the trend. Buy a game, watch as the server it relied on closed down, or the digital distribution rights of the platform expired and it disappears from your library.

 

Get used it, because that's already the reality.

[AbsolutSurgen]

[crispy4000]

On 1/16/2024 at 11:42 AM, Reputator said:

Hot take: Ubisoft isn't wrong here. We're going to have to get used to it because that's the trend. Buy a game, watch as the server it relied on closed down, or the digital distribution rights of the platform expired and it disappears from your library.

 

Get used it, because that's already the reality.

 

If your gaming habits revolve around playing B-popularity multiplayer games, sure.  That's always been the case, those games tend to die over time.

For everyone else, I see the trend moving in the opposite direction.  We have subscriptions to thank for it on some level, with the desire to pad them with older games.  The console manufactures are signaling they want a persistent BC library (and download option) going forward.  And very few single-player focused games require online spot checks to play.  If you've got it downloaded, it generally won't disappear.  You can also back that data up with external drives and such.

[AbsolutSurgen]

[AbsolutSurgen]

5 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

If your gaming habits revolve around playing B-popularity multiplayer games, sure.  That's always been the case, those games tend to die over time.

For everyone else, I see the trend moving in the opposite direction.  We have subscriptions to thank for it on some level, with the desire to pad them with older games.  The console manufactures are signaling they want a persistent BC library (and download option) going forward.  And very few single-player focused games require online spot checks to play.  If you've got it downloaded, it generally won't disappear.  You can also back that data up with external drives and such.

Lots of A-tier games eventually get shutdown. That’s the reality of games with big online components. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

2 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

 

The entirety of Swen's comments:

 

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Whatever the future of games looks like, content will always be king. But it’s going to be a lot harder to get good content if subscription becomes the dominant model and a select group gets to decide what goes to market and what not. Direct from developer to players is the way.

 

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Getting a board to ok a project fueled by idealism is almost impossible and idealism needs room to exist, even if it can lead to disaster. Subscription models will always end up being cost/benefit analysis exercises intended to maximize profit.

 

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There is nothing wrong with that but it may not become a monopoly of subscription services. We are already all dependent on a select group of digital distribution platforms and discoverability is brutal. Should those platforms all switch to subscription, it’ll become savage.

 

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In such a world by definition the preference of the subscription service will determine what games get made. 

 

Trust me - you really don’t want that.

 

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TLDR ; you won’t find our games on a subscription service even if I respect that for many developers it presents an opportunity to make their game. I don’t have an issue with that. I just want to make sure the other ecosystem doesn’t die because it’s valuable.

 

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The point is that in a world dominated by subscription models you won't have a fighting chance. You'll have to convince/pay the management of the subscription service instead of the players. Imho that'd be a big setback.

 

[Massdriver]

I have no desire to subscribe to a gaming subscription service.

[HardAct]

On 1/15/2024 at 12:56 PM, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Technically, we don't actually "own" the games that we actually purchase according to the EULA, only a license that can be revoked.

 

Having said that, I've pretty much decided that I really have no interest in the subscription services at all.

 

   I was a HUGE fan of physical media aka Cartridges, disks, etc. This all changed after the Fire in 2018. I revered my collection containing old 6" floppy discs for our Apple 2e from the late 70s - 80s, I owned an Apple 2e also that worked and looked brand new  Our Atari and Intellivision, and Commodore 64, and all the way through ALL consoles games and consoles up to the PS3! My PS3 was the duel PS2 model also, just thinking about it depresses ME! I know it's only stuff, but it was MY STUFF! Collecting was 1/2 of the fun for me. Nearly impossible to rebuy / gather and find and replacing it without spending a real forchune at least to most. 

 

  Now having LOST EVERYTHING actual physical media has given way to digital only I only own 14 PS5 & XBSX. Only thing I had after the fire was a Switch that had left in the car the night before as we took it to visit a friend in the Hospital. I was grateful for having that at least. No dock of course but something at the time was GREAT.

 

  Anyway, the whole"NOT OWNING" the games we buy it's alway pissed me off. It's ridiculous but how can we fight it really? When XboX One was announced and they relaid the now infamous "DRM" fiasco it pushed the idea aside but not out of the picture. We are pretty much shit out of luck if say Valve goes belly up and along with it our beloved Steam Library, ETC. I'm pretty much in the majority when it comes to Ubisoft and there practices, They were pretty much all-in on the NFT bullshit also! Biggest issue though is the fact that you will NEVER EVER be able to sell anything. Thus recouping some of the costs from what can be to many very expensive. Especially with $70 dollar  games here already. You CAN Never share a game either. This is of course EXACTLY what gaming publishers want though and have always wanted. It saddens me to no end but "It is what it is" as my Son Donnie always said. I cant think of a better way of putting it, me HE R.I.P . . . 

 

   Lastly: Ubisoft has been dead for me for quite sometime. They do many nefarious things to there customers along with the employees. It's a shame as they really do make some great games.