Rumours, coupled with some screen shots as dubious proof, are coming from Reddit (via PCGamer) that Ubisoft may have relaxed some of the DRM restrictions on their PC games.

A trip into one of 2010′s least desirable moments after the cut…

Update

Shacknews have official confirmation from Ubisoft that Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction now only authenticate on first load.  Other games will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, so if you’re steadfastly against this clusterfuck of a PR disaster, you won’t be adding Settlers 7, Silent Hunter 5 or H.A.W.X. 2 to your collection any time … Read More...

You can tell when a new game release is approaching – not only does the hype machine kick up, but all the talking heads come out of the woodwork, ready to talk up their game and talk down their rivals.  Gearbox aren’t shy of smack talking their rivals.

By rivals, I mean Valve (or more specifically Steam).

Gearbox Marketing Manager Steve Gibson (nee. Shacknews), put out a few sound-bites late last week during an interview posted on the London Games Festival blog.  A portion of the interview about the games availability on Steam reads like an attack on both Steam … Read More...

Like software patents, trademarks are, theoretically, quite sound – declare a sign, logo or word as a defining part of your company image and nobody else can try to pass themselves off as you without a legal ruckus.

Like software patents, protecting trademarks is encouraged, lest you lose them (just look at Games Workshop).

Like a software patent, a trademark is a horrible, icky creature, governed by a system that is massively open to abuse…

Timothy Langdell is a trademark troll – like a normal troll, only he doesn’t live under a bridge, although he’s just as much a slimy … Read More...

Who knew being the head honcho of a big multi-national games publisher conglomerate could be so fun!

Bobby Kotick has opened his mouth again, this time slagging off his arch-nemesis Electronic Arts (amongst the many other companies that stand in the way of him obtaining more money for his vast money bin).

During an interview with EDGE, the demon lord himself proclaimed that Electronic Arts are the real evil in the game publishing world, suffocating purchased developers as they attempt to crowbar them into their corporate structures.

The core principle of how we run the company is the exact

… Read More...

Only being the internet, nobody was really silenced…

Visitors to the site are greated with the following text, explaining that the site is now closed (mere days after mass-mailing a massive new Codemasters offer and the release of Age of Wonders on the service).

Dear GOG users,

We have recently had to give serious

… Read More...

Westwood had the best idea!

The long and short of it is the Digital Economy Bill (essentially a long list allowing the BPI & related fat-cat industries to trace file-sharers and persecute them, coupled with some anti-terror anti-free-speech laws) has been pushed through Parliament during the end-of-season ‘wash-up’.  I won’t touch on everything here, but this essentially sums it all up the current mess and this sums up most of what’s wrong with the bill.

As Jim Rossignol of RPS/PC Gamer posted, it’s worth trying to vote Lib Dem if you want to have a stab at stopping … Read More...

Allistair Darling, that funny guy who lives in #11 and allegedly cultivates weevils in his eyebrows, has set out plans for tax breaks for British entertainment industries, of which the computertronic amusement industry is part.

This basically means that if a game does well, they pay less tax or, if a game tanks, they can claim a relief bond to cover some of the loss.

The news was well received by the TIGA, who proposed the system adopted.  CEO Richard Wilson had the following to say.

Games tax relief will increase employment, investment and innovation in the UK videogames sector

… Read More...

Crystal Dynamics are back with a new Tomb Raider game, only it’s not actually a Tomb Raider game…  ‘Guardian of Light’ might just signify the abolishment of the Tomb Raider name, which is a strange move to make following the developers attempts to re-introduce the raiding of tombs to the series once again.

Whether it represents a simply re-branding by the new owners (Squeenix) to focus more on the core character or a fork for the series into different (more casual?) territory -similar to the Sonic the Hedgehog Storybook series – is as-yet unknown.

Square Enix Europe have announced that … Read More...

Infinity Ward, the gurus behind the good (or ‘sorta alright’, depending who you ask) parts of the Call of Duty series, have been raided by their slave paymasters at Activision.

Reports state that security guards were posted at the entrance to the offices, el-presidente’s for life Zampella & West have been sacked for ‘breaches of contract & insubordination’ and a giant mechanical gorilla unleashed by the former bosses is current terrorising down-town Encino.  Of course, the latter may not be true, as reports from the scene are sketchy at best!

Whether this is related to either the handling of Modern … Read More...

Back in the mists of time (or 2006, whichever happened first, I forget), Ubisoft used this anti-piracy aberration called Starforce (or however it’s spelt).

It pissed off everyone under the sun and, some people say, nearly caused Ubisoft to go bankrupt (after all, who’s going to buy a game that might break your PC, burn the cat AND eat your first born, all during the install procedure?).

The system was finally binned and, in a startling show of goodwill, Ubi started releasing games with either simple disc-checks or no protection what-so-ever.

Roll on January 2010 and history looks … Read More...