Ubisoft might block Far Cry 4 copies bought through third-party key sellers

As I said in the FC4 thread, my Season Pass key which I bought from a 3rd party reseller (cjscdkeys) got banned after 2 weeks of working just fine. I still have my main game which I got with my GPU, so I hope that one will be left alone. But as things are now, it's like Ubisoft are deliberately trying to alienate the PC gamers through all means possible. I seriously doubt that all these keys were "stolen", as I purchased other games trough 3rd party key resellers on several ocasions...

 

In Australia mate they charge us $80 for full price, i can't justify paying $40 for these half arsed finished games that come out now or early access rubbish, it's bs.

I'll join yeee, ubisoft and their DoubleDipDRM don't want me peasant coppers... avast me hearties!

 

So in Ubi's world, if I went out tomorrow and spotted the PC version of FC4 for half the price what they ask in their digital store I'd get banned because I didn't pay full price ? Excuse my slightly sarcastic tone but isn't that what this essentially is ? For all we know the key selling sites might have bought a heap of retail copies from a supplier and get a good discount for buying in bulk and then had 2 schmucks unbox them and enter the codes on some database where they get fetched when a sale is made.

Probably not how it works but I'm just thinking out loud here, probably shouldn't do that.

 

That's what I do too, +1.

 

@ sykozis - It may not be as simple as that though if other publishers follow suit and start banning/blocking keys they claim are fraudulent/stolen. I have already had this happen once with a game from Rebellion, Sniper Elite III, which was also claimed to be stolen yet the retailer, SimplyGames, is one I've used for years for both PC and console games, granted usually boxed ones.

Usually, I'm very selective about where I purchase my keys from, using SimplyGames, ShopTo.net or GreenManGaming, if they're cheaper than Steam/Origin/Uplay. I seldom buy new games direct from Steam unless they're cheaper Indie titles, not when I can buy a boxed copy or digital key for £10+ less elsewhere.

The reason I do not buy the majority of console games digitally is due to their pricing (which the publishers set by the way) and the fact that I have no choice of buying a cheaper key elsewhere. Boxed console games can be resold or given away to friends, unlike PC games. Nevertheless, I am fine with buying PC games digitally so long as they are reasonably priced and by that I mean £30 or less (£25 is the sweet spot for me for major non-Indie releases). £40+ as sold on Steam, Uplay and Origin are too much and push the game into console territory, where at least they have some second hand value once I've finished them. The lack of resale value for PC games is offset by the fact that I pay less for them. If that changes and publishers like Ubisoft start monopolising the pricing at £39.99 at release then I will not buy them new but wait until they drop in price via a sale.

 

Well, main issue with people buying from other regions with lower prices is:
Asking 60Euro for game which you finish in 8 to 12 hours while minimal wage in country like mine is 300 Euro is asking to pay 20% of your monthly funds for weekend full of fun.

With prices as such, UBI can be happy that people are actually not pirating them.

UBI makes mistake with high prices. I while can afford them, I no longer buy at full price. I either wait for game to have good discount or skip it entirely if discount comes too late and I lose interest in game.

They should realize that it is digital stuff and once made cost for distributing 100,000 and 1million copies is basically same.
Sell cheaper, but considerably more, that is right idea.

 

It is exactly how it works in most cases. After purchase they send you photo of key in the box

 

I admit that I am deeply suspicious of Ubisoft's claims that these banned keys were stolen or fraudulent personally. Rebellion claimed the same thing with Sniper Elite III last year but it being a lesser title not much was made of it and the whole thing was quickly forgotten about.

I suspect myself that Ubisoft had a very bad 2014. They were critically mauled for releasing half-finished broken games such as AC: Unity and Far Cry 4 (the latter on PC) and I understand that sales were lower than expected and others such as The Crew were pretty much flops. That means that their profits are down and that are likely trying to recuperate some of those by banning keys that were bought cheap from third-parties in the hope that those people will seek a new copy direct from them at the higher price point. Call me cynical but why on earth are they only now banning keys for a six month old game (Watch_Dogs)? Surely, if a key can be registered on Uplay and the game downloaded and played for months then the game is legitimate? It makes no sense for them to punish their customers and, in fact, may even put them off buying their games if there's a chance that it'll be banned at some future date.

 

Your comment sounds very logical. It's just they want to make you buy at uplay or steam the next time, not a keyseller, and of course because their win margin is bigger there.

 

yup! 4TB hard drives are being sold for $180 now. I am sure the demand is for saving landscape pictures. Cheers mate!

 

Ok so, let's not pretend that you are not implying that people that pirate games are the ones that mostly buy these drives. Riddle me this: why would someone that pirates games/movies need 4TB drive? If one doesn't pay for a copy, can't play multiplayer, why would one keep that game on the drive once one has finished with single player?

And lastly, do you know how much space does a raw QHD footage (video) takes? Damn even phones can record in QHD now (not raw format but still quite large files). I know some people using only flac (or other losless formats) music and have large collections over multiple drives that will get 20TB drives when they come to market...

Assuming that mostly pirates will shell out 180$ for a 4TB drives to hoard old games is ignorant. I assume the opposite, they are the bunch which are least likely to buy them.

 

They shouldn't have moved from the retail space if they wanted to control pricing and availability.

 

It's ok, people will still keep buying their games.

 

I say good to this, and if it happens, i hope it happens more. I'm sick of these websites being around and someone needs to do something about them, and if that's the publishers revoking access to games, so be it. I'm also sick of consumers attitude toward these websites, thinking they don't need to do any research, or do anything to make sure they buy legitimate games

 

Not that I agree with piracy but Ubisoft don't really have the best track record for releasing quality games, well not any more, I'm surprised they would broadcast this considering their current credibility, at this point they must be thinking hey how can we alienate even more of our customers? I think they need to take a page out of cd projekt reds book, seriously DRM is a waste of time and resources that could be better spent developing games that actually work right.

 

you probably missed my point buddy
I know how much a QHD video file sizes. I dont have a Qhd video capable DSLR, but I got one that can shoot 18mp raw pictures (T5i) and I take a lot of pictures.
and for your 20 TB flac collector buddies, I am sure all of their 20 TB "FLAC" format music is legit. i know because I have 1/2 of my 6tb music collection in flac. For many, hoarding old games is like hoarding 20TB music that you of course dont listen to all the time. Now dont come back at me and say you listen to all of your music everyday. You seriously think I dont know what I am talking about? lol

 

Thanks for posting that WhiteLightning. I knew G2A shield was worth that extra $. I just requested a refund since I already bought the season pass again.

 

What's next? Banning Humble Bundle keys? I spy with my little eye a public relations disaster for Ubi and well-deserved it is.