German Ubi Boycott

[DjTom-i]

Hi there,

regarding the problems in pc-games online sector with ubisofts games

german community has started a boycott page.

German representatives have singalised to talk with them.

Feel free to submit your feelings you have about Graw MP Part.

All Big German and many international communities support this.

The result will be brought to UBISoft Headquarters in Düsseldorf.

http://ubi.spiderfighter.de

Please spread this Link to your mates and friends!!!

There are over 150 votes now...

[Hockeystick]

Well Germans and French have never really liked eachother so I guess this was quite expected

Nah, just kidding.

UBI is French right?

Unfortunately I can't promise that will boycott GRAW 2.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Hockeystick

[Colin]

As far as I am concerned Ubisoft released GRAW one to a small crowd, ie not to be popular as BF series.

Console games takes care of a certain type of player, the pc takes care of another, to boycot a company that is trying to satisfi my type of game would be a nonsence, the old GR game was popular and with the right developer that type of game play can be revived, the gr series took a turn for the worse in its change of direction, it appears in the new version they are trying to get back at its roots, even more than with the first release.

I am reasonably happy with the direction it is heading, I would not boycot a company that is trying to make things better.

[Pritzl]

There are a kajillion factors involved in the general decrepitude in gaming. And, while big publishers are certainly culpable and make a nice, big target, I contend that the bigger problem is... us. Well, not you or me specifically, but the gaming audience in general. In essence, there is crap out there because that's what we seem to want.

We drool over screenshots and gameplay footage, base our buying decisions on those and/or impulse and then moan about the gameplay because it wasn't what we expected. Even those of us who think we are more refined in our gaming tastes still manage to fall into that last trap. e.g. GRAW's gameplay isn't [GR]'s and immediately the majority of players write it off instead of sampling the experience for what it is. We beg for innovation but God help the developer who messes with the aspects we didn't want changed. I'm sorry but it doesn't work that way. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either you accept innovation in principle or not. Cherry-picking where it applies and where it doesn't isn't an option.

So, as far as the boycott is concerned, good luck. Personally though, I find that being just a little more discerning as a consumer with an open mind toward gameplay innovations works for me. That means, I never buy until I read reliable reviews and/or play a demo. And, in both cases, I completely ignore the usual tripe about how gorgeous X looks or how gob-smacking effect Y is, focusing instead on the gameplay.

[Forrester]

This is not gonna work.

I don't have any problems with piracy preventing software, since I don't do piracy.... and my dvd writer does work normal ( burning cd's with my old LP's)

Why would they only try to get rid of the software with UBI are they alone using this software?

And all comments about hardwaredamage by software are Hoaxes.... false claims....

I don't think Ubi will notice this, and furthermore they won't be affraid either.....

[Nutlink]

Forrester, it seems they are protesting against the "release n patch" policy that Ubisoft is going with. Releasing incomplete games and patching them over months that come (ie all the new Tom Clancy titles...), not over copy protection

[Forrester]

Forrester, it seems they are protesting against the "release n patch" policy that Ubisoft is going with. Releasing incomplete games and patching them over months that come (ie all the new Tom Clancy titles...), not over copy protection

OUCH, I was lazy read someting about starforce or something like that and thus misunderstood the whole article...... OUCH ouch ouch

[rookie]

I really didn't think Ubi would pay attention to this site, but appearantly they do. The german marketing director announced to invite the site-owner into the Ubi-offices to discuss the points the site-owner criticizes about Ubi. We'll see what happens.

[AMET_Balamir]

I really didn't think Ubi would pay attention to this site, but appearantly they do. The german marketing director announced to invite the site-owner into the Ubi-offices to discuss the points the site-owner criticizes about Ubi. We'll see what happens.

Good Job Germany!

I'm with you!

[Cobblers]

Forrester, it seems they are protesting against the "release n patch" policy that Ubisoft is going with. Releasing incomplete games and patching them over months that come (ie all the new Tom Clancy titles...), not over copy protection

What game is ever complete? I'd sure love to find one. And is it only UBI that has the "release n patch" policy, as I'm sure I've played many games from other publishers that have been released in the same fashion.

All games have issues, most dev teams worth their salt release patches, that's the way of the software world. Jeez, if patching is something you don't like, then why on earth are you using a PC with Windows software on it?

Best game ever in the world was "Championship Manager" series, before it became "Football Manager". The first releases always had bugs and issues and always required patches, numerous ones at that, to get the game to feel and play as the devs envisaged it always would do. Fact is, the publishers/dev team used the fans as free beta testers. The reward, well, the fans got the game released earlier than expected, yet they had to put up with some bugs etc.

Alternative, wait even longer for the game many here enjoy, but not until many months later. And bugs would take a lot longer to find and clear up without the aid of the public, so what if the lesser evil of the two?

[Nutlink]

Cobbler, of course bugs are always going to be present, but missing basic features and having obvious bugs slip through is just flat out pathetic. What if Windows Vista is found to have a major security problem, be incompatible with a decent chunk of commonplace hardware, and didn't ship with audio support? What if all this was only available once SP1 came around?

When a piece of paid software doesn't work as it should, people complain. I, and many others, would MUCH rather wait the extra few months, or even a year longer for a more complete product. Comparing Windows to video games isn't a good comparison because games are replaced every couple of months now, while Windows has no good competition and comes out with a new version once every few years. For good examples of good games without too many constraints see Oblivion, Crysis, Neverwinter Nights, Half-Life 2, etc. Of course they all had bugs, but all felt like a complete game.

Also, of course it's not just Ubi that's doing this. People refuse to buy BF2142 because it was just a rush job to replace BF2. Call of Duty 2 had a boycott going on due to the lack of multiplayer support (namely an anti-cheat), but Ubi is the target because they are one of, if not the biggest, publisher.

Games getting a patch released before they hit the shelves is just pathetic as well. Gamers aren't used as beta testers then, they're used as cash crops. If these problems were known about (and sometimes they are major issues) then why was the game put into production before the problem was fixed? Just to get it on the shelf a week earlier?

[AMET_Balamir]

Cobbler, of course bugs are always going to be present, but missing basic features and having obvious bugs slip through is just flat out pathetic.

You hit the problem Nutlink. GRAW still an incomplete game (this has been repeated so many times that I lost the count) and in about one month we'll have the sequel... I think this is really pathetic!

I will not buy any of UBI title in the future, 'cause I'm very disgusted! I bought [GR], GRAW, Lockdown and Vegas... I think I've spent enough money. I will not spend any more for 'em!

Good luck to you guys, hoping in the future!

Edited January 23, 2007 by AMET_Balamir

[JASGripen]

GRAW still an incomplete game (this has been repeated so many times that I lost the count) and in about one month we'll have the sequel... I think this is really pathetic!

Repetition does not make it true though. You are riding on the mighty wave of prepatching issues. it was bad to release the game as it was. But that does not make your point valid, the game is currently complete and stable. Sure there are things you could wish for; but if that is a valid thing for calling a game incomplete then there have never been a complete game ever.

[Nutlink]

JASGripen, the first impression is usually the longest lasting. Most people don't want to stick around and wait for what they initially thought they were going to get. The release n patch policy that some publishers and developers have been embracing is rather ridiculous.

Think of it as buying a car. One out of every five cars is going to be missing something, from a tire to a radio to seats. After several patches, one in ten cars are going to have this problem, but since a new model is in the works support is dropped for the current model, so some folks are stuck without headlights or a gas tank. Then when the new model comes out, it's the same thing again.

The sad thing is is that this isn't being limited to PCs anymore. It's happening with console games now too. At least we don't have to pay for our patches though....

[Cobblers]

No, you are wrong. They are allowed to give you the car, if it breaks, then they have the right to fix it.

Fact is that many people played GR:AW without any problems at all. Others obviously didn't. I really do not know any game that has ever been released, by any publisher, where this hasn't been the case.

And sorry, I'm not UBI/GRIN upping here. And I'm fine for you boycotting UBI, although you should really consider doing this for all publishers. Otherwise your arguments sound flawed and very small minded.

[Nutlink]

The car would be paid for, and for some people unusable. Therefore a wasted chunk of money and time for the end user without any problem for the seller.

I was one of the folks who was lucky enough to play GRAW without a problem (except that damn widescreen bug and some of the bugs with the editor). Of course every game is going to have bugs in them, but bigger and bigger bugs are being released with every game. Some games even have a patch on release day that is REQUIRED for stability to even start the game after installation. I fail to see why that should be the case.

I'm not necessarily against Ubi myself, however the games I DO like are owned by them. Boycotting a publisher isn't a new thing (see EA for the BF series and Activision for Call of Duty 2). It's not just Ubi, but rather that it's just people are more vocal about Ubi since they're a bigger publisher.

Edited January 24, 2007 by Nutlink

[Cobblers]

That's cool. So long as we aren't seeing yet another "I hate UBI and will do anything to show it" episode then I'm fine.

Still, if I had any credibility, I would be taking this complaint to ALL publishers, as it still would appear to be a bit hypocritical of people to play another game, from another publisher, which releases games which require re patching almost straight away. This hang up of mine stops me from seeing any real relevance to the argument that some are trying to put out.

Edit: Hmm, looking at it, they only have 600 people that have signed up so far. For all those that have brought the game it seems a very small amount to have signed up already if it were to really take off. UBI aren't going to worry about 600 odd people and I very much doubt anyone will read through 600 threads of people wining.

[JASGripen]

First impression or not, the statement that GRAW isn't a complete game is untrue and that is all that I stated.

My latest "impression" is that most peeps with "first impressions" haven't had much other impressions of GRAW as they prolly not have patched with the latest patch.

[AMET_Balamir]

GRAW still an incomplete game (this has been repeated so many times that I lost the count) and in about one month we'll have the sequel... I think this is really pathetic!

Repetition does not make it true though. You are riding on the mighty wave of prepatching issues. it was bad to release the game as it was. But that does not make your point valid, the game is currently complete and stable. Sure there are things you could wish for; but if that is a valid thing for calling a game incomplete then there have never been a complete game ever.

I don't agree with you. In my opinion, GRAW still incomplete for MP:

- no anticheat I can see at work

- don't tell me that you like the server console as it is...

- no replay or demo recording: quite difficult to have a good competion as with [GR].

Emh, for your information, I've patched to latest but still think to GRAW as incomplete, or this is what I felt last time I played...

[IrishStout]

But realisitcally, the game is complete.

I do not remember GRIN or UBI promissing a Replay Feature. As for good competion, I play with a bunch of freinds from various CLANs and I can tell you, the competion is always good. It might not be match ready, but again, I don't recall reading anyway that GRIN\UBI promised this either. Especially, with all the various type of leagues and ladders that are out there.

As for the Anti-Cheat... try changing one of the files that you should not and see if you can get on a Server that HAS the Anti Cheat enabled... that will tell you if it works or not.

The consol could be improved upon.. but it does work. Just might not work how you would like it.

[TheNoid]

Actually!! This Boycott is really NOT about GR:AW. Thanks to GRIN GR:AW Was one of the more complete Games at release. We were lucky and got good dev support for the game IMO and we almost always knew what was going on (IMO thanks to GRIN and Grin_Willie not UBI).

Where this Boycott comes from is the VERY shoddy release and subsequent lack of communication, and caring for there community in regards to Rainbow Six Vegas (Worst game I ever wasted my money on). Nutlink can back me up on this if he cares to (You know me there as Noidskie) That title is typical of the way of the future for UBI. Now I, nor any of the others over at OGN have had any difficulties with GR:AW and we personally got everything we needed for the game(Once again thanks to GRIN not UBI). I have to say that I will be buying GR:AW 2 as will most of the OGN community and that is only due to the fact that GRIN is doing it for the PC from the ground up and we have faith in GRIN NOT UBI! UBI in our opinions is nothing but a money hungry corp. looking to make as much money as they can and damn the consumer. We personally over at OGN do not buy any more UBI titles for our kids for any consoles which is where they really make there money.

As long as GRIN continues making this series, and as long as they continue to support it and release SDKs , SADS, etc. then we will continue to buy this title and this title only from UBI. As soon as it starts to go the way of Rainbow however, and UBI starts getting involved and treats us like they treat that community that will be the end of it for us.

If you would like to see what all the fuss IS REALLY about feel free to visit the forums over at http://rainbowsixgame.com

[JASGripen]

GRAW still an incomplete game (this has been repeated so many times that I lost the count) and in about one month we'll have the sequel... I think this is really pathetic!

Repetition does not make it true though. You are riding on the mighty wave of prepatching issues. it was bad to release the game as it was. But that does not make your point valid, the game is currently complete and stable. Sure there are things you could wish for; but if that is a valid thing for calling a game incomplete then there have never been a complete game ever.

I don't agree with you. In my opinion, GRAW still incomplete for MP:

- no anticheat I can see at work

- don't tell me that you like the server console as it is...

- no replay or demo recording: quite difficult to have a good competion as with [GR].

Emh, for your information, I've patched to latest but still think to GRAW as incomplete, or this is what I felt last time I played...

Do join PGL for good teams to ladder with, np with AC etc (few at least). The server console could have a more user friendly interface. Yes. Incomplete? No. Well if you have patched to latest patch then I really can say that you have no reason whatever to say that the game is incomplete.

[Cobblers]

UBI in our opinions is nothing but a money hungry corp. looking to make as much money as they can and damn the consumer. We personally over at OGN do not buy any more UBI titles for our kids for any consoles which is where they really make there money.

@ Noid - You make it sound as though GRIN are only making GR:AW for the love of computer programming. Every company is there to make money and I am sure that even the owners of GRIN shall want to see a good return for their investment.

And I do love the attitude towards big companies, be it whoever they are. Please realise that companies are hear to make money, that money comes from you and us. Why should you expect them to be any different?

Finally, there does appear to be a growing trend within the community of calling GR:AW "unfinished", yet many of the "unfinished" parts of the game are more down to most wanting these features included and as IrishStout stated, I do not remember GRIN/UBI promising any of them.

[TheNoid]

UBI in our opinions is nothing but a money hungry corp. looking to make as much money as they can and damn the consumer. We personally over at OGN do not buy any more UBI titles for our kids for any consoles which is where they really make there money.

@ Noid - You make it sound as though GRIN are only making GR:AW for the love of computer programming. Every company is there to make money and I am sure that even the owners of GRIN shall want to see a good return for their investment.

I own a large company myself and I am in it for the money. I am sure that GRIN is in it for the money as well, and I would'nt ask for it to be any different. I guess you missed that part I wrote about "damn the consumer". My issue is not about people making money off me, when I make money off others. My issue is the complete lack of customer support or customer service offered by UBI. Ever right a trouble ticket to them? I have an open ticket from 3 weeks ago that has STILL not been responded to(other than the standard auto response you get). They give out no information on what is going on with there products and they seem to not give a damn in the least about there customers, much less actually support there products. As I also stated I think the reason people complain less about GR:AW is because GRIN themselves have gotten involved with the community. I give GRIN the credit not UBI. Take the time to go to the forum link I posted and make sure and read about 4 pages back, you will see how customers and titles are handled by UBI when the devs do not get involved.

I will reiterate what I said before, As long as GRIN continues to be involved with GR:AW me and my community will continue to support this title and this title ONLY. We will not buy any other UBI titles for PC or console. This is primarily because we like what we have seen from GRIN in the way of community support and involvment, don't fool yourself UBI dosn't give a rats ass about you or what you think of them as long as they have your money. In the case of GR:AW it seems as if GRIN cares about there reputation and what consumers think of them, therefor they do what they can as Devs to support the community and make it stronger. That is the one and only reason we are still here.

[WhiteKnight77]

I have watched this patch at release program with awe. It seems to be getting worse and this is apparently the problem upsetting more and more people. While all games or software of any sort will have problems, there is no reason why there should be so many bugs left at release (or even after the game has gone gold) that they have to release a patch prior to a game hitting the shelves.

While Ubi does have the right to make money off of consumers, the consumer has a right to spend their hard earned money on a product that is complete (or with as few bugs as possible) and not a beta product and Ubi as the producer of the product has the responsibility to produce said goods without the need to be patched on day one of retail sales.

I haven't bought a Rainbow Six game since Black Thorn for RS came out in 2001. That should speak volumes about what I see in that series. While I have bought GRAW (I have yet to play it even), I am not sure I even want to play it. If Ubi continues with the patch and release sales model, I will opt to not buy any further products from them.