Eurogamer.net Podcast #7

By Tom Bramwell Published 23 February, 2010

Ubi DRM and the next next generation. Special guest: Kristan Reed!

Now this is happening! Again! It's time for the seventh instalment of the Eurogamer.net Podcast. We'll stop counting when you run out of fingers.

Tom Champion is your host, and this week he is joined by former Eurogamer.net editor Kristan Reed, current Eurogamer.net editor Tom Bramwell, and our beloved Dan Pearson.

As ever, you can download the Eurogamer.net Podcast as an MP3, stream it below or grab it on iTunes. Here's an RSS link: http://www.eurogamer.net/rss/eurogamer_podcast_itunes.rss.

Once again the podcast is dominated - almost to the exclusion of bad jokes - by cutting, well-researched games industry debate, as we discuss both sides of issues such as Ubisoft's popular new PC DRM solution.

We also riff on / steal your forum themes, and in this week's Q&A section we get tough about the next next generation of consoles and the causes of the next next generation of consoles, among other things.

Plus, the gang also talks about what we've been playing, except for Brammers, who realised he was breaking an embargo halfway through and made long-suffering sound engineer Scott Mackintosh go back and bleep him out.

That's twice in seven podcasts that's happened. Nearly 30 per cent of the time the editor of the site is too stupid to check whether he can say what he's saying. You win!

Oh, and we've got another game giveaway. We can barely mask our contempt either.

Background reading!

The Eurogamer.net Podcast is published at 3pm GMT every Tuesday. Join us next week for more intense, cutting, incisive, searing, penetrating debate about the issues that matter to you, interspersed with nonsense. Or vice versa.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (29) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • laurence83 #1 2 years ago

    Christian Rap?

  • Hendo #2 2 years ago

    I would guess Tom's censored game is FFXIII?

  • Venatio Verified Community & Gaming Manager, Eurogamer Network #3 2 years ago

    Christian rap seemed like the closest fit.

  • PiD #4 2 years ago

    And I thought you were joking about the genre :D

  • Jay-ITFC #5 2 years ago

    KFVWM-WBQM9-6W4FP-D3689-HPXVT

    Code has already been used...

  • glottis0 #6 2 years ago

    What's the point of the intro music. Just start talking :p

  • Hendo #7 2 years ago

    Tom, the bit Ubisoft said about waiting for reviews was a mistake I think. They were asked what people would lose (meaning save files and how far your progress was) and they took that to meaning, "What am I missing out on if I don't buy it?"

    How will I know what I'll lose?
    "You'll have to wait for the reviews, and to hear what your peers are saying."

    At least that was my take when I read that.

  • gjgjg #8 2 years ago

    how do you know im a he?
    cheers for reading my q btw

    ps. my name has a system!!!! :p
    Edited by gjgjg at 23/02/10 @ 16:28

  • altaranga #9 2 years ago

    You've gotta sort those volume levels out guys.

    Still worth listening to, though. Makes my Tuesday afternoons. :)

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #10 2 years ago

    I've heard that this is rubbish without Bertie. And I can say that from the safety of my sock account.

  • covfan #11 2 years ago

    Bad Torches in games? Doom 3 says hello!

  • Hunam #12 2 years ago

    *cough*Metro 2033*cough*

  • Hunam #13 2 years ago

    Co-op isn't always win, when you want to play a game single player and you have some moron AI partner dying on you all the time is a fucking pain in the arse.

  • Stoatboy #14 2 years ago

    Being able to install a game on as many machines as I want can only be considered a positive relative to Ubi's previous hateful 3 machine limit DRM. "Not as horribly crippled in one regard" is not a major selling point to me. Being able to install the game on every PC I own, and will ever own, is my base expectation.

  • Hunam #15 2 years ago

    Guh, put the codes at the end, I don't want it popping up all the time it the podcast :|

    I can't quite grasp why people don't realise how finicky internet can be, and for our friends in the armed forces they might as well just give up trying to play PC games. The biggest issue is always that the legitimate customer has to put up with things like being on uninterrupted internet where pirates, the people who caused this, will no doubt have exactly what they want and not any of the hassle of their internet and ubisofts internet going down.
    Edited by Hunam at 23/02/10 @ 17:27

  • MaxHughes #16 2 years ago

    Is the game that Tom couldn't mention BF:BC2? ;) Good one this week! Keep up the good work :)

  • covfan #17 2 years ago

    Can you use the torch at the same time as a weapon in AvP?

  • RampagedDeath #18 2 years ago

    Just downloaded the show on iTunes and the audio is very quiet guys. Hopefully it will be louder on the next podcast.

  • Netweb #19 2 years ago

    Nice! Bring next one :D

  • casper_no #20 2 years ago

    I think the DRM move that Ubisoft has made is interesting. For once there is at least a small positive to it, not just endless irritations. Seems like PC game developers have three options for dealing with piracy:
    1. Focus on consoles, abandon pc
    2. Release the game without DRM . The logic would be that all DRM gets hacked and that way legit users don't have to be annoyed.
    3. Find new and novel systems like the one for AC2. I imagine that hacking around the 'save in the cloud' system is quite hard and will result in very inelegant hacks.

  • swisstony #21 2 years ago

    There was also a Spectrum game called Dark Star, I assume it wasn't a port of the PC one mentioned in the podcast :)

  • Hendo #22 2 years ago

    More feedback - I'd like to echo the points about the sound levels, they really need sorting out. The volume has to be cranked up after the theme has ended and even then Bramwell is too quiet.
    Also, still not keen on the codes being read out, not interesting to listen to and limits who can get it by whoever's listening first.
    Just because the limerick failed doesn't mean you should give up on giving away stuff properly.

  • Jay-ITFC #23 2 years ago

    For the competition just ask a question each week then set up an email address to send entries to. Then pick a winner at random on the following weeks podcast.

  • elephant_stone #24 2 years ago

    Its getting better each week guys - some of it actually sounded serious!

    By the way - do you still want jingles making for the different segments?

    p.s. I was upset with the lack of "-" (said in a high pitched voice)

  • EmiliasHorse #25 2 years ago

    I would like to thank EG for the Podcasts, I am a big fan.

  • Freek #26 2 years ago

    The "positives things" like not having instal limits or requiring the disc in the drive used to be the norm for PC games, these were not speciality items to be praised. To use that as an ofset to a DRM system that criples your gameplay experience the moment something goes wrong is simply not acceptable.

    Yes, MMO's also use a contant internet connection. To enable a gripping multiplayer experience with people across the globe. It's giving a great gamplay experience rather then taking it away wich is what Ubisoft is using the net for. Ofcourse people don't like it.

  • Armoured_Gideon #27 2 years ago

    I'm sure Eurogamer could afford to buy three or four microphones? The quiet audio is the only consistent letdown with this show. Otherwise, it's great.

  • Kostabi #28 2 years ago

    The show needs more Ellie talking about unrelated 90s pop icons.

    Also, HYPHEN!

  • UsernamePending #29 2 years ago

    Nice one - thanks. Keep it regular!