No DRM in retail Prince of Persia PC?

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 December, 2008

Ubi community man says so. Cripes.

Retail versions of the new Prince of Persia for PC are reportedly shipping without any form of digital rights management (DRM). Like, on purpose.

Ubisoft community developer Chris Easton said as much in a forum post picked up by Shacknews. "A lot of people complain that DRM is what forces people to pirate games but as POP PC has no DRM we'll see how truthful people actually are," he wrote. "Not very, I imagine."

Easton went on to clarify that there's no DRM in retail versions of the game, but that this does not apply to digitally distributed copies.

Eurogamer hasn't been sent a PC version of POP yet, so we can't check this out for ourselves at the moment, but we've contacted Ubisoft for comment. The PC version went on sale in Europe last Friday, 12th December.

Given the recent debate about DRM in the likes of Spore, Grand Theft Auto IV and Ubisoft's own Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - and the oft-stated claim, acknowledged by Easton, that DRM drives frustrated gamers to DRM-free piracy - it will be interesting to see how the move impacts piracy rates.

Check out our Prince of Persia review for more on the game in general.

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.

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

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Comments (30) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • actionfitz #1 3 years ago

    "DRM drives frustrated gamers to DRM-free piracy"

    actually it just drives me to buy other games and skip the DRM ones for their console ports.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #2 3 years ago

    I still think that the majority doesn't care or even know about all that DRM stuff. I doubt it will sell much more or much less - which is a good thing I guess.

  • penhalion #3 3 years ago

    Yep if the numbers remain the same or slightly higher, then this is a real kick in the eye for companies claiming DRM is necessary.

  • MKorkia #4 3 years ago

    Ubisoft community developer has very bad attitube about DRM-opposition.

    Nothing good comes out of DRM...

  • DFawkes #5 3 years ago

    I'll buy it now, just to show my support. Or I could buy a version that's playable, due to my PC being not up to much.

  • Rirekon #6 3 years ago

    What they'll find is that the game is pirated just as much as it would have been with DRM (check against previous titles), proving that it's a pointless waste of money for the developer/publisher and a stupid annoyance for the (paying!) customer.

  • hiddenranbir #7 3 years ago

    What an idiot.

    It doesn't matter how many copies PoP sells. He'll say "if we had DRM we would have sold more".

  • Ryze #8 3 years ago

    The problem with this title is that it's not amazingly good. Would this type of game sell well on the PC regardless of DRM or piracy?

  • kestral #9 3 years ago

    "What they'll find is that the game is pirated just as much as it would have been with DRM (check against previous titles), proving that it's a pointless waste of money for the developer/publisher and a stupid annoyance for the (paying!) customer."

    I think to them that means that removing DRM does not guarantee lower piracy. They're already on the DRM bandwagon they're experimenting to see if they can get off again. So this would not be good enough for them I think.

  • DFawkes #10 3 years ago

    I hated the DRM in Spore, so I didn't buy it. I also didn't pirate it. I'm the same for any game, if I think the DRM is too much I don't play it in any form.

    I still maintain DRM makes zero difference, pirates are a hard working bunch, ensuring any DRM is cracked. Usually before release too, so if you want to pirate, it's equally easy for Spore, PoP or any game.

  • chrisjm #11 3 years ago

    'I hated the DRM in Spore, so I didn't buy it. I also didn't pirate it.'

    same for me with Spore and C&C red alert 3. just skipped them but would of bought them on release otherwise.

  • IneptPercy #12 3 years ago

    Prepare for the quickest pirated game ever.

    All this means is it will be on the torrent sites 2-3 weeks before release instead of 2-3 days, more people will download it and it will prove DRM does have a purpose, it may not stop things but sure does delay them.

    DRM turns people to piracy... no, cheap bast**ds turn to piracy. DRM, no DRM they will still do it.

  • skillian #13 3 years ago

    @IneptPercy, the game was released three days ago, so your prediction that we will see it pirated 3 weeks before release doesn't really make sense.

    Looking at my favourite torrent site, it seems it appeared 2 days before the official release date, pretty much the same as any recent DRMed title.

  • crozon #14 3 years ago

    i have the game and can confirm no drm and even better don't need the disc in the PC

  • canuter #15 3 years ago

    Headlines ending in question mark? Welcome to the new age of journalism!

    Nice gesture Ubi, but DRMed or not, the game is still mediocre. You keep it.

  • Bitkari #16 3 years ago

    Surprisingly good move from an old DRM-loving curmudgeon like Ubisoft!

    Bravo.

  • StooMonster #17 3 years ago

    No DRM and no disc requirements?

    I would normally moan about their Steam version only being for North, Central, and South American customers -- no disc-in-drive is one of my reasons to buy on Steam, I hate putting discs in to play PC games -- but that's not bad at all.

    Blimey, I'm going to buy a copy this PM to show my support for this approach.
    Edited by 1 at 15/12/08 @ 13:39

  • the_mtfr #18 3 years ago

    Quote: Chris Easton [...] "A lot of people complain that DRM is what forces people to pirate games but as POP PC has no DRM we'll see how truthful people actually are," he wrote. "Not very, I imagine."

    This asshole has some nerve! He labels all of us liars. In reality:
    - people who afford it and who are not retarded will buy it more because it doesn't have DRM
    - people in countries where the salary is 10 to 100 times smaller than this asshole's will pirate it just like before cause they can't afford it anyway
    - people who pirate games instead of trying the demos will pirate it just like before, and buy it afterwards if they like it
    - retarded people who could afford many games (be they from poor or rich countries) will pirate it without giving a shit, because they are retarded
    - etc.

    He cannot comprise a huge variety of situations in his one sentence that moreover offends us. So I choose to label him as a f-ing asshole for calling us all liars.

  • Farfarer #19 3 years ago

    Noble ideal, sure, but let's try it with a game the PC masses want to buy.

    This is not a game for PC gamers as a target market... it's a late port of a console game that's already released. Of course this game will sell only mediocre numbers on the PC. Pirated or otherwise.

    This is a rigged experiment and it's results should be firmly ignored.

  • Xensor #20 3 years ago

    Heh i may actually buy this just prove a point... but then its a pretty average game once you get past the spangly visuals so meh. Thumbs up for the no DRM tho.

  • Snooz #21 3 years ago

    I'm a cheap bastard in the combo of having too little time to finish games i.e I'm buying classics when they're 1-2 years old and play them.... irregularily

    I'm still playing Psychonauts, BF2 (cause its still fun), FEAR (boring), Stalker (orig),Halflife 2- ep 1, and I've got Tom Clancy Las Vegas, GTA san andreas, and other classics lying in a shelf next to the PC, unopened.

    The thing I'm thinking of is who does the bargain bin money go to? Is the game in the bin already regarded as sold? Or is it regarded as not sold and as a profit loss when I buy it for about a third of the original price?

    Edit: Oh, and to be quite frank, I've pirated my share as a student, still have PoP on original xbox pirated, didn't finish it either :S Kept forgetting where to go and usually left the game unplayed for long periods of time at savegames I got stuck at and didn't quite know what to do :/
    Edited by 2 at 15/12/08 @ 14:19

  • salvadorlimones #22 3 years ago

    nice marketing stunt..

    if people do go for piracy on PoP then all he will say is "i told you so" and he will have a solid case for future references. and if they don't pirate it and go buy the legal copies just to prove that they are not freeloaders, then ubisoft will have a nice revenue out of this whole thing. it's a win-win situation for them.

  • Nithron #23 3 years ago

    What will happen is this:
    The numbers for piracy and sales will be roughly the same as the average high-profile ubisoft release.

    They will conclude that removing DRM does not reduce piracy.

    They will continue using DRM.

  • UbiRazz #24 3 years ago

    the_mtfr, I'm not labeling you all liars in the slightest but the excuse that is often used on forums about why people pirate games is because of DRM. Now that there is no DRM I'm very interested to see how many of those people actually buy the game, I personally don't expect many and I believe that another excuse will be used. I'm more than happy to be proved wrong on this and a lot of people have come to the Ubisoft forum to state that they've bought the game just because there is no DRM, even if PoP isn't a game they'd normally play. I think that speaks volumes.

  • DarkPOP #25 3 years ago

    Without DRM. It's awesome. I buy it.
    Prince of Persia

  • sneetch #26 3 years ago

    @the_mtfr
    "Quote: Chris Easton [...] "A lot of people complain that DRM is what forces people to pirate games but as POP PC has no DRM we'll see how truthful people actually are," he wrote. "Not very, I imagine."

    This asshole has some nerve! He labels all of us liars."

    No. Read it again without looking for something to take offence at and you'll see that he's labelling those people who claim that DRM makes them pirate liars. I understand his scepticism: they'll pirate anyway, they'll just give some other piss-poor reason.

    Hell, the DRM shouldn't affect piracy one way or the other: you can buy the game then DL a no-CD/no-DRM hack, after all. Many do.

    PoP is an awesome game, well worth playing.

  • firefly #27 3 years ago

    I sort of get what he's saying. There are plenty of people out there who will just pirate their games whatever the DRM situation just because free games are free games. However he's missing the main point which is that the main people hurt by DRM are the legitimate users who pay for a retail copy only to find it inferior to the pirate version. As enough people have said on this very thread they don't turn to piracy so much as skip the game entirely.

  • the_mtfr #28 3 years ago

    @UbiRazz, @sneetch

    Yes I understand the main point. When I said "calling us all liars" I meant all of us who are vocal about DRM. When buying my games I AM taking into account the DRM too, and I'm skipping or pirating the ones with draconic DRM and/or limited number of activations, and taking more into account the ones with a simple, honest CD key or no DRM at all. There surely are others who complain and do just the same, and I for one found myself in that sentence with "let's see how honest people who complain are... I imagine not very". Because it didn't say "let's see how honest SOME people are..."

    I'm especially pissed off at how DRM handicaps honest buyers, cause I just read that "20 easy steps to install GTA 4 on PC".

  • craziii #29 3 years ago

    pirates will always be pirates, you cannot convert them.

    drm forces honest customers into pirates, that is a HUUUUGE problem. that is like publishers shooting themselves in the foot with a rocket, overkill.

    there should be simple drm that stops your avg joe from making copies and giving it to friends and family.

    how to balance between the 2?

  • Rack #30 3 years ago

    I didn't buy Spore and Crysis Warhead because of DRM, I'd like to buy this to support the idea, but it's a crappy game. Generally people who know about DRM are going to be well informed so I see this as a bit cynical.