Driver: San Francisco delayed on PC

Surprise, surprise, it's another mysterious PC delay from Ubisoft. This time, the victim is Driver: Fog City, which is now due three weeks after the console editions.

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When Ubisoft confirmed that the PC edition of Driver: San Francisco would see the return of its terrible 'always online' DRM, it tried to console fans with the words, "Bear in mind though that the PC version of DRVSF is released simultaneously to consoles." Ah. Not any more.

The publisher told Bluesnews that the PC edition of Driver: San Fran is now slated to launch in North America on September 27, pushed back from the September 6 supposed simultaneous launch. The UK release will be on September 30, Ubi confirmed to Eurogamer.

This the latest in a long line of mysterious delays for PC editions from Ubisoft, and is just as unexplained as those preceding it. Over the past few years, the PC editions of From Dust, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, H.A.W.X. 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and more have been delayed until after the console release. Ubisoft's always been very coy about these delays, rarely offering explanations. The best answer we've had out of the company was back in 2008, after Tom Clancy's EndWar was delayed on PC.

"To be honest, if PC wasn't pirated to hell and back, there'd probably be a PC version coming out the same day as the other two," creative director Michael de Plater said at the time. "The level of piracy that you get with the PC just cannibalizes the others, because people just steal that version."

Whether that's still the reason behind the apparent policy of PC delays or not, only Ubisoft can say. However, the publisher has said that with the draconian DRM, it has seen "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success."

The PC edition of Driver: Frisco also won't get a demo, though one was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 yesterday.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 11, 2011 6:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Driver: San Francisco delayed on PC.

    Surprise, surprise, it's another mysterious PC delay from Ubisoft. This time, the victim is Driver: Fog City, which is now due three weeks after the console editions.

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      August 11, 2011 6:02 AM

      Who cares? This series has never been great. Is anyone here looking forward to this on any platform?

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      August 11, 2011 6:02 AM

      "The level of piracy that you get with the PC just cannibalizes the others, because people just steal that version."
      And where's the evidence to prove this shit?

      (is anyone even looking forward to this pos game anyway?)

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        August 11, 2011 6:13 AM

        Lately it's been the complete opposite, console versions get pirated way before PC versions.

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          August 11, 2011 6:16 AM

          In a related turn of events, the leak of the 10 hour preview of DX:HR led to one of the greatest bitchslap compilations in history.

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          August 12, 2011 6:21 AM

          Hehe, its fine. Let him think that way. Would be an eye opener for him one day once he realizes this.

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        August 11, 2011 6:29 AM

        [deleted]

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          August 11, 2011 6:35 AM

          No, didn't you read the quote. I need evidence that releasing the PC version at the same time as consoles affects the sales of the console version.

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      August 11, 2011 6:03 AM

      I couldn't even get past the training section in the original driver :)

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      August 11, 2011 6:10 AM

      Not that I care about this series anyways, but Ubisoft...they are on a roll with their PC user base the last couple years. What a bunch of fucking tools

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      August 11, 2011 6:25 AM

      [deleted]

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      August 11, 2011 7:05 AM

      They don't realise that pulling this shit is the reason my buddy Steve (not me) pirates these type of shitty little games.

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      August 11, 2011 7:12 AM

      They delay the games because of pirates? Delaying the game only delays the piracy, and the only reason their games are "pirated to hell and back" is because of their DRM system.

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        August 11, 2011 9:09 AM

        I'm sure some people pirate these titles because of the DRM, but you can't say that the ONLY reason they're pirated is because of DRM.

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          August 11, 2011 9:21 AM

          Actually, given the shitty titles they've had of late, we can say the only reason they're pirated is because of DRM. They tout the crap as the end-all be-all of DRM, then they're going to attract folks that do it to show/prove they can.

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            August 11, 2011 9:23 AM

            Well the titles may be crap, but I was just making the point that DRM is not the ONLY reason people pirate software.

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              August 11, 2011 10:33 PM

              while i dont care about driver, i would say the last 4 games from Ubisoft i've played i have stolen just because of this issue. starting with the last splinter cell. great game, wish i could support the devs and not the publishers, but i guess its best because the dev's should fucking listen to their paying customer base by not pushing them away with terrible DRM. i hate stealing games, and only really do it when its out of principle (sometimes its because no demo [like this game] but it can be for other things. i do end up buying a lot as i have over 100 games bought on steam..)

              in short: stop fucking yourself over Ubi, especially before you piss off certain groups.

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      August 11, 2011 7:27 AM

      Wait a minute, weren't they quoted not too long ago as saying their always on DRM solution was very effective at fighting piracy? Seems to me like delaying this game because of piracy is basically admitting that their DRM doesn't actually work.

      lol @ contradictions.

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        August 11, 2011 7:41 AM

        IIRC, that was a quote from a shareholder conference call. So maybe they're just appeasing the shareholders, while the delayed PC releases tell the true story.

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      August 11, 2011 9:27 AM

      After running his comments through the Bullshit-to-English translator, I get:

      "Fuck PC. We're primarily focused on consoles. We can't admit console games are pirated because then our investors wouldn't trust us after we wasted a lot of their cash on ineffective DRM for PC."

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      August 11, 2011 9:51 AM

      Who cares. After playing the demo, I can safely say this game sucks the pooper.

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