"If you have bought the game, you have an implied right to play the game (if the small print says otherwise, it should be null and void, and Ubisoft charged with fraud, for that would be making money by deception)"

That would be nice, but it isn't the way things work.

Actually, sometimes it is. Volkswagen got sued in the US for selling cars equipped with transponder keys that were far more difficult and expensive to replace than standard car keys without making adequate disclosures to the customer. I suspect a similar lawsuit option exists for Ubisoft customers.

Sure, anyone can file a lawsuit. But I doubt they'd win. (And it's worth noting that VW didn't lose that case, they settled rather than fight it)

Why settle if you know you are going to win?

Well because it can actually be cheaper than a protracted legal fight, of course.

Especially if the issue in the case is just about how much to charge for replacement keys.

Sometimes it's cheaper than paying the lawyers. The settlement terms in the VW case mostly consisted of informing customers who could make keys for them, and giving vouchers to certain customers for reduced-price duplicates.

Depending on whether Ubisoft really sees this DRM strategy as critical to its survival, it might settle such a suit, or try to head one off before it got to court by changing its DRM policy.

Actually, that is the way things work. I know if I had purchased this game, instead of boycotting it because of the DRM (which I did), right now I would be back at the store demanding a full refund back to my credit card.

If the merchant refuses, that's what a merchant agreement is for... Time to call my bank and get a chargeback. Fuck 'em. They can get the money back from Ubisoft for selling me defective product.

I don't care what type of "click wrap" license they try to foist on me. That shit doesn't hold up in court as legally binding. In the end, my bank will get my money back.

Caveat Venditor...

> That would be nice, but it isn't the way things work.

Yet.

Wait 'til the Pirate Party's been in power a few years...

By that logic, Blizzard would have been sued into oblivion for all the downtime that World of Warcraft has experienced, and continues to experience on certain realm servers.