As part of what can now only be interpreted as Ubisoft’s ongoing campaign to ensure Driver: San Francisco is the most hated PC game of all time, not only will it include their abhorrent ‘always-on’ DRM (meaning everyone from those without a reliable internet connection to those in the armed forces can’t play it), but there’s also going to be no demo! The consoles get their demo of the game tomorrow, but according to Ubisoft, “There are no current plans for a PC demo.” When we asked why not we were bluntly told, “We have no information on any PC demo planned.”

The lack of a demo ensures PC users can’t legitimately try the game out before deciding whether to purchase. The DRM ensures anyone without a permanent internet connection cannot play a legitimate version of the game. It is hard to understand what Ubi think they can achieve through these measures, and we’re currently seeking to speak to someone at the company who is involved in these decisions to find out. One thing is for sure – the conspiracy that they’re trying to abandon the PC as a platform is surely nonsense. They’d simply not make a PC version if they wanted that.

And it is my belief that cries for “mass piracy” of the game are massively naive. That would not send any useful kind of message to anyone. In fact, if people were to refuse to even pirate the games, I think that would send a far stronger message.

Whatever is going on, it’s impossible not to feel let down, if not downright insulted, by the treatment of PC players by Ubisoft. It’s something we’d really like to see changed, and we’ll do our best to find out what’s going on.