I posted last week about how disappointed I was to see the draconian DRM restrictions that Ubisoft is putting on its upcoming titles; Assassin's Creed II and Splinter Cell: Conviction in particular, both of which I was planning to purchase and enjoy on the PC but no longer will, as I'm unwilling to financially support this sort of blatantly consumer-unfriendly behavior.
Well, it turns out that defeating this amazing new anti-piracy measure (and lest you should think this was about anything other than piracy, Ubisoft has been very clear that this is an attempt to thwart pirates) was so complicated, it took less than a day. Silent Hunter 5, the first game to use this always-online DRM scheme, has apparently already been cracked and uploaded to torrent sites around the 'net. The pirated version - assuming these reports are accurate - can be played whether your internet connection is active or not, meaning that in at least one respect the people who steal the game are actually getting a product that is measurably superior to the one other people paid money for.
Way to put your customers first, Ubisoft.