http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/30/some-ac4-single-player-content-requires-online-pass

SOME AC IV SINGLE PLAYER CONTENT REQUIRES ONLINE PASS

ONLINE PASSES ARE INVADING SINGLE PLAYER CONTENT

This generation is no stranger to online passes for multiplayer access and content, but it turns out that some of the single player options in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag are gated with Ubisoft's Uplay Passport.

In Black Flag, players can board enemy ships instead of destroying them. For players with new copies of the game, the option is available to then add said ships to your fleet; these vessels can then be commanded much like the assassin recruits introduced in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. However, if you're playing a used or borrowed copy of AC IV, you'll need to buy a Uplay Passport to unlock this option,Game Informer reports.

This gate also implies that the ship command mechanic will only be available with an online connection. It's also worth mentioning that the Uplay Passport required for ship command is separate from the Uplay accounts players might have from previous Ubisoft games –– this code is specific to AC IV.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag released Tuesday for PS3 and Xbox 360, while the PS4 and Xbox One versions release on November 12 and 19, respectively.

Pay attention gamers, I don't want this to happen ever in video games. If you like to have your freedom, pay attention. This kind of behavior was supposed to be left behind with the XBOX ONE and possible PS4 (not proved yet). 

soo, nobody cares about this new! OK.

It's because no one here actually cares.... We all obviously have an internet connection otherwise we wouldn't be here! It was just a way to bash the X1. Hell, the PS3 had a lot more DRM than the 360 ever did or will do and yet, no threads about that.

Go figure.

Sounds like it applies to every version of the game

Why are you singleing out the x1 version? This isnt microsoft doing drm, this is all ubisoft...

edit: nevermind, i get what you are trying to say, it is just worded oddly.  Especially since this isnt drm and it is incredibly different from the drm discussed for the x1...

edit2: this isnt drm at all. It is a way to incentivise buying the game new.  Is it a stupid idea? Yes!  This kind of behavior is terrible, but it isnt drm.  You should change the thread title.

He isn't. He's saying it's Xbox like. UbiSoft have had online passes for a while now but they only restricted online play as far as I'm aware.

this started years ago,

Batman Arkham City, Rage, Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network...

not that I'm a fan of this, but it's not uncommon, or even a new idea.

Yeah, i already edited my post.  Still not sure why he is making the comparison because it really doesnt resemble the x1 initial drm at all...

Its just the same pass system that we had last gen just keeping a little sp behind it. no big deal

I think most people don't know why these politics are set in place by 3rd party devs. It has nothing to do with Microsoft X1 drm. I don't like these things but I understand that game developers want their money if they have to keep servers opened for said game.

I seem to remember a Sony exec giving an interview first claiming that these bullshit "offline passes" won't be allowed on PS4, then later admitted that 3rd party publishers can actually do whatever they want. But, however, when stacked up against 1st party games not having any sort of used game DRM, the publishers would follow suit. Well so much for that idea I guess.