Witcher 2 Dev Defends Asking €1000 From Pirates

[Mike Kayatta]

Witcher 2 Dev Defends Asking €1000 From Pirates

Just because a company hates DRM, doesn't mean they like pirates.

CD Projekt, the Polish studio behind the acclaimed Witcher series has sent letters demanding nearly €1000 (about $1,300) to numerous German gamers found to have pirated its most recent game. The developer is unapologetic for the response, claiming it only affects those it's "100% sure have downloaded [the] game illegally."

CD Projekt has been extremely vocal about their dislike of DRM since the days of the first Witcher, preferring to incentivize gamers with rewards such as free updates and DLC rather than punish them with intrusive and often buggy embedded protection software. "DRM itself is a pain for legal gamers, the same group of honest people who decided that our game was worth its price, and went and bought it," the company said during an interview with Eurogamer. "We don't want to make their lives more difficult by introducing annoying copy protection systems.

"Moreover, we always try to offer high value with our product - for example, enhancing the game with additional collectors' items such as soundtracks, making-of DVDs, books, walkthroughs, etc. We could introduce advanced copy protection systems which, unfortunately, punish legal customers as well. Instead, we decided to give gamers some additional content with each game release, to make their experience complete.

"However," it added, "that shouldn't be confused with us giving a green light to piracy. We will never approve of it, since it doesn't only affect us but has a negative impact on the whole game industry."

This interview comes on the heels of news that, according to CD Projekt CEO Marcin Iwinski, Witcher 2 has been pirated over 4.5 million times. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114429-The-Witcher-2-Pirated-Roughly-4-5-Million-Times-Says-Dev ] Compare that with the 1 million sales the game has garnered thus far.

I'm not sure how the exact amount being requested as recompense was arrived at, nor do I know exactly why only Germany has thus far been the only battlefront (in 2008 it was the UK during a similar strategy taken for Witcher 1), but I can't disagree with the philosophy that you'll convince more gamers to purchase your product legally with benefits than threats. Still, if that doesn't work, and over 80% of the people who are enjoying your product stole it, what do you do? I'm not sure if sending out mass legal threats is the answer, but if it isn't, what is?

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-15-cd-projekt-responds-to-demanding-nearly-and-8364-1000-from-alleged-pirates]


Permalink

 

[LavaLampBamboo]

It's a tricky one. On one hand, yes, DRM probably is bad and does often punish the honest buyers.

But when there's no DRM at all on your game, it's inevitably going to be pirated. The DLC and stuff is surely DRM-free as well, so that'll just be pirated in as well.

It seems to me that CD Projekt had this "no-DRM" idea, then when they realised that they were losing literally MILLIONS of dollars, suddenly they need to start threatening people. I'm not saying that DRM is good by any means, but I think this specific approach is a tad short sighted.

I say that immortal, pink machine-gun death-scorpions should be the de-facto copy protection.

EDIT: OKAY YES, I GET IT. DRM is cracked within a week, I know. Please stop telling me now =D

 

[Epona]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

 

[BlueJoneleth]

It's a tricky one. On one hand, yes, DRM probably is bad and does often punish the honest buyers.

But when there's no DRM at all on your game, it's inevitably going to be pirated. The DLC and stuff is surely DRM-free as well, so that'll just be pirated in as well.

It seems to me that CD Projekt had this "no-DRM" idea, then when they realised that they were losing literally MILLIONS of dollars, suddenly they need to start threatening people. I'm not saying that DRM is good by any means, but I think this specific approach is a tad short sighted.

I say that immortal, pink machine-gun death-scorpions should be the de-facto copy protection.

Games are pirated within a few days of release whether there are DRM's on it or not though.

 

[Abedeus]

Uh. You can demand only 3 times the software's worth on the current market.

$120 per game is at most what they can get.

Not more.

 

[lacktheknack]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

How, pray tell?

I see NOTHING wrong with that. CD Projekt have bent to the will of gamers, offering the game with no DRM for a cheaper price than other AAA games, and the gamers respond by pirating the shit out of it. I don't give a rip if "But some pirates are repeat-downloading"! THERE'S STILL EASILY TWO MILLION SEPARATE ILLEGAL COPIES OUT THERE.

TWO.

MILLION.

AT LEAST.

If anything, I've lost any and all sympathy that pirates had desperately tried to garner from me. They are NOT crusaders out defending the consumer, they're just incredibly greedy over-entitled freeloaders that I'm ashamed to share a species with. I hope and pray that CD Projekt win every. Single. Case. That they've sent out.

 

[leahzero]

over 80% of the people who are enjoying your product stole it

Oh, stop with these misleading scare numbers. What matters is what percentage of the people playing it were willing and able to purchase, but didn't.

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

This.

Way to poop on your own marketing efforts.

 

[Zachery Gaskins]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

By asking software counterfeiters (remember it's not theft, it's fraud) to do the right thing and pay up? How is that being a dick?

CD Projekt is basically carrying out the internal dialogue that the entire piracy debate dwells on: If DRM is so bad, let us physically attempt the alternatives with 100% transparency, and see how the public feels about the effectiveness of each approach.

If some people get to play without having to pay, and there is no "comfortable" way to make sure the cheaters can't cheat, then there are several outcomes:

1) Proactively pursue the cheaters post-piracy, and set an example.
2) Go out of business because the price point to minimize piracy cannot sustain the livelihoods of the developers.
2a) Therefore, all software piracy does is ensure there will be NO games to pirate in the future, and everyone suffers.

I think CD Projekt is taking the best PR approach they can with this, by keeping the focus on the fact that what the pirates are doing is software fraud and is illegal, and illegality should be punished. We're just still trying to find a cost-efficient, reliable means to track down and punish the criminals without unfairly hassling normal citizens' ability to freely enjoy legally purchased games.

 

[Epona]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

How, pray tell?

I see NOTHING wrong with that. CD Projekt have bent to the will of gamers, offering the game with no DRM for a cheaper price than other AAA games, and the gamers respond by pirating the shit out of it. I don't give a rip if "But some pirates are repeat-downloading"! THERE'S STILL EASILY TWO MILLION SEPARATE ILLEGAL COPIES OUT THERE.

TWO.

MILLION.

AT LEAST.

If anything, I've lost any and all sympathy that pirates had desperately tried to garner from me. They are NOT crusaders out defending the consumer, they're just incredibly greedy over-entitled freeloaders that I'm ashamed to share a species with. I hope and pray that CD Projekt win every. Single. Case. That they've sent out.

This move is similar to what the record companies did, it bring them down a notch or two. What's the point of taking off the DRM if you are just going to turn around and ask for 20 times the price of the game from pirates? The only thing that keeps them above the nastiness of the record companies is that they aren't actually suing, yet.

 

[lacktheknack]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

How, pray tell?

I see NOTHING wrong with that. CD Projekt have bent to the will of gamers, offering the game with no DRM for a cheaper price than other AAA games, and the gamers respond by pirating the shit out of it. I don't give a rip if "But some pirates are repeat-downloading"! THERE'S STILL EASILY TWO MILLION SEPARATE ILLEGAL COPIES OUT THERE.

TWO.

MILLION.

AT LEAST.

If anything, I've lost any and all sympathy that pirates had desperately tried to garner from me. They are NOT crusaders out defending the consumer, they're just incredibly greedy over-entitled freeloaders that I'm ashamed to share a species with. I hope and pray that CD Projekt win every. Single. Case. That they've sent out.

This move is similar to what the record companies did, it bring them down a notch or two. What's the point of taking off the DRM if you are just going to turn around and ask for 20 times the price of the game from pirates? The only thing that keeps them above the nastiness of the record companies is that they aren't actually suing, yet.

The reason I didn't support the record companies is because they were asking for millions/billions of dollars. $1300 is not life-ruining, it's a really hard wrist-slap.

 

[Guardian of Nekops]

So... they're sending out letters, trying to guilt trip pirates into paying exhorbitant amounts of money for the games they stole?

I can't see how this can possibly be effective, but I also don't see how someone could really disagree with it exactly... even if it's worded with the following language, "We know you specifically pirated our game, we have proof, and we will sue you if we have to. However, we are willing to settle with you out of court for the following sum," well, that's their right, isn't it? Provided they're being open about it like this, it's not exactly blackmail or anything.

If they don't plan on suing, (which is sort of my assumption... if you're going to sue someone you don't send a letter, you just serve them papers already with the option to settle... or however that works in Germany) then the message is different. Then the message becomes, "You may think you can steal from us without anyone knowing about it. You're wrong. We know. And when we are barely able to pay our phone bills, we will be thinking of you, Adrian."

It's basically annoying these people, trying to replicate the same reason that you don't steal the purse from the little old lady you pass on the street... it's not because you fear you'd get caught, not really. It's because you'd be seen to be hurting people for your own gain, and you'd feel like a jerk.

And hey. I'd prefer a company annoy the people who steal from them rather than annoying those who actually buy their games. Probably futile either way, but at least you aren't hurting your actual customers.

It's a tricky one. On one hand, yes, DRM probably is bad and does often punish the honest buyers.

But when there's no DRM at all on your game, it's inevitably going to be pirated. The DLC and stuff is surely DRM-free as well, so that'll just be pirated in as well.

It seems to me that CD Projekt had this "no-DRM" idea, then when they realised that they were losing literally MILLIONS of dollars, suddenly they need to start threatening people. I'm not saying that DRM is good by any means, but I think this specific approach is a tad short sighted.

I say that immortal, pink machine-gun death-scorpions should be the de-facto copy protection.

Games are pirated within a few days of release whether there are DRM's on it or not though.

Yeah, remember Spore, and how that annoying system was cracked in half an hour but plagued honest customers for months? You're not going to stop every pirate on the internet with your system. It just won't happen.

 

[Zachery Gaskins]

This move is similar to what the record companies did, it bring them down a notch or two. What's the point of taking off the DRM if you are just going to turn around and ask for 20 times the price of the game from pirates? The only thing that keeps them above the nastiness of the record companies is that they aren't actually suing, yet.

But similar to how trademarks are maintained, you can't just rollover and say, "Oh well, we can't stop piracy, so we'll let them walk all over us."

The moment you concede to pirates is the moment where the software entertainment industry starts to die because

1) Why make a game if it inevitably will be unsustainable due to low profit margins (lack of legit sales, or low price points in an attempt to deter the piracy)
2) Why WORK in the video game industry when the industry seems to not care if people buy its games or not?

The fight we are fighting is against our own selfish natures. Piracy is a social disease.

 

[razer17]

I'm not sure how the exact amount being requested as recompense was arrived at, nor do I know exactly why only Germany has thus far been the only battlefront (in 2001 it was the UK during a similar strategy taken for Witcher 1),

Witcher 1 didn't come out till like 2007, so that makes them time-travellers.

As for the $1000, it's ridiculous. You can't go and charge more than 15 times the market value. Also, I can say that they do not know with 100% certainty that these are people who have illegally downloaded the Witcher 2, unless they have themselves illegally hacked into their computers. Tracking P2P streams and singling out a single pirate is fraught with errors. You can use Tor networks to mask your real IP, more generic proxies, programs which block IP's known to search for pirates, VPN networks. Essentially, it's pretty much impossible to be sure.

Like the very elderly couple who were accused of downloading hardcore gay porn, when they actually didn't. Pretty sure this kind of letterbombing to make money from people who settle and pay the grand is illegal here in Britain now.

 

[Zachery Gaskins]

It's basically annoying these people, trying to replicate the same reason that you don't steal the purse from the little old lady you pass on the street... it's not because you fear you'd get caught, not really. It's because you'd be seen to be hurting people for your own gain, and you'd feel like a jerk.

*cue Sarah MacLachlan animal ASPCA commercial here*

Public censure is something I think we should promote as a tool to discourage any bad behavior.

Settling a matter privately with money is preferable to being "harassed" by "collection agencies", or having your identity publically humiliated/shamed for all to see.

It reminded me of a geek convention I went to, where people who tried to steal from a particular dealer didn't get arrested, but had their picture taken, enlarged, and posted for everyone to see. The kid featured was redfaced and had tears streaming from his eyes. Delicious.

It's all fun and games until you get caught, isn't it?

 

[Epona]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

By asking software counterfeiters (remember it's not theft, it's fraud) to do the right thing and pay up? How is that being a dick?

CD Projekt is basically carrying out the internal dialogue that the entire piracy debate dwells on: If DRM is so bad, let us physically attempt the alternatives with 100% transparency, and see how the public feels about the effectiveness of each approach.

If some people get to play without having to pay, and there is no "comfortable" way to make sure the cheaters can't cheat, then there are several outcomes:

1) Proactively pursue the cheaters post-piracy, and set an example.
2) Go out of business because the price point to minimize piracy cannot sustain the livelihoods of the developers.
2a) Therefore, all software piracy does is ensure there will be NO games to pirate in the future, and everyone suffers.

I think CD Projekt is taking the best PR approach they can with this, by keeping the focus on the fact that what the pirates are doing is software fraud and is illegal, and illegality should be punished. We're just still trying to find a cost-efficient, reliable means to track down and punish the criminals without unfairly hassling normal citizens' ability to freely enjoy legally purchased games.

Asking them to pay up would be one thing, asking them to pay $1300 for a $60 game is ridiculous and akin to the nastiness of the music industry.

 

[Dastardly]

They are squandering the good will they have gained for themselves.

No. They're going after the right people, just like everyone kept telling them to. "Don't punish your customers," we said. "Take out the DRM. We're the good guys," we said. So they did. Now they're going after the bad guys.

over 80% of the people who are enjoying your product stole it

Oh, stop with these misleading scare numbers. What matters is what percentage of the people playing it were willing and able to purchase, but didn't.

And, in the absence of any way to prove it was 0% of the downloaders, you can't really disprove that it was 100% of them, either. If you download the game, you are expressing marked interest in that game. Now, that might not mean you had "full price" interest in that game... but maybe half-price sale interest. Maybe $5 interest. But if you download it, you have definitely demonstrated greater than $0 interest in the game. So it's not unreasonable to treat those acts as lost revenue.

Again, not every pirated copy is a lost full-price sale. But to deny the loss of revenue is preposterous.

Way to poop on your own marketing efforts.

The marketing was "no DRM, so we're not punishing our legal customers." This doesn't contradict that in any way whatsoever.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

I like that , still what if I bought it and made a digital back up for my own use. I don't like using my originals in case of theft or my disc is messed up. Although I know mostly these was digital so that was a moot question