Investigators Politely Ask Black Ops Pirates to Quit

[Popido]

<link=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101021/10481211524/comic-book-pirated-on-4chan-author-joins-discussion-watches-sales-soar.shtml>Piracy at its finest.

 

[Gindil]

well then, I suppose it's okay for me to walk into walMart and take a copy of New Vegas without paying for it because WalMart is gonna make money anyway.

Don't try and justify piracy, there is no moral highground. If you're that broke and need entertainment, go to a library. They share books all day for free.

Again, your collusion makes no sense in a digital era. I explained earlier in this thread (right after the post you quoted) that people can be focused on other things than piracy. So no, it's not about piracy, which you can't stop. It's about making money and thriving without worrying about the people that don't want to pay. Does your game have things that make people want to play? Ask Valve, Turbine, and even Blizzard.

My other post saying that [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.240471-Investigators-Politely-Ask-Black-Ops-Pirates-to-Quit?page=2#8678101]

Regarding why I don't like Blizzard as much [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.240471-Investigators-Politely-Ask-Black-Ops-Pirates-to-Quit?page=3#8678781]

Of course they're still making money - that's why they're still making games. That doesn't mean they're not costing them money however.

I think there's a lot more that cost gaming businesses money than piracy. There's plenty of evidence that says that people will continue to pay for games even though customers pirate them on the internet. A bad game is a bad game. Do we really have to say that piracy destroyed it if it's been proven that other circumstances can make a gaming experience bad?

EA learned that lesson with Spore

Ubisoft learned that lesson with Assassin's Creed.

Otherwise, why focus on such a small amount of the population?

 

[Woodsey]

well then, I suppose it's okay for me to walk into walMart and take a copy of New Vegas without paying for it because WalMart is gonna make money anyway.

Don't try and justify piracy, there is no moral highground. If you're that broke and need entertainment, go to a library. They share books all day for free.

Again, your collusion makes no sense in a digital era. I explained earlier in this thread (right after the post you quoted) that people can be focused on other things than piracy. So no, it's not about piracy, which you can't stop. It's about making money and thriving without worrying about the people that don't want to pay. Does your game have things that make people want to play? Ask Valve, Turbine, and even Blizzard.

My other post saying that [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.240471-Investigators-Politely-Ask-Black-Ops-Pirates-to-Quit?page=2#8678101]

Regarding why I don't like Blizzard as much [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.240471-Investigators-Politely-Ask-Black-Ops-Pirates-to-Quit?page=3#8678781]

Of course they're still making money - that's why they're still making games. That doesn't mean they're not costing them money however.

I think there's a lot more that cost gaming businesses money than piracy. There's plenty of evidence that says that people will continue to pay for games even though customers pirate them on the internet. A bad game is a bad game. Do we really have to say that piracy destroyed it if it's been proven that other circumstances can make a gaming experience bad?

EA learned that lesson with Spore

Ubisoft learned that lesson with Assassin's Creed.

Otherwise, why focus on such a small amount of the population?

I dunno, morals?

And EA learnt that with Spore because they tried to put DRM on their game, which was only there because of pirates in the first place. There's no point trying to dress it up as people taking the moral high-ground against the evil companies; you want it you buy it.

I'm not saying piracy is the sole reason money is lost on games - if it's bad then reviews will generally reflect that, and they won't earn the money on it - but if you pirate it it implies you did want it, so money which they should of had is lost.

 

[Gindil]

Moral arguments and economic arguments are leagues apart. Since there are other companies that recognize this, I'll just leave it at that. Especially since the Free 2 Play models compete greatly with Blizzard and continue to make money.

There's no true moral high ground I'm taking. When you study economics, it's just a fact that a certain amount of people won't pay. It happens. Just like when books were the big thing and costly to make. Information dispersed later on by giving away books or opening libraries. Again, if a company focuses on how to MAKE money, not piracy, they'll be much better off.

And just to explain Free can actually lead to other opportunities [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SX2SyvLjvE]

 

[DVS Storm]

I'm happy (and somewhat amazed) to see that Activision approaches black ops piracy like this. I was sure that they would just sue everyone.

 

[SpAc3man]

I like this. Piracy is a weird thing but this seems like a good way to handle it. All the games that I have pirated and ended up playing on a regular basis I have ended up buying at some point. Admittedly at a much reduced price on Steam when they are on special but still paid for eventually. I have a large collection of pirated games I have only played for a short while but not really found to be worth my time or money.