Piracy: How would you stop it?
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By fostering respect for artists and the native complexity of business models.
At the same time, fostering knowledge for both in order to understand and hold them accountable.
But probably the main thing would be to modify copyright law in a way that doesn't overtly benefit big establishments.
Sometimes it comes down to a personal moral perspective. I may not agree fully with copyright law as it is, however I respect the work of the artist and strive to give payment where payment is due.
However, even at that, I believe return policies should be more open in a digital age. A game I bought recently I absolutely detest, however I am pretty much stuck with it since it is a digital download.
Main problem overall is that Piracy is addictive. It has created a weird sort of people who download EVERYTHING not because they want it, but because they HAVE TO have it.
At the same time, fostering knowledge for both in order to understand and hold them accountable.
But probably the main thing would be to modify copyright law in a way that doesn't overtly benefit big establishments.
Sometimes it comes down to a personal moral perspective. I may not agree fully with copyright law as it is, however I respect the work of the artist and strive to give payment where payment is due.
However, even at that, I believe return policies should be more open in a digital age. A game I bought recently I absolutely detest, however I am pretty much stuck with it since it is a digital download.
Main problem overall is that Piracy is addictive. It has created a weird sort of people who download EVERYTHING not because they want it, but because they HAVE TO have it.
Treat piratebay.se as a competitor.
So lets see what they offer:
1) Good prices. Hmm yeah, maybe my 10 hour single player game isn't worth 50 pounds.
2) No DRM. Hmm yeah, DRM doesn't help prevent piracy and only pisses of costumers. <- main point. I can wait for prices to drop. But when I buy a product and cannot use because of DRM, time to google "how to jailbreak xbox 360".
3) No crapware. Hmm yeah, pirated games don't require you to install steam.
And after that - gaming industry would flourish. I'm pretty damn sure. mp3 are easier to pirate than ever, but when stores started selling drm free mp3s (and with great variety of artists) - BOOM MUSIC INDUSTRY IS GROWING. WHO WOULDA THOUGHT? Certainly not those old fart CEOs who are seriously outdated and are in dire need of replacement with younger people who understand what is a compjooter and interneet.
So lets see what they offer:
1) Good prices. Hmm yeah, maybe my 10 hour single player game isn't worth 50 pounds.
2) No DRM. Hmm yeah, DRM doesn't help prevent piracy and only pisses of costumers. <- main point. I can wait for prices to drop. But when I buy a product and cannot use because of DRM, time to google "how to jailbreak xbox 360".
3) No crapware. Hmm yeah, pirated games don't require you to install steam.
And after that - gaming industry would flourish. I'm pretty damn sure. mp3 are easier to pirate than ever, but when stores started selling drm free mp3s (and with great variety of artists) - BOOM MUSIC INDUSTRY IS GROWING. WHO WOULDA THOUGHT? Certainly not those old fart CEOs who are seriously outdated and are in dire need of replacement with younger people who understand what is a compjooter and interneet.
This. Piracy is essentially theft, and there will always be people who are ready to take what isn't theirs.Genocidicles said:
I laugh at some of the people in this thread who think that lowering prices or some other arcane shit will really stop people from pirating. Here's a solution: just don't spend so much on making games!!! yeah! that works! Or how companies shouldn't charge so much for their games. Hilarious shit.
[HEADING=2]I have an idea![/HEADING]
If you can't block the flow, poison it.
Create lots and lots of fake downloads with virus's so that nobody can tell what's safe anymore and pirating becomes too dangerous for most people to dare attempt.
Yes, I'm suggesting media corporations create virus infested games/movies/music to sabotage p2p sites, you can't fight piracy if you aren't willing to play dirty.
Maybe it wouldn't work, maybe it would, from what I can tell it's never been tried.
Well first I would stop punishing people who pay for my game with really shitty DRM, and have the most extreme DRM be Steam, or otherwise be DRM free. I would then stop looking at pirates as lost sales and try to figure out how to make them stop pirating but look at them as potential customers and attempt to find a way to get them to buy the game instead of pirating; whether it be a lower list price, more sales, or better sales.
I might try selling games at a lower, more affordable price point. Of course, it's obvious how that could backfire.
Beyond that, goodwill. Try to show that your games deserve to be bought, not pirated. Maybe include all future DLC free for people who pre-order instead just that one, mediocre post-launch DLC. If they did that, I'd probably pre-order a lot more games instead of buying them used and getting the DLC (if it looks un-shit) when it's on sale.
Beyond that, goodwill. Try to show that your games deserve to be bought, not pirated. Maybe include all future DLC free for people who pre-order instead just that one, mediocre post-launch DLC. If they did that, I'd probably pre-order a lot more games instead of buying them used and getting the DLC (if it looks un-shit) when it's on sale.
That'd be a lot of tubes to rearrange... IMPRACTICAL!kenu12345 said:
First I'd stop hunger and war, then tackle the much more challenging issue of stopping piracy.
Captcha stereotyping us Canadians again: "maple syrup reserve"
EDIT: A sidenote, my own game will be released DRM free, you cannot stop pirates, might as well make the experience less frustrating for legit customers.
Captcha stereotyping us Canadians again: "maple syrup reserve"
EDIT: A sidenote, my own game will be released DRM free, you cannot stop pirates, might as well make the experience less frustrating for legit customers.
Edit: Apparently my comment may have been seen as a confession to piracy... not sure where the logic in that comes from but I can't be bothered. Anyways, I wouldn't try to stop it, for starters it'll be an easy thing to fail in and also why stop those who wish to spend money? I have honestly never seen a pirate who doesn't spend a fortune more than most on their media in the long run.
Who's doing that? Obviously there are plenty of torrent files that have virus's out there, as with all things in the back alley's of the internet where nothing is safe, but it's just minor stuff. I've never heard of a large scale concerted effort to flood P2P sites with these to make them into a genuine minefield. From what I can tell pirating is still relatively safe, assuming you aren't an idiot, so what I'm talking about isn't being tried.Antari said:
How hard would it really be? Have everyone working at your company create an account at torrentzFr33k.uk or whatever, and have a hundred or so of them upload a fake virused version of the game they've been creating. Then have them all flood the comments area underneath the uploads with positive comments saying they're safe and flood the comments area for legitimate torrents with comments claiming they're viruses. It would take maybe an hour or two and make it considerably hard to tell what's safe and what will turn your PC into a brick, and it'd give people a stronger incentive not to try and steal your game/movie/etc.
Because nomatter how convenient and DRM free you make your games you still can't compete with free.
A survival/exploration game set in the Sierra Leone civil war. It uses the Cryengine 3, and I have about 20 square kilometers of terrain roughly mapped in now. Here is a link if you want to see more, but if a moderator asks, you didn't get it from me: http://www.indiedb.com/games/escape-sierra-leoneFelixG said:
verdant monkai said:
then you say
Your last post was so bad the moderators gave you a warning for it.
And yes, you don't seem to realise how effective satire and ridicule are at defeating cruel ideologies that hope to get anywhere by draconian over-reactions.
Yes, I think that it's fucking hilarious you think I am stealing your information because I copied it, as if it's a zero-sum change. And only made worse by how you think it should be treated, with long prison sentences.
If you want to discuss the legitimacy of legally enforced monopolies of information, then you might be getting somewhere.
Truly a master debater we have here. He pointed out a typo! That must mean I'm an idiot! HERp a Derf!
Because even with an unauthorised download it's illegal to deliberately put a virus onto someone's computer. Not that you suggested that, but that would make it a minefield.OlasDAlmighty said:
All you can do is release crap or deliberately broken version of your game that won't work as they will very quickly be weeded out, marked as defective on torrent sites and the most stable crack will float to the top of the search results.
What makes far more sense is to release your game demo with an upload speed and convenience far superior to what torrenting can offer and support. Put ads for direct download of the game everywhere, sponsored tweets, banner ads. Just "click here to start playing Arkham County". The demo could even be put on torrent sites and artificially given the highest number of seeds.
And the advantage of the demo is it's a small download, but the save-game progress isn't lost, getting to the final stage of the demo there is an opportunity to buy the rest of the game right there with a limited time offer discount code, authenticated via the Publisher website so you know it's not a scam from some no-name outfit.
Now here is the thing, you downloaded the demo because it was quickest and most stable... now you could just do hunting on torrent sites for the full rip but you are RIGHT THERE with a high speed link to download and play the rest of the game, with 50% off.
Steam has shown that people WILL pay if you just get them all in the same place and entice them with convenience. Put them right there on the spot and offer them the rest of the game, quicker than if they hunted around torrent sites for versions and cracks, offer the chance to carry over saves from playing through demo, and of course, auto-updates for stability.
But most importantly, there has to be a REASON that they want to stay under their wing. If the publisher abuses their trust with awful patches that screw over the consumer, then they'll be glad to avoid them with pirating.
yes, many people will pirate games, many people will pirate movies, but the important thing is a lot of people still buy the real deal.
Give incentive, like with a legit purchase you can transfer your old saves over into the sequel a-la mass effect style. But that transferring is done secretly in the publisher servers, it cannot be easily cracked, there is an incentive to have played the game legit.
Saying someone is an information thief is an accusation not petty name calling, like calling someone a corporate whore is.Treblaine said:then you say
Your last post was so bad the moderators gave you a warning for it.
And yes, you don't seem to realise how effective satire and ridicule are at defeating cruel ideologies that hope to get anywhere by draconian over-reactions.
Yes, I think that it's fucking hilarious you think I am stealing your information because I copied it, as if it's a zero-sum change. And only made worse by how you think it should be treated, with long prison sentences.
If you want to discuss the legitimacy of legally enforced monopolies of information, then you might be getting somewhere.
Truly a master debater we have here. He pointed out a typo! That must mean I'm an idiot! HERp a Derf!
Mods gave me a warning for indirectly insulting you for only being able to defend yourself via memes..... guess the mods must like just meme's. Plus you called me a "corporate whore" I think they may have just forgotten that.
I thought satire needed to be funny to aid getting its point across? If you disagree people will respect you more for having a sensible conversation, like I tried to do before you decided to post pictures to cover for your inability to have a debate.
The honestly quite sad "theft" of my information was something you dreamed up and are obviously very proud of. I was talking about the whole issue not you quoting me three times, you can do that as much as you like.
Getting the quote right is just basic stuff especially when you are trying to be rude to someone, when implying someone is being stupid you cant get it wrong yourself, otherwise people will appreciate the irony. To be honest you are the one who needs to deal with it. I have a different opinion to you and all the other adults can see that, you don't have to plumb the depths of immaturity to get a point across.