Piracy

[Bobzer77]

I don't pretend to know a lot about this, only that I'm forced to go through bulky and annoying DRM to play my games because of it.

But... I was thinking that a solution (or at least a hindrance) to piracy may be for publishers to search through torrent websites and put massive amounts of leachers on the downloads.

I have no idea whether this would work at all, (or if it even makes any sense), but what do you think? and do you have any ideas?

Also I should mention I have no idea why I'm starting this topic, it just seemed like an interesting thing to do.

 

[Caliostro]

Oh god, not another one... These have been done to death and NEVER end well. The real issue is that the majority of both sides is just too obtuse... They either say piracy is perfectly fine and dandy or that it's the worst thing since Auschwitz... It just doesn't go anywhere.

 

[Dommyboy]

Piracy cannot be stopped unless every torrent and P2P site is shut down and every person with the ability to pirate has a cop watching them.

 

[DrummerM]

Arggh, shiver me timbers, walk the plank, why is the rum gone, e.t.c.

Just getting it out of the way.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I see no damn reason why to stop Piracy. It's basicly the only way to test a game before actually buying it. I usually buy most of the games I play for the Xbox, and most of the times, if that game has a PC counterpart, I download it, see how it works and if I enjoy it then I'll buy it for the console.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Piracy cannot be stopped. It can only be minimalised. Arguing that DRM is a detterent to pirates is like arguing that excecution is a detterent to drug lords- bloody stupid.

 

[Caliostro]

I see no damn reason why to stop Piracy.

Really? You see no reason to stop piracy?
How would you feel if you create a wonderful story and universe then sold it and people just took it for free?

Developers are people too, they need to do this little thing called eating.

You're right, companies like EA man... They only had a $4.665 billion USD revenue in 2008 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts]...Or Ubisoft that only dragged in ?928.3 millions [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisoft]... In the middle of one of the worse recessions ever...

Yeah, I know what you're thinking... "But Cali, EA lost 400 millions!"... Why, yes it did Richard, but ask yourself, how does a game company that brings in an average of 4.5 BILLION a year actually manage to LOOSE 400 million in a year? Well, I'd probably chalk it up to having to pay almost 8000 people and their recurrent issue with just buying out entire companies out of business... And Ubisoft still racked up 100 million euros after paying their bills... Again, midst of the biggest recession the world has seen in a while... Yep, sounds like a real issue.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Piracy cannot be stopped. It can only be minimalised. Arguing that DRM is a detterent to pirates is like arguing that excecution is a detterent to drug lords- bloody stupid.

I hate to disagree with my good friend Fondant, but I do believe that this analogy is flawed, as DRM carries no consequences where as execution does (EDIT: Although I don't think that execution does disuade anyone except maybe juries). Not only that, but the pirates see DRM as a challenge for them to crack. And whoever does crack that now gets a reward in the form of respect of people who use those cracks to bypass DRM and those who download the games. In fact it could be argued that the only reason pirates (the cracking types) exist at all is because of software DRM measures. Without DRM games could be simply seeded and leeched.

A better analogy would be - Arguing that DRM is a deterrent to pirates is like arguing that a knife and fork is a deterrent to eating.

 

[Caliostro]

I was thinking about the house programmer that releases a game out of his money and at its own risk.

Now a multi-millionaire company like EA.

And the reason why EA lost so money is quite simple. They tried to buy too many companies at the same time and now they have to sustain all of them. EA is becoming a gaming monopoly which is exactly what I feared a few years ago.

Well let's ask indie developer Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game)]... He burned through approximately 180 000 dollars making the game... Turns out Braid sold 55 000 copies in the FIRST WEEK... At 15 bucks a piece on Live Arcade, that kindly amounts to 825 000 dollars... Almost 4.6 times his investment in.ONE.WEEK.

 

[Caliostro]

I was thinking about the house programmer that releases a game out of his money and at its own risk.

Now a multi-millionaire company like EA.

And the reason why EA lost so money is quite simple. They tried to buy too many companies at the same time and now they have to sustain all of them. EA is becoming a gaming monopoly which is exactly what I feared a few years ago.

Well let's ask indie developer Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game)]... He burned through approximately 180 000 dollars making the game... Turns out Braid sold 55 000 copies in the FIRST WEEK... At 15 bucks a piece on Live Arcade, that kindly amounts to 825 000 dollars... Almost 4.6 times his investment in.ONE.WEEK.

So you're saying that piracy is like a Robin Hood philosophy?
Take from the rich and give it to the poor?

I'm saying everyone's acting like piracy is this big issue, like developers are starving to death or struggling to pay their mortgages because of this, yet they are STILL making a fuckton of money, they are still going against the downwards tendency of the current economy... Where is this "real issue" everyone's talking about? Piracy has been around since GAMES exist. You know what I see? Companies pulling epic dickmoves and passing the blame around like a hot potato.

 

[MercenaryCanary]

I see no damn reason why to stop Piracy.

Really? You see no reason to stop piracy?
How would you feel if you create a wonderful story and universe then sold it and people just took it for free?

Developers are people too, they need to do this little thing called eating.

But the masses usually buy the game, without the knowledge of where to get such things for free. The only exception I can think of is Call of Duty 4 on the PC, and only on the PC. Even still, the console ports sold enough to cover the fee's.

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Arggh, shiver me timbers, walk the plank, why is the rum gone, e.t.c.

Just getting it out of the way.

You forgot one.

Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free,
You are a pirate!

I'll stop now.

 

[Specter_]

I see no damn reason why to stop Piracy. It's basicly the only way to test a game before actually buying it.

Really? You see no reason to stop piracy?
How would you feel if you create a wonderful story and universe then sold it and people just took it for free?

Developers are people too, they need to do this little thing called eating.

And I'd like to know wether it's worth spending 50? for something I can't return. So either developers start releasing (decent) demos again or I'm with AndyFromMonday, even tho I hate mondays.

try before you buy.

You don't buy a car without test driving it, you don't marry someone you don't know, etc. I don't see why it should be different with games. If every game had an accurate demo readily available and was DRM free, then and only then will I not support piracy. Also reasonable prices.

QFT

 

[Sir Ollie]

Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free,
You are a pirate!

I'll stop now.

That sums up Piracy its free after all

Arghhh its a pirate life for me!

I stop aswell.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I see no damn reason why to stop Piracy.

Really? You see no reason to stop piracy?
How would you feel if you create a wonderful story and universe then sold it and people just took it for free?

Developers are people too, they need to do this little thing called eating.

Almost every single game that is made has a console version of it, which is most of the times better, and there are some games released only for the consoles. Since most gamers buy games for they're console, they won't lose that much money. Remember, in order to actually pirate a game so you can play it on a console, you first have to Mod it(first off actually find someone who knows how to do that, who actually has the thing's to Mod it.), then buy yourself a DVD writer, then buy DVD's.
And even if you manage to do all these, you will be banned from Xbox Live, or the Playstation Network(PSN).

 

[AndyFromMonday]

Sorry for double post, The screen went white when I pressed post the first time so I pressed the button again and...well it double posted.

 

[NXMT]

Piracy one way or another will always be a thorn in the entertainment industry's side. It's just one of those annoyances that comes with the job.

 

[LCP]

this is not ending well

 

[Caliostro]

Almost every single game that is made has a console version of it, which is most of the times better

Wrong. Excluding lousy ports (Saints Row 2) PC version is - ALWAYS - better, no exceptions.

 

[Chiasm]

Piracy one way or another will always be a thorn in the entertainment industry's side. It's just one of those annoyances that comes with the job. Give people less reason to pirate. Not alienate both parties.

I agree I think it will always be a problem.

To me it's kind of something I think most grow out of. I used to steal Lip Gloss at stores just because I didn't have the 3$ for it. But now with a job 3$ is easily spent on Lip Gloss.