Stolen Pixels #20: Not All Change is Progress

[Stranger Danger]

So I guess the question is: How can you effectively fight piracy? DRM and everything before it seems to have done nothing but fail. I totaly agree that we shouldn't make a drawn out pain-staking process, but it's not something that should be ignored.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

My favorites were the Manual based protection, and the online activation.

I want to say that to someone now, "yeah we can play TF2 for a bit, but then I gotta kill myself".

Maybe the success of Good Old Games will convince publishers that no DRM can actually be a successful selling point.

Now THAT would teach 'em.

I look forward to that, but I doubt it will happen. When Diablo 3 was announced the Diablo battlechest got in the top 10 games sold a few days later. You can easily pirate a game that old (or not depending on your OS, and certain "ISO" manipulations..).

 

[Shamus Young]

So I guess the question is: How can you effectively fight piracy? DRM and everything before it seems to have done nothing but fail. I totaly agree that we shouldn't make a drawn out pain-staking process, but it's not something that should be ignored.

My own thoughts on the matter here:

Five Ways to Fight Piracy. [http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1558]

Stardock is pretty much the only major publisher that does all five.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

But there is a second group that believe it is their right to steal and freely distribute other peoples work.

to take the property

It wasn't taken, it was freely given for an agreed upon price.

But who cares when we can look awesome by employing the fallacy of the middleground with hyperbolic speech!

 

[JazzX]

It wasn't taken, it was freely given for an agreed upon price.

But who cares when we can look awesome by employing the fallacy of the middleground with hyperbolic speech!

I don't follow. How exactly are pirates not taking these games?

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

I don't follow. How exactly are pirates not taking these games?

How did they get a hold of them in the first place?

 

[TheBadass]

I was really considering getting a graphics card to play Spore, but this really put me off. If I own the goddamned game, that's the end of it. You no longer have power over it. It's mine. I'm not renting it from you pricks, now shoo.

 

[JazzX]

I don't follow. How exactly are pirates not taking these games?

How did they get a hold of them in the first place?

Pirates frequently pride themselves on pre zero-day releases so there's a very high chance they didn't purchase it legally.

And even if they didn't steal their copy, this part still stands:

freely distribute other peoples work

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Pirates frequently pride themselves on pre zero-day releases so there's a very high chance they didn't purchase it legally.

The price can be free (I.e.- reviewer copy).

And even if they didn't steal their copy, this part still stands:

freely distribute other peoples work

Which is different then having a few friends over to watch a flick except in numbers of people how? You're still sharing other people's work for free without your friends paying for it.

 

[Anniko]

The point is that whatever solution there is to piracy is going to have to punish pirates more than it punishes everybody else.

Why is punishment the answer? Why not make the sold copy more valuable (I dunno, useless crap like figurines, badges, dogtags, a piece of the berlin wall) than the pirated (digital only) copy?

But there is a second group that believe it is their right to steal and freely distribute other peoples work.

Copying is not stealing. Stealing involves me removing property from someone, copying is me making a duplicate of said property with them still having said property.

 

[Zukhramm]

But there is a second group that believe it is their right to steal and freely distribute other peoples work.

What one group think is wrong, another one might believe is a right. Who gets to decide which side is wrong?

 

[illiterate]

Can you imagine what it would be like if Victoria's Secret suddenly decided to start treating their customers in a similar manner?

Each morning before putting on my VS(TM) panties, I would have to call up the VS hotline and validate said panties. There would be a little bar code number on the back of my underwear that I would have to enter into the automated system.

If I neglected to validate my panties before putting them on they would automatically self-destruct in 15 minutes, leaving me with a pile of panty-dust at my feet.

There would be an awful lot of women running around without panties. Or a awful lot of pirated underwear.

Leslee

[edit] you missed the part where victoria's secret could arbitrarily shut down their panty server, leaving many women sans knickers. or if they went out of business.[/edit]

Women without underwear? Pirate underwear?

Your proposal is accepted.

 

[illiterate]

But there is a second group that believe it is their right to steal and freely distribute other peoples work.

What one group think is wrong, another one might believe is a right. Who gets to decide which side is wrong?

I do. Problem solved.

 

[JazzX]

Which is different then having a few friends over to watch a flick except in numbers of people how? You're still sharing other people's work for free without your friends paying for it.

Its different in that you are granted use for private, non-exhibition viewing of the movie.

It's almost like saying that having your friends over to watch is the same as setting up "Imitation Saccharin's House of Movies" in your basement, selling tickets and screening the movie to them.

The former is completely within your rights as the purchaser/renter of that media. The later is a violation of the creator of that media's rights.

 

[Akafrank]

"Copying is not stealing. Stealing involves me removing property from someone, copying is me making a duplicate of said property with them still having said property."

By that logic counterfeiting isn't stealing.

The attempt to take it into the abstract, remove all context or impose other contexts, doesn't actually help see the problem better. I think with game piracy we are simply stating that:
1. The developer needs to sell copies in order to both continue creating games and earn a living.
2. Anyone who seeks to provide or acquire games and not contribute to the above proposal is stealing from them.

Free copying and distribution of games costs talented people jobs. Right or wrong, the developers are the last to turn a profit on a game. A pirated game comes directly out of their pocket.

 

[Dogeman5]

Before Stolen Pixels I never knew EA was that Evil (as a console Gamer I only see the evil of releasing the same dang game 1200 times under different titles), but now my ignorance has been uplifted, I feel that EA should Drop Dead!

 

[shMerker]

The point is that whatever solution there is to piracy is going to have to punish pirates more than it punishes everybody else.

Why is punishment the answer? Why not make the sold copy more valuable (I dunno, useless crap like figurines, badges, dogtags, a piece of the berlin wall) than the pirated (digital only) copy?

Sorry, punishment was the wrong word. I'm not necessarily saying fines, jail time, etc. should be very harsh for pirates who do get caught, although that could potentially mitigate the problem of only being able to catch a small percentage. What I was trying to get across is that the basic problem of DRM is that it makes piracy pay better than being honest. A good solution should make honesty the most profitable policy, or at least narrow the gap between legitimate purchase and piracy, rather than widening it.

 

[shMerker]

I went and read the post you linked back to Shamus. Good stuff. I especially like number 5.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Its different in that you are granted use for private, non-exhibition viewing of the movie.

How? Your friends are not paying, you did not get permission to show it to them, and online sharing isn't making money so the whole theatre arguement falls apart.

By that logic counterfeiting isn't stealing.

It isn't.
Its fraud.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Hey quick question - am I a pirate if I purchase the game but crack it? I mean, I'm only getting rid of the BS DRM, so am I half-pirate?

Come on, I'm only taking the loaded gun away from my suicidal game.