This War of Mine Dev Responds to Pirates with Free Copies of Game

[odolwa]

Isn't it GOG who are aware their lack of DRM could lead to piracy, but choose to trust people instead and hope that positive behaviour encourages positive behaviour in response? Isn't it Valve who like to treat pirates as potential customers?

But that's just it! So much is 'already' offered by Steam (- via sales), GOG (- minus DRM '&' sales) & now 11-bit (- with free games) to the pirates, but they 'still' take advantage of them. If we take the view that 11-bit offered the free keys just to help folks strapped for cash, rather than pirates, then it invalidates your other statement of:

I agree that they wouldn't be handing out keys if the game wasn't being pirated.

So who are they offering these keys to? Because if these keys are for people who can't afford the game and who would otherwise wait until they save some money or a sale kicks in, then they aren't pirates and the keys wouldn't/ shouldn't be offered to them. Hence, it's a PR stunt. 'That's' the point to make. Yes, there are pirates, and yes this won't change anything on that front, but 10 keys to 10 random people is a reaction to a hopeless situation. 'You' may have been persuaded to part with cash based on the article, but it works the other way too, because anyone who pirates games will simply add this to their 'shopping list'. The developers have lost on potential sales from customers who might actually have bought the game legitimately, after handing out those keys, on a site that already offers so much, from a small developer who shouldn't, in my opinion, have offered those keys in the first place. PR works both ways here, and now they've put a spotlight on their own game as a candidate for piracy.

 

[Dogstile]

The game is good, y'all. Buy it.

 

[Teoes]

Isn't it GOG who are aware their lack of DRM could lead to piracy, but choose to trust people instead and hope that positive behaviour encourages positive behaviour in response? Isn't it Valve who like to treat pirates as potential customers?

But that's just it! So much is 'already' offered by Steam (- via sales), GOG (- minus DRM '&' sales) & now 11-bit (- with free games) to the pirates, but they 'still' take advantage of them. If we take the view that 11-bit offered the free keys just to help folks strapped for cash, rather than pirates, then it invalidates your other statement of:

I agree that they wouldn't be handing out keys if the game wasn't being pirated.

So who are they offering these keys to? Because if these keys are for people who can't afford the game and who would otherwise wait until they save some money or a sale kicks in, then they aren't pirates and the keys wouldn't/ shouldn't be offered to them. Hence, it's a PR stunt. 'That's' the point to make. Yes, there are pirates, and yes this won't change anything on that front, but 10 keys to 10 random people is a reaction to a hopeless situation. 'You' may have been persuaded to part with cash based on the article, but it works the other way too, because anyone who pirates games will simply add this to their 'shopping list'. The developers have lost on potential sales from customers who might actually have bought the game legitimately, after handing out those keys, on a site that already offers so much, from a small developer who shouldn't, in my opinion, have offered those keys in the first place. PR works both ways here, and now they've put a spotlight on their own game as a candidate for piracy.

I don't care if it is a PR stunt, I've already said I'll take this situation and ask for more, when compared to the usual PR stunts we have to deal with. Even agreeing that this is a PR stunt, I do not feel that negates the goodwill that could be engendered from the situation.

You claim that some of those who took one of the Steam keys was a potential sale they've now lost: this requires citation or can be disregarded as baseless. It can also at least in part be counter-acted by the people in this thread alone who've bought the game because of their stunt. I count 7 people (including myself) who say they have bought the game as a result, plus another few who said they may or will in future buy a copy.

You claim that people who pirate games anyway will now add this to their shopping list and that they've put a spotlight on their game as a candidate for piracy (I assuming the point being that piracy of the game will increase as a result of this stunt): this requires citation or can be disregarded as baseless.

But really, I'm tired of discussing this with you and I'm tired of you failing to address my points or answer my questions in order to back up your earlier statements; so feel free to not back up these statements either. Bottom line is: I believe 11 Bit Studios did a good thing here and I bought their game as a result. Thanks for managing to turn even that simple statement into an argument. Thanks for managing to shit on that piece of good news. I'm done here.

 

[odolwa]

If you're going, fine, but I want to at least make my own closing statement.

I do not feel that negates the goodwill that could be engendered from the situation

Now this is just you vs. me, because I don't see it as goodwill. Goodwill suggests they 'wanted' to do this. But this is a reaction to a bad situation, as opposed to something done willingly. We'll have to agree to disagree on that point.

You claim that some of those who took one of the Steam keys was a potential sale they've now lost: this requires citation or can be disregarded as baseless.

And neither can you claim that it 'wouldn't' result in a sale. If nothing else, this sets a s**ty precedent. Why not just wait for other games to be pirated and have more desperate indie dev's in PR damage control hand out freebies? We even had Jim Sterling asking the folks to not pirate from indies! No lessons learned so far. Let's keep going...

It can also at least in part be counter-acted by the people in this thread alone who've bought the game because of their stunt.

You know what made 'me' want to buy this game? The review. Not an article about the dev back tracking after a wave of piracy. But let's go your way for a moment. What if the article were exactly the same but it was about Sonic Boom, a notoriously bad game. Would you buy it then? Probably not. You don't see many articles about crap games being pirated, now do you?

Despite my frustration, I respect the good intention in your words, but this championing of someone whose back is against the wall misses the point entirely, for me. That's why I went off on one. Apologies.

 

[RicoADF]

and that the dev's good actions have earned them a sale from me.. implying I will exchange legal currency for a legal copy of the game.

Their 'good' actions have 'earned' them a sale? Was taking the time to craft a game that has reviewed reasonably well not good enough in the first place?

Did you ever think that possibly he would simply not buy the game or wait for a sale but the actions of the dev convinced him that the game was worth a try? Devs actions can earn and lose sales as much as the products themselves.

 

[odolwa]

Did you ever think that possibly he would simply not buy the game or wait for a sale but the actions of the dev convinced him that the game was worth a try? Devs actions can earn and lose sales as much as the products themselves.

Read everything I said after that. The rabbit hole goes deeper, Neo.

 

[RicoADF]

Read everything I said after that. The rabbit hole goes deeper, Neo.

Yes I read that after the first post, I must say I side with Teoes here. While this may be a PR stunt (we don't know for certain, this is an assumption) I would say it's a smart one if so. Weather it's AAA or indie, the way a developer/publisher treats their customers (or potential customers) has a big impact on how I and many others see them.

As an example: I would not be in a hurry to get an EA or Ubisoft game because their past actions have indicated a lack of respect for myself and others, their customers. They also show that they see the game as nothing more than a means to an end (to get your cash), they don't care about the game beyond that. In contract, 11 bit here has shown their good people that want others to enjoy the game first of all, they know that they'll make their money either way because they have confidence in their game and believe in it.

It's like buying anything really, if the salesman treats you like crap then it doesn't matter if their product is better I'll go over to the next store that treats me with respect and buy from them. It's customer service, which at the end of the day is a big part of what we pay for.

 

[odolwa]

the way a developer/publisher treats their customers (or potential customers) has a big impact on how I and many others see them

Whether you see what they did as good or bad will basically boil down to personal opinion. I'm saying it's bad because:
a) This is a response to pirates, not a sudden burst of impromptu customer service. Personally I think this is not good for the industry (specifically the indies), even if the PR might secure a few extra sales. Although the jury is out on that one, I think.
b) EA & Ubisoft can, and do, ignore/ challenge pirates more effectively, PR be damned, because the sheep will always balance the sales out, no matter how crap a game is. Point in case, Unity has 'outsold' Blackflag despite the litany of bugs. It's not fair to bully the little guy when the major groups get away with bloody murder and will 'never', and I mean 'never', give any freebies without checking with the shareholders. Indies don't have stocks, or Swiss bank accounts and I don't like that they had to make this concession. It sucks. My 'opinion', yes, but a valid one.
c) If 11-bit had said/ done nothing in the face of the piracy I, personally, don't think it would have hurt or benefited them massively either way. The pirates won't stop pirating, and if they had made a crap game anyway, you, I and everyone else wouldn't bat an eyelid. However, they 'did' make a good game. That should be enough, for all concerned. If the PR draws attention to anything, it's that piracy against small developers is rampant and pitiless, and they have no option but to pretend it's not happening, or spread their butt cheeks with a smile on their face while blowing smoke up our ass about "gamers being unhappy with the current state of the industry". I see, and was that 11-bit's fault? Why do they have to give hand-outs while Ubisoft says "we're looking closer at the way in which we release our games for review"? See the difference?

So, a lot of this is subjective. If you disagree, ok, but I still don't have to like it and wanted to express as much. That's all I can say, otherwise I'm just repeating myself.

 

[odolwa]

Sigh *Double Post*

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Good on them. I love this kind of approach to piracy; they can't stop it, so they might as well make the best of it.

I don't care if this is a calculated decision or one made from the kindness of their hearts; what 11 Bit says is true. A lot of people don't want to pirate a game; if they can afford it, they generally will pay for it. Of course, there are the people who would, as they said, "would pirate the game even if it would cost 10 cents", but they also said that "you can do nothing about them". That's the truth. But the majority of people who pirate games do so simply because they can't afford paying for it. By understanding this and helping the people who can't afford it, they encourage people who can afford it to buy the game. It's a psychological tactic; they make themselves seem like good people, and thus more people think that they deserve money. That may be a cynical way of looking at it, but whether it was a business decision or one of genuine benevolence, it's effective as heck for raising hype and spreading the word of them, their actions and their game.

 

[Ladylotus]

Snip

Mate, you're ignoring the majority of people's posts, cutting out a small portion of what they say and ignoring the rest. Stop that. Quote them entirely and argue their entire post, don't ignore them because it's convenient for you.


Anyway, I'm buying the game as soon as my next check comes in, thanks to this. I was already interested in the game, but this move (PR stunt or not) massively spiked my interest in the game.

 

[odolwa]

Mate, you're ignoring the majority of people's posts, cutting out a small portion of what they say and ignoring the rest. Stop that. Quote them entirely and argue their entire post, don't ignore them because it's convenient for you.

Anyway, I'm buying the game as soon as my next check comes in, thanks to this. I was already interested in the game, but this move (PR stunt or not) massively spiked my interest in the game.

I've argued my points clearly, and in detail. If you disagree with me, fine.

 

[Inazuma1]

Isn't this similar to what Cactus did when people pirated Hotline Miami? When Hotline Miami's pirated version had a bug, he produced a fix and released it?

 

[RedDeadFred]

Honestly, I think the people who truly can't afford it are probably in the very small minority. Maybe you can't afford a game at release, but Steam sales often make even the most expensive AAA games quite affordable. Even if you think you'll never be able to afford it, you can play other games which are free. Then again, I am looking at this with a fairly biased perspective since I've never really been poor. I'd welcome anyone to try and justify this (obviously not stating that you do pirate since it's against forum rules). I'd just like to see an honest perspective on this since whenever read about piracy justification it's usually some bullshit along the lines of "fighting the man."

 

[zidine100]

Im not that interested in the game, but hell im tempted to buy it anyway after that. Probably will do when i get my next pay check, good show 11 Bit Studios.

 

[EyeReaper]

Ugh. These guys are too nice.

This is like saying that "Oh, well, there's really no way to stop death threats, or trolling, so just turn the other cheek. It's whatever." It just feels like such a defeatist mentalitly. It's like a little kid bringing his gameboy to the playground and going "These guys are just going to take it from me anyways, so I'll wrap it up in a little bow and hope they'll be my friend."

I think what really cheeses me off about this is the fact that they are rewarding the people who refuse to pay for their games. It's a commendable attitude, in that they aren't throwing a *****-fit, but it still just seems so sickeningly submissive.

 

[odolwa]

Ugh. These guys are too nice.

This is like saying that "Oh, well, there's really no way to stop death threats, or trolling, so just turn the other cheek. It's whatever." It just feels like such a defeatist mentalitly. It's like a little kid bringing his gameboy to the playground and going "These guys are just going to take it from me anyways, so I'll wrap it up in a little bow and hope they'll be my friend."

I think what really cheeses me off about this is the fact that they are rewarding the people who refuse to pay for their games. It's a commendable attitude, in that they aren't throwing a *****-fit, but it still just seems so sickeningly submissive.

At last, I'm not the only one. Thank you.

 

[Signa]

Ugh. These guys are too nice.

This is like saying that "Oh, well, there's really no way to stop death threats, or trolling, so just turn the other cheek. It's whatever." It just feels like such a defeatist mentalitly. It's like a little kid bringing his gameboy to the playground and going "These guys are just going to take it from me anyways, so I'll wrap it up in a little bow and hope they'll be my friend."

I think what really cheeses me off about this is the fact that they are rewarding the people who refuse to pay for their games. It's a commendable attitude, in that they aren't throwing a *****-fit, but it still just seems so sickeningly submissive.

At last, I'm not the only one. Thank you.

So you're prefer to be wrong in an echo chamber than figure out how to be right?

That's all I got from that comment.

I mean, you're not wrong in that they did this because they had no better option, but you're wrong in acting like it's a bad thing. It's not. Not by a long shot.

 

[Dagda Mor]

I never understood the "I don't have money" defense for piracy. If you have time to play games but not the money to buy them, get out of the house, make some money, and come back when you can purchase the game. This isn't like stealing groceries because you can't put food on the table, it's more like stealing jewelery because it looks shiny.

Still, good on the dev for taking advantage of the situation.

 

[Dagda Mor]

So you're prefer to be wrong in an echo chamber than figure out how to be right?

You're assuming that he's wrong and you're right. Not necessarily the case.