And so the alternative is "steal from children?" No. The alternative is, you don't get the god damned game.Crono1973 said:
What can Developers & Publishers do to combat Piracy?
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ThisFEichinger said:
Most new titles are running for $50-60 before DLC, preorder deals, or collectors goodies. And I know that price reflects marketing, publishing, distribution, etc etc... I own a small business, I know what concepts like "Mark-up" and "Shipping costs" are. But don't tell me that if you offered a game like Modern Warfare 3 or Skyrim for $30 that MORE PEOPLE WOULD BUY IT AND YOU'D MAKE MORE MONEY OVERALL.
Because a cheaper unit price, especially in comparison to similar titles, means that more people will see the game as a financially feasible option... especially when compared to what Gamestop and other retailers are slinging used titles for. So not only would more people be interested in your game because it's cheaper but people that might pass it by for an older game might want to pick it up as well... and then if it's good they might become interested in the franchise. And even if it's not good who cares? It's $30.... that's hardly enough to justify hate mail over.
I'm not going to get into DLC pricing. That's a serious grey area. But I think by dropping the basic unit cost of a new game it would dramatically increase your customer base.
They should teach kids starting in pre-school that it is bad to take something you do not have the right to own, and be strict.
The game industry grew up and continues to thrive with piracy being commonplace.
Nearly all of the best, most lucrative games have been heavily pirated.
Pirates and piracy create a buzz around a game that no amount of marketing is likely to replicate except for maybe the very best AAA games. That buzz translates to sales to non-pirates. With pirates, game communities tend to stay active longer, and so when non-pirates buy a game they are not likely to find an online ghost town.
I'm not defending piracy, I think people should pay for their shit, and I can't remember the last game I pirated.
But I have seen what happens to games with successful anti-piracy measures and it feels like there is hardly anyone playing them. So, I just think developers and publishers should let it go, since it may be more beneficial for them than they think. In any case, DRM is a mess.
Here is an anti-piracy measure I support: if you don't have the product code, you cannot post on the official forums.
Bethesda pulled a nasty trick and made the most-likely-to-be-pirated PC version hardly better than the console version and possibly worse depending on what you think about the controls.
Nearly all of the best, most lucrative games have been heavily pirated.
Pirates and piracy create a buzz around a game that no amount of marketing is likely to replicate except for maybe the very best AAA games. That buzz translates to sales to non-pirates. With pirates, game communities tend to stay active longer, and so when non-pirates buy a game they are not likely to find an online ghost town.
I'm not defending piracy, I think people should pay for their shit, and I can't remember the last game I pirated.
But I have seen what happens to games with successful anti-piracy measures and it feels like there is hardly anyone playing them. So, I just think developers and publishers should let it go, since it may be more beneficial for them than they think. In any case, DRM is a mess.
Here is an anti-piracy measure I support: if you don't have the product code, you cannot post on the official forums.
Bethesda pulled a nasty trick and made the most-likely-to-be-pirated PC version hardly better than the console version and possibly worse depending on what you think about the controls.
Steal from children?Lord Fedora said:
How are you stealing from children by pirating games you wouldn't have bought anyway. If you choose to not pirate and not buy, the children still get nothing so I guess that is also stealing from children.
Reward legitimate buyers. Whether it's some non essential game item like the Hats and vanity weapons in TF2 (Lugermorph) and such, or something physical like a figurine. Idk, maybe make it cheaper? Home recording was killing the music industry in the '70s, but I haven't seen it die...
CAPTCHA: Efecivx reduction. Effective reduction indeed...
CAPTCHA: Efecivx reduction. Effective reduction indeed...
I think he's talking about people pirating the Humble Bumble.Crono1973 said:
I loathe to use the word because of how often it's been misused lately, but that right there is entitlement. Why should you be rewarded for doing what you're supposed to? Punishing the people who do the wrong thing makes more sense.Sectan said:
Bad analogy.Kopikatsu said:
'If you can get a exact copy of a existing Ferrari, while the original owned nor anyone else don't lose anything in no way, would you not do it because you can live without it?' is more accurate.
I'm talking about people who simply can't buy the game, so it's not a lost sale. The game wouldn't be sold either way.
Also, I'm not saying piracy is good. I just don't understand the hate against people who really don't have the resources to buy games.
As a (future) developer, I say that I would never mind people pirating my software as long as the really can't afford it and they use the software to have fun.
While it isn't STEALING from children, it's close enough to be a major asshat move.Crono1973 said:
The dealership is losing money. By taking the car, you've shown a clear interest in the car. Therefore you want the car. It stands to reason that if forced, you'd pay for the car. Maybe not full price, but would still pay.BiH-Kira said:
Edit: This analogy still kind of falls short, but that's more because a car and a video game are so vastly different that it's difficult to compare the two.
Because you're taking a product without paying for it that's not being offered for free. That's stealing. In this case, as the proceeds go to sick children, you are effectively stealing from them. There are instances where I'm okay with piracy, to be perfectly honest, but when it would cost you virtually nothing and whatever you would be spending goes to charity, there is no excuse.Crono1973 said:
No, the "children" never lost a sale. That kind of logic fails every time it is brought up.Lord Fedora said:
If a person refuses to give their credit card info to Steam, then the children aren't going to get any money from them whether they pirate the game or not. Your appeal to emotion fails and your lost sales logic fails.
Intrusive DRM is the least effective method one can do, and we learn that lesson time and time again.
The first and foremost, biggest way to combat piracy, and I may get some hate for saying this, is basic, consumer friendly within reason DRM. Disc Checks, one time online authentication, Steam and the like. Something that means that if you want a pirated copy, you have to get it from unsavory places that may be less then 100% reliable. Once you reach this point, however, you might as well stop, because your game will be hacked. That't a fact of life. All you can do is prevent yourself from losing so much as a significant number of would be buyers.
The second most important step is customer relations. Foster a healthy community that respects you by making long term decisions over short term ones. Pirates tend to be tech savvy and very good at justifying there actions behind some bogus idealism. They will appreciate a company that behaves in an upright manner, and are more likely to either buy a game after trying a pirated copy, or not download a pirated copy to begin with. Yes, there are some exceptions, particularly with some Indie games, but these indie games usually have 0 protection in place.
Thirdly, make demos. Its not as universal as pirates like you to think, but a lot of pirates do pirate a game in lieu of a demo. Also, if a pirated game is the replacement for a demo, then theres a good chance that these skilled justifiers will come up with a reason why they can keep playing the game despite it not being worth paying for.
Fourth, Incentives. Provide a service that makes buying new better then pirating. Even a tiny bit better will discourage piracy HUGELY. If it inconveniences the paying customers though, your moving one step forward, 2 steps back. The company that discovers a cost effective incentive system will be the company that takes the biggest chunk out of piracy. It won't be the company with the most airtight DRM (And by airtight, I mean a colander instead of a rope tied around a puddle.)
Fifth, outside the box solutions. You can't rely on these but they may help. Rocksteady did this by releasing an unplayable version of Arkham Asylum. Convenience of Digital Distribution might make people forget about downloading. Other social tools, when handled in compelling ways, give a reason to not pirate. The Free 2 Play model just doesn't allow Piracy really. You can't use these things in every game, but they can help in the right circumstance.
Sixth, and this is more a do not thing, don't just rely on Multiplayer to discourage pirates. Some games don't need multiplayer, and tacking crappy multiplayer on at the last second is...well, see point 2.
And lastly, figure out a better measure for piracy. Common Sense dictates that every download is NOT a lost sale, since it makes no sense that every person who will get the game for free would pay 60 dollars for it. We have been looking at this problem for ages, and publishers keep pulling numbers out of their asses. Come up with a realistic way to measure profit loss, since profit is your concern, and all the bad ways of dealing with the problem will fall apart.
The first and foremost, biggest way to combat piracy, and I may get some hate for saying this, is basic, consumer friendly within reason DRM. Disc Checks, one time online authentication, Steam and the like. Something that means that if you want a pirated copy, you have to get it from unsavory places that may be less then 100% reliable. Once you reach this point, however, you might as well stop, because your game will be hacked. That't a fact of life. All you can do is prevent yourself from losing so much as a significant number of would be buyers.
The second most important step is customer relations. Foster a healthy community that respects you by making long term decisions over short term ones. Pirates tend to be tech savvy and very good at justifying there actions behind some bogus idealism. They will appreciate a company that behaves in an upright manner, and are more likely to either buy a game after trying a pirated copy, or not download a pirated copy to begin with. Yes, there are some exceptions, particularly with some Indie games, but these indie games usually have 0 protection in place.
Thirdly, make demos. Its not as universal as pirates like you to think, but a lot of pirates do pirate a game in lieu of a demo. Also, if a pirated game is the replacement for a demo, then theres a good chance that these skilled justifiers will come up with a reason why they can keep playing the game despite it not being worth paying for.
Fourth, Incentives. Provide a service that makes buying new better then pirating. Even a tiny bit better will discourage piracy HUGELY. If it inconveniences the paying customers though, your moving one step forward, 2 steps back. The company that discovers a cost effective incentive system will be the company that takes the biggest chunk out of piracy. It won't be the company with the most airtight DRM (And by airtight, I mean a colander instead of a rope tied around a puddle.)
Fifth, outside the box solutions. You can't rely on these but they may help. Rocksteady did this by releasing an unplayable version of Arkham Asylum. Convenience of Digital Distribution might make people forget about downloading. Other social tools, when handled in compelling ways, give a reason to not pirate. The Free 2 Play model just doesn't allow Piracy really. You can't use these things in every game, but they can help in the right circumstance.
Sixth, and this is more a do not thing, don't just rely on Multiplayer to discourage pirates. Some games don't need multiplayer, and tacking crappy multiplayer on at the last second is...well, see point 2.
And lastly, figure out a better measure for piracy. Common Sense dictates that every download is NOT a lost sale, since it makes no sense that every person who will get the game for free would pay 60 dollars for it. We have been looking at this problem for ages, and publishers keep pulling numbers out of their asses. Come up with a realistic way to measure profit loss, since profit is your concern, and all the bad ways of dealing with the problem will fall apart.
I didn't say 'entitled little brat'.Sectan said:
Pirating is bad. Buying the game is not. Abstaining from buying the game because you don't like the game/don't agree with the business practices/can't afford it is not.
So why reward people for doing the 'right' thing when that's what they should be doing anyway? It seems like an alien concept. Like...you don't get a weekly check as a reward for not having committed a crime, do you?
You're paying for their paycheck by buying THE GAME. The game is all you get for your money. If you think it's too much for just a game, then don't buy it!
Edit: That is kind of what I meant by entitled, though. 'I pay their salaries! They should give me extras because a game isn't enough!'
I would assuming your the one who grow the tomato or you're giving money to the farmer because that dollar goes to pay for the water, land, fertilizer, equipment, and time the farmer put in to get you that tomato. Same can be said for games sure distribution costs very little by a team of animators, voice actors, programers, writers, an office to put them all in and computers for them all to use, do cost money.Crono1973 said:
Enough of correcting flawed logic to the question at hand, it's been said before but it is the best option reward real costumers, one way to do it is regular free updates people who download will have to work harder to get all the new content(this also always you to target specific pirated version of the game) and people are going to like your game more, publishers could also give credits to be used for payed DLC or even for future games.
Offer incentives to legit customers that rival or exceed pirated versions such as access to betas, free DLC (a new gun or vehicle for every week would annoy the pirates who have to keep cracking the files), as many installs as you like, competitions, free candy all at a price that makes these worthwhile. Oh and good customer service.
I don't care if they don't buy it or not, that's their business. They're taking a package put together with the express purpose of raising money for charity and stealing it-and let's be clear here, piracy *is* stealing, you are taking something that you haven't paid for and was not offered to you for free by someone legally authorized to do so, which, again, I don't care about most of the time. As far as I'm concerned, there is no excuse to do that. If you don't want to give your information to Steam, you don't get to play the fucking game.Crono1973 said: