Jump to content

Liquid insanity 101


Walsingham

Recommended Posts

As I was out running this evening I amused myself by thinking through the old problem of software copyright. I need to be away off to the pub, but these are the basic points:

 

1. Situation: Piracy is an issue

2. Problem: Taking revenue from sales requires draconian safeguards and still leaves revenue to chance

3. Solution: Sell a class of shares in teh company where the 'dividend' is a special numbered hardcopy of each game that comes out. Could generate revenue from sale of the shares, and of course trading in them.

 

Thoughts?

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.. do you mean selling games as a kind of share in the company?

 

I've seen some companies battle piracy in interesting ways, the best of course is making a killer game that people want badly from the day it's out.

 

An interesting option would be to allow buyers to set the price they want, like Radiohead did with their latest album. Of course this could be a very costly experiment and seeing as bands make most of their money going on tour and game developers don't, it's probably too risky.

 

Piracy is probably a bigger problem for the big developers/publishers who spend 3-5+ years developting a title and millions on commericals. While smaller developers can actually experience a higher revenue because of Piracy, since it works as a kind of "free" PR machine causing the product to be more exposed and therefore increasing sales - this only works for good titles though. Like we saw with the film "A man from Earth":

 

Can internet piracy result in more and better movies? "Of course, not!" is probably our stock reaction. By illegally downloading and sharing films, pirates steal the revenue that would otherwise reward and encourage film-makers--or so we are told by lawyers, economists, and lobbyists for Hollywood studios.

 

But we may have plenty to learn yet about the possible impact of file-sharing and other online distribution methods on the quantity and quality of films we watch. The story of Jerome Bixby's "The Man from Earth", a small-budget science fiction movie released on DVD in November, shows how piracy can help salvage, not sink, high-quality cinema.

link

Fortune favors the bald.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lord of Flies would love this. A game that belongs to the people :lol:

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Most other people are about as objective as Fox news, everyone who owns the game is already potentially biased.

 

True. Confirmation bias and all that.

 

But you make a good argument in favour of it in a way. It would cause people to work for the company as well as just buying the games. Unless that's just creepy.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...