An interesting article about piracy

[Mamoulian War]

One of the most interesting reads about piracy, made by the person who is in gaming business and is a gamer aswell...

 

I recommend it to read to all of you, because he is one of the few people in the industry who still did not loose touch with his customers...

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlanYoungbl...ging_piracy.php

[213374U]

Oh, shi-

[Raithe]

o O (I foresee a lot of duck and cover time...)

[jaguars4ever]

Oh, shi-

Yarr!

 

If we canna take der cargo, skuttle der ship, matey!

 

That's pirate talk for: If the ISO won't burn, attach the self-morphing trojan

 

[Morgoth]

How about devs start making decent games?

 

Otherwise, this guy is just fantasizing.

 

People pirate games because they can.

 

That's why DRM is not useless.

 

I said it again and again, if every PC game would use Steamworks, all this pirating and second-hand shopping would be put to an end.

[Nepenthe]

One of the most interesting reads about piracy, made by the person who is in gaming business and is a gamer aswell...

 

I recommend it to read to all of you, because he is one of the few people in the industry who still did not loose touch with his customers...

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlanYoungbl...ging_piracy.php

 

Apart from the fact that itunes hasn't had music DRM in, well, ages, I guess he has a few good points.

[Mamoulian War]

How about devs start making decent games?

 

Otherwise, this guy is just fantasizing.

 

People pirate games because they can.

 

That's why DRM is not useless.

 

I said it again and again, if every PC game would use Steamworks, all this pirating and second-hand shopping would be put to an end.

 

hahaha you realy think that Steam is an effective DRM? You would be surprised how easy is to bypass it... I was, when few people, i know told me about LAN party, they've attended just 2 days after Left 4 Dead was released on Steam...

[Morgoth]

hahaha you realy think that Steam is an effective DRM? You would be surprised how easy is to bypass it... I was, when few people, i know told me about LAN party, they've attended just 2 days after Left 4 Dead was released on Steam...

And how common is it really to crack a Steam game? Certainly not as high as retail games.

 

And you still combat second hand sales with it.

[RPGmasterBoo]

I think the part about making decent games is what's really important. Most people don't have a problem paying for something that they feel is worth their money.

[Morgoth]

Yup, that's why I always go (mostly) by company.

 

Obsidian

Bioware

Blizzard

Irrational

Valve

Arkane

 

are always certainly day 1 purchases. The rest I usually don't bother...

Edited February 10, 2010 by Morgoth

[RPGmasterBoo]

I'd add Relic, most of the time.

[Morgoth]

I'd add Relic, most of the time.

They disappointed me big time with DoW2.

[RPGmasterBoo]

I think it was a good game for a W40K fan, I just like real RTS's more. I played it for a few hours in single player and have no intention of returning to it.

 

They could have spammed a DoW remake (which in retrospect would probably have been better), but at least they tried to do something new.

 

Homeworld 3 will be the real deal. All this is just pissing about.

[Mikhailian]

I'd add Relic, most of the time.

They disappointed me big time with DoW2.

Orcs shouldn't spend all day huddled behind cover.

[Mera]

How about devs start making decent games?

Yes I can already see millions of pirates crying out in joy, because devs are finally making decent games

 

People pirate games because they can.

[213374U]

And you still combat second hand sales with it.

Which are, eh, perfectly legal.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

And how common is it really to crack a Steam game? Certainly not as high as retail games.

 

Uhhh... No. Steam cracks come out when a game is Steam only, if not a regular one will often work with the Steam version. Not that I've done it myself, but people who were having issues with limited activation games tried it and reported their findings - it works.

[Mamoulian War]

hahaha you realy think that Steam is an effective DRM? You would be surprised how easy is to bypass it... I was, when few people, i know told me about LAN party, they've attended just 2 days after Left 4 Dead was released on Steam...

And how common is it really to crack a Steam game? Certainly not as high as retail games.

 

And you still combat second hand sales with it.

 

That is even easier to counter than you think... all you need is to make a new owner profile for each game you buy... You sell then whole profile with one game only... Voila the biggest anti second hand sale counter-measure cracked...

Edited February 10, 2010 by Mamoulian War

[Morgoth]

hahaha you realy think that Steam is an effective DRM? You would be surprised how easy is to bypass it... I was, when few people, i know told me about LAN party, they've attended just 2 days after Left 4 Dead was released on Steam...

And how common is it really to crack a Steam game? Certainly not as high as retail games.

 

And you still combat second hand sales with it.

 

That is even easier to counter than you think... all you need is to make a new owner profile for each game you buy... You sell then whole profile with one game only... Voila the biggest anti second hand sale counter-measure cracked...

I did that a few times, but I hardly made any money with it. It just doesn't pay off.

 

Besides, it's illegal to have several Steam accounts. If Valve gets wind of it, they might block you or something.

[Morgoth]

And you still combat second hand sales with it.

Which are, eh, perfectly legal.

Yes, good for the customer, bad for the developer.

 

We certainly want Josh & Co getting some potatoes on their plate?

Edited February 10, 2010 by Morgoth

[213374U]

Yes, good for the customer, bad for the developer.

 

We certainly want Josh & Co getting some potatoes on their plate?

The woes of a free market economy.

 

Adapt, survive, thrive.

[Flouride]

I think the part about making decent games is what's really important. Most people don't have a problem paying for something that they feel is worth their money.

 

Yup. About 90% of the games released each year are more or less crap. Then there's the pricing issue. I don't personally feel like paying 60 euros for a game that I can finish in 5-10 hours and won't most likely touch ever again. I'll either ignore the game or wait until it's gets cheaper or see if one my friends buys it.

 

Also how many of those getting pirate copies are actual kids who just can't afford to buy these games even if they wanted to. It's kinda hard to make these kids/teens/young adults not to get this stuff for free when it's practically just waiting there (especially when most of their friends are doing it as well). At least in Finland students are really low on cash and most of them can't really afford such "luxuries" as games. I had a part time job during my studies, so I could afford to buy games, music etc. But most of my friends didn't have those jobs for like 2 years, they struggled to even get food on their plates. Sure they did pirate games back then, but now at least some of them are paying customers now that they got steady jobs after their studies. Naturally there's those who just don't care. If they can get it for free, they will. And then they act like you are some sort of a freak when you actually pay for stuff you could just download.

 

I personally think the way RIAA has handled music piracy is the most f***ed up way to handle it. Going after individuals as part of a fear campaing isn't the way to solve things. How about you go after those who actually released those products in the 1st place or the people responsible for all those (torrent) servers.

 

These industries need to evolve, price their products better, do anti-piracy campaigning (other than just fear...) to reach parents and most of all release quality products. At least it seems like PC gaming industry is trying to evolve. Steam is a good example. Easy access to games, don't have to wait for shipping, nor do you have to drag your lazy butt to the nearest store (might be quite far away, if you happen to live in small town in Finland) and the pricing... For example 20 euros for Total War package, now that's hard to resist if you are even remotely intrested in those games. And it seems PC games in general are about half cheaper than they were just few years ago. Dragon Age cost me about 37 euros. Saw that Alpha Protocol is about 32 euros on play.com, back in the day these games would have costed about 50 euros.

Edited February 10, 2010 by Flouride

[alanschu]

Yes, good for the customer, bad for the developer.

 

We certainly want Josh & Co getting some potatoes on their plate?

The woes of a free market economy.

 

Adapt, survive, thrive.

 

Couldn't you argue that that is what developers are doing by limiting second hand sales?

[Malcador]

Second hand sales haven't killed them in the past, not sure why it's bemoan-worthy now. Was funny to see second hand game purchasers get lumped in with pirates as 'scum' on another site, hehe.

Edited February 10, 2010 by Malcador

[213374U]

Couldn't you argue that that is what developers are doing by limiting second hand sales?

Yes, I suppose you could. But encroaching on the consumers' rights isn't what I was thinking when I wrote that, as in that sense, you adapt to something that threatens you... which isn't the case with second hand sales. You may as well "adapt" to the possibility that people can choose not to buy your product. This is generally known as unfair competition, though.

 

But yeah, as long as they aren't shot down in court, I expect businesses to do anything in their power to maximize their profit, and to be lazy and inflexible in their practices.

Edited February 10, 2010 by 213374U