New copyright enforcement bill on its way

[Oblarg]

I've been arguing strictly from a business perspective here. Logically there are a ton of variables when it comes to piracy, of course, but you can't really plug in all those variables in a business model. You can't account for Jimmy's allowance. All you can really look at is the fact that Jimmy is playing the game without paying, and so he is negatively affecting the business model. It doesn't have anything to do with physical copies either. The company is trying to make money off the product. When the product is used without making money, it is a negative.

 

 

No question it is a negative. ANd for me personally, it is wrong to do simply out of respect for the time and effort put into making the product.

 

But is the response appropiate to the level of the problem? Which to me is a completely valid question for me to ask, since corporate responses to piracy have generally a greater negative effect on me that they do on the pirates.

 

I'd say the responses are all over the map. Some are terrible, like Ubisoft's solution. But I think they have an ulterior motive that isn't just about piracy. Some are meh, like Steamworks. I like Steam, I think it is a great service, but there are some kinks to work out there, mostly with the fact offline mode isn't perfect. Some I don't even notice.

 

I just don't think they are ever going to go away though, at least not unless the world changes and everyone stops trying to infringe on other people's copyright. I also think Steamworks is the future, being that it is offered for free to publishers and is a solid DRM solution.

 

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

[Hurlshort]

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

 

Stardock publishes fairly niche products. I'm not being dismissive of them, but I think you can see why a major publisher would hesitate to adopt their business model when they don't run on the same scale or even appeal to the same demographics in most cases.

[Oblarg]

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

 

Stardock publishes fairly niche products. I'm not being dismissive of them, but I think you can see why a major publisher would hesitate to adopt their business model when they don't run on the same scale or even appeal to the same demographics in most cases.

 

Wasn't it just argued that piracy hits small companies more than big ones?

Edited October 5, 2010 by Oblarg

[Hurlshort]

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

 

Stardock publishes fairly niche products. I'm not being dismissive of them, but I think you can see why a major publisher would hesitate to adopt their business model when they don't run on the same scale or even appeal to the same demographics in most cases.

 

Wasn't it just argued that piracy hits small companies more than big ones?

 

Not by me. As I also said, the demographic is very different.

[Oblarg]

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

 

Stardock publishes fairly niche products. I'm not being dismissive of them, but I think you can see why a major publisher would hesitate to adopt their business model when they don't run on the same scale or even appeal to the same demographics in most cases.

 

Wasn't it just argued that piracy hits small companies more than big ones?

 

Not by me. As I also said, the demographic is very different.

 

You're right - Stardock's target demographic probably all are able to pirate and use cracked games, because their niche is a group of fairly "internet-savvy" people.

 

How exactly does that minimize their losses to piracy, again?

[Tale]

It's not really the practice itself, it's the ease of it. Anyone who got moral convulsions back in the day about making mix tapes and giving them to your friends raise their hands.

 

*raises hand*

 

Not mix tapes, but everytime I encountered such in my youth, it bothered the hell out of me. The guy copying DOOM around my middle school. My neighbor's pirated copy of Scream. When one of my relatives cracked my shareware copy of Quake I lent. Each and everytime I was asked for a copy of a PC game by friend or family.

[Hurlshort]

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

 

Stardock publishes fairly niche products. I'm not being dismissive of them, but I think you can see why a major publisher would hesitate to adopt their business model when they don't run on the same scale or even appeal to the same demographics in most cases.

 

Wasn't it just argued that piracy hits small companies more than big ones?

 

Not by me. As I also said, the demographic is very different.

 

You're right - Stardock's target demographic probably all are able to pirate and use cracked games, because their niche is a group of fairly "internet-savvy" people.

 

How exactly does that minimize their losses to piracy, again?

 

How many teenagers do you think are playing Sins of a Solar Empire and GalCiv2? Heck, my students barely know what Civ5 is, and that is fairly mainstream. Piracy is a young person's game. I'm not saying people don't pirate Stardock titles at all, but I am saying they have less to be worried about than Ubisoft and games like Assassin's Creed 2.

[Oblarg]

Once again, I'd point to Stardock's business model, which is basically founded upon the idea that DRM loses you more customers than it gains. They seem to be doing fine.

 

Stardock publishes fairly niche products. I'm not being dismissive of them, but I think you can see why a major publisher would hesitate to adopt their business model when they don't run on the same scale or even appeal to the same demographics in most cases.

 

Wasn't it just argued that piracy hits small companies more than big ones?

 

Not by me. As I also said, the demographic is very different.

 

You're right - Stardock's target demographic probably all are able to pirate and use cracked games, because their niche is a group of fairly "internet-savvy" people.

 

How exactly does that minimize their losses to piracy, again?

 

How many teenagers do you think are playing Sins of a Solar Empire and GalCiv2? Heck, my students barely know what Civ5 is, and that is fairly mainstream. Piracy is a young person's game. I'm not saying people don't pirate Stardock titles at all, but I am saying they have less to be worried about than Ubisoft and games like Assassin's Creed 2.

 

Well, now you're arguing that the same demographic that you earlier said was too dumb/inept for widespread piracy are also the demographic for whom piracy is the biggest issue.

 

What?

[Hurlshort]

Well, now you're arguing that the same demographic that you earlier said was too dumb/inept for widespread piracy are also the demographic for whom piracy is the biggest issue.

 

What?

 

When did I ever say there was an age limit on ineptness?

 

You could even argue the opposite, that older folks are less technically adept than the younger folks. I know I am way less knowledgeable about the current stuff than I was in my 20's. I just don't have the time that I used to to stay up on it.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Hurlshot

[Nepenthe]

For the record, I am both following Hurlshot's train of thought and agreeing with him.

[Walsingham]

My experience with old folks is that they are better technically than teh average young folk, for the simple reason that they read the sodding manual.

[Malcador]

Funny to think of it as a young person's thing when you look at the ages of the members of the groups. Wonder what effect publishers dropping all their DRM would have anyway, other than saving RELOADED time.

[Rosbjerg]

My experience with old folks is that they are better technically than teh average young folk, for the simple reason that they read the sodding manual.

 

so very true..

 

You're right - Stardock's target demographic probably all are able to pirate and use cracked games, because their niche is a group of fairly "internet-savvy" people.

 

How exactly does that minimize their losses to piracy, again?

 

This is (imho) a very interesting fact that is often overlooked - while it helps against piracy just being a niche developer, as people feel you would suffer more from the loss, than being a big developer - I think it mostly has to do with respect from producer to consumer. If the consumer doesn't feel like s/he is being respected (but still feels an entitlement to the project (which is a discussion worthy of it's own thread)) then he will more likely resort to less than admirable measures in order to acquire the product. This can be combated by either enforcing DRM, which is the easiest solution, attacking the feeling of entitlement or by showing respect and trying to make the consumer feel like an integrated part of the product. I think the last is the most risky, but also most profitable.

[Slowtrain]

It doesn't matter anyway. Coporations will own the world soon enough. Won't be too long before you won't be able to take a **** without paying some corporation for the rights to wipe your own arse.

[Nepenthe]

It doesn't matter anyway. Coporations will own the world soon enough. Won't be too long before you won't be able to take a **** without paying some corporation for the rights to wipe your own arse.

 

You mean you don't have to pay for toilet paper yet?

[Hurlshort]

Americans don't use toilet paper, we wipe our butts with the symbol of freedom, the bald eagle.

 

The talons hurt like hell, but I'll pay that price any day for liberty.

[Slowtrain]

Ass Rights Management.

 

It's coming.

[Walsingham]

Americans don't use toilet paper, we wipe our butts with the symbol of freedom, the bald eagle.

 

The talons hurt like hell, but I'll pay that price any day for liberty.

 

:lol:

[Tigranes]

Ass Rights Management.

 

It's coming.

 

Around the same time as Liberty Extremist Group.

[Humodour]

Ass Rights Management.

 

It's coming.

 

The fundamentalist Christian lobbies were onto Ass Rights Management loooong before DRM came along.