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• Calranthe

  January 04, 2012, 12:54:21 am

  
  

  Member 5th Class

  
  

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  "Piracy exists because of:
  * Draconian DRM
  * Media companies' out-dated and irrelevant business model
  * Out-dated copyright law"
  I hear the above from people trying to justify piracy and while I do not in any way agree with SOPA there are some very uncomfortable flaws in this kind of reasoning
  
  To take two quotes from an excellent guide about the facts on piracy (link at the bottom)
  

  Quote

  Bethesda Softworks, makers of The Elder Scrolls series and most recently Fallout 3 had this to say on the issue of the scale and costs of piracy-related tech support:
  
      The amount of times we see stuff coming through where it’s like, the resolution to the problem was [the] guy had a pirated copy of the game… The amount of money we spend supporting people who didn’t pay us for the game in the first place…it’s f–ing ludicrous. We talk to other developers, guys who are [like] ‘Yeah, it’s a third, it’s 50% of our [customer] support.’

  
  and
  
  

  Quote

  I've saved an excellent example for last. As an indication that not only is the scale of piracy generally high across all types of games, but more importantly, that it seems to have little to do with DRM, big greedy game companies, or the high price of games, let's take a look at a game called World of Goo, recently released by a small independent developer called 2D Boy consisting of a team of 3 people. It's available as a digital download, selling for less than $20 on Steam, it has no intrusive DRM, and it's received nothing but praise, reflected in a Metacritic Score of 90%/95%. This should be precisely the recipe for preventing piracy according to some, but unfortunately the truth is less convenient: the developer of the game has stated that World of Goo has an approximate piracy rate of 90%. Regardless of the precise level of piracy, the key point to consider is that World of Goo addresses every single item on the checklist of excuses which people usually present for pirating games - yet it is still being pirated quite heavily.
  
  Update: Just to show that World of Goo wasn't an isolated case, there is yet another example of the irrelevance of DRM, big greedy companies and high prices to piracy. The independent game Machinarium, released by a small Czech developer and priced at $20 with no DRM also has the dubious honor of a 90% piracy rate.

  
  Anyone who cares about the pc gaming market and its future should read the below article.
  
  http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_1.html
• SuperNova221

  January 04, 2012, 02:52:38 am

  
  

  Captain

  
  

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  Calranthe:
  
  "We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem," he said. "If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable."
  
  The proof is in the proverbial pudding. "Prior to entering the Russian market, we were told that Russia was a waste of time because everyone would pirate our products. Russia is now about to become [Steam's] largest market in Europe," Newell said."
  
  http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114391-Valves-Gabe-Newell-Says-Piracy-Is-a-Service-Problem
  
• SghnDubh

  January 04, 2012, 07:02:07 am

  
  

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  Since we're playing around with quotes,
  
  

  Quote from: Calranthe on January 04, 2012, 12:54:21 am

  
  I hear the above from people trying to justify piracy ...
  

  
  I do not in any way justify piracy, please do not put words in my mouth. "Draconian" does not mean "none." Business models already exist that do a better job of lowering piracy rates. Eliminating piracy is an unreasonable expectation. Alienating your customers and making harder for them to buy and play a game are in nobody's best interest.
  
  And if you're spending 50% of your support handling complaints from people who pirated your game, your service model is broken. I'm a businessperson in the gaming field and I understand the implications of what I just type btw.
• Bun-Bun

  January 11, 2012, 04:04:36 pm

  
  

  Member 5th Class

  
  

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  Quote from: Calranthe on January 04, 2012, 12:54:21 am

  Anyone who cares about the pc gaming market and its future should read the below article.
  
  http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_1.html
  

  
  I started to read that guide but the author quickly lost credibility and I did not finish it.
  
  First off he states that you can not get accuracte numbers on piracy for various reasons (and that not all piracy equates to a loss in profits) but then proceeds to go off about how the numbers prove the scale of piracy.
  
  Secondly, in the world of goo example for one, he will state the mass amount of piracy in a DRM free game however does not state how successful that game was in the end. Yes it was pirated a lot but it was also a best seller on amazon and the wii store.
  
  What he and others continue to ignore is what the numbers can not say. The numbers can not say how many of those downloads are duplicates, or errors, or by people who have legitemately purchased the said material. Also the games with DRM being downloaded less is also partly due to users avoiding the game entirely in protest.
  
  I agree 100% with SghnDubh in this.
  
  "While piracy is in nobody's best interest, we do not believe the US (or any country) can legislate the behavior of the entire world. What is proven over and over is that market forces are better at shaping behavior."