Some thoughts on Piracy

Some thoughts on software piracy

Monday, March 10, 2008 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News

For users of desktop enhancements, the abuse of other people's copyright is a well known topic. Whether it be with rips in skins or the pirating of software.

But in the PC game market, piracy has reached a head recently as it apparently was a hot topic at this year's Game Developer's Conference. At the GDC, many developers blamed piracy for the soft sales of their PC games.

However, Stardock's own Sins of a Solar Empire topped the US retail charts despite having no copy protection whatsoever.  So what's the deal?

The article below goes over some of our thoughts on the matter. We think you'll find it an interesting read.

8 Reply 3 Referrals
Makavre
Reply #1 Monday, March 10, 2008 9:05 PM
when a game has good gameplay, (such as Sins of a Solar Empire) the price is irrelevant being that the time to download a pirated copy and struggling to make it work, isnt worth against that of simply buying/donwloading the real deal if game development studios were to focus more on making great games instead of just pushing deadlines or "graphics" .... they'd have a lot less to worry about piracy ... being that the biggest cause for such is the uncertainty of having to pay nearly $60 that might or not be good ....

Jeffrey Bombard
Reply #2 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 12:12 AM
That article was a good read. I think there are a lot of factors that are causing the decline of PC gaming, the impact of piracy I think is minute. The console/PC graphics gap is shrinking everyday. MMO games suck up more of our time leaving less time for other games, at least I play fewer games than I used to. PC upgrades to stay current are a constant drain on the pocketbook, while consoles give you far more life for the money. Too many PC games choose style over substance. etc... etc... I think there will always be a market for PC games, and I think Stardock's approach is a very smart one.

Surj
Reply #3 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 12:25 AM
"But the thing is, the people who buy WindowBlinds tend to like a different style of skin than the people who would never buy it in the first place. Natural selection, so to speak, over many years has created a number of styles that seem to be unique to people who actually buy WindowBlinds." ...ouch

DonDodds
Reply #4 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 4:02 AM
Whoa...it ate my post. :-/

Basically, I was saying that the entire entertainment industry is going through massive changes as they try to deal with balancing profit, preventing piracy, and satisfying customers, and that I have no idea - not even a guess - how it'll all end up.

HG_Eliminator
Reply #5 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 4:26 AM
Awesome read. More companies should cater to the "true Hardcore gamers", not the fly by night folks who switch from one game to the next at the drop of a hat.

I have noticed over my years of gaming, that the folks who find a game and settle in are typically the majority of the customers. Many, if not the majority of the "Hot game" chasers tend to not want to pay for them.  I played Mechwarrior for about a decade exclusively, and the mass majority of us true die hard mech pilots "bought" all our games, plus the expansions. ( I would still be playing it along with many many mech pilots if MS had not canceled it)

I used to get pestered daily when Mechwarrior 4 was at its peak, by people bugging me for cracked versions of the game. ( It would infuriate me to no end) They read in some Gaming magazine that it was the newest rage, but weren't going to pay for it. why? 
Because they switched games so often they couldn't afford to buy them all, or felt that, since they were only going to play it till the next Hot Game popped up, they shouldn't have to pay. "Why spend $50 on something I'm only going to play a month or so?" I asked quite a few, and this was the general reasoning why they preferred cracks over buying.

IMO SD is doing it right. Build games for those who are interested in actually buying and playing games. Let the Fashionable gamers fend for them selves.  

MetalHellssAngel
Reply #6 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 5:02 AM
I have noticed over my years of gaming, that the folks who find a game and settle in are typically the majority of the customers. Many, if not the majority of the "Hot game" chasers tend to not want to pay for them.


I concur with this In my house we all play BF2 and have purchased every copy we have of it that means 3 times we've paid for BF2 Deluxe edition plus the Booster Packs. Yes it was expensive, but worth it as while we may play other games we've still been playing BF2 for a long time and will continue to do so until it dies.

NightTrainthedark
Reply #7 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 6:09 AM
"Why spend $50 on something I'm only going to play a month or so?"


Those types will always find an excuse. $50 for a months worth of entertainment is a good deal to me.

Look at it deeper.... those people will probably steal from you if ever given the chance.

warreni
Reply #8 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:05 AM
Look at it deeper.... those people will probably steal from you if ever given the chance.
NT, you're freaking me out, man. Who are these people you're talking about? [looks over shoulder]

I just left a fat response on Draginol's weblog, so I'll just add this to this part of the conversation:

So here's a hint for developers who want to make money with their PC games: 1) make your game fun, 2) don't release it before it's ready, and 3) don't make your game the "have-to-upgrade-to-play" hot s#%! title of the year. Every two or three years, the PC gaming world crowns such a title and that invariably means that people like me who can't afford to upgrade except maybe every five to six years will be left behind. Crysis was the last one. Before that it was probably F.E.A.R. And before that HL2. Oh, and I can't count the number of titles where I've read reviews that start something like this: "Well, I wanted to like this game, and maybe if it were properly patched, it would be great, but . . . ." Okay, publishers--EA, Ubisoft, I'm looking at you--quit pressuring developers to release stuff before it's ready, because that flushing sound you hear is the profits you could have made on those games going down the toilet. Don't let your next release become the comic-book-movie of games.


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