Game Publishers Doing More Damage than Pirates?

thenextpresident writes "Over on JoeUser.com, there is an interesting article, from the creator of the previously mentioned TotalGaming.net subscription service, that discusses two things: the PC game market vs the console market, and how one game developer views game publishers as a bigger problem than the software "pirates". "So don't talk to me about piracy. It's not the pirates that have ripped us off of hundreds of thousands in lost royalties. It's been "Real businesses" doing that thank you very much. The position of royalty eating parasite has already been taken." He also digs into all the problems PC games have: usually being buggy on release, CD keys, patches (and more patches), hard drive space while still requiring the CD be in the drive. All together, a really interesting look at the game industry from just one developer."

Comments

Copy Protection

[volteface]

Copy protection hurts legitimate users more than it helps the software developers. When users who legitimately buy games have trouble playing them, while pirates can simply crack the game (and they can, pretty much no matter what you do) and play it more easily than the legitimate buyers, you know you need to step back and re-evaluate your copy protection policy. Most legit users end up cracking the game anyway, just for simplicity's sake. At least UT2K4's patch removed the CD checking.

It doesn't even stop at games. I can't play Let It Be...Naked by The Beatles in any CD player I own because of the copy protection. There's even a disclaimer on the back stating that it may not work in all CD equipment. However, I'm sure you could download the entire album in 10 minutes if you wanted to.

Re:Copy Protection

[Micro$will]

I've had this same issue numerous times, most recently with Painkiller and Thief 3. My "favorite" is the buggy installers that don't take the cd check into account. Install the disks in order, then for some braindead reason the installer asks for disk 1 again before completing the install. Alrighty, I do it, it finishes, then when I play, instead of "Insert Game Disk" or something, it either gives me some cryptic error message, or it accuses me of using a backup. Putting in the last disk solves the problem, but it's quite annoying.

Re:Copy Protection

[Mumbly_Joe6432]

Basically, companies need to make the prices and convenience more appealing to the buyer- just like in any other industry. I would have to argue that software prices are amazingly high; it does take a lot of work to create them, but if everyone was to actually pay for all of the software they use I don't think that nearly as many people would be able to afford a computer at home, or want to. I've seen the most honest people I know take home a cd from work,say microsoft office, and quite frankly, I don't blame them.

It is true that many software companies are shooting themselves in the foot by using too much protection, but the root of the problem stems from the buyer being unwilling to pay the price. The problem simply builds on itself when enough buyers feel this way and unite to make cracks and even whole programs easier to aquire than a purchased version of the program.

Some major reforms are going to be made in the future concerning how we buy software/music. I'm willing accept the revolution, as long as the revolution doesn't have irresponsibly priced products.

I don't deal with CD protection

[linzeal]

Since I mostly play 1st person games that require game copy protection and the online games usually have a code instead I use GameCopyWorld, for all my 'tweaked' exe's.

When I lost my CD to Armed and Dangerous awhile back it really got me looking for a legitamate place where people who bought software and wish to not have to lug out a CD each time they want to play a different game could go. Are there any other place besides gamecopyworld that are like that? I do not want to download any EXE from some random P2P user.

Great!

[Lu Xun]

They should just shut down all the publishers and let the pirates pirate each-other. They can fund new games with the pr0n-ad revenue they get from their sites.

So true

[Lisandro]

Sadly, this guy has a point. Something's not right when a game you just downloaded off Kazaa is less of a hassle to play than the same game off the box. The "copy protection" craze has gone to far; no matter what, digital content of any kind *will* be copied and used illegally. You just can't get arround it, CD-Key, DMCA, Dongles, or whatever. Instead of fighting an uphill battle, software publishers should focus on making the game good enough so people will happily buy it. As this guy said, this is rarely the case nowadays.

As for the patching issues, i didn't mind when patches were minor or to improve the overall experience, but most PC games are so buggy and slow lately that patching is mandatory. Again, if the product needs work, move the deadlines forward a bit and focus on delivering a quality product.

Re:So true

[Sigma 7]

Something's not right when a game you just downloaded off Kazaa is less of a hassle to play than the same game off the box. The "copy protection" craze has gone to far; no matter what, digital content of any kind *will* be copied and used illegally. You just can't get arround it, CD-Key, DMCA, Dongles, or whatever.

Actually, CD-Keys (and other subscription style software) are one of the few protection systems that work. They are very effective at restricing the pirate's ability to use online portions of the game, if it is implemented correctly. (i.e. the game only works if there the CD-Key has been printed at the press.)

Even though there are alternate servers or cracks to allow bypassing the CD-Check, not many people use them, and as a result, the pirate is placed in a smaller group of servers or players.

However, I do agree that other forms of protection can be eventually broken - if the system trusts the client at all, than it is vulnerable.

I've often wondered

[Thedalek]

Whenever I've seen those figures of "The game industry lost x kajillion dollars last year to evil pirates," I wind up asking myself "How does that figure stack up to money spent on failed advertising, ineffective copy protection, or some useless novelty packaging feature? How about bloated development costs due to a rushed schedule?"

But then again, I'm not buying the bulk of these games, so I must be an evil pirate.

All that said, the article doesn't really address much. Mostly it's little "fight the power" and "I'm for the little guy" throwaway remarks interspersed with plugs for products. Shame about Strategy First not paying royalties. I wanted to like them.

Re:I've often wondered

[Pluvius]

But then again, I'm not buying the bulk of these games, so I must be an evil pirate.

Since the loss estimates are always based on "potential" sales minus costs instead of actual sales minus costs, you probably are an "evil pirate" in the industry's eyes.

Rob

NoCD Patches

[algae]

This guy has it 100% right. Every single game that I've downloaded a no-cd patch for has been a game that I've legally purchased.

It's our fault

[superultra]

Why shouldn't the companies stop putting copy protection on games? I don't see these "legitimate users" threatening to boycott games with Safedisc on it. How many here have sent written letters through snail mail to their publishers saying they won't buy any more games with Safedisc on it?

Including copy protection on a game, thus far, doesn't cost a publisher any sales. Who looks at a game and doesn't buy it based on its copy protection? So it doesn't work with users' CD-ROMs? Release a post-mortem patch, and people will start playing the game and stop whining.

At this point, regardless of what Stardock's big cheese says or doesn't say, it costs companies more to exclude copy protection than it does to include it. Until consumers stop buying games with copy protection and there is a visible drop in sales that can be unquestionably attributed to the inclusion of copy protection (a visible boycott), it will always exist.

Why do you think that copy protection on music CDs isn't on every single CD? Because enough people return the CD to the store. The only CDs with copy protection are corporate experiments. They're the ones the publishers are using to test the waters. But computer game buyers have been so pavlov-ed into the idea of patching and the inability to return a game that it doesn't even occur to us that we deserve a product that works on first try.

We do, and maybe we should start acting like it.

I would like to add...

[OOO0000OO0O0]

Blame it on the console games. Ever since publishers thought the XBox and PS2 were going to kill PC gaming, there has been a shift in paradigm. I'm seeing shallower and shallower games designed to appeal to the average couch potato retard.

It is not only the copy protection that publishers are screwing up on. I hate copy protection as much as the next guy. I will not buy The Sims. I will not buy Battlefield Vietnam. I will not buy Soldner. I will not buy Freelancer.
But I will buy Doom 3; at least it has some creative direction and provides an immersive experience. I will buy Half-Life 2; at least it give syou a bigger possibility space (in the AI and physics) than other games. However, I will NOT buy, and will NOT even waste the time to download, titles that have been rushed out the door simply to make money. This problem exacerbates warez activity.

Is it the publisher getting whacked by its inability to meet the lowest common denominator (which is damned low these days) or is it laziness and incompetence on part of the developers? This is another reason people don't buy games sometimes and just download them. Freshness and originality are out and repetitive gameplay is in. Graphics, mindless multiplayer, and other console trappings are replacing personality, feel, and depth of gameplay. Do we want to ante up the cash for yet another Battlefield 1942 or Far Cry (which wins my award for repetitive unoriginality) clone? We don't; that's why we download games.

Does someone see a vicious cycle here? Developers and publishers work in tandem to develop games that aren't meant to be played but meant to make money. Jaded gamers routinely respond by doing the ole download-off-IRC and Throw-Away. The publishers feed back by introducing more copy protection, which fosters resentment in the community, which decreases the number of enthusiastic developers, which...