Slashdot Mirror
Console Players Are Pirates
According to a study by Macrovision one in five console gamers is a pirate, or uses pirated software. Interestingly the study, detailed on GamesIndustry.biz, also found that "three quarters of them would have paid for the games if they hadn't been available for free." Coverage also available on IGN.
I don't believe this for a second. A survey of 6000 people does not represent the millions of gamers in North America. Also... the main bias of this survey is that Macrovision is trying to peddle their copy protection services to MS and Sony.
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
I may have missed something, but they go from talking about software to games... software is not the same as a game, and that stat seems wildly out of whack. There are a handful (at least) of hurdles that one has to overcome before being able to priate a game, and it doesn't seem like the average gamer would neccesarily also be tech savvy enough to have, and keep the motivation in order to actually pirate the material.
That people who only have a passing interest or curiosity in a game would pay money for it. (outside of a rental)
Now if they could download and burn the same game they may be more willing to give it a wirl.
No keyboard detected. Press any key to continue.
Yup, the BBC says that they're a growing threat.
Oh wait...
May I ask why? You supported them when you purchased the XBox. Why not buy games for it. If a software developer puts out a title that is to your liking and of suitable quality why not pay the company that produced it?
Please elaborate.
No keyboard detected. Press any key to continue.
I don't suppose Macrovision would have the slightest bit of bias in this sort of a study? Seeing as they sell copy-protection technology...
I would expect such blatant racism on Fark, but on Slashdot? Mods please ban this asshole.
For a number of reasons, including who conducted it (Macrovision), their sample target (Techno-savvy gamers), and their sample size (6,000). Not to mention that we haven't yet seen the actual survey that they (presumably) e-mailed these people. There's also the issue of multiple responses from the same person. I assume they tried to prevent this with IP logging, but it is certainly still feasible. Also unknown are they type of "gaming" sites. If they attached a survery to GameCopyWorld.com, that just might skew the results a tad bit. I will take this article and with it, a giant-sized cube of salt.
=======================================
Doer of bad deeds, screenwriter-wannabe
savagexp
ARRRRR!!!
Modding a PS should not be a suprise as many games from Japan don't work in a US version. They have nobody to blame but themselves.
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
But you are supporting consoles, you bought the unit didn't you? That is all that MS needs to know that they sold X units, which gives them bragging rights, plus it gives them sway with games developers as to what platform games should be ported to first. Remember the good old days when GTA was on the PC only? when Halo was originally developed for the PC?
You are playing the games, albeit they are pirated (so you say). However have you played these games in absolute silence? or did you tell friends about how cool game X is?
So unfortunatly your still supporting them...
E.
Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
There is no way! Even here at work where most people are techy, the bulk of people do NOT pirate console games. I would say more like 1 in 10 (if even). And that ratio would certainly drop in a general population count.
...one in five Xbox and PS2 gamers is using pirated software...
Does this mean they are actually pirating Xbox and PS2 games, or is it also including gamers with pirated software on their computers? This seems kind of vague to me. I am curious what exactly they asked the gamers in the study.
A new study conducted by California-based firm Macrovision
Just stop there, with that source, the rest of the article is worthless.
I would be willing to grant that such piracy probably happens, but this sounds like a scare tactic comming out of Macrovision trying to prop up sales of their anti-copying technologies. I expect a study to follow which claims that games with their newest technology are pirated far less. It will, of course, be the same level of bullshit at this study, but if it drives one or two companies to adopt their technology then it will easily pay for the minimum wage they paid someone for half a day to call random gamers and ask a misleading question.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.
In the article here, shareware author Colin Messit discovered that less than 20% of the people using his software would pay for it voluntarily.
He wrote his software in such a way that a user installing it would have a 50/50 chance of getting a crippled version or a non-crippled version at time of installation. When people registered, they sent their serial numbers which encoded whether or not they had the crippled version or the "honor system" version.
He discovered that the crippled version was registered (people sent money) 5 times as often as the "honor system" version.
Conclusion? Most people only pay if they have to.
This is arguably the most pirated game.
"According to a study by Macrovision one in five console gamers is a pirate, or uses pirated software. Interestingly the study, detailed on GamesIndustry.biz, also found that "three quarters of them would have paid for the games if they hadn't been available for free." "
Funny, the console market is pretty darn strong. You'd think all this piracy would mean that this year would be a real drag for console game publishers.
"Derp de derp."
The US gov says government corruption at an all time low.
Hot dog vendors say now is a good time to buy a hotdog
Could it possibly be that, perhaps, by the definitions used in this study, that one in five PEOPLE are pirates?
www.eFax.com are spammers
I can concieve that people actually doesn't have pirated games, but take this as example:
:P
Here in Argentina, I would say only hi-class people with no knowledge of games get to a game store and buy original games and consoles. Simply becouse they don't care about money. The rest use "pirateable" consoles like PS1/2 and Xbox, just becouse thay sell modchipped aquipment in the stores, and copied games too.
Enclosing things, make that survey here and you will get:
30% Sega Mega
30% PSOne
20% PS2
15% Xbox
5% Other
and a huge 90+% pirated stuff and a 10-% elite buying original games/consoles.
(I get it about actually buying the console and promoting it's games, but the 1 of 5 relation doesn't make sense to me)
Get real, look at the DC/eMuLe/BT networks and tell me you would rather download the game even before it hits the shelves and download it to your IDE 80 HD on your XBox.
P.S.: FBI Agents, I don't own a console so don't poke me
I have a study to prove it!
--Acme Elephant Insurance Company, Oklahoma City.
My point is that this research only tells us that crippleware worked better in this particular case, a case where I think the registration fee was set way too high. Looking at just the uncrippled registrations, he made $3900 in about a year for his couple of days work. To me that seems pretty fair, and certainly not something I'd complain about. All registrations totaled $34000, and he claims it would have been $50000 if all versions had been crippled. That seems like an awfully good return for a couple of days work. Good on him for making that, but it seems a bit off to be complaining about his users honesty given just how much he made from that software.
As far as I can see and hear, gamecube games are some of the hardest to pirate because of their backwards spinning mini dvd disc format.
GC discs do not spin backwards. They just don't conform to ISO-9660 standards, which is why ISO-9660 compliant DVD-ROM drives (read: all of them) can't read them.
Mini DVD-R/RWs are also fairly common. You can get a pack of mini DVD-R/RWs at almost any computer store.
Secondly, my point is that the time he spent on that app is a more accurate estimate of its worth than the entirely arbitrary price he decided to charge for it. I haven't tried the app myself, but from description (it prints out windows helpfiles) and the time he spent on it indicate to my mind that it is overpriced. If people are given the choice between being honest and paying too much or being dishonest and paying nothing it is not a suprise that many of them choose to pay nothing. People are known for dishonesty when they feel they're being ripped off. However, if the choice had been between being honest and paying a fair price and being dishonest and paying nothing the percentage of people who decide to pay will be higher. Without further research at other price points this research is not conclusive.
Not at all. What I'm saying is that I think if his pricing were more reasonable he would have found a smaller gap between the "honest" and "dishonest" users. As I said, people who feel the price is unreasonable are more inclined to be dishonest. Take a look at his "five fundamenetals for sucess": a product users need, quality, advertising, distribution of samples, and a reason to pay. Notice that he's completely forgotten pricing. Yet most business owners will tell you that price is probably the number one thing you have to get right to suceed.The survey actually is of console gamers, but does not ask if they pirate console games. It asks if they pirate any kind of software.
As much as I'm a generally honest guy, and I've never modded a system of mine (and probably never will), but I have pirate software on my computer. PC software is ridiculously expensive, especially when you're staring at Adobe's web suite and saying "Two month's rent, or the sense of honesty in knowing I didn't pirate something?" 99.95% of the time, I bet paying the god damned rent wins out.
I bet if the survey was done again, and the kids were asked if they had ever pirated any games for a console, there would be a far lower affirmative response (since I'm sure most of those kids don't have mod chips).
-=-=-=-=-=
I'd rather be flamed than ignored.