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Ubisoft Working On a New Anti-Piracy Tool
Ubisoft recently revealed that their game sales have seen a 50% drop over the past quarter, blaming the overall market slowdown and piracy (particularly on the DS) for the low numbers. They also announced that four of their games, including Splinter Cell: Conviction and Red Steel 2, would be delayed until 2010. The company's CEO, Yves Guillemot, now says they are working on a new anti-piracy tool that should be ready by the end of 2009. He didn't offer any details about how it would be implemented.
For less than the cost of a single DS game (and they're only about $30), you can buy a cartridge and microSD card that can hold all the games you could ever want and then some *and* lets you play old school [s]nes/gameboy games. No juggling or losing cartridges, it's all just there.
Why would I want to participate in the for-pay DS economy when the pirate experience is far superior?
Brought to you by the same assholes that loved Starforce (until they were sued for their crippleware).
Guess SecuROM isn't intrusive enough for them.
The only type of copy protection that won't be cracked is the one protecting something nobody gives a shit about.
It may amaze you that I am actually a professional computer games developer. I am a "victim" who's work has been pirated probably many more times than it has been paid for. However in the industry, even with the publishers, your hard-line attitude is not particularly common. The key goal is to get people to pay money for software, not to stop people from playing the software without paying. If a copy of a computer game is bought by someone who has seen his friend play a pirate version, then that is a sale as much as any other. That is what makes money. I would get more money from someone who buys ten games and pirates another ten than one who plays none at all.
Secondly, what you clearly don't understand is that developers _want_ to have their game played, just like an artist wants their work viewed. It is nothing even close to being just a profit making venture in the eyes of the developers (I could be making double my salary in another field). THAT is why Ubisoft should be and for the most part probably is thanking pirates, since they are largely the ones playing the games. Developers mainly want more people to look on their works and be impressed, money just allows them to make more.
Anyway, sadly I cannot continue this argument due to time constraints, it's been fun but ultimately pointless.
When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem