Well they are, aren't they? The difference is that McDonalds are not breaking the law in the process, and nor are they deriving a 'free' benefit.
Forget the whole gain/loss scenario for a minute, and think from the other direction. Why should somebody get a free benefit from infringing copyright? If you cannot get a copy legally, why should you be allowed to have a copy at all?
But getting back to the loss of potential profit, think of it on a bigger scale. If one person pirates a CD or an eBook or whatever then the author has not actually lost money (as would be the case if they removed a physical item, for which cost went into the materials) and they have only lost the potential sale of one CD. No big deal right, that is nothing. Now what if everyone just pirated it? They still haven't actually lost money, but they have made none either. There is potential for profit, but it has not been realized. If I were an author in that situation I would be pissed...
That isn't to say I think all pirating is inherently evil - a lot of people who do pirate, then purchase the CD, and in any case the word of mouth etc... works for the benefit of the artist. However you cannot say that there is no cost to piracy, that nobody loses anything - the fact they the artist did not make any money is effectively the same as if they had earnt it, but then lost it.
Well he has lost the gain he would have made had you purchased the remainder of his books. Sure he isn't out of pocket, but you are stealing his potential profit.
Where I work we have to change our password once a month, each password must be a minimum of 6 characters, and we cannot repeat any of the last 12 passwords.
However the admin password to the main database is 4 characters in length and has not changed in the last 4 years...
Nice to see the sys admins focus on the important stuff.
From my very limited understanding it appears that Japan are really really big on RPGs. Look at what this most recent RPG has done for Nintendo, why couldn't it do the same for the Xbox?
The Xbox is currently pretty short on RPGs - sure there is KOTOR but that is pretty American, and less likely to appeal to the Japanese. Microsoft should either get a first party to develop an RPG aimed solely at the Japanese market, or better yet, purchase an established developer that already has a big name in RPGs.
Square and Enix recently merged - I wonder if MS had a chance at purchasing Enix? They spent $300 million (or similar) on Rare, I would think that spending much less, would buy a much more important company, at least from the Japanese perspective.
I don't think you are correct in stating that bad pilots are a much lower percentage to bad drivers. Pilots go solo on many fewer hours than drivers go solo, and pilots over their entire careers will usually clock many many fewer hours than even the average driver.
The biggest reason that there aren't that many air accidents is due to the tiny proportion of planes that are ever in the same airspace. While away from airports the chances of seeing another plane, let alone crashing into it are miniscule - and when near airports you are under instructions from the tower, who keep a lookout for any potential problems.
Think of where most car accidents occur - it has nothing to do with people being completely by themselves on empty roads, and everything to do with people being in traffic and crowded.
The Hobbit - enough said. Definately written for children, it even assures the read at multiple points that everything turns out alright in the end. However I know more adults that have read it than children. In fact I know many adults who have read it to their children because of how much they, the adult, enjoy it.
I just read an article on Gamespy about Ultima X (a new MMO by the Ultima Online people) where after getting your character to a certain level, they basically ascend and become demi-beings, at which point you create a new character who is a disciple of your first, and who therefore gets some additional abilities right from the start.
Once your second character ascends, you create a new disciple that gets special abilities from your first to characters, and so on...
Sounds pretty neat to me - I have only played one or two MMOs and although I really liked levelling up the early stages (while you were rapidly gaining in abilties) it frustrated me in the later end that there was nothing to do with your godlike characters. But by continually playing in Ultima X your new characters will continue to grow - I guess they basically end up less specialised than a normal character, with the ability to perform many different traits.
Hard to tell at this point - and there is probably a lot of information not currently being shared with us - but breifly:
1) Space based marines... 2) Colonization of the galaxy 3) Squads - but more like AI backup (think the Marines in Halo) 4) Recharging health meter akin to Halo shields 5) Compared to Halo and called the Halo 'killer'
Now I know it is too early to judge, and whatever I say will probably later been found to be wrong, but from the small hints IGN are giving it really just sounds like someone is copying the core elements of Halo...
Then again, in their defence, although Halo is one of the definitive FPS games - polished beyond imagination - it wasn't really that innovative itself (although it did set new standards for controls, and the recharging shields are a nice idea).
I did read the article, but the pirated CDs are sold well below market value so as to basically be free. For instance, say I had $20 to spend, and no more. With the pirated CDs I could purchase 5 or so, but with legit CDs I could perhaps get 1 or 2.
My point is that I think the record companies are missing that distinction. Just because I bought 5 pirated CDs does not mean I would (or could) buy the same 5 full priced CDs. Perhaps they have lost some money (undoubtedly) but I really don't think they can claim for the total 'value' of each pirated CD. More often than not they seem to suggest that they should count it this way.
I think the distinction needs to be made between a lost sale (and therefore lost revenue) and someone getting a copy for free.
Too often the music industry (and the software industry, and many other industries) simply state that they have lost X amount because those people didn't purchase their copy.
You need to instead consider whether they would have actually aquired it if they had to pay for it. For instance a student with 200 gigs of music would not possibly have bought that music if it wasn't downloadable, so the loss is actually nothing.
The same may apply here, I really don't know. They cite markets like China where these pirates operate, but China does not strike me as the main audiance for American music. Further, they have a long history of piracy, I am not sure if you can honestly say they have stopped purchasing recently.
This isn't to say that I think piracy should be legal - there is no reason that people should enjoy the benefit for free merely because they would not have purchased it - however you cannot merely count the number of pirated copies as lost sales, most likely a legitimate copy would never have been bought.
Carmen SanDiego? I haven't seen a version of that game since I was a kid, but I remember there were a few different verions - 'Where in the World', 'Where in Time' and so on...
It actually did test you on various things, forcing you to look things up (geography etc...). Before the Internet it made things slower (rushing to an Atlas for instance) but these days with Google it would be much faster to play.
They could even integrate an internet search into the game, allowing you to look things up as you go. Apart from the obvious knowledge that would sink in as you play, it would help improve your ability to locate accurate information quickly and easily online (many people have difficulty searching effectively).
Seems like the obvious example - although I know of others. My mother is a Primary School teacher, and these days there are a variety of games (primarily Math based) that they allow kids to play. It very to the point - solving simple equations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) but you would be suprised how eager the kids are to do on a computer what they don't like to do on paper. The added benefit is that they are being familiarised with computers from a very early age (please no Linux/Windows comments).
Well firstly guns are all but illegal in Australia so the fact that in the States they are easy to come by doesn't sway me.
In any case - it is pretty hard to think of a legitimate use for mod-chips. Consoles are desgined for the sole purpose of playing games. Mod-chips are pretty much designed for the sole purpose of pirating games. Sure the odd few people want to install linux on them, but that seems more of a minority. And nearly anyone installing linux on it already has a linux box or three at home, I don't see what the necessity for another is...
Be serious - I know everyone likes to use the argument that it is for backup purposes, or because they own it, or because nobody should interfere with your rights...
But deep down everyone realizes the only basis is for pirating games. I know a half dozen people with mod-chips, and they only did it for games... Maybe there is the odd honest person out there - but I bet that 99% of people just want to pirate.
Just because there is the odd person who would make a legal use of it, does not justify allowing the horde to do so. Think about gun restrictions, and various similar limitations.
You are telling me it is easier to roleplay while making it all up over a coffee table, than it is in front of a computer game where you look like your character, move like your character, get to interact with mobs, explore a true virtual world and basically see what it is you are talking about? Oh and do it in realtime...
Who cares how buggy it is, it has to be a step-up from rolling a dice to see how much damage you do (yeah like that is real...).
In fact having fewer uber-geeks who have memorised the rule book, and look at me funny when I order quiche from the tavern vastly improves my gaming experience.
It is a game I don't seem to be able to play in small portions. I sit down, and suddenly a few hours have gone past...
I really really recommend this game to anyone with a bit of free time on their hands - you'll be hooked in just a few minutes, and you will be playing for weeks.
I fully agree - half my friends now refuse to play any 2D games, and all of them are desperately waiting for the PSP and that stupid Nokia because they both have (or will have) fully 3D games... They still haven't explained to me how on a 2" screen they will be able to work out what is happening in a 3D game.
Unfortunately the vast majority of the gaming community prefer graphics to gameplay - which means we constantly get crappy games that look nice... With the exception of a few genres (FPS, some racing games, and Flight Sims) nearly all 3D games are more frustrating than their 2D brethren, mainly because camera control is still so awkward and restrictive.
However because the majority of consumers really do judge the game by its graphics, and it is only the hardcore gamers that actually purchase on gameplay, I don't see this trend ending anytime soon.
Sure it is easy to represent it in 30 lines once you know the algorithm, much like the theory of relativity became easy to write down once Einstein worked it out.
However somebody had to come up with it in the first place.
It is a shame they didn't release a Mario All Stars (Advance), as they did for the SNES. I find it somewhat annoying that considering the cost of porting a game, that Nintendo decided to release the titles individually. Especially when they have bundled them in the past.
I am not sure what the sales have been like - but although I would purchase 'All Stars' I don't find any of the older Mario's worth full price (mainly because I already own them).
Well in many ways you are getting a lot more value from a MMO game. Give me a list of any non-MMO games that you are still playing a month after you buy them?
Most (if not all) MMORPGs come with a months free subscription, which buys you more time that you would enjoy from a standard game. The monthly fee then justifies (well more than covers) the required upkeep, bandwidth costs etc... if you think about it most multiplayer games require the gamers to set up their own servers and pay the related costs.
Finally - if you don't value it, don't pay it. Considering the number of MMOs in development, and the number already on the market, it seems that there is a big enough consumer base who are prepared to pay - free market and all that stuff...
May I suggest that anyone interested in the GameBoy Player have a look at this third party gamecube controller? http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?cate gory=0&produc ts_id=2467&
It is modelled on the (excellent) SNES controller, it is essentially a GC controller minus the analog sticks. I find the dpad on the standard controller a little small for comfort, and the GBA as a controller is also not the best. Considering most of the games on the GBA are SNES ports this controller makes perfect sense:)
Oh and it is great for any fans of fighting games (who haven't purchased arcade sticks).
Slashdot Mirror
Well they are, aren't they? The difference is that McDonalds are not breaking the law in the process, and nor are they deriving a 'free' benefit.
Forget the whole gain/loss scenario for a minute, and think from the other direction. Why should somebody get a free benefit from infringing copyright? If you cannot get a copy legally, why should you be allowed to have a copy at all?
But getting back to the loss of potential profit, think of it on a bigger scale. If one person pirates a CD or an eBook or whatever then the author has not actually lost money (as would be the case if they removed a physical item, for which cost went into the materials) and they have only lost the potential sale of one CD. No big deal right, that is nothing. Now what if everyone just pirated it? They still haven't actually lost money, but they have made none either. There is potential for profit, but it has not been realized. If I were an author in that situation I would be pissed...
That isn't to say I think all pirating is inherently evil - a lot of people who do pirate, then purchase the CD, and in any case the word of mouth etc... works for the benefit of the artist. However you cannot say that there is no cost to piracy, that nobody loses anything - the fact they the artist did not make any money is effectively the same as if they had earnt it, but then lost it.
Well he has lost the gain he would have made had you purchased the remainder of his books. Sure he isn't out of pocket, but you are stealing his potential profit.
However they are infringing his right to be acknowledged as the author, as well as the right to reproduce.
Suprising that the poster didn't think the number odd when they typed it.
200 million is only one query per day, per American.
200 billion is more like 30 queries a day for every man, women and child on this earth.
Me? No. Lol I hope there isn't another corp with similar practices...
Where I work we have to change our password once a month, each password must be a minimum of 6 characters, and we cannot repeat any of the last 12 passwords.
However the admin password to the main database is 4 characters in length and has not changed in the last 4 years...
Nice to see the sys admins focus on the important stuff.
From my very limited understanding it appears that Japan are really really big on RPGs. Look at what this most recent RPG has done for Nintendo, why couldn't it do the same for the Xbox?
The Xbox is currently pretty short on RPGs - sure there is KOTOR but that is pretty American, and less likely to appeal to the Japanese. Microsoft should either get a first party to develop an RPG aimed solely at the Japanese market, or better yet, purchase an established developer that already has a big name in RPGs.
Square and Enix recently merged - I wonder if MS had a chance at purchasing Enix? They spent $300 million (or similar) on Rare, I would think that spending much less, would buy a much more important company, at least from the Japanese perspective.
I don't think you are correct in stating that bad pilots are a much lower percentage to bad drivers. Pilots go solo on many fewer hours than drivers go solo, and pilots over their entire careers will usually clock many many fewer hours than even the average driver.
The biggest reason that there aren't that many air accidents is due to the tiny proportion of planes that are ever in the same airspace. While away from airports the chances of seeing another plane, let alone crashing into it are miniscule - and when near airports you are under instructions from the tower, who keep a lookout for any potential problems.
Think of where most car accidents occur - it has nothing to do with people being completely by themselves on empty roads, and everything to do with people being in traffic and crowded.
The air is safe, simply because it is empty.
The Hobbit - enough said. Definately written for children, it even assures the read at multiple points that everything turns out alright in the end. However I know more adults that have read it than children. In fact I know many adults who have read it to their children because of how much they, the adult, enjoy it.
I just read an article on Gamespy about Ultima X (a new MMO by the Ultima Online people) where after getting your character to a certain level, they basically ascend and become demi-beings, at which point you create a new character who is a disciple of your first, and who therefore gets some additional abilities right from the start.
Once your second character ascends, you create a new disciple that gets special abilities from your first to characters, and so on...
Sounds pretty neat to me - I have only played one or two MMOs and although I really liked levelling up the early stages (while you were rapidly gaining in abilties) it frustrated me in the later end that there was nothing to do with your godlike characters. But by continually playing in Ultima X your new characters will continue to grow - I guess they basically end up less specialised than a normal character, with the ability to perform many different traits.
Hard to tell at this point - and there is probably a lot of information not currently being shared with us - but breifly:
1) Space based marines...
2) Colonization of the galaxy
3) Squads - but more like AI backup (think the Marines in Halo)
4) Recharging health meter akin to Halo shields
5) Compared to Halo and called the Halo 'killer'
Now I know it is too early to judge, and whatever I say will probably later been found to be wrong, but from the small hints IGN are giving it really just sounds like someone is copying the core elements of Halo...
Then again, in their defence, although Halo is one of the definitive FPS games - polished beyond imagination - it wasn't really that innovative itself (although it did set new standards for controls, and the recharging shields are a nice idea).
I did read the article, but the pirated CDs are sold well below market value so as to basically be free. For instance, say I had $20 to spend, and no more. With the pirated CDs I could purchase 5 or so, but with legit CDs I could perhaps get 1 or 2.
My point is that I think the record companies are missing that distinction. Just because I bought 5 pirated CDs does not mean I would (or could) buy the same 5 full priced CDs. Perhaps they have lost some money (undoubtedly) but I really don't think they can claim for the total 'value' of each pirated CD. More often than not they seem to suggest that they should count it this way.
Ummm the price have come down because they don't have to pay for any of the costs associated with the production of the music, merely the CD.
They didn't pay the artist, the songwriter, the band, the recording studio, the graphic artists, the marketing, etc...
Yes CDs are overpriced. No the pirated price is not a proper reflection of true cost.
I think the distinction needs to be made between a lost sale (and therefore lost revenue) and someone getting a copy for free.
Too often the music industry (and the software industry, and many other industries) simply state that they have lost X amount because those people didn't purchase their copy.
You need to instead consider whether they would have actually aquired it if they had to pay for it. For instance a student with 200 gigs of music would not possibly have bought that music if it wasn't downloadable, so the loss is actually nothing.
The same may apply here, I really don't know. They cite markets like China where these pirates operate, but China does not strike me as the main audiance for American music. Further, they have a long history of piracy, I am not sure if you can honestly say they have stopped purchasing recently.
This isn't to say that I think piracy should be legal - there is no reason that people should enjoy the benefit for free merely because they would not have purchased it - however you cannot merely count the number of pirated copies as lost sales, most likely a legitimate copy would never have been bought.
Carmen SanDiego? I haven't seen a version of that game since I was a kid, but I remember there were a few different verions - 'Where in the World', 'Where in Time' and so on...
It actually did test you on various things, forcing you to look things up (geography etc...). Before the Internet it made things slower (rushing to an Atlas for instance) but these days with Google it would be much faster to play.
They could even integrate an internet search into the game, allowing you to look things up as you go. Apart from the obvious knowledge that would sink in as you play, it would help improve your ability to locate accurate information quickly and easily online (many people have difficulty searching effectively).
Seems like the obvious example - although I know of others. My mother is a Primary School teacher, and these days there are a variety of games (primarily Math based) that they allow kids to play. It very to the point - solving simple equations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) but you would be suprised how eager the kids are to do on a computer what they don't like to do on paper. The added benefit is that they are being familiarised with computers from a very early age (please no Linux/Windows comments).
Well firstly guns are all but illegal in Australia so the fact that in the States they are easy to come by doesn't sway me.
In any case - it is pretty hard to think of a legitimate use for mod-chips. Consoles are desgined for the sole purpose of playing games. Mod-chips are pretty much designed for the sole purpose of pirating games. Sure the odd few people want to install linux on them, but that seems more of a minority. And nearly anyone installing linux on it already has a linux box or three at home, I don't see what the necessity for another is...
Be serious - I know everyone likes to use the argument that it is for backup purposes, or because they own it, or because nobody should interfere with your rights...
But deep down everyone realizes the only basis is for pirating games. I know a half dozen people with mod-chips, and they only did it for games... Maybe there is the odd honest person out there - but I bet that 99% of people just want to pirate.
Just because there is the odd person who would make a legal use of it, does not justify allowing the horde to do so. Think about gun restrictions, and various similar limitations.
You are telling me it is easier to roleplay while making it all up over a coffee table, than it is in front of a computer game where you look like your character, move like your character, get to interact with mobs, explore a true virtual world and basically see what it is you are talking about? Oh and do it in realtime...
Who cares how buggy it is, it has to be a step-up from rolling a dice to see how much damage you do (yeah like that is real...).
In fact having fewer uber-geeks who have memorised the rule book, and look at me funny when I order quiche from the tavern vastly improves my gaming experience.
It is a game I don't seem to be able to play in small portions. I sit down, and suddenly a few hours have gone past...
I really really recommend this game to anyone with a bit of free time on their hands - you'll be hooked in just a few minutes, and you will be playing for weeks.
I fully agree - half my friends now refuse to play any 2D games, and all of them are desperately waiting for the PSP and that stupid Nokia because they both have (or will have) fully 3D games... They still haven't explained to me how on a 2" screen they will be able to work out what is happening in a 3D game.
Unfortunately the vast majority of the gaming community prefer graphics to gameplay - which means we constantly get crappy games that look nice... With the exception of a few genres (FPS, some racing games, and Flight Sims) nearly all 3D games are more frustrating than their 2D brethren, mainly because camera control is still so awkward and restrictive.
However because the majority of consumers really do judge the game by its graphics, and it is only the hardcore gamers that actually purchase on gameplay, I don't see this trend ending anytime soon.
Sure it is easy to represent it in 30 lines once you know the algorithm, much like the theory of relativity became easy to write down once Einstein worked it out.
However somebody had to come up with it in the first place.
A helpful sound recording says "told ya so :P"
It is a shame they didn't release a Mario All Stars (Advance), as they did for the SNES. I find it somewhat annoying that considering the cost of porting a game, that Nintendo decided to release the titles individually. Especially when they have bundled them in the past.
I am not sure what the sales have been like - but although I would purchase 'All Stars' I don't find any of the older Mario's worth full price (mainly because I already own them).
Well in many ways you are getting a lot more value from a MMO game. Give me a list of any non-MMO games that you are still playing a month after you buy them?
Most (if not all) MMORPGs come with a months free subscription, which buys you more time that you would enjoy from a standard game. The monthly fee then justifies (well more than covers) the required upkeep, bandwidth costs etc... if you think about it most multiplayer games require the gamers to set up their own servers and pay the related costs.
Finally - if you don't value it, don't pay it. Considering the number of MMOs in development, and the number already on the market, it seems that there is a big enough consumer base who are prepared to pay - free market and all that stuff...
May I suggest that anyone interested in the GameBoy Player have a look at this third party gamecube controller?e gory=0&produc ts_id=2467&
:)
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?cat
It is modelled on the (excellent) SNES controller, it is essentially a GC controller minus the analog sticks. I find the dpad on the standard controller a little small for comfort, and the GBA as a controller is also not the best. Considering most of the games on the GBA are SNES ports this controller makes perfect sense
Oh and it is great for any fans of fighting games (who haven't purchased arcade sticks).