How would you go about fighting/reducing File shearing/piracy

[Gridlock]

Since Extra Credits brought up the issue of piracy, I think we should have a topic about Reducing/Fighting piracy.
Why only reducing? Because only an idiot would think that he/she could ever eliminate piracy all together, because let´s face it Piracy have existed since the dawn of mankind in some form or another and will probably continue to do so in one way or another.

So how would YOU go about it if you where tasked with the task of reducing piracy?

 

[zen5887]

I think a big part is giving the customers a reason to buy.

Trent Reznor is really good at this, making a bunch of special editions with extra artwork and that sort of thing. Extreme DRM certainly isn't the way though.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I don't like how we refuse to recognise that the pricing is crap.

Prices are almost uniform, quality most certainly isn't. I don't even buy all of the top rated games, I'm definitly not laying £40 down on a 7/10 title...even if the premise is intriguing. I might pick it up for a tenner 2nd hand though.

It's worth noting that whilst steam sales are on, steam run out of "tickets" constantly, it appears that people are very willing to pay a price that seems fairer to them.

Discs and boxes cost sod all, printing more copies and selling them for less will almost definitly mean more sales and may well mean more revenue too. I'm perfectly willing to accept that this is wrong, if someone in a more knowledgable position can tell me why.

How did we decide that £40 was the optimal RRP for a game?

 

[Soxafloppin]

I bought NFS: Hot Pursuit and im glad i bought it brand new because you need a Code (in the manual) to play online, i think thats a pretty big incentive to buy brand new and not to pirate.

 

[Cyberjester]

You can't reduce piracy whilst price fixing runs rampant throughout the western world. Lets just ignore the area where Sony sold 500 PSP's and one game, shall we?

In Aus, every single new CD costs $15, every single new game costs $80-110 depending on platform, every single fuel outlet sells at the same amount per liter.

If we actually had a true capitalist society then we'd have competition, quality products worth buying and reasonable prices. Go on the Steam website for an example of stupid.

http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=US
http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=AU

Differences in pricing simply because someone lives elsewhere.

'shrugs'
Reducing piracy is impossible.

 

[darth.pixie]

Better protection for it. There was a game (forgot which, it's on the tip of my tongue) that was only cracked about 2~3 years after being launched.

Better prices and better quality for those who only want to see if the game is good, before buying. Having good and long demos.

Edit: Spliter cell: chaos theory with starforce protection, Bioshock with securom pa 7, riddick: dark athena (tages + solid shield) were all very hard to crack. I think a better protection than that could be done. And then pirates wouldn't have a choice.

 

[BlindTom]

I would offer a better product than the pirates. Not in the form of day one DLC but in the form of community overlays and regular patches. I would engage with my community and do my best to please the intelligent and dedicated members of the gaming community who are both more likely to be loyal towards me in future and more likely to turn to piracy if I piss them off. I would stop telling outright lies in my press releases. I would start offering demos. I would run achievement based competitions for cheap collectable goodies that require confirmed products for entry. The list of ways to combat piracy is almost endless whilst the list of incentives for pirate is simple: Greed + DRM. The greed being equally present on both sides of the transaction.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Burn them. Not only is it highly ironic (burning CDs? No?) but it would teach them a lesson. Burn them good.

 

[BROFISTICUS MAXIMUS]

Make buying preferable, not raping people for pirating

 

[Flac00]

I would say make the game cheaper, easier to find/buy, and give incentives for buying it. Aka, free DLC like how BFBC2 did, or constantly update and every once and a while require a check.

 

[Antari]

If game companies made products worth the prices they put on them. And no one talked about piracy. It would fade into obscurity over time.

Instead we have game companies who are usually more tyranical than the pirates, because they are letting the lawyers drive. And people constantly talking about it and learning about it.

The other option is to get so old that your no longer involved in the situation.

 

[lacktheknack]

I don't like how we refuse to recognise that the pricing is crap.

Prices are almost uniform, quality most certainly isn't. I don't even buy all of the top rated games, I'm definitly not laying £40 down on a 7/10 title...even if the premise is intriguing. I might pick it up for a tenner 2nd hand though.

It's worth noting that whilst steam sales are on, steam run out of "tickets" constantly, it appears that people are very willing to pay a price that seems fairer to them.

Discs and boxes cost sod all, printing more copies and selling them for less will almost definitly mean more sales and may well mean more revenue too. I'm perfectly willing to accept that this is wrong, if someone in a more knowledgable position can tell me why.

How did we decide that £40 was the optimal RRP for a game?

Because they're producing incredibly expensive products for a not particularly sizable audience?

The only way those prices are going down is if the price of making them goes down. See: The Indie industry.

OT: Flood the pirating sites with HUNDREDS of dud copies of each game that appear good at first, but have terrifying viruses in them/hilarious DRM that kicks in and ruins the game a third of the way in.

 

[BROFISTICUS MAXIMUS]

Also, no DRM. Make installing quick and easy without and registration or additional programs which take over

 

[lacktheknack]

If game companies made products worth the prices they put on them. And no one talked about piracy. It would fade into obscurity over time.

You underestimate the "idiots want free junk" point - people who have no idea how economics work don't see the problem with pirating and would sooner die then pay. Even if the game was everyone's GOTY and available for $10.

 

[Kair]

There is one way to end piracy, and that is to do what is right.

The reproduction of information is without cost, and because of this the distribution of information should be unlimited to maximize the use value of the information.

Pay developers for the work they put into the software, do not purchase a single unit of software as if they had put work into it as with regular commodities.

 

[Antari]

If game companies made products worth the prices they put on them. And no one talked about piracy. It would fade into obscurity over time.

You underestimate the "idiots want free junk" point - people who have no idea how economics work don't see the problem with pirating and would sooner die then pay. Even if the game was everyone's GOTY and available for $10.

Even more basic its about laziness. When its easier/better not to pirate. They won't. Pirates are consumers weather they like it or not. Its only a matter of time.