cracked patched or mod bug fixes. plus, what if you buy the disk because you dont have internet connection? you pay full price but cant get the bug-fix patch.
I thought of a new anti pirate measure.
- Thread starter Orinon
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Honestly it doesn't matter. I've yet to hear of a game that is uncrackable, including patches and whatever. People can even get online with cracked games for multiplayer. Crysis 2 has the full game, plus the latest patches including the DX11 upgrade patch, all cracked.
I don't think there's a whole lot that can be done to fight pirates. Even operating systems like Windows can be pirated and work as well as a 100% legit copy, updates and all.
I think that the best thing to do is just offer better games, offer competitive pricing, offer lots of updates and some extra incentives to spend more money on the game - as seen on today's Extra Credits episode.
Also, release demos that will make people want to buy the full version. Trailers and reviews are ok, but it's barely enough incentive for me to spend $50-60 on a new game, barring a few I "know" are going to kick ass.
Let's just say I have a "friend" who sometimes pirates games, but sometimes buys games. He's even bought games that he previously pirated, while others he never finished and just deleted because they were crap. Or maybe they had no replay value. I wonder why he decides to buy some games but not others. Money isn't really an issue, he's bought a LOT of games, but I think that value is the key factor. Much like I didn't buy Portal 2 at launch. I knew it would be pretty fun and all, but I did not feel it would be worth $50. Lucky me, last week it was 50% off and I finally bought it. I played the entire game start to finish just on Monday. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth $25? Yes. Should I have just paid full price at launch? NO. It is not worth full price to me. So, I think people that pirate are kind of on that level, where a game has to be compelling to actually buy it. So many games come out that are shit. Buggy, short, stupid, generic shit. Yeah, you should pay to play but obviously a lot of people don't feel that way. Call it entitlement, as that is really what it is, but perhaps it's not unwarranted.
I don't think there's a whole lot that can be done to fight pirates. Even operating systems like Windows can be pirated and work as well as a 100% legit copy, updates and all.
I think that the best thing to do is just offer better games, offer competitive pricing, offer lots of updates and some extra incentives to spend more money on the game - as seen on today's Extra Credits episode.
Also, release demos that will make people want to buy the full version. Trailers and reviews are ok, but it's barely enough incentive for me to spend $50-60 on a new game, barring a few I "know" are going to kick ass.
Let's just say I have a "friend" who sometimes pirates games, but sometimes buys games. He's even bought games that he previously pirated, while others he never finished and just deleted because they were crap. Or maybe they had no replay value. I wonder why he decides to buy some games but not others. Money isn't really an issue, he's bought a LOT of games, but I think that value is the key factor. Much like I didn't buy Portal 2 at launch. I knew it would be pretty fun and all, but I did not feel it would be worth $50. Lucky me, last week it was 50% off and I finally bought it. I played the entire game start to finish just on Monday. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth $25? Yes. Should I have just paid full price at launch? NO. It is not worth full price to me. So, I think people that pirate are kind of on that level, where a game has to be compelling to actually buy it. So many games come out that are shit. Buggy, short, stupid, generic shit. Yeah, you should pay to play but obviously a lot of people don't feel that way. Call it entitlement, as that is really what it is, but perhaps it's not unwarranted.
actually, less. instead of both of them pirating the game, one of them bought it and the other one just got him the pirated patch. which is why piratings 'preferred name' i suppose would be file-sharing.puffy786 said:
so if you borrow a friends CD and rip the files for yourself, thats technically pirating.
I don't think this is the case. Delivering a quality product is always better for PR purposes than having to patch it later. I mean, designers have enough trouble getting all the bugs out of the game during pre-production, let alone if they purposefully leave some bugs in the game.Daystar Clarion said:
No, my issue concerning this is that, as it stands now, patches won't be enough of an incentive to people who already pirate to not pirate. I mean, pirates purely care about the cost. So what if the game has a few rough edges here and there - it's free, right?
And personally, I'd like to list "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood", "Mass Effect" and "The Saboteur". Those are some games I've had a lot of fun with which I never needed to patch and even if I did, I firmly believe that I wouldn't notice the difference.
No, usually when I patch a game, that either because Steam forces me to, or because the game isn't running properly on its own, like "Bioshock" and that's never a credit to the game or to its developers.
One problem: Unofficial patches. That just screws up the whole thing, especially considering unofficial patches usually get released quicker and more frequently. By now publishers should realised that DRM or not pirates will get their games for free and play them. It's a horrible system that doesn't do its job.Orinon said:
It would be easily broken with hacked EXE files, and further annoy the paying players who wind up paying retail price for a game not ready for release.
This, and I find that online play and... frequent content add-ons, you heard me, even for say, a Fallout game, you have a little free, optional patch that gives you a new weapon every week. Sure, you could pirate, but incentive is lost, and the pirates just go to more trouble. It makes buying the game more appealing, and makes you feel bad for pirating with the dev's good service.Canid117 said:
Isn't that kinda what Minecraft does? If you pirate it, you can't get updates, so you need to RE-pirate it every time an update comes out. Which can be such a chore that most people pony up the cash just to not have that issue anymore.
If I were a pirate, and I'm not saying that I am, I wouldn't have a justification. Things cost money and I would want them for free. I wouldn't pirate games, though. I like to support the industry. Also, it's a pain to get around all the little glitches and things some DRM throws in to ruin your experience.
It's already impossible in 99% of all cases to update a game that has been cracked due to the EXE file (or whatever file was cracked) not being the original. Therefore, it is already standard procedure to undo a crack and restore the original files before you patch a game, and then reapply a new crack later.Orinon said:
Haven't you been reading Experienced Points at all? Software-DRM solutions is a lost war. Period.