Bashfluff said:
Infernal Lawyer said:
Personally, since one of the biggest complaints about DRM is that you can't just plug in and play, I've always liked the idea of a game that would let you get so far into the game without any sort of hassle before it finally put the DRM or one-time activation code thingy forward, with a friendly reminder at the startup and as you progress that you'll need to input the code before then. It's not as silly as it sounds: one of the good points of games such as R.A.G.E or whatever is that people who bought the game legitamately get activation codes that unlock, wait for it, BONUS CONTENT rather than the game itself! Basically, it would be a lot less hassle if the user is able to unlock the rest of the game at their leisure (up to a point), rather than having roadblocks thrown up at them at startup. (Yes I know DRM doesn't work, but if publishers are going to put them in anyway just because it gives them a false sense of security, it would still be nice if they met the paying customer halfway). Plus, this would shut up the pirates who claim that they only want to 'trial' a game before they pay for it.
That's a good idea for people who want to make an example for pirates, and for the consumer. But don't see any advantages for the publisher who wants to enforce the DRM. You've given pirates access to half of the game without them having to do any work. They're the only ones who will want to have access to the files of the game, and it won't be to someday buy a code.
Implying half. I could give the player two or three hours of grace in average gameplay (i.e. an roadblock in the game where you need to insert the key, rather than a digital timer) and that would hardly end up as most of a game with more than 8 hours worth of play. And frankly if a smart publisher knows that getting between a customer is a fucking bad idea, but still wants to put some sort of protection into his game, I don't see the problem in giving the customer the benefit of the doubt for the first few hours. At the very least, it'll stop a lot more people getting mad about not being able to just play the fucking game, and that is, in fact, a benefit to the publisher, thank you very much. Plus, as I said, the game would essentially be a demo until it was validated. That's what some pirates are using to legitimize piracy, right? Lack of demos and obnoxious DRM? I gave you what you wanted and took out what you didn't, why are you still complaining!?
Your only real argument is 'Cool story, but the publisher won't give'. Why not? And who says that a game NEEDS a greedy publisher to tell them how to sell their game?
People do not pirate to test games. Do you want to know why people pirate games? Because games are expensive. Publishers have been overcharging up the ass for games for years, and in this economy, people cannot afford to buy games. And if you offer poor people the means to get something that doesn't have a major negative impact on someone else, even if it takes a small amount of effort on their part, they'll take it.
Did you pay any attention to my previous statements, or the video suggested by bug_of_war? There are PLENTY of options for people with a $0 budget, let alone for those with more than $5 to spend every month. Don't tell me you have the right to pirate game AAA that costs too much when there are billions of other games that cost far less, if anything. My Steam library has lots of games, and not ONE of them had a price tag over $15, not even the AAA titles; most were bought at $5 or under, during a sale or in a bundle. It's called patience. You are not a dainty little princess who needs THAT specific AAA game the moment it comes out. Claiming that you are, in fact, entitled to have that AAA game just because you want it right on launch day is arrogant and childish. Literally, since you're mentioning Jim Sterling, you should remember only children are allowed to think that just because they want something they deserve to get it.
Even if it is illegal, it's not a law that's enforced at all, really. It's fairly safe to pirate games. I've known people who pirate games, and have for years. I'd be one of them if I thought my computer could handle most games.
So? Are you saying that a crime that is easy to perform shouldn't be a crime, or isn't as bad? No, I'm not going to discuss whether piracy is or is not a crime. If the law thinks something is a crime, the last justification for it should be "well, everyone does it, it's so easy".
Screw working for games. If you can get something for free without hurting anyone else, why wouldn't you? The alternative is being screwed over by Gamestop, saving up and trading in games so that one day you might afford a new title once every month or three. And all the while, you KNOW you're getting screwed by gamestop every time you trade in a title, but you can't find away around it because the publishers are so greedy that they ask so much of us.
The developer on this article is literally saying 'uh, guys? We're losing money here'. If 93.6% of the people who own my game pirated it, I have the right to think that I was hurt by piracy. I have the right to think 'Gee, I seriously doubt that a good portion of those pirates are buying my $7 game after they liked it." I am allowed to think maybe, just MAYBE, I would have made a little more money if it weren't for all the free loaders. And seriously? 'Being screwed over by Gamestop'? Get mad at publishers trying to kill the used game market, not the ones running it.
This is why demonizing pirates comes off as stupid and insulting. They're victims of a greedy, vile industry, and what they're doing rarely negatively affects much of anyone. I don't think I can look down on pirates too much in this kind of market, when customers are being treated like this by the industry. Perhaps every pirated game isn't a lost sale, but the culture of piracy is created by the failures of publishers to, as Jim Sterling says, "provide a better service," and/or treat their customers with respect and dignity, to be realistic with their prices and consumer practices. Perhaps they would be a sale if this culture did not exist...
What about the Humble Indie Bundles that costs all of one cent to purchase if you decide? Are you telling me all the people who pirated the bundles couldn't afford it? Or that they were pissed off by poor customer service and disrespect? Or that (I love this) they had some moral obligation to pirate the game because paying one cent would cost HIB money, as opposed to, I don't know, paying more than one fucking cent?! No. They had the chance to prove that pricing, lack of respect for the customer and DRM were the main incentives for piracy, and they blew it, because though the developers took years of hard work to make the game, and offered them to the public at any price and without obnoxious DRM, the pirates were happy to prove that the vast majority of them are scummy little toads who are so cheap they don't want to pay the utterly rock bottom minimum entry ticket of $0.01.
If you want the piracy problem to be minimized, you have to do the one thing that some seem hellbent that they will never do: accept it. If you do the best you can to deliver a reasonable price to the consumer and to treat them with respect, and on top of that, you say that you realize why piracy happens and tie it to poverty, it becomes embarrassing.
It becomes embarrassing like mooching off someone is embarrassing. Even if they have the money to afford it and even if you have to because you're poor, you feel ashamed that you've stooped so low that you cannot provide for yourself. And while that level of shame cannot be replicated with something like games, it can be imitated on some level when you treat your playerbase as such.
It makes people want to rise above piracy and buy the games, think. Or it would, if people would ever do it.
Again, tell that to the guys who run the HIB. I seriously doubt they buy the 'woe is me with my pockets of dirt' story.
Video games are a luxury. They are not a need. You can claim that entertainment as a whole is a need, and I would agree (at least to keep oneself sane), but video games? No. We have been just fine without them for centuries.
You do not 'need' video games. If you do, and you literally have no money, do the $0 game budget mentioned before. It's possible if you can get over the idea that because you want a specific game, you need it now.
With that, good day to you sir, and here endith the rant.
