Piracy is easy to avoid although not everyone would like the solution.
Just make new games that are released on the PC online only and have part of the program on a separate server (so you can only play it when logged into the server). It would be impossible to pirate because the full program is never released to the public.
As far as piracy itself, I can see how it's hurting the industry but honestly most of the people who pirate games probably could not afford them (or at least that many) anyway. I could pirate games I guess, but it's easier for me to just purchase copies and I'm old enough not to need a game the day it comes out. I wait, see if a game is horrid by it's reviews, and if I hear good things I purchase the game. I often rent PS3/Xbox games at blockbuster before purchasing them (I get a free game rental per month as part of my package which is usually enough along with reviews from this site and gamefaqs etc).
The real problem I see hurting the industry is that when I go into gamestop to buy a game, unless it has JUST been released, they automatically try and sell me a used copy. They are usually only a few dollars less btw...but I'm betting many people just go along with it. I buy new both because I don't want a scratched disk that has been refurbished and because I want to support the original game.
Piracy may be a factor but I think it's a great idea in many ways. Maybe not to the point we have now where people actually get BETTER versions of games (or at least easier to use) but allowing people to try out games before they buy them is a good idea. Releasing Demos would probably drastically cut back on piracy for instance. Combine Demos with having part of the full game playable only online and I bet Piracy would dry up almost completely (At least for games).
I know someone who pirates games and I even talked to them about it a year ago or so (mainly because the creap pirated PVZ and that I think is criminal). He said he paid for the games he really likes but I highly doubt that is true. The guy doesn't pay for anything he doesn't have to and constantly is needing other people to pay for him at movies etc. I think many pirates are probably similar to him so it's not a huge loss to the industry.
The main problem I see is that so many games are being released as crap, the system requirements are wrong, DRM etc makes using the game on multiple computers a pain etc that many legitimate customers who would buy games normally are now turning to piracy. I at least hope that most of them still buy the real version of the game if they like it (but that may be wishful thinking).
I've coded games myself in the distant past (mostly online games back in the MUD days (know there still around but they were the MMO's of the past) but I also coded a bunch of freeware games etc. I certainly don't want the game creators to get ripped off. At the same time it seems like good games (even if I don't like them) like Starcraft II for instance are making plenty of money. If they loose out on a tiny bit because of some pirate does it really matter? They are still making a huge profit. Minecraft has made a ton of money and it's only in Alpha. I pre-ordered Fallout NV and so did tons of other people from what I saw. Big games are still doing just fine. So who is piracy really hurting then? Companies that make crappy games. If a company makes a horrid game then everyone pirates it, determines it sucks and never buys it so they end up not making much of a profit.
If that is the only people that get hurt then I applaud pirates. I don't see piracy hurting the big game companies at all so far. Many new games have been released and done just fine even with pirated copies available (Torchlight for instance). Piracy if anything probably helped spread the word about good new games and caused more people to purchase it. I mentioned plants vs zombies before. I love that game. I hate that anyone pirates it (because it's a smallish company and the people who created it (especially the girl who wrote/played the song) are so cool/happy). At the same time they have made a ton of money, expanded to many consoles and done just fine. Piracy has not hurt PvZ at all, but probably helped it. So much for piracy being bad.
Just make new games that are released on the PC online only and have part of the program on a separate server (so you can only play it when logged into the server). It would be impossible to pirate because the full program is never released to the public.
As far as piracy itself, I can see how it's hurting the industry but honestly most of the people who pirate games probably could not afford them (or at least that many) anyway. I could pirate games I guess, but it's easier for me to just purchase copies and I'm old enough not to need a game the day it comes out. I wait, see if a game is horrid by it's reviews, and if I hear good things I purchase the game. I often rent PS3/Xbox games at blockbuster before purchasing them (I get a free game rental per month as part of my package which is usually enough along with reviews from this site and gamefaqs etc).
The real problem I see hurting the industry is that when I go into gamestop to buy a game, unless it has JUST been released, they automatically try and sell me a used copy. They are usually only a few dollars less btw...but I'm betting many people just go along with it. I buy new both because I don't want a scratched disk that has been refurbished and because I want to support the original game.
Piracy may be a factor but I think it's a great idea in many ways. Maybe not to the point we have now where people actually get BETTER versions of games (or at least easier to use) but allowing people to try out games before they buy them is a good idea. Releasing Demos would probably drastically cut back on piracy for instance. Combine Demos with having part of the full game playable only online and I bet Piracy would dry up almost completely (At least for games).
I know someone who pirates games and I even talked to them about it a year ago or so (mainly because the creap pirated PVZ and that I think is criminal). He said he paid for the games he really likes but I highly doubt that is true. The guy doesn't pay for anything he doesn't have to and constantly is needing other people to pay for him at movies etc. I think many pirates are probably similar to him so it's not a huge loss to the industry.
The main problem I see is that so many games are being released as crap, the system requirements are wrong, DRM etc makes using the game on multiple computers a pain etc that many legitimate customers who would buy games normally are now turning to piracy. I at least hope that most of them still buy the real version of the game if they like it (but that may be wishful thinking).
I've coded games myself in the distant past (mostly online games back in the MUD days (know there still around but they were the MMO's of the past) but I also coded a bunch of freeware games etc. I certainly don't want the game creators to get ripped off. At the same time it seems like good games (even if I don't like them) like Starcraft II for instance are making plenty of money. If they loose out on a tiny bit because of some pirate does it really matter? They are still making a huge profit. Minecraft has made a ton of money and it's only in Alpha. I pre-ordered Fallout NV and so did tons of other people from what I saw. Big games are still doing just fine. So who is piracy really hurting then? Companies that make crappy games. If a company makes a horrid game then everyone pirates it, determines it sucks and never buys it so they end up not making much of a profit.
If that is the only people that get hurt then I applaud pirates. I don't see piracy hurting the big game companies at all so far. Many new games have been released and done just fine even with pirated copies available (Torchlight for instance). Piracy if anything probably helped spread the word about good new games and caused more people to purchase it. I mentioned plants vs zombies before. I love that game. I hate that anyone pirates it (because it's a smallish company and the people who created it (especially the girl who wrote/played the song) are so cool/happy). At the same time they have made a ton of money, expanded to many consoles and done just fine. Piracy has not hurt PvZ at all, but probably helped it. So much for piracy being bad.
