My name is Charles Galyon, and I make games
A recent study in the UK (http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10382) discovered shocking results that *gasp* teenage boys pirate games! The actual percentages were "large" but there's no indication of the sample size or the proper execution of sampling (i.e. is it a representative demographic or do we have volunteer bias?). It's true the there is a LOT of pirating in the games industry, many people do so because they feel the prices are unjustified or, more than anything else, because it's so easy (click a few buttons, reap all that benefit!). Still, it's not exactly crippling the industry which now reports higher profitability than Hollywood.
What are the problems with piracy? When small companies' games are pirated, it impacts them more than when a company like EA has a game pirated. Larger companies can bear the burden better, obviously, but if it remains a percentage thing, like only 10% of units distributed are from piracy, then it's not THAT bad. We can't really do anything to stop it with our current methods of distribution. Valve took a novel approach to their release, and it might work better. MMO's are harder to pirate because of online activation and playing. But how much should we invest in stopping piracy before the effort costs us more than the piracy itself? I'm sure there's a better method of distribution that would take care of it. Just not sure what it is yet... though I know for a fact that piracy is one of the chief reasons I stay away from development of PC games; they're just too easy to rip. Console systems at least have added difficulty.
The article suggests taking measures such as: worldwide distribution (can be costly to localize), lower price-tags (no argument there, though thus far I'm only a bargain console developer anyway), and engaging in a piracy-education program to educate youths on why it's so bad to pirate. Heh heh, that's what prompted me to write this. I can just see it now, "My name is xxxx yyyy, and I make games..." Wonder if we'll end up putting those as yet another splash screen at the beginning of our games? *sigh* Yeah, just make it take even longer for users to get to the game. The logos are already longer than I care for.
ME
What are the problems with piracy? When small companies' games are pirated, it impacts them more than when a company like EA has a game pirated. Larger companies can bear the burden better, obviously, but if it remains a percentage thing, like only 10% of units distributed are from piracy, then it's not THAT bad. We can't really do anything to stop it with our current methods of distribution. Valve took a novel approach to their release, and it might work better. MMO's are harder to pirate because of online activation and playing. But how much should we invest in stopping piracy before the effort costs us more than the piracy itself? I'm sure there's a better method of distribution that would take care of it. Just not sure what it is yet... though I know for a fact that piracy is one of the chief reasons I stay away from development of PC games; they're just too easy to rip. Console systems at least have added difficulty.
The article suggests taking measures such as: worldwide distribution (can be costly to localize), lower price-tags (no argument there, though thus far I'm only a bargain console developer anyway), and engaging in a piracy-education program to educate youths on why it's so bad to pirate. Heh heh, that's what prompted me to write this. I can just see it now, "My name is xxxx yyyy, and I make games..." Wonder if we'll end up putting those as yet another splash screen at the beginning of our games? *sigh* Yeah, just make it take even longer for users to get to the game. The logos are already longer than I care for.
ME