Kim Dotcom Teaches How to Stop Piracy in 5 Steps

[Branden]

[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]The thing that kills me is the general complaint that games cost to much, yet they've cost roughly $50 for new releases for the past 25 years, while the value of that $50 is less than half what it was back then.[/citation]
that may be so, but let's compare what $50 got you then vs today:
20 years ago a $50 game got you a 50+ hour single player campaign and 2-4x multiplayer from a single cartridge, now $50 gets you maybe a 10 hour campaign and a single license.

anyhoo, here's my list of piracy killers:
1) immediate availability, 2) decent price, 3) super cheap rentals (and let us put $spent on rentals towards purchases too), 4) no DRM!
i think the biggest reasons people pirate is because 1) something isn't otherwise available, 2) it's way too expensive, 3) it's a way to "try before you buy", 4) DRM is hell.

 

[bystander]

Why do you think DRM's came about in the first place?

 

[wedouglas]

Um, I remember when Playstation came out 20 years ago and new, mainstream games were definitely $49.99+. N64 games were sometimes $59.99. I even remember some games from the cartridge era being $69.99.

Taking into account inflation, game prices are way cheaper than ever.

Also, what the hell is up with a bunch of grown men crying about the prices of content? Don't like the price? Then don't buy it and save some money to move out of your parents basement. Whining about paying $50 in 2014... jesus christ... the cost of one night out for an adult doing just about anything is probably more than $50.

 

[Guest]

Fair price may not be that hard to define. Why don't we just start with not stripping content from games only to bring it out later as "DLC", or on-disc DLC BS. The list defining modern publishers' greed is long indeed..

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]wedouglas[/nom]Um, I remember when Playstation came out 20 years ago and new, mainstream games were definitely $49.99+. N64 games were sometimes $59.99. I even remember some games from the cartridge era being $69.99.Taking into account inflation, game prices are way cheaper than ever.Also, what the hell is up with a bunch of grown men crying about the prices of content? Don't like the price? Then don't buy it and save some money to move out of your parents basement. Whining about paying $50 in 2014... jesus christ... the cost of one night out for an adult doing just about anything is probably more than $50.[/citation]

N64 games cost more because they were bigger games, the actual cost of making it cost more, unlike games today which can be pressed for pennys compared to carts...

i remember final fantasy 6 cost what, was it 70 or 80$ new, not because they could get away with it, but because it physically used a bigger cartridge.

[citation][nom]Branden[/nom]that may be so, but let's compare what $50 got you then vs today:20 years ago a $50 game got you a 50+ hour single player campaign and 2-4x multiplayer from a single cartridge, now $50 gets you maybe a 10 hour campaign and a single license.anyhoo, here's my list of piracy killers:1) immediate availability, 2) decent price, 3) super cheap rentals (and let us put $spent on rentals towards purchases too), 4) no DRM!i think the biggest reasons people pirate is because 1) something isn't otherwise available, 2) it's way too expensive, 3) it's a way to "try before you buy", 4) DRM is hell.[/citation]

20 years ago a 50+ hour campaign...
ok, im interested.
not speed running the game, and taking any rpg (tatical, real time, any of that) out, what games gave a 50+ hour campaign, and don't say sim city or other sandbox experiences that you can easily play for 50+ hours i want a narrative story game.

i say no rpg, because i can easily point to elderscrolls and its what 500 hours for morrowind, 300 for oblivion, and about that for skyrim if you take out the never ending quests system. and sim city like games because they are basicly a sand box you have fun playing it no real story to it at all,

and im not being sarcastic, im really interested in what games were 50+ hours of story driven, non i screwed up have to restart gameplay.

[citation][nom]anony89434[/nom]Fair price may not be that hard to define. Why don't we just start with not stripping content from games only to bring it out later as "DLC", or on-disc DLC BS. The list defining modern publishers' greed is long indeed..[/citation]

a fair price to me, is i want 2 hours of very fun, i lost track of time because it was so engaging, gameplay for every 5$ i spend. most games that come out now cant even touch that at 50 (20 hours) or 60 (24 hours) dollars, so i wait till they hit a major sale. thankfully its not hard.

 

[groveborn]

a fair price to me, is i want 2 hours of very fun, i lost track of time because it was so engaging, gameplay for every 5$ i spend. most games that come out now cant even touch that at 50 (20 hours) or 60 (24 hours) dollars, so i wait till they hit a major sale. thankfully its not hard.

I spent about 10 bucks on Terraria. I have played hundreds of hours on it... It continues to amuse me. I think that was a fine purchase. I also spent 30 on X2-The Threat. I spent many, many hours on that. I was quite happy with it.

I think perhaps people are thinking that they shouldn't have spent a great deal of money on a crappy game. The problem is that crappy games can't be returned. There are demos, and that's nice, but for the same effort, you can just download the game on any pirate site. I don't think this is really about money. I've pirated many games that I felt were worth their price tag. I've also purchased many games that weren't.

So far as I can tell, pirating has little to do with money. Making the product harder to pirate would reduce pirating, but so far nobody has really figured that out. DRM just makes the pirates want to pirate.

Even wealthy people pirate. Hell, they also steal. It's not about the money, at least not entirely.

The software companies aren't going bankrupt due to pirating. They are doing well. Since they can't actually stop pirates, it's best to learn to deal with them. The software companies that do poorly can't really blame pirates. Good companies succeed, bad companies fail.

 

[twelch82]

[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]Just remember, if you don't think the price is fair, you don't have to purchase it. If enough people agree with you, they will be forced to lower it. Eventually the price of most software drops in price in time. Just buy it when the price is fair to you. There is no requirement to buy it at release.[/citation]

Very true. And quite often I choose not to buy. I think what is missing in this is that when I choose not to buy something, it has effectively the same outcome as piracy. In both cases, the owner of the copyrighted material I didn't buy ended up with nothing.

Actually, it's worse than piracy, because the copyright holder didn't benefit from gaining another person who knows what his material is about and would potentially recommend it. But nonetheless, that's what he wanted, so it's fair.

 

[kinggremlin]

[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]oh yay, another one of these. back than games cost FAR less than 50$ because you have to take into account cartrage cost, which ill estimate at a minimum of 30$ for super nintendo, than factor in that the wallmarts take a 7-12$ for themselves, and about 3-7$ a game in shipping costs. now, it costs what, 3$-6$ to press a dvd and boxthey make more profit off games now than they EVER have in the past.[/citation]

Really? So you think and took the same amount of time and money to develop?

Yea, it's so incredibly difficult to see why games aren't as long as they used to be. When you consider how much more complex and expensive they have gotten to develop, we should feel fortunate that the prices have stayed roughly the same over the past 20+ years.

 

[kinggremlin]

Ok, that didn't work at all. Here are the 2 links again:

http/www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/31431-final-fantasy-nes-screenshot-in-a-castle-towers.jpg

http/cdn.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ffxiii-2_003.jpg

 

[internetlad]

Works on any device eh?

In that case i'm totally pirating GTA V if it doesn't work on my NES.

Seriously though, I see where he's coming from, but I doubt anybody who matters is listening to him at this point.

 

[kinggremlin]

Coinicidently, 1up did a price comparison of games from 1992 vs current about a year ago. You are completely wrong if you think games are more expensive today:

http/www.1up.com/news/90s-game-price-comparison-charticle

 

[casualcolors]

People really arguing about game prices? Lot of young'ins here I see. If you adjust for inflation, games in the 16-bit era for example tended to cost at least 50% more than current console titles, and in some cases almost 100% more. The reason that the gaming industry is so much more profitable today than it was 25 years ago is due to just how much sales have skyrocketed. Games now occasionally log units sold into the 8 digit territory cumulatively. In the past, for a game to sell that much that would take its entire lifespan and several years beyond and it would have been one of the rarest of standouts on its platform. Game sales have expanded at a rate that has significantly outpaced not only inflation but the increased costs of game development and marketing.

In short, is gaming more a profitable industry today? Yes. But do you pay less in inflation-adjusted dollars today for a game than you did 25 years ago? Yes, considerably less.

 

[rantoc]

[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]Why do you think DRM's came about in the first place?[/citation]

Its been a long war between the software companies and the pirates... and many of the software companies choose a weapon that affects their OWN supporters in a very negative way while barely make a dent vs their enemies - the piracy. Its about as logical as bombing your own city during a civil war, you get the populace against you. That is what happens here! The customers get the fallout from the DRM while the pirates laugh and gladly plays away with no software issues - Guess what side gains more followers?

I don't like piracy but hell i don't like excessive drm like always online schemes for single player disrupting the ability to use a product that i paid for, it makes me less encouraged to buy the next!

 

[kinggraves]

http/www.elizabethany.com/2012/12/video-games-galore-in-1996-toys-r-us-ad.html

Oh look, all games weren't $20 back in the day, they went up to $70. There's actually PROOF of that on the internet. They would cost even more today if anyone here has actually managed to pass grade school economics and understands there's inflation within 15 years. Know how much inflation? $70 in the 90s would be $100 today. Then again, even when I was in grade school I had the intelligence to go buy my games used from the video store and keep them in good shape. Those $15 copies of Chrono Trigger and Ogre Battle sure did pay some bills later in life.

But hey, what video games used to cost is completely irrelevant. Do you comprehend how much effort it takes to complete a 3D rendered virtual world in a modern game with advanced AI compared to how much effort it took to make Pong? Major studios back in the day wouldn't pass as indie dev teams today. Making AAA titles takes massive teams of people comparable to blockbuster movies now. Sure, they may make millions, but it COST millions of dollars to make that game when you consider every single one of those employees was paid. You also do not consider that all the "cult classics" with low sales, remakes, even shovelware, may also end up as losses and cut into their profits. When a company doesn't make profits, they have less money to invest in future titles, and those may be titles you were looking forward to. Unprofitable companies cannot afford to take risks and release anything other than sequels they think will sell. Development studios aren't rolling in the money you think they are, that's why they're shutting down and going bankrupt left and right. The gaming industry is bleeding.

So here's some options.

Lower your standards and buy lousy mobile games, because they can be made cheaper and are far less of a risk both to the studio and the consumer. Get used to it cheapskate, you don't get steak on a ground chuck budget.

Get used to DLC, because you aren't willing to pay more up front and they need to regain their money for that AAA title. Making a shorter game with DLC means they have less of a cost upfront, which means they can afford to gamble on risky IPs. Taking risks means we can perhaps get some fresh IPs rolling instead of just rehashes and sequels.

Or stop crying and pay for the quality of game you insist on. Reality is that the demands of gamers and the difficulties devs face rises every year. You want better graphics, but better graphics haven't really gotten much easier to make. You want challenging AI, AI wasn't even a factor in the Atari days. Space invaders didn't sidestep your shot, they just came at you. You want engrossing plots, but quality writers are rare in any form of media. If you don't like a game, don't buy it. There weren't online demos in the past, there wasn't Gamefly. Even as a child, I saved up my allowance for weeks to buy games which occasionally turned out to be garbage. I rented games BY THE DAY at higher rates than VHS. You're complaining about being unable to afford things that A CHILD could afford.

tl;dr: Get over it self entitled, socialist society. Things cost money.

 

[Bloob]

[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]Just remember, if you don't think the price is fair, you don't have to purchase it. If enough people agree with you, they will be forced to lower it. Eventually the price of most software drops in price in time. Just buy it when the price is fair to you. There is no requirement to buy it at release.[/citation]

What is a fair price for a product you haven't tried, and have no idea if you will enjoy. Most companies don't even make demo or trial versions of their software. The only reason Windows, 3ds Max/Maya, and Photoshop dominate their fields, is because piracy allows people to learn them ( they are pretty good products too ). One reason why some games that try new gameplay styles get to become worldwide hits / famous, is because piracy allows people to have a go without taking a risk with their money.

Cinema does not have piracy ( you can't pirate the huge screen etc. even if you might get your hands on the movie ), and pretty much the only movies we get there are the ones with a megacorporate hype machine behind them.

Problem is, some people are not willing to spend their cash if a pirated copy is available, even if they enjoy the experience.

 

[Bloob]

[citation][nom]internetlad[/nom]Works on any device eh? In that case i'm totally pirating GTA V if it doesn't work on my NES.Seriously though, I see where he's coming from, but I doubt anybody who matters is listening to him at this point.[/citation]
Propably meant that one licence should cover all supported platforms.

 

[richarduk]

Even at that 'loose change' price iOS / Android games get pirated a lot.

Price is not a justification for theft.

This bloke is a thief who profited from hosting stolen goods.

 

[Guest]

I like how corporations idea of copy protection likely leads to more pirating going on. I don't want to not be able to move my movie from one screen to another because the cable isn't DRM certified. I reinstalled Max Payne 3, but I can't play it because for whatever reason it doesn't allow me to log on with my Social Club account, and that means I can't even play the game by myself, it's been a week so far and I finally got a reply from support, ignoring everything I wrote and suggested I tried another account... Am I tempted to just download a pirated version that always works when I need it to? Hell yes!

Steam is a good example because it can get all 5 points right, you just have to avoid games that have all the DRM crap like Max Payne 3, all Ubisoft games.. And you'd be pretty happy. In my younger days pirating was more common, and had it not been for the practicality of Steam, I would probably be downloading such games to this day.

 

[medallish85]

[citation][nom]richarduk[/nom]Even at that 'loose change' price iOS / Android games get pirated a lot.Price is not a justification for theft.This bloke is a thief who profited from hosting stolen goods.[/citation]
Price doesn't justify piracy, but if you feel ripped off by a purchase you made and you tell your friends about how this product doesn't live up to it's price, chances are some of them would rather give piracy a try instead of shelling out their own money.

How is Kim DotCom a thief? He never stole anything as far as we're aware, they even cracked down on piracy on their site, but even if they didn't, Kim didn't do the actual pirating, he profited by providing a site which a lot of people used with very legal intents.

 

[medallish85]

[citation][nom]kinggraves[/nom]tl;dr: Get over it self entitled, socialist society. Things cost money.[/citation]
Socialist society isn't about giving you discount on games or movies, that games and movies are cheaper today than they were back in the day is 100% the content creators choice, and the will of a pretty free market.

You can justify a lot of bs simply by saying that you're spoiled and entitled, I mean where do you come off thinking that doctors are supposed to know what they are doing? Back in some guys days they used leeches, so it should be good enough for you!...

Things cost money yes, so if you're going to spend those amounts of money, make sure that it's worth it when you try and sell it to people. I don't think games gets pirated that often because of price, and if they do it's often because a game is so horrible that it wouldn't have sold anyway.
It's funny to see how upset people are about piracy, and blaming it for PC games not selling well, but no the reason there are PC games not selling well is because the market has been flooded with them, and there's a lot of games that just aren't appealing, other games are really appealing, and get bought in huge amounts, no matter how easy they are to copy or not, case in point: Skyrim, I don't have to log into some arbitrary DRM program that checks online, it doesn't have multiplayer so that's another reason why you might as well pirate it, but to say that game hasn't been a success would be pretty damn laughable. I know Skyrim isn't DRM-free, but as DRM's go it's pretty weak, and imo it shows ultimately DRM doesn't work, it just frustrates the hell out of people when they can't even play offline because the servers are down.