illegal software copies
Author
I can''t believe that some of the top game developer/publisher companies are having financial problems. (AVault, Eidos). If anything, I would''ve thought that the release of the latest 3d consoles and software would raise the stocks of these companies record high.
Could CD-Rs and CD-RWs be the cause of this problem?
I mean, everytime I hear one person buy a game, the game suddenly gets copied several times over and sold at less than 10% of its retail price. The serial numbers don''t seem to help too much because of the popularity of networks, games no longer need to be registered for people to enjoy multiplayer.
I''m sure there''s a cheap and effective way to prevent this type of illegal piracy.
-William
enhance@enhancesoft.com
Enhance Software
Unfortunatley, I think this may be a significant part of the problem... I happen to be a college student, and what I will often see is that one person gets a copy of a game, and the all of a sudden everyone will have it- in one notable instance, basically an entire residence hall was playing what was really only three or four seperate copies of Starcraft.
Simply using CDs and making large games used to be a relativley good method of avoiding software piracy- unfortunatley, CD-R drives are becoming increasingly common (especially among some of the groups these companies are trying to sell to), so this is getting less and less effective.
Alas, I don''t honestly think that there''s a really good way to easily copy-protect games short of comparing serial numbers over the Internet or any LAN that the players happen to be on or develooping some kind of copy protection for CDs (although that may be defeated by the grandkinds of the Nibblers I used to use to copy games on my Commodore 64).
The sad truth of the matter is that right now, ways around copy protection are developing more quickly than new copy protection schemes- and unless someone comes up with a really good one, I fear that things are going to stay that way.
--{-Seig----
-- EMail: Seigfried@nervhq.org
-- AIM: SeigfriedH
Simply using CDs and making large games used to be a relativley good method of avoiding software piracy- unfortunatley, CD-R drives are becoming increasingly common (especially among some of the groups these companies are trying to sell to), so this is getting less and less effective.
Alas, I don''t honestly think that there''s a really good way to easily copy-protect games short of comparing serial numbers over the Internet or any LAN that the players happen to be on or develooping some kind of copy protection for CDs (although that may be defeated by the grandkinds of the Nibblers I used to use to copy games on my Commodore 64).
The sad truth of the matter is that right now, ways around copy protection are developing more quickly than new copy protection schemes- and unless someone comes up with a really good one, I fear that things are going to stay that way.
--{-Seig----
-- EMail: Seigfried@nervhq.org
-- AIM: SeigfriedH
Nah, only a part of it. There''s a ''hidden cost'' in the price of a game to partly pay for any copies made of that original. Same thing was the case with music CDs (till mp3 came along) and they were allowed to be copied onto tape, as you basically were paying for the copy too as a customer.
However with the onslaught of risky investmants by certain publishers, connections, expos, shipping, promos and their aggressive ad campaigns, the ''hidden cost'' slowly shrunk and shrunk into virtual nonexistance.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
However with the onslaught of risky investmants by certain publishers, connections, expos, shipping, promos and their aggressive ad campaigns, the ''hidden cost'' slowly shrunk and shrunk into virtual nonexistance.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
If nobody copied any software, it would be a lot cheaper, since software companies wouldn''t have to charge the hidden cost. Everything would also be cheaper if nobody shoplifted, because there is a hidden cost to pay for items shoplifted. Think, every time somebody copies or shoplifts, you, the legitimate buyer, are paying for that. Is that fair?
It''s not a simple issue. Yes, copying can hurt companies but it does not have to. If a 10 year old kid copies 100 games (worth $10 each) every month, does that mean that the gaming companies lose $1000 a month on this kid? Probably not since most 10 year olds don''t have $1000 to spend every month. In fact, if the kid puts all his money into buying games and then copies the ones he can''t afford, then the gaming companies don''t lose money to this kid.
To say that copying raises the price for everyone else is not entirely correct either. Copying can really help computer markets and I think copying is one of the reasons that the Commodore 64 and the Amiga did quite well compared to the game consoles at the time. I also believe that copying helped shareware games like Doom since even if many did not register the game, it got spread around enough to be a huge success. Besides, are console games cheaper since they are harder to copy?
Now, I''m not saying that illegal copying is a good thing or that it should be encouraged, it''s just not as simple as saying that copying equals theft. The analogy with shoplifting is a bad one since shoplifting causes a direct economic loss from the object that is being stolen while copying does not have to involve any economic loss. Only if I copy something INSTEAD of buying it does the owner of the work lose out on it, then it''s theft. It''s a moral rather than legal difference but the easy access to information today makes the moral aspects so much more important.
Now for a business idea. It would be nice to see a bunch of publishers for games come together and say that if you pay for one game each month, you get access to them all. The publishers probably wouldn''t lose out since most people don''t buy more than one game each month but the customer would gain real value from it. This would work with music too.
Henry
To say that copying raises the price for everyone else is not entirely correct either. Copying can really help computer markets and I think copying is one of the reasons that the Commodore 64 and the Amiga did quite well compared to the game consoles at the time. I also believe that copying helped shareware games like Doom since even if many did not register the game, it got spread around enough to be a huge success. Besides, are console games cheaper since they are harder to copy?
Now, I''m not saying that illegal copying is a good thing or that it should be encouraged, it''s just not as simple as saying that copying equals theft. The analogy with shoplifting is a bad one since shoplifting causes a direct economic loss from the object that is being stolen while copying does not have to involve any economic loss. Only if I copy something INSTEAD of buying it does the owner of the work lose out on it, then it''s theft. It''s a moral rather than legal difference but the easy access to information today makes the moral aspects so much more important.
Now for a business idea. It would be nice to see a bunch of publishers for games come together and say that if you pay for one game each month, you get access to them all. The publishers probably wouldn''t lose out since most people don''t buy more than one game each month but the customer would gain real value from it. This would work with music too.
Henry
I think by law you are allowed to copy CDs as much as you like, as long as it''s for the sole purpose of backup. But people obviously like to get the games free for all their friends, which sucks. Games aren''t that expensive and if you copy your just being a cheapskate. The developers go to all that trouble to make a fantastic game, just so someone can play it for free? no course not. Those games can be a few of years hard work.
It''s a goddamn disgrace is what it is
"Wash away us all....Take us with the Floods..."
It''s a goddamn disgrace is what it is
"Wash away us all....Take us with the Floods..."
As long as the most well know companies use illeagal copies it''s useless to talk about piratism. Does anyone know the BSA facts? Was it 30 or 40 of software is illeagal or what?
As long as there are some benefit from using illeagal software for me I''ll use it, especially in here where I live Visual Studio costs about 840$, which I consider heavy hauling, I can''t even dream about buying it. I also believe this is the way how most of the users think about it, mainly those who doesn''t have their own boat in the ocean.
Yeah, now when everyone has a reason to reveal me I continue.
As long as there are some benefit from using illeagal software for me I''ll use it, especially in here where I live Visual Studio costs about 840$, which I consider heavy hauling, I can''t even dream about buying it. I also believe this is the way how most of the users think about it, mainly those who doesn''t have their own boat in the ocean.
Yeah, now when everyone has a reason to reveal me I continue.
I think the problem of widespread piracy of PC software is more of a challenge than a problem. Up until now, has our only security as game developers been to assume that nobody could figure out how to burn a CD? Come on. The person responsible for piracy''s roots are the developers themselves, who are less and less creative in developing simple ways to slow the piracy of a particular program.
One painful part of developing a game is that you must really enjoy creating a game, and be able to accept that the only benefits it may offer is enjoyment for other people. If you are making a game only for money then there is something very wrong with your intentions, and you probably won''t be sucessful.
If you love what you do and take that extra couple of weeks to come up with an original way to copy-protect your software, then the money will come regardless. If you''re just trying to peddle some lame program you will fail.
One painful part of developing a game is that you must really enjoy creating a game, and be able to accept that the only benefits it may offer is enjoyment for other people. If you are making a game only for money then there is something very wrong with your intentions, and you probably won''t be sucessful.
If you love what you do and take that extra couple of weeks to come up with an original way to copy-protect your software, then the money will come regardless. If you''re just trying to peddle some lame program you will fail.
I seem to recall a previous thread about warez. Someone was saying how most people who get warez aren''t going to be buying the software anyway, so the company isn''t really losing money off of them. I feel the same is more or less true about CD-R''s, but I think since this seems a little more "legal" to some people, the companies actually do lose money from this method.
If you code it, they will come...
Commander M
http://commanderm.8m.com
cmndrm@commanderm.8m.com
If you code it, they will come...
Commander M
http://commanderm.8m.com
cmndrm@commanderm.8m.com
Don''t encourage this crap. IMO it''s not a case of companies losing out money, it''s the principle that why should people get to play games for free, when the developers have put so much work into it? And why should they get it for free when honest people like us actually pay for it?
"Wash away us all....Take us with the Floods..."
"Wash away us all....Take us with the Floods..."
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