gideongallery 4 the win

[Barefootsies]

Most content producers only see the dark side of piracy but every now and then we encounter a rare exception. Jeff Vogel, president and head programmer for Spiderweb Software, admits that piracy is not an absolute evil. Sometimes it?s actually OK to pirate his games, and he explains why.

Most of the anti-piracy efforts we report on come from groups that are connected to the movie and music business, but piracy is also rampant in the gaming industry.

Last year the most pirated PC-game was downloaded 4,100,000 times and it?s pretty safe to say that this record will be broken in 2010.

The hard part is to determine what the actual effect of piracy on the revenue of game publishers is. That is, how many people would have bought the games they downloaded in a world without piracy? Also, might game piracy actually serve as a modern day demo and lead people into buying games?

While these questions remain mostly unanswered for now, it is safe to say that in a world where nobody pays for games the industry would be dead in a heart beat. Thus far however, there are no signs that this is happening, as the industry broke several sales records last year.

For the people actually working in the industry, piracy is not necessarily evil either. Although every person whose income depends on game sales would prefer a paying customer over a pirating one, there are scenarios when developers can ?get something? out of the latter.

In a lengthy blog post Jeff Vogel, president and primary programmer for Spiderweb Software, explains why. ?This blog post is about the bright side of software piracy. It?s about the times when not only is it OK to steal my games, but, in fact, I get something out of it. Perhaps an unusual topic for a blog post from a game developer,? he writes.

While Jeff recognizes that not paying for games doesn?t really benefit the industry in most cases, he also sees an upside to the phenomenon. ?Because, when I?m being honest with myself, which happens sometimes, I have to admit that piracy is not an absolute evil. That I do get things out of it, even when I?m the one being ripped off.?

He goes on to explain that he regularly gets email from people in Russia or southeast Asia or India who enjoy playing his games in a cyber-cafe, but can?t afford to buy a copy of their own. In an ultimate attempt to score a free copy, they then ask him for a free serial.

?When I get one of these message, what I want to respond is, ?PIRATE MY STUPID GAME!!!? I mean, seriously, the time used drafting that e-mail would have been much more profitably spent figuring out how BitTorrent works.?

Although Jeff refuses to give any free serials to these people, he sincerely hopes that they grab a free copy off BitTorrent, so they can enjoy his work after all.

?But I really hope those kids pirated my game. [...] Sometimes, thanks to the vagaries of the international monetary order, my games are just out of reach any other way. And, when people enjoy my work, it gives my life meaning??

This issue is not limited to third world countries, even in the richest nations there are millions of people who have barely enough money to get a proper meal on the table. In these cases Jeff doesn?t mind if people download a copy for personal use either.

?Someone who is facing long-term unemployment and bankruptcy probably should not pay for my game. And, in that case, if stealing my game gives them a temporary reprieve from their misery, I?m cool with that. I?m happy to help,? he writes.

Jeff?s post makes perfect sense, and there are probably hundreds of others who?d instantly agree with him. In the situations he describes piracy is not hurting sales anyway, because some people simply can?t afford to buy games.

However, it is also hard to draw the line. What if a kid, an avid gamer, who can afford to buy only one game a month downloads another copy off BitTorrent. In a year he would buy 12 games and pirate 12 ? would that be fair?

Jeff concludes by saying that people should at least consider paying if they can. ?If you like PC games but you usually pirate them, I want you to start actually paying for one game a year. Just one. Please. You should do it because you need to do it to help something you like to continue to exist.?

What do you think?

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[The Ghost]

He has every right to make decisions over what he creates and has full ownership of.

[Dirty Dane]

?When I get one of these message, what I want to respond is, ?PIRATE MY STUPID GAME!!!? I mean, seriously, the time used drafting that e-mail would have been much more profitably spent figuring out how BitTorrent works.?

I'll keep that in mind next time a poor kid from India ask for porn password.

[gideongallery]

you may be suprised but i don't actually agree with this arguement

can't afford it is not an access shifting arguement.

you don't sell it in my country is.

this "problem" should be solved by releasing a limited functionality version using the technology like bit torrent.

one that leverages product placement, or micro payments so that developer gets paid.

[iSpyCams]

I don't know how this would apply to porn but one huge deterrent to game piracy is strong online gameplay.

You can pirate Blizzard games all day long, but if you don't have a valid serial you cant get online with them, the online game is always much better than the single player one.

Cams and dating don't have piracy issues because the online interactive element is so strong.

Static content will always be subject to these kinds of issues because it there is no difference between the pirated version and the legitimate one, and deep down people would rather have something for free, than pay for it.

With porn in particular, face it. People use porn to masturbate. Most people masturbate alone, in private and have a reasonable expectation that no one will ever know when or how. Using pirated content is not half as worrying to them as getting caught masturbating in the first place.

[sortie]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Most content producers only see the dark side of piracy but every now and then we encounter a rare exception. Jeff Vogel, president and head programmer for Spiderweb Software, admits that piracy is not an absolute evil. Sometimes it?s actually OK to pirate his games, and he explains why.

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He is singing the same tune that everyone sings until they get run out of business by
piracy.

Point Blank : people who pirate do sometimes buy the product; but they only buy it
because they don't want to get fucked one day by not having a legit product.

Take away the fucking and there will be no buyers because they have no fear.

He admits that he is talking about factors that are "unknown" yet he pretends to
"know" and preach a sermon about it.



Further he says that people pirating his game "gives his life meaning", but other developers
feel that without making enough money to survive, their "life is meaningless".

In other words : If your bills are paid then you have the room to simply not give
a shit until shit hits your fan and you will talk a bunch of dumb shit until that time arrives.

That time has arrived in the porn biz. Do you feel like your life has more "meaning"
when you check your stats and see that everyone is getting your porn for free and
you have no sales?

[TheDoc]

Originally Posted by gideongallery

you may be suprised but i don't actually agree with this arguement

can't afford it is not an access shifting arguement.

you don't sell it in my country is.

this "problem" should be solved by releasing a limited functionality version using the technology like bit torrent.

one that leverages product placement, or micro payments so that developer gets paid.

I don't think he's trying to solve a problem of any kind... if anything this was his solution which he is happy with.

He doesn't have to allow shifting of anything that has DRM protected access, afford it or not. He wants people to enjoy his work, if he limits it they wouldn't be enjoying what he created - this is why he's doing it. He already sells the product as well - he's the developer. If 4 million downloads can't pad his pockets now then product placement income wouldn't buy him a 6 pack of beer - at that, no coder wants to put up with that shit, marketing, sales, leads, etc - probably why he's giving it away for free.

Not everyone is in it for the money.

[Jason Voorhees]

Originally Posted by pompousjohn

I don't know how this would apply to porn but one huge deterrent to game piracy is strong online gameplay.

You can pirate Blizzard games all day long, but if you don't have a valid serial you cant get online with them, the online game is always much better than the single player one.

Cams and dating don't have piracy issues because the online interactive element is so strong.

That's why the gaming industry doesn't actually see much problem with Piracy... Buy the new hit game or pirate it, your choice, but you won't get jack shit but a quick single player game for the pirated copy. Especially with Microsoft as they ban you quickly if they sense any pirated stuff through Xbox Live and that sucks for pirates, they wanna play online, 99% of gamers buy a game and don't even play single player, they go straight for multi. And they don't wanna lose not only their Live account, but have their Xbox serial blocked and be out $300 for playing 1 pirated game.