Piracy - Today's Discussion

Neil79

Neil79

Neil79

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Valve CEO Gabe Newell explains why piracy is a result of bad service rather than high price, and how Valve expanded Steam into Russia without rampant piracy resulting and grew it into their biggest region in Europe:

"We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy," Newell said. "Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem. For example, if a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24/7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country three months after the U.S. release and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable.

"Most DRM solutions diminish the value of the product by either directly restricting a customer's use or by creating uncertainty."

He adds, "Our goal is to create greater service value than pirates, and this has been successful enough for us that piracy is basically a non-issue for our company. For example, prior to entering the Russian market, we were told that Russia was a waste of time because everyone would pirate our products. Russia is now about to become our largest market in Europe.

"Our success comes from making sure that both customers and partners feel like they get a lot of value from those services. They can trust us not to take advantage of the relationship that we have with them."
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Then we have ubiDrm

http://www.incgamers.com/News/29694...y-means-i-am-alive-is-not-likely-on-pc-source

Ubisoft’s long-in-development survival title I Am Alive is unlikely to come to PC.

Speaking with IncGamers, Ubisoft creative director Stanislas Mettra took aim at PC gamers, saying he has heard “loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching.”

“Are these people just making noise just because there’s no version or because it’s a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?”

Citing Ubisoft’s common refrain about the platform, Mettra continued, “It’s hard because there’s so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games that we have to precisely weigh it up against the cost of making it.”

“Perhaps it will only take 12 guys three months to port the game to PC; it’s not a massive cost but it’s still a cost. If only 50,000 people buy the game then it’s not worth it.”

I Am Alive will come to Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network this summer.
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PC Gamer reports that the next installment in the Ghost Recon series is for consoles only, and that PC gamers will get Ghost Recon Online instead, which is apparently Ubisoft's new approach to PC piracy:

Ghost Recon Online producer Sébastien Arnoult says that free-to-play games are a response to piracy – and an alternative to the restrictive DRM that’s annoyed PC gamers in so many recent Ubisoft games.

“We are giving away most of the content for free because there’s no barrier to entry. To the users that are traditionally playing the game by getting it through Pirate Bay, we said, ‘Okay, go ahead guys. This is what you’re asking for. We’ve listened to you – we’re giving you this experience. It’s easy to download, there’s no DRM that will pollute your experience.’”

While Ghost Recon Online is exclusive to PC, Ubisoft’s other Ghost Recon game, Future Soldier, uses a traditional payment model and will only be available on console.

“We’re adapting the offer to the PC market. I don’t like to compare PC and Xbox boxed products because they have a model on that platform that is clearly meant to be €60’s worth of super-Hollywood content. On PC, we’re adapting our model to the demand.”

The perceived value of PC games is heavily affected by piracy, Arnoult says – both for players and publishers.

“When we started Ghost Recon Online we were thinking about Ghost Recon: Future Solider; having something ported in the classical way without any deep development, because we know that 95% of our consumers will pirate the game. So we said okay, we have to change our mind.

“We have to adapt, we have to embrace this instead of pushing it away. That’s the main reflection behind Ghost Recon Online and the choice we’ve made to go in this direction.”​
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Well, I can honestly say I have not bought a Ubisoft game of late (unless it's been really cheap in a Steam Sale) for exactly those reasons, restrictive DRM that leaves me uncertain as to whether or not I will be able to play it when I want to. Oh, and the fact that by the time they make it to pc I've all but forgotten about their latest release.

Their own DRM is what is causing the massive amount of piracy of their games, even people who buy the game sometimes end up having to pirate it just to play.
 
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The thing I don't understand is it's far easier to pirate on a console in my opinion! PC versions have cdkeys for online, authentication etc... etc... sure you can get a single player game ok; but with most utilising MP it's tougher on PC.

I know console games are starting to use online passes, but even if you pirate the game and get a pass (~£10) it still more appealing!
 
I was going to buy ANNO but the drm put me off, i've got all the previous titles :(. I don't think Ubisoft will ever really change there stance on it, they've made poor games lately anyway.
 
“When we started Ghost Recon Online we were thinking about Ghost Recon: Future Solider; having something ported in the classical way without any deep development, because we know that 95% of our consumers will pirate the game. So we said okay, we have to change our mind."

LOL, really? Wonder if Ubisoft have any data to back this number up?
 
Gabe = The only man with sense!

You can see from Steam, that price isn't the issue! Obviously people buy a lot of games when they are on sale. Steam caters to people who can afford to buy games on release, and also those who are more limited for cash by offering amazing sales. Steam is a great service, which is why it's flourished. It's got nothing to do with the prices.

At the end of the day,
 
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I buy all my games and make a point of not buying Ubisoft, the DRM on it is ridiculous, It's not that Ubisoft games get pirated any more than any other games it's just that they have ****ed off that many gamers that legitimate buyers don't buy their games any more and the people that would pirate them do so anyway,

The 360 versions get pirated just as much but as there isn't the horrible DRM on them people still buy them
 
Meh I have to say I agree whole heartedly with steam. I have on occasion (a lot) in the past gained access to 'extended demos' of games and then bought them on steam cause of their awesomeness. There is a very important reason for this. Its quicker and easier (most of the time) to buy a game on steam, download it and play it, then it is to pirate a game.
Also steam did what play did when they first arrived. They made it very easy to take your money. its a couple of clicks and you own it.
Plus as I've said in another thread, steam is the first time I've ever known people to WILLINGLY buy a game more then once, just for the added convenience.
I'm not ashamed to say it but steam is the best thing to happen to pc gaming and piracy in years.
 
I think the last ubisoft game that I bought was Ghost Recon. Does ubisoft even make games anymore?

The xbox 360 games are so easy to pirate.
 
madindehead said:
You sure it's a joke site... But then again, it must be. Since they said Blizzard made Skyrim...

However, moving on.
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That site is just satire.

And as a business it's just retarded to alienate an audience that so clearly wants to buy the game. Just don't put stupid crap on top of it making it stupidly hard to just play the damn thing!
 
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