You may have heard by now that recently released PC game Demigod has been thoroughly raped by pirates, to the point where, at one point, only 12% of the title's online users were legitimate customers. That is pretty damn harsh, and developer Stardock has some equally harsh words to say about it.
"Demigod is heavily pirated," writes Stardock boss Brad Wardell. "And make no mistake, piracy pisses me off.
"If you’re playing a pirated copy right now, if you’re one of those people on Hamachi or GameRanger playing a pirated copy and have been for more than a few days, then you should either buy it or accept that you’re a thief and quit rationalizing it any other way."
Hell hath no fury like a PC developer scorned. At last count, it's suggested that over 100,000 naughty pirates have ripped Demigod off, so one can understand why Wardell is pissed. Still, I doubt trying to shame them on his blog will sway public opinion, especially when most pirates have already rationalized in their heads that they are freedom fighters rather than brain burglars.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
4:20 PM on 05.11.2009
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People hate DRM, but when you look at all the number of pirates, it makes you wonder...
And no, I did not pirate Demigod. Not so interested in it. Probably couldn't play it anyway.
Yes.
The funny thing is, everyone does it, to varying degrees of course, but
You search for "The Final Countdown" on Youtube and it's not officially licensed by the copyright holders?. Piracy.
You watch an episode of your favourite anime online? Piracy.
You use a photograph or image from a computer game as an avatar? Piracy.
You download a ROM to "Try" a game? Piracy
You download an .iso to make a PS1/PS2/Wii/Xbox/360 game? Piracy
So if you're going to preach about something, Make sure you're not knee deep in the shit your trying to make a point out of OK?
Superior rationalization. I should give you a call next time I feel like offing the neighbors for playing the stereo too loud.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
Well, now that wasn't the case with this one was it?
But I agree there is no excuse for piracy. And yes it is theft... They program a game and sell it as their product not unlike another company making other products and selling them. One aquires the product without paying = Theft! Plain and simple. You walk out of a store without paying, you get the cops on your ass. People need to be paid to be able to continue producing. There is really no room for discussion here.
If we can just manage to do even that, we will have accomplished a great intellectual feat as a society.
That's all I care as far as the piracy issue goes. A little honesty.
Downloading video games is stealing. It is just as bad as going to Wal-Mart and jacking it off the shelves. Yes, I've done it before, frequently, but I don't anymore.
playing a pirated copy and have been for more than a few days
more than a few days
a few days
...
I see.
Fuck pirates, when PC gamers whine that games keep consolized, this is why, why in the world would any dev release a PC only game in this day and age when the console sales will always be higher?
Even Valve is porting their games to consoles.
It's boilerplate piracy defense. There's nothing to see here.
And Jim, I think the distinction needs to be made: The majority of pirates are only claiming that they're "entitled" to this content because DRM is so bad because they just want some sort of justification. They'd pirate even if they got what they claim to want and all DRM went away.
Look at World of Goo. The developers literally came out and said, "listen, we trust you. Don't pirate. We're not just meeting you halfway; we're going all the way for you. Please don't take advantage." And what happened? 90% piracy rate.
It's just so dumb. They only use DRM as a scapegoat so they don't have to take responsibility for their actions.
I'm not going to say don't Pirate, I'm not going to say Do Pirate. All I'm saying is everyone does it.
Piracy is the DEVIL.
The workprint for Wolverine hurt the movie so much.
"2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - Overall - $130M"
Is it so much to ask someone to pay for hard work every now and then? The only reason DRM exists to the extent that it does is piracy. People cry out, "oh they are only punishing the people that legitimately bought the game" but look what happens when a DRM free game comes out. It gets pirated even HARDER.
uuuggghh.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
Well, now that wasn't the case with this one was it?
But I agree there is no excuse for piracy. And yes it is theft... They program a game and sell it as their product not unlike another company making other products and selling them. One aquires the product without paying = Theft! Plain and simple. You walk out of a store without paying, you get the cops on your ass. People need to be paid to be able to continue producing. There is really no room for discussion here."
No offense but Demigod WAS finished. Verification and online was bogged down primarily by number of copies logging in far exceeding numbers of copies actually sold. So if the "brokenness" of the product is a direct result from theives, I'd say they delivered on their promise and gamers got their right with that one.
However, it's a sad state of affairs when a niche title like this gets completely bombed serverside by as little as 250,000 copies calling in to validate. But then again... if people actually BOUGHT the fucking game, I doubt the servers would have gotten bombed to begin with.
Anyway, I agree with Wardell: Did you steal it? If so, you're a thief.
(P.S. I haven't pirated Panzer Dragoon Saga, mostly because I don't care to actually play it. Just an example.)
But in the topic - I believe that if intellectuall "property" was no longer treated as genuine property some types of games would actually be in a danger. Paying 20mln$ to produce a game that is completely revealed on sb's computer would be a risky gamble to say the least.
However some title like Demigod, but better, could easily be sold without counting on people's good will. You take some crucial procedures and put them on server side. Sign contracts with severe fines for leaks with all server providing companies (that can be sued for enough money to really protect this code) and get some digital signature for each of them - so it gets obvious who leaked the content and you can sue them to the ground.
Going for the customer is impossible. DRM protected games are pirated too.
Actually, from my viewpoint piracy rates are depening only on one thing - do you really want the game? If just "somewhat", or "just to try it" - they skyrocket.
-
However I'd have to stress that I think in general dismantling intellectual "property" would have positive consequences. Budgets would drop and graphics progress more slowly (which I find a good thing, becouse all these extra polygons mean a little to the game and a lot to rig upgrade'ing frequency), but diversity rose and indy games got a big boost. Also demand could shift supply directly, which would be a huge boon in a long run (now, after pumping 100mln$ you HAVE to get the product accessible to everyone and sell milions of copies and any problematics features are lost in the process) Anything multiplayer could still do business as usual, sell the accounts and service - not the copies. Singleplayer-only would have to effectively count on players good will, they could as easily get the copy from developers as from anyone else... but wait a minute - isn't it already a case? Well, right now sometimes it's easIER to get it from someone else.
If I used your debit card to purchase, say, a copy of Demigod online, I'm quite sure you'd accuse me of theft. Identity theft at the minimum. And that was a completely digital transaction -- no physical medium ever changed hands.
When you download software available to the public for purchase only, you are stealing potential revenue. The future revenue they count on when they finance and invest in the initial development of the game, and are entitled to from every person interested in obtaining a copy.
Theft is theft.
Once again, we have a story claiming this huge number of pirates without identifying how they count them, or how many legit users there are. Who cares what money you're possibly not making compared to the money you're ACTUALLY making?
And then, of course, as r0N70OL said, Demigod was just not released well. Online multiplayer is buggy as shit and most people who own the game are absolutely not playing it because of the problems with connecting, lag, etc., so the non-pirate numbers are artificially deflated by Stardock's own fuckup.
I've had this argument with people before. We are not justifying anything or saying anything is right. But we are encouraging you to use the proper vernacular when you say something. Piracy and Theft are different (albeit similar) beasts. As kinneas123 pointed out, your examples are not parallel. Something (in this case, money) is actually lost from one person and another gains it. In the case of piracy, nothing is lost and only something is gained. "Potential Profit" is not included in the equation because it is just that--potential. There is no way to prove that "potential profit" would ever become "actual profit".
I don't think using an image as an avatar is piracy, since the company isn't losing any money because of your actions. If they were selling avatars, and you used some free version of one, that'd be different.
Also, watching anime and TV shows and stuff online is something that I never considered to be piracy or illegal in any way if the show was shown on TV first. Otherwise VCRs would have been outlawed years ago.
As far as the story goes, I agree with what he's saying. I hate when people attempt to justify their piracy. If you're going to do it, then it's on your conscious. But don't try to say you're right.
Well put. That's precisely what I'm attempting to do. The reason why the two are so often confused is because Music/Game/Film companies have been lobbying strongly to reduce or eliminate the distinctions between them, at least in the public perception. Consider the example of the Federation Against Copyright Theft, a British organization that fights copyright infringement of films and television broadcasts. The title of the organization is misleading, since there is no such offense as "copyright theft" in UK law codes, but the goal of this organization and many others is to reduce or eliminate the distinction between "copyright infringement" and "theft" in order to be able to exert more control over their copyrights.
I agree, as I don't pirate any games except the odd old DOS games.
Through history we see that these types of conflicts become unsolvable, and the costs of the argument far outweigh the costs of the initial problem.
What we can do is realize that despite the issue, we all love games. And though our methods and justifications are different, we all support the industry behind it. Fronz always said it best, STFUAJPG. Play them with pirates, and play them with anti-pirates, and just have fun. If we can't do that, then why have games in the first place?