SCEA's Peter Dille has been chatting to Gamasutra about a number of things, not least the infamous PSP piracy problem. With Sony not really doing much with its handheld system until recently, homebrew developers and piracy fans have taken it upon themselves to release games on the barren platform, whether Sony likes it or not. Sony doesn't like it.
"I’m convinced and we’re convinced that piracy has taken out a big chunk of our software sales on PSP," states Peter Dille, channeling Captain Obvious. "It’s been a problem that the industry has to address together; it’s one that I think the industry takes very seriously, but we need to do something to address this because it’s criminal what’s going on, quite frankly.
"It’s not good for us, but it’s not good for the development community. We can look at data from BitTorrent sites from the day Resistance: Retribution goes on sale and see how many copies are being downloaded illegally, and it’s frankly sickening."
Harsh words from Dille, and justified in many ways. I'll never condone the mass levels of piracy that go on right now, but let's face it. Up until very recently, gamers had to find and make their own entertainment with the PSP. Forcing gamers to update their firmware with every new game that comes out doesn't help, and only really annoys people who actually bought the game in the first place.
While the level of PSP piracy out there is quite rampant, one can't help but feel Sony had a hand in it.
Contest:
10:00 AM on 04.22.2009
| 
of sleeping at a time
when you should have been wide awake"
So they're mad that while they weren't paying attention, people took the liberty of bettering their own gaming experience? I guess I can understand the torrent issue but... too bad. Sony makes enough money, I don't feel bad about ripping off some of their shit. It's a down economy, dammit!
Oh crap.
I like you I didn't rape her if she was asking for it Jim ;)
Whore.
i don't pirate new games but old ones that you can't buy brand new without chunking down $70 on ebay for a sealed copy of xenogears and i will not wait for sony to get off their asses to bring em to the psn. when they do, i'll but them but until then, arr!
let me clear it up for you - that is a big leap in logic - I am willing to bet a lot that the overwhelming majority of those who are downloading these games would NOT buy them regardless of their download availability
game = free: sure I will give it a try
game = not free: meh screw that game
and thats the truth of the matter
plus that pirate chick is hot
When you throw the high price point of brand new PSP games into the mix, that makes the piracy even more rampart. I paid $40 for God of War, and got maybe a four hour game. That's insane. However, I plan on buying War of the Lions for a much more reasonable price of $20 in the near future.
If you could keep your games sub-$30, Sony, I bet you would see a lot less pirating.
BUT, I do wish they would expand the shit out of the selection of titles available on the PlayStation store. Why not just drop a few hundred games up there, all $25 or less? Have an assload for $10? There are tons of older PSP games that you can't find in your local EB Games or GameStop, wherever, and a lot of the out-of-print ones are $40+ on eBay. They should make a bigger effort to have digital distribution done easy and done right, and it will curb at least some of the 'border pirates' who get the games that way simply because it's not feasible to get them anywhere else. You'll always have hordes of teenage pirates online who won't pay for a game if they can pirate it, and that's too bad, but I think think they're missing the boat with online distribution.
I am not agreeing with it. I don't pirate PSP games (or even DS ones, for that matter), but Sony did help to encourage the image the PSP has a pirate's haven.
Soon after I actually started looking at the PSP library, and I don't think the argument that "there are no games" stands anymore. I'm having tons of fun buying legit games for crazy cheap, I have Loco Roco 2, Lumines, Me and My Katamari, Monster Hunter Freedom, Puzzle bobble pocket, Tekken, and FIFA 08.....all cost under $20. There are tons of games I still want to pick up....Patapon 1 and 2, each under $20....both Worms titles, Little Big Planet(when it comes out) and not tomention the crapload of RPGs I haven't tried yet.
I WILL hack my PSP someday at the end of it's life, especially since memory cards are getting so cheap....but for now I'm really feeling good about my purchase
And like someone else said... looking at a torrent site to see how many people download the game doesn't mean that all those people would buy it if they couldn't get it. That's just and insane way to think.
not enough games from Sony = hacked psp
hacked psp = more fun
if Sony got off their asses and tried = a funner system
and Patapon = the only game I actually play on the damn thing
Also, SilverDragon1979 has a great view from up there ahaha.
SCEA's Peter Dille Press Release:
Heat is hot, water is wet, snow is cold, and I'm crunchy and good on sandwiches.
That is all.
But seriously piracy is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 1995......
It was first marketted as a full multi-media expierience, and fully capable of hi-res video playback, but sony never mentioned at all how to load your own movies onto the mem stick in a way that the XMB could detect it, i first learned of the appropriate path from an issue of EGM for god's sake!
Second, and this is a BIG point for me, since second-hand game stores became more common place i have constantly been selling crappy games back to stores to get the good ones, and faithfully holding onto the good/rare ones, so when i herd that the PSP was going to be able to play old PSX games, i wasd jumping for joy, that is untill i found out that they wanted me to buy a PS3, and purchase an additional copy of whatever game you want to play, im sorry but thats bullshit. I have held onto some of my fav PSX games for more than 10 yrs, and now to reward me i have to buy the game again to play it on my new console? no thanks.
I actually diddnt find out about the ability to rip games untill 8 months after hacking my system, i was using the CFW specifically to play my PSX game backups, and ultra-rare games like chrono trigger, and FFVI, and select homebrew like quake 1 and hexen 2.
So overall my opinion is this, if sony had actually encouraged the system to be used to its full potential, and allowed backwards compatability, without having to pay for a game you allready own, i would have been a faithfull sony fanboy
I think if the industry wants to stop this problem, they have to create something new, not just data on the disc, but something that makes you buy the game, something that you can be sure is 100% impossible to copy and that is worth the money. Otherwise many gamers out there doesn't mind to play a ROM.
birthday wishes messages
Birthday Love Poems