The Witness is getting pirated hard — creator Jonathan Blow warns it’ll impact future projects

A lot of people are playing the The Witness, but they’re not all paying for the privilege.

[Neonridr]

That's why I got it on PS4. I could have easily bought it for my PC. But at the end of the day I wanted Jonathan to be rewarded for his efforts.

I am no saint, and have been guilty of pirating stuff in the past, but if it's a title I am really excited for, I never pirate it.

[VenomUK]

One of the strengths of current-gen consoles is that they don't have a piracy market. With a game like The Witness which has received some amazing scores there is going to be a desire from gamers to check it out. If it is only available on console then people will buy the console version meaning more revenue for the publisher.

I think perhaps a staggered release might have benefited this. It might be annoying for PC only owners to wait, say a month, but it could potentially mean more revenue for the publisher.

[Dee_91]

i only pirate EA games
im a pirate with a conscience xD.
Steam's 2 hour play time window for a return isn't always enough time to determine if I want, or can run the game or not. I support developers that I believe deserve my support, if I feel like you're trying to take advantage of consumers I wont buy your game.

One thing that confuse me when publishers talk about piracy is the whole "potential revenue" factor. They can't be for sure that the people who pirated the game would have bought the game, if they couldn't pirate it.. They shouldn't count those pirated games as revenue loss, they are potential revenue loss with a huge emphasis on potential.

[mikeslemonade]

He's making enough money. He's one of the poster indie developers for Sony. The guy is balling.

[NewMonday]

should have released it exclusively on the PS4 first year

[SonyWarrior]

blow is wrong to think all the pirate downloads were lost sales when i pirate something its 100% some thing i would not have bought in the first place. so he needs to realise that these are not stolen sales and that his actuall sales are poor because of $40 price tag not to mention its a niche puzzle game...... i seriously lold at that price point for this....

[RiseofScorpio]

And some of these guys have the nerve to say they steal games to test them out?

[donthate]

Monday:

If he released it on Xbox One as well and dropped PC, he would likely make more money. Too bad for him, but he chose his bed. Now sleep in it!

[abstractel]

I don't get the high review scores. It's beautiful, but the puzzles are extremely tedious after a while. Not difficult, just tedious and repetitious. Only thing I enjoy are the audio clips. This never would have gotten a sale from. If it did, I would have buyers remorse. I bought ROTTR and I absolutely love it.

So as much as people want to believe, Jonathan included, that these are lost sales, a very small number of them are. Once we live in a DRM world that can't be hacked, you'll see that PC sales won't go up very much. There's zero evidence that Dragon Age Inquisition sold more on PC because they weren't able to hack it.

Most people have a conscious, most people want to buy games. I have a huge collection of bought games, and a very tiny selection of hacked games.

Jonathan has always had this weird arrogant ego. I don't know the guy but he always comes across like he's better than the everyone else. That would never influence my purchasing decisions, I just find him odd. And not in an eccentric genius type of way.

[badz149]

Seriously guys, this is not the 90's or even early millenial anymore. There are enough reviews and gameplay videos available on the net for you guys to have a look or see if a game is to your likings. There is really no justification for piracy anymore but stealing!

I used to pirate stuff myself when I was young but not anymore. The internet is there for me to know everything about a game I want and if don't feel like spending the amount, I'll gladly wait for sales. Afterall, PC gamers always brag about lower priced games and huge discounts, right? Why pirate then? Hypocrite much?

@Dee_91

Even if you feel like EA deserves to be robbed, you are just hurting those paying for their games. They will tighten their DRM and it is unfair for legit buyers. Just don't buy their games. You going the extra mile pirating them shows that you care about their games. Why steal?

@mikeslemonade

Might be true that he's making enough money but what he deserves is getting taxed, not getting robbed. Nobody does! He's doing an honest job and The Witness packs a lot of contents for its price, so why the hate?

@donhate

Wow such hatred? Did you feel the same about SSOD and RoTR?

[ifistbrowni]

“I don’t like DRM because I think people should have the freedom to own things they bought,” he said. “But I also want to design video games.”

- Jonathan Blow

Gamers dislike this guy, of all people in the gaming industry? Sounds pretty reasonable to me. He takes away DRM so the people who buy it have all the freedom possible with it, but in turn screws himself over because gamers aren't as loyal. Sometime I just hate the people who share the same hobby (gaming) as me. Such entitled little brats.

[fr0sty]

"JB's future games are going console exclusive." - it should read.

[never4get]

The game should be PS4 exclusive.

[mikeslemonade]

In what way I was hating^

I'm just being a realist and saying JB isn't struggling for money. It's more like he wants all the money he can get.

[awi5951]

There are console games right now that are totally cracked even with this new anti pirate software that Ubisoft and EA have put into games. There are already cracked versions up on sites right now. I dont pirate games because people put viruses in this stuff. But to say consoles dont pirate games is silly. I see way more console games than pc games because people can burn the iso for the games to disk and they play. Console pirates get a hard copy of their illegal games.

[sle7enn]

@mikeslemonade

"He's just trying to make as much money as he can"

And what's wrong with that? He made something that's good. So you're saying that you would work for free or allow people to rob you. It's morally wrong, if you pirate games and like it then you should buy it. Don't be pissed when his next game is console exclusive. "He's making enough money". Do you in fact know how much game development costs? What's wrong with making money off of something you created that people like?

[Utalkin2me]

Correct me if im wrong, but i thought console makers had a heavy chunk they get for each sale on software and publisher gets their chunk. And on Pc it is what publisher gets. So in turn dont the developers earn more money off each Pc sale then each console sale?

[OpenGL]

If you buy a physical console game, yes the developer / publisher gets a smaller chunk than if you buy digital because the retailer is also taking a portion of the sale, there are costs to produce and ship the physical media, etc.

No official figures have ever been released for Sony and MS but my understanding is that Valve takes approximately 30% of each sale on Steam. PSN and Xbox Live are probably similar amounts.

[donthate]

Well if you do on PC I think the support cost is also higher, so it might offset higher profit margin apart from piracy.

[rainslacker]

For a console release, the console maker gets around $10 in licensing fees for a set period after the game releases. The retailer gets their cut. The cost to sell to distribution is around $45-48, so for each game sold, the publisher is bringing in around $35-38 at release time. The profit is lessened due to the cost of making the physical release, and the distribution costs. The retailer is making between $8-15 depending on their buying power, and whether they can source directly from the publisher or not. The console maker gets it's cut of the license fee when the publisher sells the game to the publisher, not after the game sells to the consumer, so it's factored into the price to distribution.

On the console digital marketplaces, there is no cost to produce the physical versions, and the console maker takes a chunk. I know what that chunk is for two of the major consoles, however, NDA's prevent me from discussing it, and it also can vary based on deals these companies have with each other. Otherwise, the console maker gets both it's licensing fee, and the store selling fee.

On PC, for most digital marketplaces, the storefront takes a cut, with Steam being one of the higher percentages out there. The actual percentage can vary, but it's comparable to the console market places. The biggest gain to PC is that there is no licensing fee for the publishers to pay, which can add up to a significant amount depending on the game.

[Neonridr]

just to clarify my original comment I meant to say I could have easily pirated the game for my PC, not bought.. lol

bad typo that makes the statement look strange.

[poppinslops]

I bought the 360 version of Fez, then pirated the PC version when I realised that the console versions weren't ever getting patched (the 'legend' of Phil Fish was news to me) - it's the only time I ever pirated a game, but I consider it a matter of compensation as opposed to stealing.

That said, Jonathon Blow is getting robbed... the guy puts years of effort (not to mention ALL of his Braid money) into The Witness - a complete, fairly priced game - and he gets screwed, just like CDPR did with the Witcher 2 (which didn't really make any money until it came to console).

I was planning on waiting for a Xbox version to be announced, but all this pillaging has me doubting that'll happen... I guess I'll just have to be that guy who actually bought the PC version.

[Grap]

" Witcher 2 (which didn't really make any money until it came to console)."
wait what??????? the game sold nearly 3M copies in steam alone, did you pull that from your ar$e?

[kraenk12]

"just like CDPR did with the Witcher 2 (which didn't really make any money until it came to console)"

Oh yeah, because the PC community never supported CDPR!

/s

What the hell are you talking about?!

[Psychotica]

"but I consider it a matter of compensation as opposed to stealing. " - Oh so the laws against stealing is up for individual interpretation? I didn't realize that. Does that work for breaking into your home or stealing your car as long as the person stealing doesn't think of it as stealing?

[Hereiamhereibe2]

In @poppinlops defence The Witcher 2 did in fact double its PC sales when it was released on consoles, and has only risen an insane amount since then.

[MRMagoo123]

@psychotica

Piracy isn't stealing it's cloning. If you came into his house and cloned his car and left with that clone I don't think he would care.

[Psychotica]

@Mrmagoo123 - It's is stealing, because you are not supposed to have access to it at all until you purchase a software license to use it.

[RiseofScorpio]

Yeah 3 million copies at insanely cheap prices that they do so you'll feel bad about stealing it when it's so cheap.

[donthate]

You do know about the legend of "Blowfish" right?

He made is bed, so he should sleep in it too.

[rainslacker]

Witcher 2 was pirated 4.5 million times. More than the 3 million that it sold on Steam.

One could argue all day that those don't mean they're lost sales, but if you were the one developing the game, you would probably not be too happy with those numbers.

When you know there are a lot of people who want to play your game, and you know you delivered a good game, yet more people pirate than buy, it's kind of depressing.

It'll be interesting to see if Witcher 3 pirated numbers are ever announced, and if they're significantly lower due to the exclusion of DRM. Something tells me with all the praise and hype this game got, along with the series becoming more popular lately, that the numbers are going to be just as depressing. If they're the same, at least CDPR didn't piss off their paying customers, which is always a good way to tread.

[callahan09]

@Neonridr: I'm confused, why wouldn't he be rewarded for his efforts if you bought it for your PC? A purchase is a purchase, and in fact, I suspect buying for PC gives him more money than buying on PS4 because of fees he has to pay to Sony to distribute over PSN. I paid full price for the game on Steam, and glad I did, the game is awesome! Whether you buy on PS4 or PC, you're giving great support to the dev if you actually pay and don't pirate, so good for all those who do that. To those who pirate, that's fine too in my opinion, BUT if you really appreciate what the devs have created for your enjoyment, PLEASE go ahead and buy the game as well to give them your support, because if everyone who loves it pirated it and didn't pay for it, we wouldn't get another game and the devs would be hurting. So if you must pirate, I hope you do so to learn about the game and determine if the dev is deserving of your reward, and if so, then please give them that reward!

[Neonridr]

you didn't read my addendum comment that is 2 posts above your current post..

I couldn't edit my comment at that point because people had already replied.

[callahan09]

Oh yes, I see it now haha. Well in that case, I'm glad you bought the game for PS4, but hey, like my comment says, if you weren't sure, you coulda just pirated it on PC and then made a commitment to buy it if you appreciated it. I was such a big fan of Braid and the early reviews were good enough that I just ponied up the $40 on Steam immediately upon release, because I believed it would be worth it, and in hindsight, I was right. I've been burned before, but in this case, I felt pretty good about it, and it worked out well. Curious though, if you could pirate it and play it on your PC, why wasn't buying it on PC an option for you instead of buying on PS4? I mean, I totally get it if you just prefer it on PS4 vs PC, there are numerous reasons for why one might prefer console over PC or vice versa, each individuals' circumstances are different!

[Neonridr]

@callahan09 - with the amount of time I was going to be pledging to completing this game, the fact that I can play my PS4 in bed via my Vita was a big deciding factor. Lol

I have a good gaming PC, so it wasn't a question of hardware, but I just chose the platform where I knew I would get more playing time out of on a daily basis.

;)

[Erik7357]

Wait...what?

Thats why you bought it on ps4 over pc? How is it helping him more by BUYING it on ps4 over pc? Stream probably gives more money to the developer soooo whats wrong with buying it on PC again?

"I could of easily bought it on pc-" "- at end of day I wanted Jonathan to be rewarded for his efforts" How would he of not been rewarded if you BOUGHT it on pc? Yea buying is same as pirating on pc, genuise right here guys.

[Neonridr]

again, nobody clearly reads through the comments below. See my addendum comment that I added in halfway down the replies. I couldn't edit my original comment to fix it since people had already started replying.

[Erik7357]

Thats a first, usually people say they didnt read through their comment but this guy takes it a step further and knocks it out of the ball park with "you didnt read my other comments"

I fully read through your comment bro, I just ya know...my comment was directed towards what it replied too...not a other comment.....duh

How could you fix your orginal thoughts, you didnt mispell anything or mistype anything, you basically said your glad you dont buy stuff on pc, what other thought could be confused with that?Pirating?Howwww......& ;quo t;oh shit i meant pirating guys not that its bad to buy games on pc, like didnt mean to type that nor do I know how its confused with pirating. In reality I just was saying something really dumb and people called me out for it and I have to cover it up!"

[Neonridr]

fair enough, I would have fixed it when I could, but that was beyond me since someone had replied.

Pretty sure you were the 6th comment to respond to my post, but I understand if you didn't have time to read through every response. Most people see something and jump on it right away.

and I'm not a kid. ;)

oh and do you feel the need to keep editing your comment? Hard to respond to you when you keep changing what you type out.

Yes I made a mistake, I typed the wrong word. I didn't catch it until afterwards. At that point I can't change anything.

Doesn't change what I meant. I could have pirated the game on PC, it's very easy to do. However I wanted to reward the developer so I bought it on PS4. I could have bought it for PC as well, but my reasoning for purchasing it on my console is my reason and my reason alone.

Don't like that response? Tough, I could care less.

[RedDevils]

A stupid reason Neonridr anyway. It's doesn't change where to you brought the game, the money still go to the developer both steam and Sony get %, there not much different.

[SUCKxITxEZ]

In the end you did a disservice to pc gamers as the creator would have made just as much money (if not more) if you bought the pc version instead of the ps4 version, but considering you can't pirate on ps4 the sales could influence him to make his future games console exclusive. If the sales numbers on ps4 where better only because people followed that same logic, then the pc gamers would be getting screwed in the end.

[solar]

people who pirate and play the whole game was never going to buy the game in the first place.

[Neonridr]

Sometimes true. But there are times when people just really want to test a game because they are on the fence. And with no viable option to try before you buy, that leaves either 3 options.

Buy the game and hope for the best, pirate the game and then buy it once you know you like it, or skip the game completely because you are unsure.

But you are correct in what you are saying. Once someone pirates the game, it can become difficult to justify buying the game considering you have it there on your PC for free.

[Erik7357]

But the question is would they of bought it if they couldnt pirate it?

[kraenk12]

While I agree that not every pirated game is a lost sale I strongly disagree. Piracy does hurt sales!

[Dan_scruggs]

It's still illegal. It still hurts sales. And this endlessly parroted statement is still stupid.

[SliceOfTruth888]

i have to disagree. If it wernt for pirated games i would have bought most of the games i downloaded for dreamcast....its sad that i helped kill that system but i wanted all the games....sorry sega

[Silly gameAr]

It was probably the people whining about the price when it was first reveled. Though, I wonder how many of those people actually wanted to buy the game in the first place anyway.

[RedDevils]

Pirate can hurt it also can help. Just look at the trend on all the highly pirate games they all = to high sales games.

[rainslacker]

Well...if they weren't going to buy the game, maybe they shouldn't be playing it either. Why play a game you aren't willing to buy?

They really have no right to pirate.

I actually already know what some people would likely say, all BS excuses for the most part...I was being rhetorical.

While I doubt the majority of pirated versions equals a lost sale, those that say it means none of them would are just making assumptions, because there are a lot of people who pirate who also purchase games.

@Red

That's usually because the more popular games sell better anyways. They are also pirated more. I don't think, in general, that the piracy of those games is bolstering sales.

Whatever the metrics of conversion are to determine if it's either helpful or harmful is pure speculation, and IMO, most of the positive spin from it comes from those trying to justify their illegal actions.

On a side note, I have a feeling a lot of people here on N4G pirate. Whenever I am negative on the subject of piracy, I tend to get a lot of disagrees. I guess people don't like to be told that they are breaking the law, and that their reasons are BS.

[Moe-Gunz]

"3 options.

Buy the game and hope for the best, pirate the game and then buy it once you know you like it, or skip the game completely because you are unsure."

That's why we want demos for every game.

[LetoAtreides82]

Neorindr you are incorrect, there is another popular option. You can watch one of them Let's Play walkthroughs on youtube. There's a variety of them as well, for example if you don't like commentary you can search for "no commentary" walkthroughs.

[solar]

Moe-Gunz

you get it. 99% of the people on this site dont. they think money just grows on trees, and everyone who pirates is a thief. renting games is legal theft, but critical thinking has gone the way of the Dodo bird.

[frostypants]

I say this as a gamer on PC and consoles: This is why devs are spending less and less time optimizing games for PC. No doubt I'll get disagreed with, but it's the cold hard reality. STOP STEALING PRODUCTS IF YOU WANT DEVS TO CATER TO YOU.

[Bladesfist]

Devs seem to be catering to PC now way better than in the past.

[frostypants]

@Bladesfist, they really aren't. I've been gaming on PC/console since the 1990s and I've never seen LESS focus on PC.

[DeToX420]

Frosty you are a fool if you think pirating doesn't exist on Xbox and ps and as a matter of face I'll go pirate a game on each and burn them to a disc maybe then you will shut up.

[frostypants]

@DeTox420 (edgy...lol), when did I say piracy doesn't happen at all on consoles? You're a fool to deny it's not a much, much bigger problem on PC, which is the only point I ever made. Swing and a miss, kid. Dust yourself off and try again.

[ifistbrowni]

kinda sounds like a catch 22.... I've never pirated a game in my life but the way I interpret what you said was.

Devs spend less time optimizing games on PC and release game like Arkham Knight.

Lose sales of their loyal purchasers to the "black market."

I kinda see what you're saying though and it sounds believable. If I worked my ass off like Jonathan Blow did on The Witness, just to get screwed hard by the majority of a gaming community, I'd never release another game on that platform again.

Lets not forget, other developers are paying attention to this story too. Sure, the pirates are screwing Jonathan Blow for whatever convoluted reason but the industry is paying attention. We're talking about a highly reviewed game with 50+ hours of content, releasing at a fair price of $40.

There are AAA games in development right now that are going to be half the content and nearly double the price at launch. If gamers dont think that this story doesn't scare other publishers then they're nuts.

The industry is paying attention.

[Eonjay]

Wait so after the big stink you made over in the IGN article you got it on PS4 anyway? Oh.

Anyway, on topic: yeah, this is why PC gaming is still a side show. Because the minute that Star Citizen is finished, people will be stealing it.

[Neonridr]

yeah, I opted for the PS4 version. Remote Play is a huge plus for me. I am married with a 3 1/2 year old son. I don't get to do a lot of gaming period.

However, lying down in bed with the wife asleep I can sneak in an extra hour or so.. ;)

Plus since I knew that the PS4 version was on par with the PC version, there was no real reason for me to get it on my PC.

[Dark_Crow]

That makes no sense and steam digital sales on pc beg to differ.

[frostypants]

@Dark_Crow, how about you have that argument with Jonathan Blow. Your opinion vs. that of an actual developer. Let's see who wins...

[Dark_Crow]

So please explain your reasoning for getting it on the ps4?
You could've just gotten it on the pc by paying for it. It's really easy.

Your reasoning just confuses me.

[Neonridr]

sigh.. see what one mixed up word causes.. lol

see my second comment (response #3) to my original. I clarified that I meant to say "pirated" and not "bought" on PC.

[jstark]

hes still a console cuck at heart thats the real reason

[tee_bag242]

Yeah.. He got his thoughts confused lol.
Right..

[Kidmyst]

Game devs should release versions of their games on torrents to pirate free, but once the game draws you in, some monster stalks and attacks you relentlessly that won't die. When gamers turn to others on how to kill them, they are identified as being pirates and laughed at.

[ocelot07]

Didn't Batman Arkham Asylum do something like this? You got to a certain part of the game. Where you had to use a gadget. If you had a cracked copy of the game the gadget would not work.

[SUCKxITxEZ]

@ocelot07- pretty sure it was the cape glide but I never pirated it so idk. I remember reading about that.

[rainslacker]

There was an indie game on mobile a while ago that had a "pirate" version out there. Basically it shamed the player calling them a pirate, and encouraged them to support the dev. Can't remember the name of it, but it was a game about game development.

They got a lot of good publicity about it. It's one of those few instances where playing into the pirate scene can actually generate positive buzz for a game, which in turn can make some people who pirate pay for the game.

Good will goes a long way, and takes some of the excuses off the table. CDPR realized this, and while it's too soon to see if it made a difference, and probably will be subject to lots of market forces, one can't deny that people who want to pirate that game for the commonly given reasons other than they're cheap a**holes, pretty much went out the window.

[Truthandreason]

This really makes no sense. If you bought it on PC you would reward him as well, maybe even more as I think steam takes less of a cut then Consoles.

[Neonridr]

no, the real reason it doesn't make any sense is because I made a typo. I meant to say "pirated" instead of "bought". I didn't double check my comment for consistency before I clicked submit, so I missed it until it was too late to change it. I have made numerous replies to this comment chain about the fact that I messed up.

[SUCKxITxEZ]

@Neonridr- either way it makes no sense to bring up what platform you bought it on. You might not realise this but a lot of us pc gamers get a bad rep for console gamers pirating games to try on their craptop. I did this a lot as a kid with 20$ a week allowence. Now I have a job and don't have time to search for cracks and safe torrents, and I care about the future of my games as I have lived long enough to see the effects.

[Allsystemgamer]

Your statement doesn't make any sense.

You want him to have money so you buy it for ps4 instead of PC? He gets the money regardless if you buy it...

[RiseofScorpio]

So theres less copies sold on the pirate platform and more on the platform who actually buy their games.

[FasterThanFTL1]

I would compare it to trying an ice cream flavor you have not tried before. Some people will just take the leap of faith & buy it, and some people would want a small sample to see if they should buy it or not. The game is a $40 indie game competing with $50 AAA games on steam so I would not blame them for being cautious. I will buy and play it when its at least $9.99.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

I'm glad you clarified that below, because I couldn't figure out why it would matter as long as you actually paid for the game.

[veicht]

I am not sure how buying it on ps4 rewards the developer more than buying it on PC does... Buying it is buying it (and they might even get a bigger cut on PC because of console licensing, not sure though). Just saying..

[CoDsuperstar]

Ive actually pirated skyrim and loved it so much i bought it and all the dlc on PC.

[CrowbaitBob]

I bought it on PC. How is that not rewarding JBlow for his efforts?

edit: Now I see you meant pirated instead of bought. I still don't get the juxtaposition of buying it on PS4 vs. pirating on PC. Do you limit your pc gaming to pirated games?

[kraenk12]

You know...I actually bought quite a number of games after I pirated and really liked them. Piracy can also have an advertising effect.

Sometimes I even bought them after I had finished them already...just to calm my conscience. :)

[Cueil]

he's a giant D-bag man... that's why people are pirating his stuff... they probably wouldn't have every bought it for more then a buck on steam sale anyway

[maybelovehate]

Lol, the money goes to Jonathan regardless where you buy it.

[showtimefolks]

shame on all of you pc gamers who have pirated this game. he has spent all his and than some (fez)money on the witness the least y'all can do is buy the the game

i hope one day pc is only known for it's MMO's and every other game becomes exclusive just to consoles. there is more than enough money on consoles

i am sure warner bros/rock steady won't even bother next time. because all y'all do is B**** or Whine about

excuses like i only pirate to try is nothing but bull****

elite minded B******

[SUCKxITxEZ]

Well I never bought any of his games, but Im pretty sure he had nothing to do with fez. Your thinking of Phil fish, and nobody likes that guy.

[beerzombie]

I agree, stealing someone's property whether its digital or tangible is theft.

That's why a lot of long time developers left pc gaming along time ago. then steam came into the picture and Devs came back. This can and will drive Indies away and AAA studios to make consoles first choice.
Yes there is pirating on consoles. I think is more manageable because it takes a lot of more effort to do.Sony and Ms can block most of pirate games from playing online which could be why there are a lot more online only games out there now.

[Seafort]

Well next time ask WB Games or Rocksteady to cut corners and develop a piss poor port on their next game for consoles and let's see how you react :)

I'm sure you'll bend over and take it like a good little console fanboy.

Btw at least get your facts right.

Jonathan Blow - Braid, The Witness
Phil Fish - Fez

Jonathan Blow has always been a whiny bitch and complains about everything.
If he put denuvo on his game he'd still be whining about piracy or some other BS claim.

@beerzombie
I'd rather some of the AAA studios (WB Games, Konami, Capcom etc) didn't develop games for PC. Most of them are really bad at developing a proper PC game. They should just stick to their fabled console games.

[showtimefolks]

Seafort

see us console gamers are happy with 720P with 30FPS. but you all pc elite gamers will whine and cry no matter what

yeah what did you say about konami? mgs 5 runs beautifuly on pc

[Mithan]

Pirates are thiefs. Period.

[hangdang]

That doesn't make sense. They get the money whether you buy it on PS4 or PC. Other people pirating the game doesn't mean that they don't get the money if YOU buy it.

[bumnut]

Buying the pc version wouldnt reward him?

[otherZinc]

Lol, Blow is a hypocrite, the game is massively overrated, and shouldn't be anywhere near $40

[TrollsBringer]

They shouldn't release the sequel on PC. Scum pirates don't deserve to play it.

[Domovoi0ng]

The game will run much better on pc and it will support jon. Dont get where your logic comes from. lol.

[LocutusEstBorg]

No, buying it on PC gives way more money to the publisher / developer.

[curtis92]

To play devil's advocate... pirating a game is often the only way some people will ever play the game. 1 pirated copy does NOT necessarily = 1 sale lost.

Plus, the more people that do play the game (who otherwise wouldn't have) and actually enjoy it, will then spread good word of mouth among friends/internet.

[Kyizen]

It doesn't really work that way with Indie games. with a triple A $60 dollar game I can see someone pirating it to try it out who would of NEVER bought the game and hey the dev can get a fan and they might buy past and future products. But with an indie game the price is already low. So when someone pirates it is pretty much stealing. They want the game vs 'trying' it out they just aren't paying the $20 bucks for it.

[Erik7357]

Im not defending pirating but im starting to question its impact on game sales sometime. Some people are saying that they would of never bought the game in first place so does it really equal a lost sale? Just something interesting to think about but im sure it looses some sales I just dont think the pirating ratio to sales is 1:1.

Wiether its 60 bucks or 20 it is irrelavent to pirators I think. I can see some one easily trying out the witness. Its a big games that you can sink 40+ hours into and its very different.

[Rachel_Alucard]

After reading the top steam reviews, the average person might be hesistant on throwing down $40 for it. Especially after the fact that its gotten critical praise. Gone Home was a horrible game that sold for way more than it was worth and received many awards, yet most people who've played it despised it. Just looking at it currently most people formed an impression that it was a return to the Myst adventure games. The reality is that its nothing like that and in fact its less than that, so obviously that alone probably turned a bunch of people off.

[GregMicek]

I agree with you almost completely. However, the hole in this particular case is the fact that the game is much more expensive than most indie games.

[Cueil]

I think this has more to do with people not wanting to reward a guy they dislike... I wont pirate this game, but I wont buy it either

[ginsunuva]

Umm... Just because it's indie doesn't make it automatically cheap.

This game is $40, but I mean an indie game has no limit on price. It can be $60 too, duh.

[rainslacker]

@Fries

I think the publisher spin on it being a lost sale is just there to try and curb piracy. They know that it doesn't mean that every pirated copy is a lost sale, and they do know that some people pirate to try before buying.

But to a publisher and dev, they're going to be thinking, if you want to play the game, you should buy it. They want to be paid for their work, and even though they often make money regardless of piracy, they know that it's not right, or legal, for those that didn't pay to play it.

Publisher probably don't care about those who use piracy as a demo, or even those who use it to get around restrictive DRM for legally purchased games, because those people either translate into a possible sale, or an actual sale. They do have a problem with the majority of pirates who have no intention of buying the game, yet still think they have the right to actually play it.

Since many pirates want to be all high and mighty about it, they simply won't accept that they're breaking the law, and use whatever excuse they can to justify it...up to and including that it doesn't equal a lost sale, so it doesn't matter.

[MrUndrhill]

So if I can't afford a Ferrari, it's ok to steal one so I can tell people how well it drives in hope that others might get one legitimately? That is a crazy argument. You should sit down and tell Mr.Blow, and the rest of the team who worked on this, that it is theft to generate hype and sales and see how he responds.

[dreamoner]

If stealing a ferrari was as easy as pirating a game, everyone would be driving one.

[Erik7357]

Im not defending pirating but im starting to question its impact on game sales sometime. Some people are saying that they would of never bought the game in first place so does it really equal a lost sale? Just something interesting to think about but im sure it looses some sales I just dont think the pirating ratio to sales is 1:1.

[WeAreLegion]

@dreamoner - That's absolutely true, but it's still not right.

[Lamboomington]

Not the point.

1 pirated game is NOT the same as a lost sale. I think the vast majority of pirates are people who wouldn't have bought them at all, and just pirate and play whatever games they can.

I know, because where I grew up, that's what ALL of us used to do. Well, except for... one or two guys, and they were rich. That was the only way we'd play them, and absolutely would not have been able to buy them/convince our parents to buy them.

However, as they grew bigger, got more money etc, a lot of these people have switched over to buying stuff because of services like Steam, GOG and so on. It might not sound nice, but pirated games ensured the spread of gaming in a lot of places. It's obviously not the same now, but it played it's part in the last decade.

[Allsystemgamer]

In order to steal a Ferrari the owner loses that Ferrari. No one loses anything when someone pirates a game. They weren't going to buy it regardless. It's very very different.

[MrUndrhill]

@Lamboomington Well if you wouldn't have played at all, then maybe just don't play. You are talking about a time when advertising and media was much more limited for reaching the consumer. You are telling me that the pirating community is a valid way to spread video game awareness? That is nonsense.

I grew up on cartridges, and you couldn't pirate, and you know what..some stuff you didn't play.Or you waited for a sale. No one is entitled to get to play all video games. I agree it is an expensive hobby and getting more so, but part of that is because it is made riskier by things like piracy. Moreover, most of these games can be bought for a few bucks once they have been out a year.

People are gonna do what they want, and they will justify it however they want, but pirating brand new product is messed up, and I don't believe it has no impact on sales.

[Petebloodyonion]

In regards to your Ferrari let me ask you this: If I was to sell you a Chevy Cruise at the price of a Ferrari would you buy it?
And would you accept my argument that the reason i'm not selling my Chevy was because of car theft?

This isn't about piracy it's about a fat ego being butt Hurt because is Indy overprice game didn't meet expectation in the first week.

Let me ask you: where the PS4 support since the number are on par with Steam (excluding the Uber pirated losses).

But there's good news for Blow cause the game is only digital.
If not he would have come next week saying that the used market was the nail in the coffin for potential sequel.

[ruefrak]

Game of Thrones is the most pirated TV show in the world, but that doesn't stop HBO from making more seasons of it.

That said, anyone making a game for PC has to know that their game, especially if it's good, is going to get pirated. It's a fact. So someone as smart as Jonathan Blow shouldn't be surprised that this is happening. I mean, isn't the PC probably the #1 platform for pirated software?

[rainslacker]

Doesn't mean that HBO shouldn't be upset or decry the fact that so many people are pirating it.

Whether or not something makes money is moot to the fact that piracy is wrong and illegal.

There is misinformation, spin, hyperbole, and conjecture from both the publishers and the pirates on this issue, but ultimately, the only thing that can be said for sure is that piracy is illegal, and that people who do it are breaking the law. Just because these companies aren't pursuing their legal rights on the matter doesn't justify the act.

[dreamoner]

cos legit viewers are directly proportional to pirates. maybe same can be said about games, tho gamers pirate for various reasons. I know people who usually buy their games but when it comes to a publisher they hate(ubisoft mostly), they pirate it especially.

[Utalkin2me]

That logic....ROFLMAO.

That would be like me walking into a store and and taking a leather jacket and when i get caught and say "No no, if i wear this jacket i can show my friends how much i like it and they will see how awesome the jacket is and spread the word. See im doing you a favor....

[Skudermasker89]

Stealing a physical object is not the same thing as downloading a COPY of a game.

[Utalkin2me]

Stealing is stealing, regardless of what it is. If something is not yours and you take it, thats stealing. Please elaborate on why its not the same?

I can not believe people are this.....Btw, you didnt have to make a new account just to post about this.

[jb227]

@utalkin

He's actually right, your analogy is flawed. In your instance, that company paid specifically to create that leather jacket, then the store paid them in turn. No money changes hands for that digital copy of the game. The company loses "potential profit" but not actual funds.

Regardless of your moral feelings towards the situation (I don't pirate personally either), strictly comparing the situations & your analogy is flawed. One directly impacts, the other indirectly impacts.

[Utalkin2me]

@jb227

First off it cost millions of dollars to make games, which they have to put up front for potential sales. Secondly, money has to change hands at first to get it started. Where do you think the digital image comes from? Thin air? A physical copy has to be used to make a image to then put it on the internet. So in turn this is even worse then the jacket analogy. Cause they only lose funds for one jacket and not hundred of thousands of possible copies.

[Corpser]

No it's not stealing, it's copyright infringement. Get that right first

[Utalkin2me]

@Corpser

How about you read first? My last comment i said nothing about stealing. That was in my orginal comment.

But the first person making copies from a bought copy and putting it up on the internet is copy right infringement. But the people downloading that digital image is stealing.

[jb227]

I see your points & I'm definitely not saying that pirating is okay, but there's a reason why it is classified as "copyright infringement" & not "theft" by the legal definitions. It remains a bit of a grey area & the kind of person capable of pirating a song, film or game is not necessarily the same person capable of shoplifting. If everyone on the page is being honest, I'm sure that we've all at least downloaded a song at some point. Or to take it further, by the same token when someone puts a song or clip on youtube w/o expressed permission, then anyone who views that song is essentially doing nearly the same thing as someone downloading a game.

Can't really lump anyone who has watched a certain video on youtube in w/ someone who walks into a retail store & starts stuffing their pockets w/ product.

[SlightlyRetarted]

@Skudermasker89
"Stealing a physical object is not the same thing as downloading a COPY of a game."

This is the most dumb thing i've ever heard about pirating. When we are talking about video games the product is not a physical object, but the data in it. Stealing a jacket and stealing a game is the same thing, you get the full product. Or do i not get a full product when i buy a game from Steam, when i get nothing physical?

[MRMagoo123]

Not even close to the same thing. If you went into the store and cloned the jacket and left the store with your cloned jacket that would be the same. No one lost anything no one stole anything, if you can't see that I don't know how better to dumb it down for you.

[CrowbaitBob]

Let me go download the TV I just bought on Amazon.

Totally the same thing, because once a single physical object is manufactured it can be replicated infintely without any further manufacturing costs. (Sadly, I probably need an /s here)

edit: I'm not even remotely pro-piracy. But come on, stealing a person's car is not the same as torrenting. Does piracy really have to be "the same" as stealing a physical object for you people to feel like you've made the point that piracy is wrong?

[ifistbrowni]

lol @talkin2me. I pictured the event happening in my head.

Sounds almost like a Seinfeld moment. Definitely something I could see Kramer doing.

[Summons75]

You couldn't be more wrong. Yes 1 pirated copy = one lost sale because that person is STEALING. Also if stealing is someones "only" way to play a game then they have bigger issues to deal with first than wanting to play a video game and they should probably jump on that. What you are basically saying is that it's okay to steal anything and then tell people to buy it when you would more likely show friends how to also steal it.

[averagejoe26]

1 pirated copy DOES NOT equal 1 lost sale.

Trust me. I will not be buying The Witness. No way. I don't like puzzle games in that style. There was never...ever going to be a sale coming from me for that game.

However...if I'm extremely bored one day and have extra time...sure I might pirate the game and give it a try.

Again,

1 pirated copy DOES NOT equal 1 lost sale.

It's very simple to understand.

I'm not supporting these actions. Just amazed how people cannot understand this simple concept.

[solar]

of course it doesnt. but the idiots believe that. if i didnt pirate Watch Dogs i wouldve been stuck with a $60 pile of dog crap.

[kraenk12]

Watch Dogs wasn't even half bad as a game.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@Kraenk12

Yeah it was three fourths bad

[FullmetalRoyale]

At the end of the day, the people saying the would never buy it, have pirating as an option. It's easy for me to be on my high horse when I don't have the temptation, but I'd like to *say that I would support the industry no matter where I play my games. My point though is; would these pirates simply stop gaming if they didn't have stealing as an option. If they truly would never buy games, then they are saying that, without pirating, they would not be gamers. I find that very hard to believe.
I can't play every single game the very day it comes out, and I think that's more what this is about.

[Gority]

Just because someone wouldn't have bought it regardless, doesn't mean they should have the right to play it then.

[frostypants]

If one can afford a gaming PC, one can afford the games for it. If one can't, one should never have bought said PC. And by this logic, a person who paid for one game but couldn't afford the second or third or fourth could apply this rationale to steal those latter three games. See the problem? It would become extremely easy for EVERYONE to justify theft ("I spent all my money on these 20 games...I can't afford the other 20 I want...so Ima gonna steal 'em!"). It is based on the false premise that everyone is ENTITLED to have every game.

And frankly, whether or not a pirate could have afforded the game is neither here nor there. It's theft of intellectual property. Finding an angle from which it's "less wrong" doesn't make it right.

Don't play Devil's advocate for this kind of theft. This isn't poor people stealing bread so they don't starve or something...

[Dark_Crow]

People who pirate don't intend on buying. It isn't a lost sale.

I would only pirate if I don't intend on buying the game.

[frostypants]

If you don't intend to buy the game, you have no right to play it. Your "no lost sale" justification is irrelevant, never mind the fact that it is entirely unquantifiable and thus impossible to prove.

Grow up.

[Utalkin2me]

Thats the stupidest thing i have ever heard.

They didn't intend to buy cause the intended on pirating it. So you're telling me if so called "pirates" didn't have the option to pirate games they wouldn't game? Or only game in rare occasions when they wanted to spend money?

[I3loggs24]

@Utalkin2me
Pirates will usually collect almost every game that's released.
They pay for the ones they want. They download the ones they don't particularly care for.
I occasionally pirate, the games I pirate I usually become bored of after a couple hours and never play again.
The games I buy are the ones I have genuine hype for and most of the time keep me entertained enough to complete.
If Piracy was stopped in its track tomorrow, the games I would have considered pirating, I'm still not going to buy.
I pirated Life is strange, was blown away by it and I've now bought the Limited Edition which came out this month, I probably wouldn't have had I not pirated it first.
I pirated MGSV, it was utter crap and deleted it shortly after. Despite the overwhelmingly positive reviews I already had the preconceived idea that I didnt like the direction Kojima had taken the series. And my instinct was right. IF I enjoyed MGSV, I would have no doubt bought a legit copy for the updates and the fob stuff.
I pre ordered The Witcher 3 + expansion despite not having DRM, and i plan on buying Blood and Wine.
I bought REHD and this year RE0HD
I bought Bloodborne and I dont even own a ps4, theres not a chance i would have considered pirating it had it been on pc
I bought GTAV after pirating it first
I bought AC Syndicate after pirating first

[NeoGamer232]

You are completely wrong.

If someone plays the game and doesn't buy it... aka Pirates it. That is a sale that did not happen.

And the logic of word of mouth is flawed in every way. Someone should not get the game free just because they tell 40 friends to buy it after they pirated it.

All developers spend real money to build their games whether they suck or are GOTY. Whatever price they ask should be paid if you decide to play it. If you don't like the price, you shouldn't play it.

It is funny how if you go to a car show room and steal a Lamborghini it is considered theft, but if you download a game off a pirate's site you somehow are helping the industry?

Tell that to developers like Pandemic, Grin, Bizarre Creations, etc. who had their studios shutdown even though they were producing quality games, but the only problem was their games were pirated or easily resold through the used game market.

Go look at this web page...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

Tons of development studios that didn't deserve to be shutdown, but were because their games didn't sell enough copies.

[I3loggs24]

Game sales through steam are through the roof, if there games weren't good enough to sell legitimate copies, that is there own fault.

Your Lamborghini analogy is so wrong for 2 reason.. No physical item is being taken from anyone, that show room isnt losing anything.
Second reason, Car manufacturers dont develop/build 1 car and make infinite copies, each Lambo that comes off the factory floor requires resources and man hours to build each one. So copying something that can be sold an infinite number of times at no cost to the dev is morally different.

[NeoGamer232]

@I3Ioggs24
As an example Pandemic made The Saboteur. A game that rated over 70 on Matacritic on every platform it shipped. Most gamers who played it thought it was a lot of fun and enjoyed it (me included), but on the 3 platforms it shipped it barely got a million in sales which caused the closure of the studio. One time the developers were asked and there were over 20x the gamer/steam/psn tags that played the game vs bought it. That is beyond ridiculous. That means only 1 out of ever 20 gamers who played the game actually bought it new. How is that fair to the developers?

Your issue with my analogy is wrong. Stealing is stealing. Pirates duplicate the disc unlawfully and copy it to web sites for download.

Lamborghini develops one car that costs a lot of money up front. Just because the car costs several thousands of dollars in labor and materials to duplicate vs games that cost less than a dollar to duplicate there is no difference when comparing the $600,000 Lamborghini selling price to a $60 game. Scaled, their costs to reproduce are similar. Take a Cost Accounting course and you would understand how companies develop the selling price for their products.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Then tell the dev to release a demo or anything that allows people to trial the game instead of having to gamble with money to test a multitude of factors beyond the gameplay itself. Even though steam allows refunds you only get them back in steambux and your basically always going to give valve money in the end once you buy the game.

You can't seriously believe that all those studios closure was solely because of piracy? Pandemic in question was shut down as part of a cost cutting restructure by EA that laid off not only Pandemic but also Maxis and the entire C&C team. Besides that you linked to a page with just defunct studios with no actual statement about piracy and sales being the root of it. E.G. 2K Boston and 2K Australia are on that list despite being just simply renamed to Irrational games which was closed down voluntarily despite great sales on Bioshock: Infinite.

[I3loggs24]

You can not blame the people who pirated the game for a studio being shut down.
Steams financial statement for 2015 saw 3.5 BILLION DOLLARS in sales, pirates are not to blame for a game selling poorly.

BTW steam only accounts for 15% of the global pc games market, pc gaming in 2015 was worth 27 billion dollars.

And again your Lambo analogy is wrong... Games are sold at a price point to appeal to the majority, not too expensive to lose sales, not to cheap to lose max profits.

Lambo's are built to appeal to the few, they make there money back by selling a few at extremely high prices, and the reason people are willing to pay those prices is for the social status. Limited numbers maintain there value, copies would reduce there value. Do you understand now?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

The thing with that is, the "does not necessarily" bit is the minority result.
The majority of all pirated software is done for the sake of not paying to get a game they want to play through.

Plus, there are just as many, if not more, reasons to believe the word of mouth of someone who legitimately bought a game, compared to a pirate.
We don't need pirates to help games get better word of mouth.
Stuff like Undertale proves it.

The fact of it is, pirates do more harm than good.
That's just how it is, and we shouldn't try to paint them as none-harmful, let alone helpful, because that just turns into a slippery slope where it's seen as acceptable, or at least justifiable, by more and more people, which does more and more harm to sales down the line.

It's one reason, for example, why 2M sales doesn't even help devs break even anymore: Dev costs are rising, and every 1k pirated copies that SHOULD have bought instead eats into that potential profit.

[_-EDMIX-_]

100% Agreed.

I don't even fully understand the concept of those who try to justify it based on their intent to buy their intent to purchase or not is completely irrelevant.

The fact is it was obtained without pay.

Pirates are one of the biggest reasons the PC industry is where it's at right now in regards to triple-a development or lack thereof.

[arkard]

Hmmmmm yet people wonder why companies are turning to Denuvo DRM

[solar]

its so the elitists get every single drop of money they can from the consumer. they dont care about us, they want our money, and if screwing us over gets them that money, they will do it.

[frostypants]

They're "screwing us over" by trying to stop people from screwing THEM over?! These are games, not a freaking public utility...they aren't screwing you over by wanting you to pay for what they invested in, and your life isn't being effected one way or the other. How self-entitled are you?

Did you read the *ing article? Jonathan Blow has avoided DRM thus far, but he may be forced to resort to it in the future because of piracy. DRM is the direct result of piracy, end of story, full stop.

Blame the criminals if you don't like DRM. You do have the option of choosing not to play these games at all. You understand this, correct? DRM is part of the product. Don't like it? Don't use said product. You aren't entitled to these games. You didn't make them. Your options are to either pay what they ask for the privilege of playing them, or not playing them at all. IF you can't resist the urge to commit theft to satisfy your wants, you should get checked out for a clinical addiction problem.

[Dee_91]

screwed over how? they're not in the business of charity so yea.. they want our money, and we want their goods.

[Dan_scruggs]

WAIT. So a business makes a product and sells it for money!? Woah. What Orwellian nightmare am I living in.

Now excuse me while I go to Best Buy and pick up any movie I want and don't pay for it.

[Gority]

Yet when companies don't put DRM on it like with The Witness.... they get screwed over. This isn't a chicken and the egg scenario. If people didn't pirate, DRM wouldn't be a thing.

[solar]

i see we have a long list of lemmings willing to just bend over and take it. good luck with that mates. i wont be in line with you. enjoy getting your stretching.

[rainslacker]

Nothing like a parrot calling out a sheep.

The whole, I pirate because companies try to screw us over is an old one, and it's just as stupid now as it was then.

Consumerism means you buy what you feel is worth your money, it's not about just taking what you want because you aren't willing to pay the price of entry.

DRM started because of piracy. Piracy has been around for a long time. It started back on the old floppy discs, and DRM was created to specifically combat it. Back then, the worst we had to deal with was some serial key, which was easily circumvented, and it's only grown from there to become more intrusive and all that's happened is the pirates went and made up another reason why they pirate. It's a never ending cycle, and if you want more from your games,without the restrictions, then stop piracy, and try to get others to stop it, because the second you can take piracy as a reason that publishers can use to justify their actions, the sooner they have to start providing content that is worth the price they are asking.

[Tsunade]

This is simple. Don't develope for PC or implement a very restrictive DRM. I bought a PS4 copy of the game and I like it. I believe Jonathan will make more money out of the PS4 version than the PC version. For the next project, please consider DRM or simply do not develop for PC.

[solar]

so all games should just be for the PS4. because no one will ever pirate that right?

[frostypants]

Piracy on consoles has never been close to as rampant as on PCs. The closed nature of the platforms makes it much easier to control. It's not a matter of whether or not piracy is committed, it's how OFTEN it is committed and how practical it is to do so.

Look at it this way: if devs make more money on platform A because more people are actually paying for their work, and they are seeing a negative ROI on platform B due to theft, why would they continue to support platform B? And what could you possibly say to them with a straight face to convince them otherwise?

[aquamala]

^^^ because even with all this pirating the sales of this game on PC is about the same as on PS4. says himself

[rainslacker]

@Frosty

Piracy was pretty rampant on PS1 and PSP. Vita's stupid restrictions and design were all put in place to curb piracy, and it had the same effect on the user base as PC DRM has on that user base. DS was pretty heavily pirated, but Nintendo relied on high install base to make up for it...however, the prices for 3DS games are higher because of it. PS2 was pirated to a lesser degree, but I can attest to there being a pretty large pirate scene back then...which I was shamefully part of, and even active in the distribution process. DC had rampant piracy but the majority of that came after it went defunct, and some of that was due to the ease of doing it, as well as the software being hard to find as buying channels were not as ubiquitous as they are now.

[Corpser]

Not true, he said so far Steam and ps4 sales numbers are comparable

http://twitter.com/Jonathan...

[Fin_The_Human]

Don't forget about the XB1 version.

[vega275]

He said he doesn't have any plans for a Xbox one version. Which could be a reason so many pirated his game. Not saying it's all Xbox one owners. But I'm sure many may have a capable PC. SF5 and no mans sky could be next to be pirated

[ginsunuva]

Hmmm... If I make $50 million from legit PC sales but 400k people pirated my game, does that mean I should throw away the $50 million and just go for the Ps4, where let's say I also make $50 million?

Hooray I cut my profits in half because I took advice from a teenager on the internet!

[Ferrethat22]

the PC master race at work

[TripleCs]

The "PC master race" loves calling console gamers peasants and welfare gamers yet they're the ones pirating games, waiting for Steam sales and begging for console exclusives.

This is the perfect example of people throwing stones at others while living in glass houses.

[Corpser]

Nobody is calling you peasants, stop doing it to yourself

[MadLad]

Console players keep the fire of the "PC Master Race" going, far more than PC players actually do.

I love it.

You literally just put words into other people's mouths, and then blamed them for it.

Bravo

[TripleCs]

I'm not understanding you guys's arguments.. Are you guys saying that PC gamers don't call consoles gamers peasents and welfare gamers? I'm not putting words in anyone's mouth if what I'm saying is true. PC gamers do in fact call console gamers peasants and welfare gamers.

@Corpser

"Nobody is calling you peasants, stop doing it to yourself"

I shouldn't even be linking you to this comment but someone actually called me a peasant not too long ago so I just though it was funny you said that lol

http://n4g.com/news/1847842...

@SlapHappyJesus

"You literally just put words into other people's mouths, and then blamed them for it."

Yea.. okay. Keep telling yourself that.

So now we're going to act like PC gamers don't call console gamers peasants now? If guys want to ignore it, play dumb and act like it doesn't happen just to suit and benefit your arguments then be my guest. Denial of the truth doesn't change the facts though.

[CrowbaitBob]

"This is the perfect example of people throwing stones at others while living in glass houses."

Are you referring to your own comment?

[ginsunuva]

Yes all PC players are the same person.

How about if I look at COD sales numbers and say all console players only play COD?

[TripleCs]

@ginsunuva

I never said all PC gamers do this though.. I was only talking about a specific group of PC gamers. The ones that I was talking about are the elitist jackasses that claim they are part of some "master race". I thought it was pretty obvious that my comment didn't pertain to all PC gamers. In my original comment, I even highlighted the term "PC master race" in quotation marks to point out the specific group of people I was referring to because I had a feeling people were going to respond to me with claims that I was grouping all PC gamers together and talking about all of them but that still didn't work. Sometimes I think I overestimate peoples intelligence. I hate that I have to make long detailed comments just so people can understand what I'm saying all because they lack common sense *sighs*..

[mixelon]

Gross generalisation. Not all PC gamers pirate.

[TheTwelve]

Yeah this is absolutely disgraceful.

[DiscoKid]

Making an announcement like this isn't going to change the hearts of any pirate. This is justa staple of software interest and he should not be surprised nor hope it'll ever change.

[die_fiend]

Yeah it's true. Warning pirates that they're stealing might affect the next game they're going to steal is a waste of breathe. That said, I bought this for £30 and it's excellent.

[rainslacker]

Sadly that's true. At best, they might be able to discourage a few people, or inform the ignorant(kinda like you see in movies now). Unfortunately, it seems the piracy rates are increasing faster than the number who decide to be honest convert.

Unfortunately, more often than not, you call out a pirate, and they begin to justify their actions with whatever reason has been said countless times before, and sometimes attribute wrong-doings of the pub/dev where it isn't applicable.

Still, better to discourage than encourage or stay silent. I've had projects of mine which were pirated more than they were purchased, and while it didn't bother me much due to the circumstances, if it had been my livlihood on the line, the piracy would have just been a slap in the face...regardless of if my project made money on the legit side or not.

[Nivekki]

Maybe your projects just weren't very good and people didn't want to pay for them.

[rainslacker]

Maybe. But if they weren't very good, why would people want to play them in the first place?

If they weren't good, why did the people that did pay play an average of 30 odd hours?

Maybe you shouldn't make assumptions, and just realize that some people like to not pay for things while still having the benefit of being able to have them.

Maybe people should be considerate of the developer's time and effort to deliver them games instead of taking what they want because it's easy to do.

Maybe you shouldn't be so insulting about something you don't know about, or at least explain why if the game wasn't good, that entitles people to play it without paying because they simply feel like it. I'd be curious on your reasoning's for that.

My personal projects, I'm not terribly upset about given the circumstances behind their production. However, I've worked on some pretty popular and well respected AAA titles over the years, and they also got pirated pretty heavily, and 2 of the 3 had meta ratings in the high 80's, with the 3rd at 84. Only one of them had what I"d consider restrictive DRM, one DRM wasn't applicable due to it's nature, and the other was completely DRM free.

But yeah, I'm sure the stuff I worked on was crap not worthy of purchase but was still good enough for people to play without expenditure on their part.:)

[Nivekki]

I was just joking really, just to wind you up. I knew, from posts you have made that you were quite full of yourself and had quite an ego, so I played on it, and you didn't disappoint. Plus I knew your reply would be the only one you could make.

You should learn to take it easy and not write an essay to everyone you talk to.

[CrimsonWing69]

Look, this is the world we live in. That's not an excuse, but this isn't shocking nor surprising. Some people don't like spending money on things if they can get it for free. The lack of respect for someone that dedicated a good portion of their time and life to produce a good for consumers only to have a large percentage of his consumer base not pay for the product is pretty disgusting.

[RyanShutup]

It's only shooting PC gaming in the foot. Dev's will realize that they'll make more money on locked consoles and start only releasing their games there...

[harypotr]

Ehm... actually it is quite the opposite. More and more devs are releasing their games to Steam, because there is money to be earned there. Look at the Japanese devs, they are all jumping on the Steam bandwagon.

[Ferrethat22]

They release the games 3+ years after released on consoles for fear of pirating.

[harypotr]

Your logic makes no sense

[solar]

http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

sure they do. keep telling yourself that without any sort of knowledge of the industry.

[Gority]

That's only digital sales.

[RyanShutup]

common sense bruh... get some.

The top three games from your article that made PC absolutely dominate in money earned are: 1. League of Legends, 2. Crossfighter, 3. Dungeon Simulator Online... because of free to play titles PC is dominating in your opinion? If that's where gaming is headed leave me out of it.

[DeToX420]

You have no clue what your talking about. Just so you are aware you can pirate xbox and ps games and burn them onto a disc which a lot of people myself included do so it's not just pc sorry.

[Utalkin2me]

Ohhhhh the irony.

[RyanShutup]

lol... ok bro... can you even still sign in to psn or xbox live on your jacked up console? you're part of the problem.

[CyrusLemont]

The game is only 3.3GB making it much more tempting and faster for people to nab. The games value is so much more than its size. Only played for 2 hours and I'm already engrossed with the philosophy and slowly unravelling message hidden behind all the puzzles and collectables to be found. It feels like the world is built upon history with every era merged into this giant playground of puzzles.

[cash_longfellow]

Dirtbags...

Edit: Referring to pirates.

[solar]

i pirated Watch Dogs because i was on the fence and there is no demo for the game. i played the game for 1 hour and never played it again, and i never bought it.

so pal, pirates arent dirtbags.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

He is correct

[IanTH]

That is not a reason, that is a rationalization. And even if that is all you use it for, and it was for WHATEVER reason deemed acceptable, we all know a single example does not represent the whole. The whole steal because they can and because it is easy.

Sadly, morals are easily twisted when ease & anonymity collide.

[Utalkin2me]

@solar

Thats your logic to help you rationalize stealing. Usually a defense mechanism for behaviors. Seems there are some deeper issues.

[MrUndrhill]

So if you had enjoyed it, would you have bought it?

[solar]

stealing. LOL.

so when you go rent a game from gamefly, its stealing in your sense of the words.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

Stealing any game, good or bad, makes you a software pirate which makes you a dirtbag. Pretty sound logic and I agree 100%.

[solar]

you know nothing of how the world works. i can tell. people like you are always the first to perish.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

Lmao @solar, how pathetic. Sure man, I'm sure I'll perish way early because I prefer to pay for software rather than illegally pirate software. I can see you will do great things in your lifetime (long long lifetime) with that rationale.

[Dyldog69]

Not cool. If 40 is too steep wait for it to go on sale dumbass

[Duke19]

Always going to be a few scumbags in the world who ruin it for the rest of us.

Its laughable the amount of people who support piracy because it provides a "free demo" for them before they then go buy the game. Yeah right...

[Darkfist]

they have the money to make the most powerful pc but cheap to buy a game?

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

They are the few, the proud, the elite. As well as the ones who went broke building super computers and now rely on stealing software. And no, not a single will ever pay for stolen software after "demoing" it, because they already have it.

[mixelon]

.. Actually I do know of a few people who pirated games then bought them once they appeared in a steam sale.. But those sales are often bordering on giving the games away anyway.

[ginsunuva]

Yes all pc players have the most powerful PCs money can buy.

You do realize this game is low requirements and can run on most laptops?
You don't have to have a desktop rig to play this.

[SynestheticRoar]

Pirating PC games is the norm.

[MadLad]

So that's why Steam brings in at least a billion a year, in a so-called niche market.

It all makes sense now.

[CrowbaitBob]

I'd say it's not really the norm, but it is expected to happen. It's wrong, sure, but it can't be surprising anyone when it happens.

In my opinion legit purchases are a much more solid experience over all. Pirated games seem a little ghetto to me.

[Rivitur]

Well for 40$ it is temtping...hmm I'll think it over

[jstark]

the game is still one of the top selling games on steam and is also sitting at 23,000(and still rising) on steamspy so at the end of the day they will still make their money regardless of the hundred people that are torrenting it

[DragonDDark]

And when we know how many pirated games were downloaded...

[ginsunuva]

According to data from KAT and TPB, it's well under 25k total downloads.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

@glnsunuva

A pirate only needs one copy to distribute thousands of pirated copies via a torrent.

[pabadamus1]

Stealing is stealing regardless of the excuse or the intent. If the game is too expensive don't buy it but also don't steal it. For all of the strengths inherent to the PC platform it is just so disheartening to see its community infested with thieves and cheaters. For the PC gamers out there who support these creators and choose to o the right thing 100% of the time, I applaud you

[DeToX420]

Don't feel bad guy I was never gonna buy this game. Piracy was the only way I would ever play this game so at least you got one more viewer. By the way this guy is probably who braid was made after. Creepy little fuck who needs a restraining order so that princess can be safe. I just know this guy had hundreds of pics of the same woman posted on his walls and she didn't even know he existed.

[TheDreamCorridor]

It's so great reading these idiotic comments from people literally trying to defend PC gamers pirating.

Somehow trying to say that pirating doesn't lead to loss of sales or revenue. Literally trying to convince yourselves that it's a "small percentage" that are pirating the game.

Clearly it's a big enough percentage that the lead developer is talking about it affecting potential future projects on Twitter and mentioning how it also was apparent on his previous games.

PC gamers will never ever get respect and proper optimization from most developers or publishers due to the majority of their install base stealing games.

Also, yes, I did say "majority", you know it's true.

[MadLad]

Sources please :)

[TheDreamCorridor]

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

[CrowbaitBob]

It's so great reading idiotic comments presenting hyperbolic nonsense as being representative of reality.

[TheDreamCorridor]

It is reality, publishers are acknowledging pirating among the PC install base.

There's no point to argue when the viewpoints of the people making the games, they would know infinity more than you or anyone in this comments section.

If you're gonna argue despite the facts then go away.

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

[CrowbaitBob]

You're a scrappy little bugger aren't you?

I refuse to argue with you. So there. I'm staying.

[FasterThanFTL1]

Maybe people want to try the game to see if they will like the game or not before shelling out $40 for an indie game.

[2pacalypsenow]

Right because that's how Pirates think. I don't go to the store and eat every fruit to see if Its good to buy or not. People can youtube the game

[donwel]

Not really an accurate analogy, because a supermarket won't try to sell you an apple by telling you it's a banana.

[2pacalypsenow]

You don't know a fruit is rotten till you try it

[Corpser]

Get off your high horse console gamers, console gamers pirated a ton on ps1/wii/ds//dreamcast days, it's not like most of them are against pirating games, it's just harder to do now (still doable however, plenty of PS3 pirates) , and most of them pirate music and movies

[RiseofScorpio]

I wonder why Gears 2 didn't hit PC because of pirates like you, thanks a lot really wanted that game on PC.

[Corpser]

Where did I say I pirate games?

[Hakoom]

dont put your game on the pc then lol

[u4one]

way to keep it classy... nothing like people just taking other peoples products and work without compensation. i need to remember that the next time I'm shopping for a car or a tv.... "well it was just sitting there and someone unlocked the door for me and i wanted it so i felt i was entitled to drive away with it"

[Nivekki]

For it to be the same as pirating you'd need to make an exact copy of the car or tv and take that, you'd leave the original car or tv where it was.

[PiperMCFierceson]

Pirates be like " I pirate it to see if I like it" lol what a joke. Why buy it if you already have it for free? I find it hard to believe any person despite of their position on the "morality" scale would ever pay if they have it for free. If you want to test it share play it, youtube it. Do research, read reviews. There is no excuse for pirating. If a company is not producing quality production then boycott, why even bother pirating.

[OhReginald]

I think its really because of the whole "I'm not paying $40 for a puzzle maze game"

[MadLad]

This is true.
I was expecting to see this thing at half that cost. No more than $25, anyway.

People can argue the pros and cons of piracy all they want. But it has, time and again, been used an excuse for poor sales; both by indies, as well as the AAA.

[Zarock]

True a puzzle game with no story for 40$ Is too much anyway.
Plus It's the developers mistake for not using Denuvo DRM.

[MadLad]

When you can pin an actual correlation between pirating and loss of sales, please, let me know.

I am tired of this blame everything on piracy mentality.
First off, I am going to state I have never pirated a game. Hell, whether you believe me or not, I've never even pirated a song.
I believe in supporting content I appreciate.

But there is no correlation between a pirated copy and a loss of sale.
There's also those who pirate as a demo, being that there are so few on offer on PC. In general, really.
Then there's also the argument that a pirated copy could, in turn, become a sale sometime in the future, once it's cheaper. Not necessarily a system I agree with, but the statistics are there.

You have indie developers saying that piracy kills their market. You have AAA developers blaming poor sales PURELY on piracy. You also have both praising the market, knowing that, at the same time, it could actually help support current, and future projects.
Information is all over the place, but there is almost nothing in support of saying that piracy can sink a project.

[Utalkin2me]

How about use this logic. When you can pin pirating and not loss of sale, please let me know. You say there is no correlation between a pirated copy and loss of sale. How did you get that statistic?

All i can go buy is a few people i know that have over 5TB worth of games and haven't paid for one in over 10 years. Is everybody this way, absolutely not. Is it more of a problem then what you're trying let on, for sure.

[MadLad]

Stop hanging out with scumbags that don't represent the community at large?

[2pacalypsenow]

Should of made it Ps4 Exclusive smh..

[MadLad]

Weird how GTA V, for both consoles, was the most pirated thing on the web for about two months after release a couple years back.

[2pacalypsenow]

But not on Ps4/Xbox 1 since those aren't cracked to allow pirated games Yet. And also it's a lot easier to pirate on a PC than on a console

[MadLad]

Oh, so you admit there's no difference between console and PC players.
There's the potential for them all to be greedy.

Good ..
So stop harping on PC gamers.

They will eventually be pirating with the rest of the idiots.

[2pacalypsenow]

Yes Pc piracy is much bigger than consoles, hence why this developer is talking about the game being pirated on PC.

[MadLad]

@2

The 360 ans PS3 have shown that it's obviously not that hard.
Give the new consoles time.

[sorane]

That's a stupid thing to say. Especially since he's loving all the money he's making off the PC version. He'd make far less if it was an exclusive.

‏@Jonathan_Blow

The Witness is still hangin' out on the Steam top 10 with the brand new AAA games (it is the only non-AAA in the top 10 right now!)

It's also selling the around the same as the ps4 version.

Lik Chan ‏@LikChan 3h3 hours ago

@Jonathan_Blow congrats, guess you dunno the numbers for PS4 yet?

@LikChan We know vague numbers, they are comparable to Steam.

[CrowbaitBob]

Making it PS4 exclusive would eliminate all of the PC sales seen so far. That might remove the chance that someone gets their hands on a pirated copy, but it sure wouldn't put more money in JBlow's pockets.

[MCTJim]

This is another reason I am completely for some form of DRM. Disagree away, but using a form of DRM prevents most of this from happening, Like it or not, this is another reason for pushing an all digital.

Many wont like it, but I don't mind it, neither do all the steam/origin/MS store users.

[Maxor]

Vendor DRM like Steam is fine. But anything more than that is just malicious garbage that does nothing to deter piracy.

[KilluaX3]

Well soon all PC games will use Denuvo.

[mochachino]

Hope so. All pirating does is increase the cost for legitimate purchasers in the long run and weaken the PC market.

The argument that people pirate because of DRM is baseless. DRM exists because of pirating. It's a consequence of thieves that have now inconvenienced every honest buyer.

[goathouse774]

I paid $40 for it and got my money's worth already within a few hours. If you're on the fence about spending that on an indie game, don't be. It's one of the best games OF ALL TIME.

[kraenk12]

Agreed. I'm in awe for this game!

[Jmanzare]

as much as piracy sucks for devs(especially indie devs) its going to happen.

[MasterCornholio]

I bought it for PS4.

In my opinion its a good game and its worth 40$.

[aquamala]

I would be worried if my game is not the #1 pirated game on the week of release

[NovaCorps]

is this is why ppl call pc nerds the beggar master race ? cause its pirate paradise ?

and they call console owners " peasants " funny

[InTheZoneAC]

such a shame entitled dishonest people don't give a damn about stealing

[Night99]

Oh man this Jonathan Blow again, this guy is such an attention seeker and cry baby, it is always the same when this guy makes one of his boring games, at least we don't hear that much about this other guy Phil Fish anymore.

This guys make more than enough money with their mediocre, way overrated indigames but do nothing than bitch and moan all the time. There are much more talented people in this industry who sell less gams than Blow or Fish but they don't bitch all the time about anything.

[richyque]

Lol at the 'master' pc race stealing their games again. Witness should of just been a console game so that the real master race that actually pays for their games.

[CrowbaitBob]

In the top 3 sellers right now on Steam, because PC gamers don't pay for their games.

[generationjeu]

$39.99 for an indie game will do that

[Night99]

The Witness should have actually been an Iphone and Tablets game cause the "amazing" gameplay is just the right fit for smartphones.

The Witness is exactly at the gameplay level of other smartphon games, where else fits drawing lines as main gameplay concept better than on phones? And it should have 10 bucks as pricepoint and not 40.

[Jmanzare]

I haven't played the game but that's not a bad idea. The walking dead was on ios, xbla, psn, pc and won plenty of goty awards.

[sephiroth420]

LOL.

[CrowbaitBob]

I guess the takeaway from all off this is that the console version hasn't been pirated yet.

[Ruggadagod]

He's going to make his games Playstation only eventually.

[zodiac909]

If any developers deserve the money for the effort they put into their games, it's alot of these indie devs.

[AudioEppa]

All right let's stop all this arguing, now virtual kiss and make up right now! Everybody here is beautiful so let's have a fantastic weekend of gaming.

[Petebloodyonion]

OK this guy Blows and I mean it literally.

I hear this guy BS and it's the same crap that was spew couples years ago when guy like Blow were talking about how the used market was a cancer and it was killing the market.

Let's forward today and Mr. is blowing hot air with the Piracy Speech.

Here's the hard truth Mr Blow, the fault and blame is only yours
Yes yours to overprice your game compare to similar games.

Sure there's some Pirate who played your game for free and shame on them but, did the Pirate pirated the PS4 version of the game?
Did you sold less games on Windows compare to PS4?

So no Pirate are not to blame because your selling a Indy puzzle game at 40$
and just to let you know Catherine was quite well received by media but there won't be a sequel soon (damn pirates)

[Maxor]

If this guy never make another game then nobody will give a damn. An indie puzzle game for $40? Hell no.

Talos Principle looks better, is cheaper, and doesn't give you motion sickness. Nobody need this.

[Meno]

This is where pirates explain how they aren't doing anything wrong. Your logic is lacking in logic, your conscience is lacking in conscience, and your willpower is lacking in willpower.

[Theangrybogan]

If someone pirates a game, it doesn't mean they would've bought it if it had DRM. It's not a lost sale. DRM only affects people who buy their games legit. F*#k DRM.

[mochachino]

I'm no fan of gaming pirates. They should flood the torrents with virus laden copies.

And people saying they pirate certain companies' games because they're crap, you're still playing their products. How crap can it be.

[Malice-Flare]

should have used Denuvo then...

[MetalNCarnet]

Sadly, pirates don't care. i wish the honest people didn't have to be punished for something a few people out of the whole are doing. You could tell them that, "if you pirate my game, I'll never make games again" all day and it means nothing to them. Only his actual fans suffer.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

I totally respect him going this route. I don't want people enjoying the fruits of my labor for free. My time IS money... That's not even what I view my physical effort as.

[OoglyBoogly]

Just to chime in here but is it possible that sales aren't that good because it's a $40 puzzle game? I'm sure it would do much better if it were more reasonably priced.

Not that I'm saying it isn't a good game or anything but you're already targeting a very niche market and user base and charging a pretty hefty sum for it compared to other indie games.

Pirating I don't think is the problem. This guy has that classic Fat Cat CEO mentality of every pirate = lost sale when that just is NOT the case! A lot of people are pirating probably because they AREN'T the target market and want to see what it's about. The true fans of these types of games will buy it, just like the true fans of open world fantasy bought the shit out of The Witcher 3 despite it having no DRM.

So yeah, don't blame the pirates, blame the higher than normal price and the lower than normal market.

[LAWSON72]

$40 for an indie game is outrageous IMO, and on PC just stupid. AAA games can be had for that sometimes cheaper at launch.

I agree though the people torrenting are not exactly guaranteed sales.

[MetalNCarnet]

I think the $40 price tag has a lot to do with it. Some people can't justify paying that much for a simple puzzle game with simple graphics.

[Ogygian]

I want the game, but refuse to pay that price for it.

So I'm holding off until it gets cheaper...like a decent human being.

[ziggurcat]

the game is at least 40 - 50 hours in length, and has at least 600 puzzles to solve. so it's not just a "simple puzzle game with simple graphics."

[DashArrivals]

"Simple puzzle game"... gtfo... I'm over 40 hours in and the game really is a puzzling masterpiece... Making a comment like that, you sound like an actual moron. Sorry, it's really what it looks like.

[Night99]

@DashArrives maybe you are just not smart enough if drawing lines is so challenging for you? Sorry that i have to tell you but this game is indeed a simple puzzle game.

Mate not everyone can be among the brightest candles on the cake, so don't feel to sad about it haha....

[alti]

Telling people your game is epidemically piratable is probably not the best idea.

[Warshade]

I have plans to buy this eventually but my bag log is so huge why bother atm. Either way I despise piracy but understand it.

Very likely this is being done by underage and college age people who buying something involves begging from parentage.

Either way it is not justified just because it is done by people who were not likely to buy or be able to buy it.

[x_RadicalAura_x]

And the "PC master race" wonders why in the hell everyone is prioritizing them less and less nowadays..... XD

[Petebloodyonion]

and yet the sales are about the sames on PS4 and Steam.
So what's the excuse for the ps4?

I know it's because of the used market. That's right all theses potential sales stole awa.... Wait! Sorry the game is digital only!
Damn he won't be able to give this excuse!

So let me ask you again what's the excuse for the lack of PS4 players?

[x_RadicalAura_x]

Lmfao umm FYI, The Witness is digital only bruh.

[MadLad]

Actually, they PC is being supported more and more.
Look at how the East is looking to PC as a whole new market, only in the last few years ...

The support is there, bruh.

[x_RadicalAura_x]

Oh, so you mean like Arkham Knight, right bruh?

[Arty84]

Cmon am sure all those nice "pirates" are just trying it out a bit before they actually buy it.. atleast that's what they always argue....no way all those nice people just play through the whole game..

[ThePresentIsAgift]

Sometimes people steal cars, ya know just to "test" them then promptly returning them in good working order, with a full tank of gas and a hand written apology before immediately heading to the dealership to buy one of their own.

[FasterThanFTL1]

Or maybe just go to the dealership and have a test drive in a car they are interested in and if they like it maybe buy it or if they don't like it maybe return the keys to the dealership.

If you don't make demos or trial versions of games than a pirated copy might just be the only option to test drive a game.

[OoglyBoogly]

Bravo.

Only stupid people keep using the stupid "stolen car" bullshit stupid argument.

The two aren't the same...AT ALL. Like, in no way shape or form. Freakin propaganda at it's finest.

[jstark]

Look how devastated Johnathan is!
http://imgur.com/TFYalVg

[x_RadicalAura_x]

How in the hell does the sales have anything to do with the ethics of pirating the game?! There's no correlation there whatsoever... The sales aren't a scapegoat for making pirating excusable. Would stealing from Walmart be acceptable vs. not acceptable at a mom & pop shop? No.

[Seafort]

No one is taking anything tangible from a shop shelf here.

This is 1's and 0's which can be infinitely reproduced for relatively low demand.

Never compare a physical shop and it's products which can be stolen and removed and compare it to a digital item which can be cloned ad infinitum. They are apples and oranges.

It's copyright infringement and you can argue that piracy is stealing all day long but it's not.

[ThePresentIsAgift]

Oh no a random person online who knows less than nothing about me implied that I was stupid, please excuse me while I proceed to end my life.

In the meantime I've nothing against demo's, always enjoyed them in fact. I do not personally feel though that not having a demo justifies theft.

Let's revisit the car dealership analogy for which there is much love, so if they don't have the new model/a model I'd like to drive as a demonstrater I should just go ahead and steal one anyways?

Theft is theft, last time I checked.

[OoglyBoogly]

Nope, still wrong.

[spoonard]

PC master race of thieves. lol

[Pookandpie]

The amount of PC hate on this thread is unreal. Sheesh, lol.

[audiocafe]

Well that blows, John

[Jag-T1000]

If somebody cracks this game, people are gonna download it. Simple as that! Now let me search for it so I can play it for free too.

[Scar-]

This has always been my biggest problem with the video game industry and its not even piracy its how the blow back and crying always seems to hit the legit gamers. I understand the lost profit but blah blah THEY need to address that. This is the only industry that tries to make piracy everyone's problem. Does anyone remember a album decreasing in length and value because of pirates??? I sure as shit don't same with movies. But here we get the drm, the complaining, the shitty half ass ports etc the LEGIT gamers.

[darkreno]

Didn't knew about this game but I will pirate it to give it a try. I wouldn't buy it in the first place so it's not lost revenue for the creator but if I like it maybe I will buy their next game if they ever make any.

[Ark_]

Oh the humanity. First some of them copied books, then music and now also videogames. I heard some people also steal in stores ... and don't pay taxes as they should or do illicit work.

It's simple: if someone creates a good product for a reasonable price he will earn his money. There are allways scumbags, who will diminish the return, but that should be calculated in.

Btw: I'll buy your game, Jonathan, as soon as it gets cheaper.

[J4ster]

BlowFish

[Spoonsx]

Would be great to see these scum bag pirates get like a $10,000 fine for every piece of illegal items on their PC's. Gives people that actually pay for there stuff a bad name.

The whole thing about people saying that they want to try the game out first before they buy it is bull. A person who steals is usually a liar to boot.

[Muadiib]

I payed £30 for what feels like a £15 game, I kinda wish I'd pirated it myself...There are games that cost hundreds of times more to develop that are the same price, people usually prefer to buy a good game if they feel it's good value for money and this aint that. IGN and the other reviewers that gave this average at best game a 10/10 disgust me, they are as out of touch as the rest of the western mainstream media.

[Seafort]

Sorry Mr Blow I can't buy everything.

It's on my wishlist on steam but other games took precedent. I'll probably buy it later down the line when the price is more reasonable.

We aren't all fking made of money :)

Btw piracy does not equal a lost sale so just forget about it. Concentrate on your actual customers instead of the customers you never had.

[g-nome]

He should have known , don't cry now after doing a pc release same time as ps4.

[windblowsagain]

I blame Jack Sparrow.

[ninjahunter]

Come forth 'Holier than thou' deliver unto me your comments of ignorance and malice.

[ThePresentIsAgift]

Here's an idea that I didn't initially consider what if a person paid full whack for a game on day one, played it, loved it, cherished it but eventually traded it towards something else.

Later on they miss the game but download a cracked version, technically they've paid already, is that legitimate? Haha

Also as a recent pc gamer who has discovered the often spectacular and undeniably delicious pricing of the insane and very regular steam sales, does anyone really need to pirate? Couldn't they just wait a few weeks, hundreds if not thousands of other games to tide them over, plus you know the stuff of life outside of computer games.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Looks like it's coming to Xbox One based on Blow's tweets!!

[Nada Nuff]

Piracy is theft. Theft is wrong. That is all.