Gaming Piracy...

What better time, than now to address this issue, since the recent dissolution of SOPA and PIPA! Which numerous Gaming companies were backing and many still are in favor of! The question is why? gaming piracy?...really? There are 6 billion people plus on this planet, out of which, a half billion people, who play video games! The numbers become even smaller when it comes to consoles, as the previous number projects all devices on which video games can be played! That being stated, in terms of the PS3, there are 55.5 million people who play the console, worldwide! Now, out of this number, how many people does SONY actually believe pirate video games?

The technical know how and or experience one needs to "pirate" ( I used quotiations because, the only thing that can be pirated or stolen is CERTAIN DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT [i.e. full games or PSN exclusives]) is immense, even given directions, inexperienced (those looking to pirate games) pirates cannot acomplished what it is they set out to do!(i.e. pirate games) The truth, even if someone wanted to become a pirate (I feel like were on the high seas, when were land dwellers, in referring to these people as pirates) they mostly likely won't! There are a number of reasons, as to why too! The first being (especially if their system is new and or they've bought the extended warranty) they know if they tamper with the console, they void the warranty! They also know that tampering with the console, could leave them with a broken and unplayable system!

Therefore, the number of PS3 pirates, is a relative small number, 800,000 (if that, which I believe it's lower, much lower) or less! This issue would be more of a REAL issue, if pirates were able to pirate actual Blu-Ray game disc (which is IMPOSSIBLE) which they cannot! Game piracy is still a issue, but a small and controllable one! It's much worse for PC (where it's REALLY an issue) so SONY and any other CONSOLE companies, claiming piracy is rampant, needs a reality check! In this same regard, there are "said" developers of games (i.e. Brink) who claim that piracy kept the game from selling, really?

Anyone who was smart enough, knew that by looking at the gameplay videos, that the game had HORRIBLE gameplay mechanics! Therefore, those who were smart, didn't buy it, it's that simple! I mean do the developers really think a million plus gamers pirated their game? it's laughable if they do! The game was doomed from the start, gamers had already played a better version of what Brink tried to offer!(i.e. Mirror's Edge) It was just a case of been there, done that!

In keeping with the topic of games not selling due to piracy, there are a number of things that both developers and publishers fail to realize! (as far as the PS3 is concerned) That being, that, NOT ALL GAMES THIS GEN ARE WORTH $59.99!!(I don't care about development cost) If a game this gen doesn't meet certain requirements (i.e. Conan), then it's price point should be lower than the set $59.99! This is a fault that lies with the developers and or publishers, who price the game, they only have themselves to blame, for their game not selling! In both the PS1 and PS2 era, game price points varied!(i.e. 39.99, 49.99, rare cases [i.e. the advent of the said console)59.99)

The point is, the "said" developers and or publishers, knew what their game was worth and priced it accordingly! However, this is not the case in this gen as EVERY DEVELOPER AND OR PUBLISHER wants the set price point of $59.99! This is the case with a lot of games as of late:

Saints ROW: The Third:Price Point: $59.99 What it's worth: $39.99
(more gamers would buy it for the latter, which would in turn get them to buy new and or pre-order the game)

Heavy Rain-Price Point: $59.99 What it's (was) worth: $59.99
(this in comaprison to Saints Row: The Third is or was (debut) actually worth the set price point of $59.99)

In the comparison of those two games, it's easy to see, why PS3 games should vary in price, just as they have in the past! The question now becomes will developers and or publishers realize that, or do they already know it? (I believe it's the latter) This is the main reason gamers buy used this gen, as opposed to buying new (excluding the recession) like they did last gen! If you look at Atlus and their Last Crusade title, you would know, that they are aware of what their games are worth, as the game was priced at $39.99 Vs Catherine, which was (or is) $59.99! Other developers should take note and follow suit!

The point is gaming piracy, (while occurring) is not to blame for loss of game sales, nor is it a large number of gamers! There are factors, a few of which (the most important) I detailed above that are the cause of the decline in game sales! It falls on the developers and or publishers not pricing their games correctly, as was done in the previous gen!

[Ducky]

Brink's mechanics (on paper) weren't exactly bad, nor was it similar to MirrorsEdge.
The game just failed to deliver on the promise (especially with the laggy online at launch), but the promise itself wasn't bad.
Either ways, I don't recall them blaming console piracy for Brink's failure. You got a source for that?

... and your 'worth' values given to games is just subjective.
I'd never have bought HeavyRain for $60 when the game lacks any real replay value.

Anyways, PS3 piracy isn't really a big deal at all, and I'm not even aware of any publisher or developer blaming PS3's piracy for lost sales. The companies backing SOPA/PIPA was mostly due to piracy on other platforms (mostly PC), and even then, most of them were only supporting it indirectly by being part of the ESA. Otherwise, the main goal was to fight music/movie piracy.

The used game market is probably a bigger threat on consoles than piracy.

[yokokoroma]

Brink was introduced as a parkour/free running type game (i.e. Mirror's Edge) with guns, but apparently, that's not what it turned out to be!

http://www.youtube.com/watc...
.26-.39
.59-1.06
1.10-1.43

My apologizes, for not being able to provide a link for the statement, regarding Brink and Piracy (as I never Bookmarked it) but I assure you it was real. However I believe it was in reference to the PC Version of the game.

In regards to, as you put it, "worth/Value" of games, II must admit, I wasn't very clear in that context. I egt what you're saying about Heavy Rain, not having replay value (inn the traditional sense) i.e. unlocks, mini-games, etc... but it did have a number of endings (not that, it's any justification though) which many people (myself included) replayed the game to see.

However the point I was trying to make was, based on presentation and gameplay (i.e. we've already seen Saints Row gameplay, via GTA. The only thing different is the ability to create your own character, which is what makes the series so popular) which based upon that criteria, made Heavy Rain worth it's set price point. My overall point being that, games this gen should vary in price because it's easy to see, the games that aren't worth the set price point. (mainly due to gameplay mechanics and or presentation) That along with not getting a complete game, due to DLC (which is a another topic all together)

As far as the piracy issue goes, I never stated it was a big deal. I was addressing the fact that companies were using it to justify the pricing of their games. When it's really not the reason at all. There were a lot of companies (gaming companies) prior to SOPA/PIPA being negated, that were stating video game piracy was an issue. These articles and or reports do not exist anymore, as the backlash for the bills themselves (as well as those who supported it) was so big.

I believe the "said" companies had the articles and or reports removed. Regardless, with the increasing use of DRM in video games (i.e. having to sign in online, to play console video games) it's evident that companies do indeed feel there's a piracy issue!

http://www.atariage.com/for...

http://www.computerandvideo...

http://www.computerandvideo...
(this is 4 months old, as 2012 has just started, so there isn't any news in regards to PS3 piracy, but this here is suppose to be "a global" event)

I agree, used game sales are a big factor, (as far as developers receiving money for their product) to which I suggested a solution, which is that retailers split the used sales with the developers and publishers. I don't think it will ever happen though.

You comment is much appreciated, and honest!

[caseh]

Piracy is hyped to be like the apocalypse of modern media, most people don't realise its been around for longer than they have yet the entertainment industry still turns over billions each year.

How can it be a lost sale if said pirate was never going to buy it to begin with?

Like FatOldMan said, the used market is the bigger threat as the people who do intend to buy it will get it cheaper and the dev/pub don't see that money, simple really.

[yokokoroma]

Agreed, thank you for your comment!

[maniacmayhem]

***How can it be a lost sale if said pirate was never going to buy it to begin with?***

Well can't this logic be somewhat applied to used game sales. I mean a game bought used was once a game sold new, at least the dev/pub got something with the first sale instead of getting nothing because someone originally pirated game.

The video game industry is still seeing billion dollar revenue despite this used game market they keep crying about.

[caseh]

True, I see where you're coming from.

In some respects it almost balances out:

1. Gamestop buys stock from pub at trade price
2. Sells at retail
3. Buys back from customer at discount
4. Resell on shelf at pre-owned price

The problem here is point 3 and 4. Gamestop don't really need to buy in as much new stock from pub due to the never ending cycle of pre-owned titles which a lot of people happily buy. So pub sees much lower sales after initial stock purchase. I've seen pre-owned titles of new games on the shelf the day after a release!

Personally, I don't think the games industry has any argument with pre-owned titles. Like you said, the game was once bought new to turn up as pre-owned and thats where the pub made their money. They made their sale and that should be the end of it, same as if I bought a Toyota pre-owned I'm not expected to pay a bit extra to have air-con functionality.

Sadly the fact that everything has internet connectivity these days means they can use that to force those who want the full experience to buy new.

[LightofDarkness]

Sadly, that is the nature of the modern corporate world. Growth is the sexiest statistic you can post about your company because it attracts investors, and thus more money. This means that companies, especially large, publicly trading companies, are never satisfied with how much money they are currently making, but how much money they COULD be making. Profit and growth are the bottom line, and they will chase down any lead that will take them there, including lobbying senators and congressmen to pass draconian crap like SOPA and PIPA, just for the possibility that they can make some imaginary money that they feel they should be making.

It is becoming a trend for big companies to attempt to protect themselves against failure in supposedly capitalist economies, which by their nature should offer no such protection, so they "lobby" (bribe) politicians in order to make it legally impossible for them to fail by passing anti-competitive legislation and removing responsibility for their own failure to make money and balance their books.

[TopDudeMan]

SOPA and PIPA might be shelved for now, but we still have ACTA to contend with, which is a much bigger threat. Especially since no one knows what it is. Ireland just signed that bill today. And if you thought those two bills were infringing your rights, then you'll poop your pants when you hear what ACTA is gonna do. The worst part is that we can't do sod all about it. It is being put through in secret.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

And I know it's not really relevant to what your point is on gaming piracy, but people on the internet have to know about this!

[yokokoroma]

This is an invasion of privacy, in the highest degree! I agree, this is much worse than SOPA and PIPA. The video link you provided, pretty much summed up what ACTA is, and it's horrific. The sharing of information, is one of the best (if not the best) things about the internet! The ability to gain or access information, which otherwise would be inaccessible, due to one's location in the real world! I could go on, but will stop there, thanks for the information!

side note: I never really was addressing the issue of piracy. I was just addressing developers and or publishers, trying to use it as an excuse, for the decline in video game sales.

[TopDudeMan]

I know, those sales were never theirs anyway. They can't complain about it. If you're gonna go to the extreme lengths to pirate a game, you were never gonna buy it anyway...

[bozebo]

It's funny because the idiots who wrote ACTA have no idea. It's impossible to detect what data is in an actual packet without impossibly complex algorithms (that would be a guess, at best). And it would still be easy to mask what data you are sending (encryption, duh). So it's impossble for them to even use it to reduce piracy in the first place.

And back on topic, there is a LOT of piracy in the handheld space. Though I don't know about 3DS and Vita (yet). But handheld consoles generally make a lot of profit on the hardware whereas normal consoles make a loss at the start of the cycle and make a small profit towards the end, they make most of the profits from game royalties (why console games cost ~$60) and other things like XBL (charging you again to use your, and other people's internet connections)

[Bladesfist]

Its not impossible, look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[bozebo]

Nope. Packet Analyzers are exactly what I was talking about: "complex algorithms (that would be a guess, at best)"

They sit there scanning a recent history of packets (can't store them all or your connection would cost tens of thousands per month - so it's impossible for reliable evidence to be gathered too) and make a best guess as what might be going on, and its not like you are using just one protocol at a time so the incomming packets are a big scramble of differently laid out byte signatures.

Suits have had them programmed (the ones that sit in ISP's boxes in the exchange, not ones that you use on LAN like Cain or Wireshark) on demand but they don't work. I know because I have worked on office networks and programmed networked applications (games and server software). It is just totally impractical to scan packets for their contents, you can pick up obvious protocols like HTTP quite easily but general data transfer or proprietary protocols (like games and the black market file transfer protocols that ACTA will cause to be created) can easily be masked. Also, decent encryption makes proper detection of the contents totally impossible (that's the whole point).

But that is why it is so scary, that won't be arguable in court because 99% of people have no idea - they will trust what the government say that the packet analyzers pulled up, they don't have time to understand how networking actually works and its not practical to fully assess the programming behind the analyzer to argue your case in court (the legal system, and most people, thinks computers are magic boxes when they are of course tools that we have 100% control over, also the code will need to be in secrecy for it to do it's job anyway otherwise you could find exploits to avoid "detection").

Also what about viruses? They could easily make people send illegal data on purpose, and again: because a history of all your data isn't stored, you can't argue your case in court. And most virus scanners don't even work properly, especially not against new viruses (or more importantly, malware - because it doesn't do predictable things)