Developer of The Witcher 2 plans to hunt pirates

[Darkshadoe]

"Guess what, princeton, if there wasn't any theft - or even a minimal amount of theft - they wouldn't be doing this. "

Of course they wouldn't Tom. Everyone knows business' are known for never taking advantage of customers.

Princeton is also correct. Why would you target the downloaders? That is like arresting junkies but letting the pushers go free. What real progress have they made in the last 10 years?

Starcraft II was downloaded how many times? Yet Blizzard remains one of the richest game companies.

I have yet to see any proof how piracy has ACTUALLY hurt the gaming industry. These companies that make half a billion dollar profit and cry that piracy is hurting them are full of sh*t. The issue is not about piracy, it is about greed.

The creator of Minecraft (btw a really successful game) shared his views on piracy. He said "If someone pirates Minecraft instead of buying it, it means I’ve lost some “potential” revenue. Not actual revenue, as I can never go into debt by people pirating the game too much, but I might’ve made even more if that person had bought the game instead. But what if that person likes that game, talks about it to his or her friends, and then I manage to convince three of them to buy the game? I’d make three actual sales instead of blocking out the potentially missed sale of the original person which never cost me any money in the first case."

http://notch.tumblr.com/post/1121596044/how-piracy-works

Did you see that..He cannot go into debt because he has not lost "actual revenue" He may not be happy is someone pirates his game BUT he is not losing ANYTHING. In fact he claims that the word of mouth may actually let him profit more.

 

[Tha General]

Release the game with a price for 29.99 and well you wouldn't have too worry about too many downloaders. But put the price at 50 and above , well the problems will start.

 

[R3DP3NGUIN]

I totally agree with Tha General, i remember reading about some kind of proposed bill that would make video games $40. that would be a great way to combat piracy. especially when alot of games only have a 4-5 hour single player. There has to be a majority of gamers who want a good solid single player and is not interested in multiplayer. Why not release a game with just a single player mode at like $30 and then an add on or stand-alone downloadable/CD multiplayer for an extra $30.

 

[Guest]

This is all quite funny when you think about it. Hey let advertise the fact that they are cracking down on piracy and post it on a site where people go to see how a game is developing. They would catch a lot more people if they hunted pirates without advertising the fact that they are going to be looking for them. And as for their threat, it kinda makes me want to acquire it now that they told us that it's pissing them off. ^^

 

[n00bzZy]

As long as they make a fine enough game, I personally can't find a reason not to buy it, especially if it will be available on Steam. Maybe they should focus their efforts on refining the game instead of making making useless statements.

 

[mailpup]

But what if that person likes that game, talks about it to his or her friends, and then I manage to convince three of them to buy the game?

But why would they bother to buy the game when they could pirate the game just as easily as the first guy who told them about it? I don't understand that logic.

 

[hassaan]

Absurd! I guess people at the helm of Witcher 2 development are either naive or stupid. There will always be a better developer / programmer out there in the world that can circumvent the process. Its like virus-antivirus or David-Goliath story for that matter.

PS. I think I got carried away

 

[isamuelson]

It's amazing how so many try to justify pirating a game.

Have I done it in the past? Yes because I was young and stupid. I have since grown up and refuse to accept that it was ever justified.

 

[fimbles]

I hope they have a lot of paper to print those nasty letters on.

 

[isamuelson]

spore, just because it had DRM
need for speed shift
Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is on my list to get
Need for Speed™ Undercover, which is on my list to get
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, which i will buy when its on steam
Lost Planet 1

im sure there is more

I do own two copies of Mass Effect 2, Dragon age, Oblivion, Assassin's Creed 1.

Oh, and just because Spore had DRM that makes it right?

As for CDProjekt doing what they are doing, bravo to them for NOT putting in DRM. They DID have DRM in the original game, but later released a patch that removed it. And of course, these are the same people who bring us DRM-free games via Good 'Ol Games, so all in all, I'm pleased with them and find no issue with what they want to do. They have every right to do so. They wrote the program, it's theirs, period. You are buying license to play the game. In the end, the people that actually own the IP rights to the program are the developers and company that distributes it.

I guess when you write a fantastic program in the future and you sell it, you won't get mad when they pirate it? I mean, because apparently "they" own it right?


You're full of it and you know it. Don't even TRY to justify your stealing the game. It's what you did, period and it doesn't make it right not matter HOW intrusive the DRM might have been.

If you don't like the DRM, don't buy the software. It's what I've done with Assassin's Creed II. I refuse to purchase and install it (and the latest Splinter Cell) and I won't pirate it either.

No excuse you come up with will justify pirating software.

 

[edison5do]

dustin_ds3000 said:
spore, just because it had DRM
need for speed shift
Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is on my list to get
Need for Speed™ Undercover, which is on my list to get
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, which i will buy when its on steam
Lost Planet 1

im sure there is more

I do own two copies of Mass Effect 2, Dragon age, Oblivion, Assassin's Creed 1.

DUDE, NOW ITS SUPPOSE TO BE COOL TO HAVE 2 COPIES OF A GAME!!??

Well, I dont meant to be exceptic but as I dont play this game, he could go Pirates home and kill them, that´s the only way to stop that, and by pirate I dont mean the people who torrent games, I mean the people who live out of that and make money out that, STOP TRYING TO BLAME PEOPLE WHO MAYBE DONT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY EVERY FREAKING GAME COMES OUT. They are not the ones to blame, blame the way life is diferent for everyone, Today you are on the top, but you dont know if tomorrou you´ll be one of those downloading through torrent.

 

[Guest]

Why do people feel entitled to games? The developer/vendor charges too much for games or puts DRM in games therefore I'm entitled to steal these games and blame the developer. What logic is this? Using this same logic, I think computers, cars, food, everything is too darn expensive so I should be able to just take it. If you think something is too expensive or doesn't have the features or options you want don't buy it or steal it, move along to something else. Use your energy in helping others, instead of selfish ego based desires.

 

[Burty117]

dustin_ds3000 said:
spore, just because it had DRM
need for speed shift
Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is on my list to get
Need for Speed™ Undercover, which is on my list to get
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, which i will buy when its on steam
Lost Planet 1

im sure there is more

I do own two copies of Mass Effect 2, Dragon age, Oblivion, Assassin's Creed 1.

Dude, I had respect for you when you said in the Friday Night Fragfest you've done over 1200 hours of TF2.

Now after reading your posts here. I have lost all respect for you.

There simply is no need to pirate games especially if you have the money to.

Read review's (user and proffessional) and if the game got a decent meta score its easy to say its a safe bet to buy. Play a Demo if it has one or find a friend that already owns it.

you Don't need to Pirate a game to "Test it" and even worse if you have Pirated it just because its not on Steam! Go buy the disc orsomething, its no biggie if its not on steam.

 

[Burty117]

While the Guest above me was a bit harsh he has a point. If you cannot afford games do not buy them.

a lot of people cannot afford cars yet they're not all going to go and steal one?!

Simple as that, Anyone choosing the whole "games are too expensive so i'll steal them" excuse.

ITS NOT AN EXCUSE!

 

[madboyv1]

@Minecraft dev example: Possibly the most level-headed view on software piracy I've ever seen, from just about anyone.

I also agree with a comment regarding going after the uploaders/seeders rather than the downloader/leechers. You are not particularly punishing the right side here; punishing the downloader won't stop the uploader from uploading software, but punishing the uploader generally makes it more difficult for the downloader to illegally access said software. Remove the enablers will help curb the behavior.

At least the Dev intends to do it themselves, rather than let some grubbing middleman.

 

[cardriverx]

burty117 - You cannot make that connection with stealing cars. Like in the Minecraft example, a game company DOES NOT loose money if you pirate a game that you would not have bought.

If you steal a car, then it will cost the car company for all the physical parts and manafacturing. If you pirate a game, there is none of that!

Like the guy that said he won't buy Assn Creed 2 because of the DRM. Well, why not pirate it? If you were not going to buy it anyway, the pirateing it WILL NOT loose the company ANY MONEY. Let me say that again - you are NOT taking any money out of their pockets.

Now if you pirate it just because you are cheap, then they are only looseing potential money. They didnt actually lose any physical money, just "possible" money.

I am not supporting eaither side, I am just stateing facts. BTW the monecraft quote was awesome.

 

[ryan29121]

I hope they waste a crap ton of money and get no where in their search for internet pirates. Internet piracy no matter how much money you throw at it, will never slow down. Each year more and more people download things illegally.

It sucks that people download games illegally, but who cares? If you have a really good game people will buy it.

 

[Burty117]

cardriverx said:
burty117 - You cannot make that connection with stealing cars. Like in the Minecraft example, a game company DOES NOT loose money if you pirate a game that you would not have bought.

If you steal a car, then it will cost the car company for all the physical parts and manafacturing. If you pirate a game, there is none of that!

Like the guy that said he won't buy Assn Creed 2 because of the DRM. Well, why not pirate it? If you were not going to buy it anyway, the pirateing it WILL NOT loose the company ANY MONEY. Let me say that again - you are NOT taking any money out of their pockets.

Now if you pirate it just because you are cheap, then they are only looseing potential money. They didnt actually lose any physical money, just "possible" money.

I am not supporting eaither side, I am just stateing facts. BTW the monecraft quote was awesome.

So are you saying that the money that goes into creating a game is not the same as the money that goes into making a car?

 

[isamuelson]

Darkshadoe said:
Princeton is also correct. Why would you target the downloaders? That is like arresting junkies but letting the pushers go free. What real progress have they made in the last 10 years?

Not a good analogy at all. In the case of a junkie, they are addicted to the drug and cannot make a reasonable decision. But no matter what, even at the beginning, they chose to do something illegal.

A person downloading pirated software KNOWS it's wrong, but still chooses to do it. And in the end, whether it's a junkie or a downloader, they are BOTH breaking the law, period.

What many of us are trying to say is, no matter how you slice it, you cannot justify downloading pirated software illegally. There IS no justification in it at all. Many use "Well I want to see if it works", but that doesn't cut it.

Some would point to the Assassin's Creed 2 and Spore DRM as a way to tell companies "We don't want it!" by pirating. I think it's even more telling when you even refuse to install it at all, purchased or pirated. That's what I did. I didn't purchase AC2 and I refuse to install it period.

Also, are you really going to trust a program from some unknown person? That's how many people get infected with spyware and viruses which is another thing altogether that just makes me shake my head at.

Pirating is wrong, whether you are the uploader or the downloader. Both are doing something they know is illegal and there is no substance abuse to lay blame to in order to weasel out of something illegal.

 

[xempler]

In regards to downloading content from the internet.....it isn't always black and white as some make it out to be.

For example you could walk to the library and get any copy of a book for FREE.

Is that theft seeing as you never paid for the book or given money to it's author or publisher? No, it's totally legal.

Download that same book on the internet and now you're a thief.

Yeah, yeah you can argue that libraries had to legally buy the books in the first place. The same can be said for anyone who had to get an original copy to upload on the internet as well.

I just can't stand people who stand on their high pedestal and call everyone a theif just because they think they know better.

Saying that I'm not advocating dowloading free content from the internet. Pay for your software as people did work hard to develop them and if companies can't make money doing so they'll just stop all together because what's the point.

 

[isamuelson]

cardriverx said:
Like the guy that said he won't buy Assn Creed 2 because of the DRM. Well, why not pirate it? If you were not going to buy it anyway, the pirateing it WILL NOT loose the company ANY MONEY. Let me say that again - you are NOT taking any money out of their pockets.

Now if you pirate it just because you are cheap, then they are only looseing potential money. They didnt actually lose any physical money, just "possible" money.

I am not supporting eaither side, I am just stateing facts. BTW the monecraft quote was awesome.

Why not pirate it? Because it's wrong. And to say the company doesn't lose money is not exactly true. They lost the money from a potential sale which then those monies can be used to create better games in the future, etc.

I agree you cannot get rid of pirating. There are just bad people out there on both sides (downloaders and uploaders), but to justify pirating a game that you did not purchase is just wrong and it IS stealing. It's something that must be purchased yet you got it for free. You didn't steal it from a shop or straight from the company, but it's still something you've obtained without paying for it.

Oh, and those that complain it's due to prices, then what did you think is going to happen if you KEEP pirating and not buying the games? Those that are NOT familiar with the software industry must think there's no reason to charge prices for software. Well, here is what the software development life cycle is like:

Time to research and gather requirements based on users wants and needs. This can be a VERY time consuming process needing the help of various individuals: the requirements writer, the programmers and architects, the users of the software that is wanted. All those people spend hours, weeks, months gathering requirements for the software.

Next, the actual IT people have to come up with architectural designs, etc. In the case of many games these days, you also have to have story writers (many of which need to go back to writers school because they suck sometimes), programming, debugging, testing, possibly going back to get MORE requirements because maybe you've found something that just doesn't work. In that, you either revise the requirements or else, you to R&D to try and find a feasible solution. You then continue the development process, test, debug, fix the bugs, run all the tests again (to ensure your change didn't affect something else), etc. It's a cycle that requires a lot of work and effort.

Next comes the manufacturing process (which is usually pretty cheap), but still, you have to press the CDs/DVDs/whatever medium you are using. There are advertising campaigns (TV, magazine ads, etc). Those are NOT free to the company.

Due to so many moochers out there, there are also legal fees to get attorney's involved to ensure that the IP of the software is protected as well as protect the company from being sued, etc.

So, writing a game is just not programming it. It takes a LOT of individuals working together, some face-to-face, some not, in order to get an idea turned into an actual game that is released to us, the public.

So, those people do not deserve to have their work purchased? It helps fund the company releasing the game to continue to pay for ALL those individuals so that more games/software can be released.

So, there IS potential money lost. For every game that is pirated, that is one more piece of software that COULD have been purchased along with all the other legal purchases that have occurred. True, it doesn't take money away from the money they already have, but it takes away fore-casted revenue which helps keep a company in business, especially when it's the small, indie development companies.

So, pirating DOES take money away from the company, no matter how you look at it.

 

[isamuelson]

xempler said:
In regards to downloading content from the internet.....it isn't always black and white as some make it out to be.

For example you could walk to the library and get any copy of a book for FREE.

Is that theft seeing as you never paid for the book or given money to it's author or publisher? No, it's totally legal.

Because with the library, you have an agreement to return the book back. However, if you were to photocopy that book to keep as your own, then you've broken the law. Or worse, if you refuse to return it, then the library will charge you fines and possibly take away your library card. That is stealing because the library obtained that software through a purchase and I'm sure they have to work out an agreement with the software company, hence that's why you don't see a lot software in libraries.

Quit trying to justify pirating. It's wrong and you will lose that argument, period.

 

[isamuelson]

BTW, why do you think DRM came into existence? For the very thing you are trying to condone or justify.

I like how CD Projekt gives us DRM-free games, especially the ever growing catalog they have at Good 'Ol Games.

 

[xempler]

isamuelson said:

xempler said:
In regards to downloading content from the internet.....it isn't always black and white as some make it out to be.

For example you could walk to the library and get any copy of a book for FREE.

Is that theft seeing as you never paid for the book or given money to it's author or publisher? No, it's totally legal.

Because with the library, you have an agreement to return the book back. However, if you were to photocopy that book to keep as your own, then you've broken the law. Or worse, if you refuse to return it, then the library will charge you fines and possibly take away your library card. That is stealing because the library obtained that software through a purchase and I'm sure they have to work out an agreement with the software company, hence that's why you don't see a lot software in libraries.

Quit trying to justify pirating. It's wrong and you will lose that argument, period.

You missed my point as well I was not justify pirating because you also missed the part where I said...

xempler said:
Saying that I'm not advocating dowloading free content from the internet. Pay for your software as people did work hard to develop them and if companies can't make money doing so they'll just stop all together because what's the point.

But I guess that white moral light you like to shine into everyone's face must've blinded you too.

 

[princeton]

isamuelson said:

Darkshadoe said:
Princeton is also correct. Why would you target the downloaders? That is like arresting junkies but letting the pushers go free. What real progress have they made in the last 10 years?

Not a good analogy at all. In the case of a junkie, they are addicted to the drug and cannot make a reasonable decision. But no matter what, even at the beginning, they chose to do something illegal.

A person downloading pirated software KNOWS it's wrong, but still chooses to do it. And in the end, whether it's a junkie or a downloader, they are BOTH breaking the law, period.

What many of us are trying to say is, no matter how you slice it, you cannot justify downloading pirated software illegally. There IS no justification in it at all. Many use "Well I want to see if it works", but that doesn't cut it.

Some would point to the Assassin's Creed 2 and Spore DRM as a way to tell companies "We don't want it!" by pirating. I think it's even more telling when you even refuse to install it at all, purchased or pirated. That's what I did. I didn't purchase AC2 and I refuse to install it period.

Also, are you really going to trust a program from some unknown person? That's how many people get infected with spyware and viruses which is another thing altogether that just makes me shake my head at.

Pirating is wrong, whether you are the uploader or the downloader. Both are doing something they know is illegal and there is no substance abuse to lay blame to in order to weasel out of something illegal.

Good job. You read NOTHING. My point wasn't to say that downloaders are in the clear. It was saying that targeting uploaders is the proper way to use anti piracy resources.