Game developer says: Sometimes it's OK to steal my games

[VileTouch]

Most content producers only see the dark side of piracy but every now and then we encounter a rare exception. Jeff Vogel, president and head programmer for Spiderweb Software, admits that piracy is not an absolute evil. Sometimes it's actually OK to pirate his games, and he explains why.

 

 

http://torrentfreak.com/images/jeff-vogel.jpg

 

Most of the anti-piracy efforts we report on come from groups that are connected to the movie and music business, but piracy is also rampant in the gaming industry.

 

Last year the most pirated PC-game was downloaded 4,100,000 times and it’s pretty safe to say that this record will be broken in 2010.

 

The hard part is to determine what the actual effect of piracy on the revenue of game publishers is. That is, how many people would have bought the games they downloaded in a world without piracy? Also, might game piracy actually serve as a modern day demo and lead people into buying games?

 

While these questions remain mostly unanswered for now, it is safe to say that in a world where nobody pays for games the industry would be dead in a heart beat. Thus far however, there are no signs that this is happening, as the industry broke several sales records last year.

 

For the people actually working in the industry, piracy is not necessarily evil either. Although every person whose income depends on game sales would prefer a paying customer over a pirating one, there are scenarios when developers can ‘get something’ out of the latter.

 

In a lengthy blog post Jeff Vogel, president and primary programmer for Spiderweb Software, explains why. “This blog post is about the bright side of software piracy. It’s about the times when not only is it OK to steal my games, but, in fact, I get something out of it. Perhaps an unusual topic for a blog post from a game developer,” he writes.

 

While Jeff recognizes that not paying for games doesn’t really benefit the industry in most cases, he also sees an upside to the phenomenon. “Because, when I’m being honest with myself, which happens sometimes, I have to admit that piracy is not an absolute evil. That I do get things out of it, even when I’m the one being ripped off.”

 

He goes on to explain that he regularly gets email from people in Russia or southeast Asia or India who enjoy playing his games in a cyber-cafe, but can’t afford to buy a copy of their own. In an ultimate attempt to score a free copy, they then ask him for a free serial.

 

“When I get one of these message, what I want to respond is, ‘PIRATE MY STUPID GAME!!!’ I mean, seriously, the time used drafting that e-mail would have been much more profitably spent figuring out how BitTorrent works.”

 

Although Jeff refuses to give any free serials to these people, he sincerely hopes that they grab a free copy off BitTorrent, so they can enjoy his work after all.

 

“But I really hope those kids pirated my game. [...] Sometimes, thanks to the vagaries of the international monetary order, my games are just out of reach any other way. And, when people enjoy my work, it gives my life meaning…”

 

This issue is not limited to third world countries, even in the richest nations there are millions of people who have barely enough money to get a proper meal on the table. In these cases Jeff doesn’t mind if people download a copy for personal use either.

 

“Someone who is facing long-term unemployment and bankruptcy probably should not pay for my game. And, in that case, if stealing my game gives them a temporary reprieve from their misery, I’m cool with that. I’m happy to help,” he writes.

 

Jeff’s post makes perfect sense, and there are probably hundreds of others who’d instantly agree with him. In the situations he describes piracy is not hurting sales anyway, because some people simply can’t afford to buy games.

 

However, it is also hard to draw the line. What if a kid, an avid gamer, who can afford to buy only one game a month downloads another copy off BitTorrent. In a year he would buy 12 games and pirate 12 – would that be fair?

 

Jeff concludes by saying that people should at least consider paying if they can. “If you like PC games but you usually pirate them, I want you to start actually paying for one game a year. Just one. Please. You should do it because you need to do it to help something you like to continue to exist.”

 

What do YOU think?

 

Article from: TorrentFreak.

[evilneko]

I think he's an artist who creates his art for the sake of others. If more developers were like him, we'd have a lot less of the crap games on the shelves. (DiRT, Force Unleashed, the entire Caesar series, and anything published by ValuSoft, I'm lookin' at YOU!) (heck ValuSoft games don't even seem to get pirated--that's how BAD they are)

 

I also happen to agree with him. If you pirate a game, and you like it, you should buy it. If you don't like it, obviously you won't keep it, and you wouldn't have bought it anyway, so there's no harm done. This, incidentally, is the approach I take to anime. I try not to let myself buy anything I haven't seen. I have animes still in the shrink wrap that I bought years ago, I just keep watching the fansubs instead. XD

[ub3rman123]

We ARE allowed to laugh if the guy goes bankrupt, right?

[VileTouch]

We ARE allowed to laugh if the guy goes bankrupt, right?

 

He won't. no company in the game industry will ever go bankrupt because of piracy. (yes, i know i'm spitting into the sky here, and risking the spit to fall right on my head, but...) i think the only factor that would bring the gaming industry down is greed. just look at starcraft 2... the most pirated game from 2010 so far. Within 24 hours the game sold a million copies and a day later the counter was already at 1.5 million, turning it into the fastest selling strategy game ever. at $160 a piece, that surely makes up not only to cover the company's expenses, but also for the 260,000 that download it via torrent.

 

According to statistics gathered by TorrentFreak, the total number of pirated downloads of StarCraft 2 currently sits at 260,000, with 50,000 people actively sharing the game at the time of publication.This makes StarCraft 2 the most pirated game of 2010 to date.

 

please, don't blindly believe what RIAA says.. they are just a bunch of money hungry sharks.

 

 

Here: have another interesting article on piracy, this time from a small Indie company (the makers of Penumbra)

[ub3rman123]

Sweet Jesus.. 160 dollars apiece? Are these people somewhat crazy?

[evilneko]

Sweet Jesus.. 160 dollars apiece? Are these people somewhat crazy?

 

That's probably a collector's edition price, or some non-US dollars. ;)

 

The main problem with piracy figures from anyone is that the relationship between downloads and lost sales is an unknowable one. Thus, any dollar amount of loss is pure speculation. How many bought it after the fact? How many would never have bought it anyway?

[brokenergy]

He cannot be serious? And I agree with neko's comments.

 

As for the profits, the profits in that sector is never is clear.

[VileTouch]

Sweet Jesus.. 160 dollars apiece? Are these people somewhat crazy?

The main problem with piracy figures from anyone is that the relationship between downloads and lost sales is an unknowable one. Thus, any dollar amount of loss is pure speculation. How many bought it after the fact? How many would never have bought it anyway?

 

That's probably a collector's edition price, or some non-US dollars. ;)

oh yeah? check this out.

http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001122

 

that's $59.99 hard-cold us dollars for the terran campaign

 

so if you want the zerg and the protoss campaign as well you will have to cough up USD$60 for them too. that makes $180 american dollars for a single game.

 

collectors editions might be around $100 each, so yes, you're right... i was wrong on the price.

 

http://www.techi.com/2010/04/we-require-more-minerals-starcraft-iis-180-price-tag/

[ub3rman123]

Well, I suppose it's a sort of good strategy. Even if he's not making money when someone pirates his games, they're playing his game, not someone else's. So if they're not capable of paying for it, he's at least getting his name out there. I guess the charity angle works as well.

[evilneko]

Oh, wow. Even if the expansions are cheaper, that's still not a price I'd be willing to pay for a game. My friend did go out and buy it. I'll just borrow his copy when he gets bored with it.

 

Jeff Vogel: It's ok if some people pirate my games.

Blizzard (prior to release) : We're gonna deliberately price our game high AND give you only one third of it at a time so people pirate it! But sheeple been waiting on Starcraft 2 so long, they'll STILL go buy it in record numbers. We're friggin BRILLIANT. Who cares a few hundred thousand pirate it. It'll sell so fast our heads will spin.

Blizzard (after release): Told ya so. Now excuse us while we go count our money.