The Sky Isn't Falling: Why Piracy Hasn't Impacted Sales

[Cyrinno]

The internet can only be good for artists of any kind. Removing the middle man can mean cheaper content for consumers and more money for the artist.

[RSOblivion]

The internet can only be good for artists of any kind. Removing the middle man can mean cheaper content for consumers and more money for the artist.

I hope that's the case, just remember that the store owners (yes that's you Apple) are likely to try to take a larger cut in the future, so care must be taken when dealing with entities like Apple and Valve...

As always someone's looking to make more and more profit with less and less effort...

[diamondd]

The internet can only be good for artists of any kind. Removing the middle man can mean cheaper content for consumers and more money for the artist.

this.

eg, I hadn't even heard any of Louis C.K.'s comedy before he brought out that $5 or $10 live show and I bought it purely out of support for the idea. Same with Indie Game: The Movie and I thoroughly enjoyed both.

If stuff I actually wanted came in a similar format I'd start legitimising my movie collection...

[Cyrinno]

The internet can only be good for artists of any kind. Removing the middle man can mean cheaper content for consumers and more money for the artist.

I hope that's the case, just remember that the store owners (yes that's you Apple) are likely to try to take a larger cut in the future, so care must be taken when dealing with entities like Apple and Valve...

As always someone's looking to make more and more profit with less and less effort...

Yes this is one reason I am against this whole bandwagon of everything must be on steam that seems to be going on at the moment, I have multiple digital download services on my computer and it does save me money.

[tacitus42]

damn fine article, Steve.
i am also one of the previously mentioned 'lost sales' who has since turned 100% legit buying all my products online for prices I am very happy with. and im spending more money than I would have otherwise so it's a win-win for all who can step up and find more intelligent and attractive ways to market their goods.

[womblemania]

As an indie game developer for over 20 years, I can tell you with absolute certainty that piracy does indeed hurt developers. Badly.

Come on, it's not rocket science.

[diamondd]

As an indie game developer for over 20 years, I can tell you with absolute certainty that piracy does indeed hurt developers. Badly.

Come on, it's not rocket science.

While the article does tend to gloss over the fact that piracy can and often does hurt developers I think the main take away point is that it needn't be that way. Currently, piracy is more often than not the path of least resistance, but things like steam are becoming even easier.

Personally I haven't bought a single PC game from anywhere other than steam, a humble bundle or gog since before the Orange Box came out (EDIT: and I haven't pirated a single game since then either).

[PalZer0]

I used to be a pirate because I didn't have the means (Visa/Mastercard) to pay for the games I wanted. Since I got my Visa Debit card, I've been buying more games from Steam, GOG and other sites. Prior to that, all the games I had on Steam were from retail keys through EB, GAME and so on.

Also, obnoxious DRM can turn people to piracy out of protest (especially if said DRM is also on Steam copies - looking at you Borderlands DLC 1 and 2).

[thefinn]

Good article.

The easier it is to legitimately purchase media, the less I use alternative means to get it.

Yeah totally agree, the only way to deal with games you love is to buy them in order to properly patch, and get support for them.

However, finding games you love is the problem. I have so many copies of **** games on my steam ID it's ridiculous - some just didn't work at all.

Why shouldn't I try before I buy? I'm not ripping them off, they are usually ripping me off, however the current ridiculous politically correct air gets me banned/shamed/harassed if I even mention such a thing.

Noone seems to have an issue with a video game company ripping me off however.

[Stoibs]

Meh, price gouging = piracy from me. My Steam list is between 380 and 480 depending on where I'm viewing it from, so I've certainly legally acquired the majority of games (From third party key sellers and/or import sites that don't charge steam's "arm and a leg" price gouging of-course )

It's more-so the principal then the price at this point; I'm not going to be taken for a ride, or be expected to be taken for one. Can I afford $90-$100 (IE. an extra 80-100% price jacking) for a new release? Sure. Am I going to pay that? Of-course not, the very notion of paying double for the same product at the same store because of my nationality is laughably racist.

Already got my fairly priced Sleeping Dogs and Hitman Absolution Pre-orders payed for, on the other hand I just recently finished my pirate copy of Max Payne 3 the other day... so there's defiantly merit to the part in the article about increased sales at lower price points

As for non gaming...is downloading tv shows piracy? I have to claim ignorance on this one since you can usually view them online free anyway. The reason I download my shows is because Australia is fail when it comes to television, I see promos for episodes of How I met your mother that are 2-3 weeks old, I actually tell this to the Austar reps in shopping centers hawking their pay tv plans to me. "No I actually don't have a tv, I just download episodes cause I get them weeks or months in advance". Pretty amusing actually "oh..um have a nice day then.."

[InAUGral]

As for non gaming...is downloading tv shows piracy? I have to claim ignorance on this one since you can usually view them online free anyway. The reason I download my shows is because Australia is fail when it comes to television, I see promos for episodes of How I met your mother that are 2-3 weeks old, I actually tell this to the Austar reps in shopping centers hawking their pay tv plans to me. "No I actually don't have a tv, I just download episodes cause I get them weeks or months in advance". Pretty amusing actually "oh..um have a nice day then.."

Just like me then. A game of thrones is what I mainly get but my argument for getting them is stronger because I only saw it was on some pay TV channel like 6 months after the series had finished and by this point the Bluray had been released.

[kano69]

TRUE FACT: > 99% of games LEAK on console FIRST and have NO piracy measures !!!
just a simple software "SOFTWARE" mod and you can play it on and offline.. CONSOLES have 99% more pirates .. i try b4 i by.. i think alot of ppl do.. and if its worth the coin i will get it.. just wish pc developers would release "demo's / beta's" and stop using CONSOLE **** code and build ONLY for pc..

true fact is true.. every console game leaks weeks if not a month or 2 b4 PC version "once they port the poc" ..

[SgtMoo]

TRUE FACT: > 99% of games LEAK on console FIRST and have NO piracy measures !!!
just a simple software "SOFTWARE" mod and you can play it on and offline.. CONSOLES have 99% more pirates .. i try b4 i by.. i think alot of ppl do.. and if its worth the coin i will get it.. just wish pc developers would release "demo's / beta's" and stop using CONSOLE **** code and build ONLY for pc..

true fact is true.. every console game leaks weeks if not a month or 2 b4 PC version "once they port the poc" ..

dafaq did I just read?!

Developers need to go back to the days of the demo (downloadable/gaming mag disk) so people have a chance to experience the game before blindly handing over their cash for a potentially **** game (I'm looking at you Black Ops). I'm sure a lot of piracy comes from people downloading a game with the intention of trying it and end up deciding to stick with their downloaded copy and not buy it despite liking it. I am more or less an ex-pirate, now in the "pirate to try pile" and have on a few occasions ended up buying copies of games I enjoyed that I pirated from way back when I couldn't afford them now that i actually have an income.

Valve however are on the right track when it comes to curbing piracy, offer a better service than the pirates and you needn't worry. The only complaint I ever hear about Steam is it forcing you to update the game before you can play it. Which brings up the DRM deal of it all, DRM only affects people who legitimately buy their games. Look at The Witcher for example, no DRM and the game still did well enough for them to make a sequel. I'm 100% positive that there are games more people would buy if they didn't include some form stupid DRM.

As mentioned previously pricing in Australia is just criminal, I definitely would have been buying my games sooner if we weren't squeezed for every $ we have. But now that they cant use the disparity of the AU$ to the US as an excuse I don't see the problem. Sure maybe a few $ more on a retail copy for shipping or something but definitely not almost double the price.

[DodgyGeezer]

As an indie game developer for over 20 years, I can tell you with absolute certainty that piracy does indeed hurt developers. Badly.

Come on, it's not rocket science.

Was that a rational argument backed up with facts or just an opinion? Because it reads awfully like the latter to me.

Please do share your research on how piracy hurts developers badly.

[Clontarf[X]]

With Sgt Moo. I would love to see a chart showing piracy levels vs. amount of demos released to public. Would love to...