Humble Bundle gives pirates what they want, gets ripped

Lordbob75 · 14 May 2010

Humble Bundle gives pirates what they want, gets ripped off

The Humble Bundle is a great deal for gamers for a number of reasons. The games work on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. You can pay as little or as much as you want, and you can donate some or all of the money to the included charities. There is absolutely no DRM on any of the games. So why does it look like one quarter of the people enjoying the games have pirated them? Unpacking the actual numbers behind piracy is often difficult, but Wolfire has been incredibly transparent about its numbers. The result is strong evidence that no matter what steps developers take, piracy will still be an issue.

Source: Humble Bundle gives pirates what they want, gets ripped off

Looks like Companies should just stop DRM because it doesn't make a difference.

~Lordbob

Colonel Travis · 15 May 2010

If people pirate DRM software and non-DRM software, the case for leaving DRM is just as valid as getting rid of it. DRM is an excuse to pirate, not the principle reason behind it - there is a difference.

Reading the comments from the wolfire site, I see that non-US gamers would have paid for the bundle if they could have used PayPal, Google Checkout, and Amazon just as easily (or at all) as US gamers can. Wonder how that skewed the numbers.

Plus, the Humble Bundle ain't pushing the envelope. Elite software requires far more work and people to produce, so you can't pay whatever you feel like paying for that stuff, and you can't expect manufacturers to keep making high-end products without some sort of rip-off protection. DRM isn't necessarily the kiss-of-death for producers or consumers. The iTunes store is doing just fine.

But if this model works for the HB people and others, that's great. I'm a big fan of the free (relatively speaking) market, and stories like this one always intrigue me.