Murdoch: illegal downloading is like stealing a handbag

[jr26]

I'm not saying its right or wrong to pirate but here's my thoughts. Note that NONE of these are excuses to pirate. This pertains to software.

1. Start making a better finished product.
To many games get released 80% finished then just left un-supported by its developers.

2. Lower the prices some.
$60 for a game is very much over priced.

3. Release demos for people to try the product out.
NFS Shift was one of the most pirated games of last year. A huge chunk of it was because people wanted to try it out before they bought it(and also to see if their systems could even run it). But EA didn't even announce a demo until a bit after the game was out. Was already to late.

4. Copy Protection.
Many pirate the games because of extreme/intrusive copy protection that is completely un-needed. What's the point when they can just download the game instead? Any and every protection can and will get cracked. Keep it simple. All your doing is hurting your paying customers and giving the crackers 5 more minutes of work.

There's some more but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Kari]

Pirating doesn't make you a bad person. There are legitimate reasons to pirate, or...pseudo-pirate. Apple, for example, doesn't allow you to test out Appstore apps. Google, on the other hand, has a 24-hour return policy for applications. As long as you delete them, you get your money back. How else would you know what you're paying for? The industry is taking measures, but these measures don't work and just end up hurting honest consumers. Pirates have no problem cutting through DRM.

I wholeheartedly, honestly detest that argument.

Sincerely, Kari

 

[Bootz]

As far as games go, all the money is in mmo's now. Just look at Blizzard, they bring in over 2billion a year just off WoW alone.

 

[Thorsen]

WoW is a great example of making a game less piratable. everything is stored server-side and you need an authenticated CD Key to play. And the cost per month is a great revenue stream and allows upkeep of dedicated servers.

 

[Product FRED]

Pirating doesn't make you a bad person. There are legitimate reasons to pirate, or...pseudo-pirate. Apple, for example, doesn't allow you to test out Appstore apps. Google, on the other hand, has a 24-hour return policy for applications. As long as you delete them, you get your money back. How else would you know what you're paying for? The industry is taking measures, but these measures don't work and just end up hurting honest consumers. Pirates have no problem cutting through DRM.

I wholeheartedly, honestly detest that argument.

Sincerely, Kari

By that I meant to test out the application and decide whether or not you want to buy it. I'm not justifying piracy altogether.

 

[antharr]

As far as games go, all the money is in mmo's now. Just look at Blizzard, they bring in over 2billion a year just off WoW alone.

That is a great point but you can't forget the income Microsoft brings in through Live as well. You can argue that piracy is hurting Microsoft but I have to counter argue. Most gamers want to play online and to do that, you have to process an original copy of the game. Playing online with a modified console will get you banned or at least the console.

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

Pirating doesn't make you a bad person. There are legitimate reasons to pirate, or...pseudo-pirate. Apple, for example, doesn't allow you to test out Appstore apps. Google, on the other hand, has a 24-hour return policy for applications. As long as you delete them, you get your money back. How else would you know what you're paying for? The industry is taking measures, but these measures don't work and just end up hurting honest consumers. Pirates have no problem cutting through DRM.

I wholeheartedly, honestly detest that argument.

Sincerely, Kari

You may detest the argument, but I agree with it. Apple aside, not everyone can afford to buy every application they want. Sometimes the free alternatives do not meet their needs either. I wonder how many GFX Team members here that use Photoshop actually purchased it.

 

[Thorsen]

As far as games go, all the money is in mmo's now. Just look at Blizzard, they bring in over 2billion a year just off WoW alone.

That is a great point but you can't forget the income Microsoft brings in through Live as well. You can argue that piracy is hurting Microsoft but I have to counter argue. Most gamers want to play online and to do that, you have to process an original copy of the game. Playing online with a modified console will get you banned.

Over 1 million people were banned last year in this exact manner.
1 Million Xbox Live Players Banned -- InformationWeek

 

[antharr]

Pirating doesn't make you a bad person. There are legitimate reasons to pirate, or...pseudo-pirate. Apple, for example, doesn't allow you to test out Appstore apps. Google, on the other hand, has a 24-hour return policy for applications. As long as you delete them, you get your money back. How else would you know what you're paying for? The industry is taking measures, but these measures don't work and just end up hurting honest consumers. Pirates have no problem cutting through DRM.

I wholeheartedly, honestly detest that argument.

Sincerely, Kari

You may detest the argument, but I agree with it. Apple aside, not everyone can afford to buy every application they want. Sometimes the free alternatives do not meet their needs either. I wonder how many GFX Team members here that use Photoshop actually purchased it.

That is another great point. If you stopped the pirating of Photoshop, how many people would buy it at it's whopping price. I think they would settle for something like Gimp instead. What do you do then........go after all open source software for infringing on copyrights?

 

[Kari]

Steven, just to be sure I did not misunderstand: You agree that there are legitimate reasons for piracy?

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

Steven, just to be sure I did not misunderstand: You agree that there are legitimate reasons for piracy?

I suppose I am. Although your opinion and my opinion will differ no matter what is said here.

 

[Product FRED]

Steven, just to be sure I did not misunderstand: You agree that there are legitimate reasons for piracy?

in accordance with the laws of reasoning; logically inferable; logical: a legitimate conclusion.

Yes. I said pseudo-pirate, and I also explained my reasoning. DarkNovaGamer is right, the industry actually benefits from piracy in one way or another. It's free marketing. People would turn to free alternatives if nobody pirated. Like I said before, I played a pirated copy of Half-Life 2 when it came out in 2004, and ended up buying it and 5 other Valve games on Steam. Honest people can pirate too, it doesn't necessarily make you a criminal, ethically. Some people are savvy buyers and just want to know what they're spending their money on. Isn't it fair that you can test-drive a car before you buy it? So why not software? Time and labor went into both, and buying a car costs you more than buying a piece of software. Do you get what I mean?

 

[Kari]

Free world, everybody is entitled to an opinion. I just wanted to be sure I understood

Kari

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

Free world, everybody is entitled to an opinion. I just wanted to be sure I understood

Kari

Fair enough, just didn't want a all-out-war to break out.

 

[pebbly]

there aint no such thing as a victimless crime

 

[Kari]

Isn't it fair that you can test-drive a car before you buy it? So why not software? Time and labor went into both, and buying a car costs you more than buying a piece of software. Do you get what I mean?

How long should this test period be to work for us consumers, to be fair? Windows 7 RC was for instance freely available over half a year for consumers to test, RTM is still available to test (Windows Enterprise 90 day trial), but still it's widely cracked and used illegally, so obliviously several months is not long enough test period.

 

[smsff7]

We all have our opinions on Ileagle downloading, but to say it is the same as stealing a handbag or a car is just a joke IMO. Stealing a item means your taking it away from somebody else so you get it at the cost of somebody else. Downloading is just copying a bunch of 1's and 0's which means it is not getting taken from somebody who paid for it (aka a store or a person)

If you want to look at it the way Murdoch is then anybody who records a tv show or movie on HBO or showtime with there Tivo or equivalent is a criminal.

 

[Product FRED]

It's still better than not being able to test it at all. You can blame that on the industry, not the consumers. Our only interest is ensuring that our money is going to good use. Also, digital data can be infinitely copied, so it can't really be marked down as a loss.

 

[CarlTR6]

Pirating doesn't make you a bad person. There are legitimate reasons to pirate, or...pseudo-pirate. Apple, for example, doesn't allow you to test out Appstore apps. Google, on the other hand, has a 24-hour return policy for applications. As long as you delete them, you get your money back. How else would you know what you're paying for? The industry is taking measures, but these measures don't work and just end up hurting honest consumers. Pirates have no problem cutting through DRM.

I wholeheartedly, honestly detest that argument.

Sincerely, Kari

You may detest the argument, but I agree with it. Apple aside, not everyone can afford to buy every application they want. Sometimes the free alternatives do not meet their needs either. I wonder how many GFX Team members here that use Photoshop actually purchased it.

I happen to like Porches. I cannot afford a new 911. According this logic, that makes it OK to go steal one? Well, I choose to drive a Ford truck that I can afford (it is paid for).

 

[Product FRED]

I wholeheartedly, honestly detest that argument.

Sincerely, Kari

You may detest the argument, but I agree with it. Apple aside, not everyone can afford to buy every application they want. Sometimes the free alternatives do not meet their needs either. I wonder how many GFX Team members here that use Photoshop actually purchased it.

I happen to like Porches. I cannot afford a new 911. According this logic, that makes it OK to go steal one? Well, I choose to drive a Ford truck that I can afford (it is paid for).

I also said:

It's still better than not being able to test it at all. You can blame that on the industry, not the consumers. Our only interest is ensuring that our money is going to good use. Also, digital data can be infinitely copied, so it can't really be marked down as a loss.