Some comments on piracy

from Stardock Forums
I was reading through Slashdot and some people don't see how Stardock Central can reduce piracy.

What we're doing with GalCiv is what we've been doing with Object Desktop for going on 5 years now. It is not easy (not impossible either) to find Object Desktop pirated because it's so inconvenient to to pirate. It's not like someone can just take the GalCiv files and put them on a warez site. The installer does a lot of the work in making GalCiv function and that installer won't do anything unless they have a valid serial # and that serial # is validated on the server (i.e. there's nothing on the client to "Crack" -- Component Manager for Object Desktop has been around for 5 years now and you don't see that floating around because it would be pointless).

You can't stop piracy. But what you can do is reduce the incentive to pirate. Make it convenient to get updates, make it convenient to get the game, and reward those who buy the game with increased support. That's how we've been able to keep piracy relatively on Object Desktop despite it being such a popualr product.

The bottom line is, game piracy is caused by many factors. But a major factor is that many would-be buyers don't get much benefit out of purchasing over pirating. Games come out buggy, get a patch, and then people get charged for an expansion pack that typically fixes bugs that weren't fixed by the patch. That's a recipe for encouraging piracy.

Our goal isn't to eliminate piracy, that's a utopian dream. Our goal is to reduce it by creating an incentive for people to buy the game in the first place.

Hope that clears things up.

~SDC~
833 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Personally I want to see that anything I download I do not have to download again. If have to download everything again when I reinstall my computer, its going to be a pain. What happens if your not still trading or when you don't feel like supporting the product any more and turn the key server off? Fine when i download a file tie it to my serial just don't make me download things every time I reinstall (3-6 months).

James
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
While i havn't used it before, I beleive Stardock Central (SDC) has an "Archive feature", so you can backup downloaded files and re-install them as necessary. Don't know if this is the exact functionality you're looking for..but hopefully it helps :)

~SDC~
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
BoogieBac (where in the heck does that name come from? ;) )- I hope that you can do that because I'm a lowly 56ker (not by choice...) and I would hate to have to redownload if my OS goes south. Although XP has benn very kind to me so far.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Oolon, you still have the CD. And Stardock Central does allow you to archive your stuff. Using Stardock Central is an additional benefit, not an alternative. A GalCiv buyer gets all the usual benefits they get from any other game they buy but in addition to that they can redownload the whole thing if they someday lose the CD.

Incidentally, this year marks Stardock's 10th anniversary. We won't be going away anytime soon. ;)

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
One of the things that I don't think people understand about piracy is that the focus on piracy is always a reflection of the quality of the business market. The gaming market ONLY focuses on piracy to a great extent when they are getting financially killed....whether that is because the games are garbage, or they can't make enough money to cover their bills due to the distribution model. Either way it is an economic decision to obtain more revenue.

People forget that what is killing this market is all of the money that is going to the distribution channel(publisher/wal-mart/etc). 90% of the profit of the game goes to people other than the developer. So every game that is sold directly gives the company 10x more money then they would see from the off-the-shelf games.

The key is to sell the content of the SERVICE more than the game itself. Can they pirate the bonus stuff and extras? Sure, but eventually many of those people will sign on, not because they can't get the content for free but because the service and community is appealing to be in. So much money is saved by selling the service and softwared directly that the revenue that is lost due to piracy is dwarfed by the revenue gained by selling through this model(9x more than the developer gets through retail).

Plus this revenue can be quantified, its not hit or miss but something you can count on in 12 month cycles......that makes a big difference
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Okay, this feels like a stupid question to ask, as I may be opening myself up to attack, but I'm going to ask anyway. ;)

First off let me say that I don't believe in pirating games. I like to reward the people that make good games and have the full support of owning a proper version of the game.

That said, I have some problems with buying two copies of a particular game if it happens to be a game that my wife and I both want to play. We each have our own computer and often sit side by side (aww, how cute, huh? LOL ) playing single-player games (or I might be playing online and her playing single, but anyway...). Now, let's say we're both interested in playing Civ3. While it's true we can each install the game and swap the CD back and forth, what happens if we happen to want to play the game at the same time? Should I really have to drop another 50 bucks to get a second copy of the game for situations like this? Especially when you consider that our "fun money" is fairly limited and I have to carefully plan out buying each new game I get.

Now, you can certainly say that if we don't buy two copies but are somehow both playing the game, we're taking revenue away from the developers of Civ3. OTOH, when you consider that at this point it's more of a convenience thing (ie, we *could* just not play at the same time and swap the CD back and forth), is it as bad as if we'd found some warez site and just completely pirated the game?

On a related note, if we wanted to play multiplayer games with each other or both play the game on the internet with other people, I would certainly buy a second copy of the game. Because that adds more issues to the discussion.

But focusing on single-player only, what are people's opinions of this (especially Stardock employees)? Obviously this leads to the question of what to do about GalCiv. Both my wife and I are interested in playing it, but should I really have to buy 2 copies of the game for us both to enjoy it? I sort of look at it like buying a copy for a single household. OTOH, I certainly don't want whatever anomolous (sp?) use detection methods Stardock Central has to shut down our serial number if we should both try to install and use the same copy. So, is this sort of thing allowed or should I just try to scrounge up another $45 for another serial number?

Thoughts, opinions (as long as they're not flames ;) ), and facts are welcome.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
I think registered buyers should be able to get additional game CDs for half-price (in a CD case only). That way, your second copy is a lot more reasonable.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Ardrikk -
I'm glad that you oppose software piracy. But let me attempt to answer your question with another one:
Why should the makers of the software be treated any differently then the makers of your computers? Did you expect the computer manufacturer to just give you a second free computer because you already bought one and you and your wife might want to use it at the same time?Just because it's easier to reproduce the software than the hardware, doesn't mean that people should be entitled to do so. Think of the addtional cost for software as an investment in your wonderful marraige. :)
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
You'll be able to have GalCiv on multiple computers. For instance, I have a single Drengin serial # that I use on my work machine, my home machine and my laptop.



~SDC~
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
An interesting analogy you have there Lifewish, but not necessarily an exact comparison.

Once someone buys something, to use an example of a computer such as you did, both people can use it. Or a car, or a book. It's accepted that this will happen. It's not necessarily a question of multiple `copies' but multpiple use. A narrow difference, but a difference.

Maybe it makes me a bad person, but I'm going to let my girlfriend read books I buy...

Admittedly when doing upgrades/addons etc via server authentication allowing multiple instances to a single location would be difficult.

Might be nicer to allow another cd at cost plus shipping. I know some places still have very expensive dl rates.

Or to allow non-cd play.

Just my somewhat garbled perspective.
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
Um, you may be missing the fact that GalCiv doesn't require the CD to play...

Scott
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Just carrying through the discussion brought about by uruguru. It's a valid question in regards to most games released for PC. Diablo II for example.
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
I think Brad answered the multiple use question quite nicely. Like him, I have GalCiv installed on multiple PCs at home, of different specs, with no problems. :D

One point that Brad made in another thread was that the cost of the software is so small that its not worth wasteing time trying to find a pirated copy, and getting it working, as opposed to just buying it. That may be a valid argument for those in the US, but I have to say that it does not sit so well for those of us using other currencies. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem paying $90-100 for a game and do so regularly. But a 100 bucks is a 100 bucks.

~SDC~
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
E-Tigger -
Yes, you may let your gilfriend read books you buy, that is fine. (Heck even someone who's not your girlfriend ;) )But you're *not* allowed to make a photocopy of it for her. That is my point.

You can, however, make a photocopy of the book for yourself -- that is reasonable. And so is Stardock for allowing this same practice. :CONGRAT: :CONGRAT: :CONGRAT:
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
Can anyone (Pat?) explain exactly how SDC Archive works?