The "piracy as demo" fallacy

ET3D · May 3, 2008, 03:49 PM

I know it's a loaded subject, but with news of developers moving to consoles I've read some discussion of it, and realised how they may be right.

People who play illegally copied games tend to voice the following arguments:
- I only use this to check out the game. If it's good I buy it.
- If games cost less I'd buy them.
- If games were less buggy / had lower hardware demands I'd buy them.

Let me concentrate on the first one. Tell me if you think my following analysis of a PC vs. console player of Assassin's Creed is right:

The "pirated game as demo" PC player would download a pirated version, play it for 15 hours, then say "it's too repetitive to finish, why should I buy it?"

A console player will buy the game, play it for 15 hours, then say "it's too repetitive to finish, but I enjoyed it for 15 hours, so that's not too bad for the money."

Do you think that's a correct assessment of the situation? Because if so, then all those "we're just testing the game" players really are making developers move to the consoles.

OmegaRED · May 3, 2008, 04:03 PM

I don't believe PC gamers will actually buy a game they've already pirated unless there is something they're missing out on such as multiplayer.

As for the developers who say they're going to consoles this is usually because they produced games which were too resource demanding and it limited their customer base (Supreme Commander and Crysis are good examples).

kris23 · May 3, 2008, 04:05 PM

theres the one last thing...... the "i love the game but am to lazy to go out and buy it after i DLed it" part.

BlueMak · May 3, 2008, 04:10 PM

For me it is a fallacy because the VAST majority of the people that play pirated games, wouldn't buy them anyway, so it is not wasted losses.

kris23 · May 3, 2008, 04:12 PM

i ALWAYS buy my games just cuz i love looking at the boxes and art stuff that comes in the collectors edition boxes.....

IEMC · May 3, 2008, 04:16 PM

Video games are like movies: when you buy them your taking a huge chance because you don't know if you'll like it or not.

If all games had demos, despite the problem above, there will still be mass pirating. Why? Simply because it's easy to do, readily available, and there's usually no risk or concern for one's safety from being sued.

However, when consoles are the only thing left for video games (will never happen, but bear with me) there will still be a huge amount of pirating, just for consoles. It'll be just as easy as it is for computers as hackers / whatever you want to call them start getting better and better.

Let's break down those pirating reasons, too:

"- I only use this to check out the game. If it's good I buy it."

It's true, but then it's not. Most of the time, people download a game because it's recommended to them. However, even after this, it won't be purchased if it's liked, as the game is already either beaten, or simply because they already have it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

For me it is a fallacy because the VAST majority of the people that play pirated games, wouldn't buy them anyway, so it is not wasted losses.

This, too.

- "If games cost less I'd buy them."

I'm gonna go ahead and say this is false. If you think about it, your paying 50 - 60 dollars ~10-20 hours of fun. I'd actually say that's a bargain when it comes to having fun / money being well spent. Compared to most things, it's significantly lower.

This goes back to the taking a risk thing, however. I personally don't like gambling, so why buy a game when you can pirate it for totally free, knowing there's almost no risk.

-" If games were less buggy / had lower hardware demands I'd buy them."

I agree with this 100% and stand behind it. I'm sick of games saying the minimum requirements, even though with that hardware, at the lowest settings, the game is crappy and still runs bad.

Not sure if this all answers your question, I just needed to go on a rant.

In the end, however, it comes back to taking a chance. All of the reviews / videos / screen shots in the world can be looked at, but it doesn't mean you're going to be satisfied with the money spent. And let's face it, 60 dollars for a game you might not like is a risk not everyone can take or afford.

Al_Vampyre · May 4, 2008, 05:14 AM

From my own limited experience I have to say that I buy the games I know I want to play like all of the Total War series, Bioshock, Oblivion, The Witcher, Civ 4, Crysis (although now wish I hadn't - just had to spend �325 ($650) upgrading my PC to play Crysis!) Fallout 3 when it comes out.

Sometimes I'll download a game if I'm not sure about it - just to see what the hype is but generally those get installed I play them for a couple of hours then they get uninstalled and binned.

Basically I only buy games that I know I'm going to get my money's worth out of, so game publishers you can keep your paying customers and increase your bottom line by not spending money to release crapola, good releases get bought!

Neshi · May 4, 2008, 08:14 AM

I will argue about the reason "I only use this to check out the game. If it's good I buy it", it does apply.
You're giving a rather black/white example. I won't deny I haven't downloaded games but they we're downloaded to try it out. And 15 hours to try it out isn't trying it out, that's just playing the game. After 2 or 3 hours you should know if you like a game or not.

For example, I 'tested' Titan Quest, liked it so much that I bought the game and expansion.
Then there was all that hype about that game Bioshock. I even bought a new videocard so i could try that game, downloaded it too and what was I glad I did that. After an hour or 2 I pressed uninstal.
I might be an exception, but don't go and generalize everybody and say that the " I only use this to check out the game. If it's good I buy it." isn't a good excuse.

chaitanyaraghav · May 4, 2008, 12:23 PM

In my country i find very few people who buy games because in our currency we get games at prices of 1500 to 2000 bucks which is way too high considered the pocket money that youngsters get..hence they download it or goto any shop where pirated games are available and buy it for a 90 or 100 bucks!

SO they get the game they want at a lot cheaper price and they wouldnt even think of buying an original game because they would be getting 15 odd games for 1500 bucks rather than just one game! Hence i feel that it all boils down to the prices of the games which are being sold.

ET3D · May 4, 2008, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neshi

Then there was all that hype about that game Bioshock. I even bought a new videocard so i could try that game, downloaded it too and what was I glad I did that. After an hour or 2 I pressed uninstal.
I might be an exception, but don't go and generalize everybody and say that the " I only use this to check out the game. If it's good I buy it." isn't a good excuse.

Thanks. I'm happy to get your reply, because as I said in the original post, I was looking to get a confirmation of my assessment. It looks like "demo use" can be legitimate.

That said, your experience also shows that people who play pirated games as demos (I'm generalising again

) ignore the real demo channel. There was an official demo of the game but you went for the pirated version anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

I don't believe PC gamers will actually buy a game they've already pirated unless there is something they're missing out on such as multiplayer.

As for the developers who say they're going to consoles this is usually because they produced games which were too resource demanding and it limited their customer base (Supreme Commander and Crysis are good examples).

It's funny that you think these two contradicting thoughts. On second thought, it makes some sense from a slightly different angle. The resource hungry games are typically games which have had a huge amount of money put into them, and so a console release, where people are more likely to buy the game in the first place, is a better return on investment.

But it's also technically easier to program for a console, which is a fixed hardware environment, and doesn't have the large performance variation of PC's. So it makes some sense to move to it.

Dark Lord · May 5, 2008, 12:51 AM

i only bought two games last year, Orange Box and Lord of the rings online. complete BS that ive gotta buy a game and then pay to play it, but thats a whole different argument.

i played a lot of games last year, and except for one, im glad i didnt spend a cent on any of them.

i hated bioshock, crysis, need for speed prostreet (couldnt even come close to playing that POS through) Jericho (absolutely god awful) and gears of war.

if i originally planned on buying any of those, it wouldnt have been till they hit the bargain bin, and then used a coupon on it. not exactly like the developers took a loss from me anyways.

the only game that i did wish i had actually bought was COD4. absolutely loved the game. ill probably pick it up once that hits the bargain bin.

now, before last year, i used to buy a ton of games. do you know what a common trend was amongst most new games? they all started to suck.
it got to the point were i could keep buying mounds of shit in hopes of a gem, or i could stop pissing my money away and wade through the shit for free and then buy the gems when i came across them.

BlueMak · May 5, 2008, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Lord

i only bought two games last year, Orange Box and Lord of the rings online. complete BS that ive gotta buy a game and then pay to play it, but thats a whole different argument.

i played a lot of games last year, and except for one, im glad i didnt spend a cent on any of them.

i hated bioshock, crysis, need for speed prostreet (couldnt even come close to playing that POS through) Jericho (absolutely god awful) and gears of war.

if i originally planned on buying any of those, it wouldnt have been till they hit the bargain bin, and then used a coupon on it. not exactly like the developers took a loss from me anyways.

the only game that i did wish i had actually bought was COD4. absolutely loved the game. ill probably pick it up once that hits the bargain bin.

now, before last year, i used to buy a ton of games. do you know what a common trend was amongst most new games? they all started to suck.
it got to the point were i could keep buying mounds of shit in hopes of a gem, or i could stop pissing my money away and wade through the shit for free and then buy the gems when i came across them.

Weird, for me it feels like year after year games keep getting better. As long as you A)know what you like and B) know how to see through the marketing (including "reviews") shit, you are in for some great games each year.

Dark Lord · May 5, 2008, 01:41 AM

i dunno... it just seems like everything i play, it always seems like "hey i liked this game back when they called it...."
everything just seems to be a rehash of a game ive already played 10 other rehashes of.

YAYitsAndrew · May 5, 2008, 07:35 AM

Whenever people talk about pirating stuff, I just repeat everything they say but replace the software with a car or a mattress. All of a sudden it's very clear that you are stealing and doing something illegal.

"Software costs too much, if it cost less I'd pay for it. Until then though, I'm going to pirate"
"Cars cost too much, if they cost less I'd pay for them. Until then though, I'm going to steal"

The car one is a point of view that makes no sense in our world. You instantly think the guy is morally defunct. Software is new though, and the equivalent statement involving software makes it a gray area.

The problem is, there's no tangible way to take software back. If you don't like your mattress, they can come into your house and take it from you during the first 30 days and everyone is happy. The second you open a box of software, you could copy all those ones and zeroes to your hard drive and do whatever you wanted to them. Any security measure in place can be circumvented, even activation. The mattress scenario equivalent is quite funny. Imagine the movers come into your house to take the mattress back and you lock them in the basement and don't tell anyone. Then you sleep peacefully on your mattress for the next ten years.

People steal software because there is no chance of getting caught and having to pay for your crime. No risk, but a great reward. There's no other reason. In a perfect world everyone would have everything they wanted in the best condition for no cost. Find me a person who doesn't want that and I'll tell you you just found someone who likes playing devil's advocate.

YAYitsAndrew · May 5, 2008, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Lord

i dunno... it just seems like everything i play, it always seems like "hey i liked this game back when they called it...."
everything just seems to be a rehash of a game ive already played 10 other rehashes of.

It sounds like it's time for you to stop playing video games. Why would you play a single game if every one of them just leads to disappointment?

I'm in the same boat though. I steal cable because all the sitcoms and reality TV shows on the air are just like the other ones I watched ten years ago. I stopped going to movie theatres because I've seen all the movies; new ones just change the characters and use the same plot. I don't even brush my teeth anymore, because toothpaste has been the same for the past hundred years. Who cares about that whitening stuff, that's all just a gimmick to get you to buy the same toothpaste that's been around forever.

---

Every industry has genres. We like to classify, there are people who dedicate their entire lives to the taxonomy of a field. Just because you're able to identify two games in the same genre, it doesn't mean they are the same game. The details have it all. Metroid and Castlevania are both platformer games but I'm sure you could spend all afternoon talking about the differences between the two.

Part of growing as a game player is learning what kinds of games you like and being able to tell from previews, reviews, and word of mouth whether you'll like a game or not (to avoid disappointment). We've all bought our share of stinkers and still do while we learn what we do and do not like. The same thing could be said about drinking beer or wine, or trying every chinese restaurant in town. There is no justification for theft here.