Piracy vs the blood the sweat the tears

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Author Topic:   Piracy vs the blood the sweat the tears

corbal posted 26-01-2002 12:46 PM GMT
New years new zzap new topic
Any way so there i was /thinking like / is software piracy that big a deal? / As a kid the compu8ter mags where always going on about how copying games would kill the industry and killoff the 64 et al /then without so much a warning the amiga/st 's turned up and the bottom fell out of the 8 bit market / so in conclusion the main threat to the success of a new system is not software piracy , but weather its going to be superceeded in 6 months . so i say copy now you may have an obselete system but at lest you'll have a sackfull of games (dreamcast owners kick yourselves now)
smila posted 26-01-2002 05:17 PM GMT
the problem with software piracy is that it keeps the prices of games sky high.
Ł45 for a ps2 game is fairly crazy.
but development cost must be paid for.
if twice as many games were bought the price of games would (should) drop.
a game i am currently working on has cost Ł3.5 million so far to make,thats a lot of cash to make back.
Gordon posted 26-01-2002 08:31 PM GMT
Smila
>if twice as many games were bought the price of games would (should) drop.<
I like that *should*. There's no way it would happen. One of the first things I was told when I was starting out in business was "charge what the market will stand, not what the product is worth". So that's what companies do.
Besides, people have got used to that Ł40-50 price tag for brand new systems now, and Ł20 for the older systems, and I don't think software companies would be keen to break the mould.
Remember what happened with Star Paws? It was a Ł5.99 game on the C64, and hailed as a great breakthrough in pricing and quality. How many more Ł5.99 games appeared after it? Uh...
In the end it's a circular argument. Just as piracy contributes to the high price of software, the high price of software contributes towards piracy.
Then again, there are people about who would pirate games even if they cost 50p ;o)
G
AntStiller posted 27-01-2002 10:53 AM GMT
But is the price of software really as high as it seems? For example, let's take a recent purchase, Baldur's Gate II. Now at a modest estimate I'd say I'll get at least 50 hours of enjoyment out if this game. At a purchasing cost of AU$100 that's $2/hour. That works out cheaper than renting a video. And it's more fun!
Let's try something a bit more action oriented -- Return to Castle Wolfenstein. That's about 10 hours of single player action and, seeing as I'm not much of an online fan, probably about the same for multiplayer. That's still $5/hour - still cheaper than going to the movies, and I can always go back and play it on a harder difficulty if I have the urge to kill uberzombies.
If that's to expensive, just wait a few months for the latest games to be discounted. Hours of fun AND cheap! Yay!
So, umm, what the hell was my point? Err ... ah, yes. Maybe the cost of software IS high, but the Return On Investment (to use a much over-used business term) is what's important, I think.
Speaking of videos, I'm off to watch Tomb Raider ... wish me luck!
:)
ps And , ummm ... C64 rules!

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Author	Topic: Piracy vs the blood the sweat the tears
corbal	posted 26-01-2002 12:46 PM GMT New years new zzap new topic Any way so there i was /thinking like / is software piracy that big a deal? / As a kid the compu8ter mags where always going on about how copying games would kill the industry and killoff the 64 et al /then without so much a warning the amiga/st 's turned up and the bottom fell out of the 8 bit market / so in conclusion the main threat to the success of a new system is not software piracy , but weather its going to be superceeded in 6 months . so i say copy now you may have an obselete system but at lest you'll have a sackfull of games (dreamcast owners kick yourselves now)
smila	posted 26-01-2002 05:17 PM GMT the problem with software piracy is that it keeps the prices of games sky high. Ł45 for a ps2 game is fairly crazy. but development cost must be paid for. if twice as many games were bought the price of games would (should) drop. a game i am currently working on has cost Ł3.5 million so far to make,thats a lot of cash to make back.
Gordon	posted 26-01-2002 08:31 PM GMT Smila >if twice as many games were bought the price of games would (should) drop.< I like that should. There's no way it would happen. One of the first things I was told when I was starting out in business was "charge what the market will stand, not what the product is worth". So that's what companies do. Besides, people have got used to that Ł40-50 price tag for brand new systems now, and Ł20 for the older systems, and I don't think software companies would be keen to break the mould. Remember what happened with Star Paws? It was a Ł5.99 game on the C64, and hailed as a great breakthrough in pricing and quality. How many more Ł5.99 games appeared after it? Uh... In the end it's a circular argument. Just as piracy contributes to the high price of software, the high price of software contributes towards piracy. Then again, there are people about who would pirate games even if they cost 50p ;o) G
AntStiller	posted 27-01-2002 10:53 AM GMT But is the price of software really as high as it seems? For example, let's take a recent purchase, Baldur's Gate II. Now at a modest estimate I'd say I'll get at least 50 hours of enjoyment out if this game. At a purchasing cost of AU$100 that's $2/hour. That works out cheaper than renting a video. And it's more fun! Let's try something a bit more action oriented -- Return to Castle Wolfenstein. That's about 10 hours of single player action and, seeing as I'm not much of an online fan, probably about the same for multiplayer. That's still $5/hour - still cheaper than going to the movies, and I can always go back and play it on a harder difficulty if I have the urge to kill uberzombies. If that's to expensive, just wait a few months for the latest games to be discounted. Hours of fun AND cheap! Yay! So, umm, what the hell was my point? Err ... ah, yes. Maybe the cost of software IS high, but the Return On Investment (to use a much over-used business term) is what's important, I think. Speaking of videos, I'm off to watch Tomb Raider ... wish me luck! :) ps And , ummm ... C64 rules!