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Post your comments for Spore tops piracy charts, but don?t blame DRM here
Spore tops piracy charts, but don?t blame DRM
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#2
wilco 
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Posted 11 December 2008 - 04:51 PM
I imagine such a large number of people pirated this software for a variety of reasons, including the ones you mentioned.
One reason that wasn't suggested was that many of these torrent downloaders (including myself) downloaded a "cracked" copy having already purchased the game. I imagine many were frustrated by the crippling DRM scheme and rather than calling EA support for 3+ hours, decided to download a cracked version instead.
Often times piracy has more to do with the path of least resistance, rather than a question of morality. If it's easier to pirate something than to buy it, there will be a trend towards piracy. If it's easier just to buy something, the trend will go the other way (consider the advent of iTunes music purchases, or the tremendous success of Valve's Steam platform).
One reason that wasn't suggested was that many of these torrent downloaders (including myself) downloaded a "cracked" copy having already purchased the game. I imagine many were frustrated by the crippling DRM scheme and rather than calling EA support for 3+ hours, decided to download a cracked version instead.
Often times piracy has more to do with the path of least resistance, rather than a question of morality. If it's easier to pirate something than to buy it, there will be a trend towards piracy. If it's easier just to buy something, the trend will go the other way (consider the advent of iTunes music purchases, or the tremendous success of Valve's Steam platform).
#4
itsjustme
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Posted 11 December 2008 - 05:14 PM
I agree with Wilco...path of least resistance....Not to get political..... but if Obama was the state senator of ill-a-noise, and didn't know what was happening under his nose....how's he going to answer all the questions that are coming his way in the very near future? Is he going to do the same with the country also? I just think of the old Sgt. Schultz....."I know nothing.....NOTHING!" Wonder what Obama's stance on software piracy is this week?
#5
richcon
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Posted 11 December 2008 - 06:18 PM
itsjustme:
Obama is a (former) Illinois senator, which means he spent his time in the US capital representing the people of Illinois. He didn't work for the Illinois government (though he obviously has worked with them on certain issues), and even when he was a state senator, being so doesn't mean he's involved with the governor's private meetings. Different branches.
Obama is a (former) Illinois senator, which means he spent his time in the US capital representing the people of Illinois. He didn't work for the Illinois government (though he obviously has worked with them on certain issues), and even when he was a state senator, being so doesn't mean he's involved with the governor's private meetings. Different branches.
#6
Steve_S
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Posted 11 December 2008 - 06:19 PM
>If you don’t like a publisher’s copy protection scheme, piracy isn’t how you protest, not having anything to do with the game is.
>
>I realize that may not be a popular argument.
Software publishers need to understand a very simple fact. DRM is a means of treating your legitimate customers with hostility. DRM is ineffective (as clearly demonstrated here). Software publishers are giving people a choice between paying money for DRM laden software or simply downloading a cracked version which is free of such restrictions. No, stealing isn't the right thing to do, but honestly companies that push DRM are driving people to steal.
I have no doubt Spore is the most popular download simply because it's a popular game. However, DRM only punishes legitimate customers and encourage others to steal. Afterall, the stolen version offers a better product by virtue of being DRM free.
>
>I realize that may not be a popular argument.
Software publishers need to understand a very simple fact. DRM is a means of treating your legitimate customers with hostility. DRM is ineffective (as clearly demonstrated here). Software publishers are giving people a choice between paying money for DRM laden software or simply downloading a cracked version which is free of such restrictions. No, stealing isn't the right thing to do, but honestly companies that push DRM are driving people to steal.
I have no doubt Spore is the most popular download simply because it's a popular game. However, DRM only punishes legitimate customers and encourage others to steal. Afterall, the stolen version offers a better product by virtue of being DRM free.
#9
JakeB
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Posted 12 December 2008 - 05:47 AM
Anybody read Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness (loosely used to structure Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now')?
Idea is, you're in the jungle, far from prying eyes; how do you behave? Do you hold onto 'civilized' values or 'go native.' (quotation marks at the irony of such terms, given colonizers typically brutal treatment of native peoples).
The anonymity of the internet presents a similar, if much less extreme, test of... what? Character? Values?
Those people who downloaded Spore for free and illegally had no right to do so. Sure, that's a given. Part of the problem is selfishness and self-interest. I can get this for free, therefore I will. Part is failure of imagination, an inability to see that even 'big corporations' depend on sales to continue developing such games, paying staff, etc.
But I have another explanation, if only a partial one. Most of us are small cogs in a big machine; most of us are not at or near the top of the system, not benefiting in BIG ways from capitalism. We may do okay, but maybe not even that well. And there's a perception that some of these big corporations get away with murder; executives make millions while fleecing employees and the public.
So this is a small way to feel less powerless, to 'strike back,' even in a largely symbolic way. To feel like you've gotten one over on the system, rather than being suckered (like every time you put gas in your car.)
Let me be clear; it doesn't excuse theft. But it might be a contributing psychological factor.
Jake
Idea is, you're in the jungle, far from prying eyes; how do you behave? Do you hold onto 'civilized' values or 'go native.' (quotation marks at the irony of such terms, given colonizers typically brutal treatment of native peoples).
The anonymity of the internet presents a similar, if much less extreme, test of... what? Character? Values?
Those people who downloaded Spore for free and illegally had no right to do so. Sure, that's a given. Part of the problem is selfishness and self-interest. I can get this for free, therefore I will. Part is failure of imagination, an inability to see that even 'big corporations' depend on sales to continue developing such games, paying staff, etc.
But I have another explanation, if only a partial one. Most of us are small cogs in a big machine; most of us are not at or near the top of the system, not benefiting in BIG ways from capitalism. We may do okay, but maybe not even that well. And there's a perception that some of these big corporations get away with murder; executives make millions while fleecing employees and the public.
So this is a small way to feel less powerless, to 'strike back,' even in a largely symbolic way. To feel like you've gotten one over on the system, rather than being suckered (like every time you put gas in your car.)
Let me be clear; it doesn't excuse theft. But it might be a contributing psychological factor.
Jake
#10
the7ofswords
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Posted 12 December 2008 - 06:25 AM
Too bad there's no way to track any of this.
I personally know of 3 cases where people who paid for this game went and downloaded the cracked version so they wouldn't have to worry about DRM. EA, of course, will call this a theft, but the customers in these cases DID pay. So there's not really a lost sale here.
Personally, I bought the game at Target. We removed it from the HD after a couple of weeks, though. Even my kids, who were enthralled with it at first, lost interest rather quickly. It was a great concept, and much of the execution was top-notch, but no one in my family found it to be playable over the long term. It certainly doesn't have the replayability of something like Civilization IV, or even The Sims. The hype that accompanied this game brought it a lot of interest, but I don't think it has legs - at least, not until the inevitable add-ons come along.
Of course, all this is just anecdotal, but I would LOVE to know how many of these downloads were:
1. Purchased, then downloaded to avoid the DRM
2. downloaded, then purchased (like a trial)
3. downloaded, and then, after a few hours of tinkering, deleted
My 2 coppers.
7
I personally know of 3 cases where people who paid for this game went and downloaded the cracked version so they wouldn't have to worry about DRM. EA, of course, will call this a theft, but the customers in these cases DID pay. So there's not really a lost sale here.
Personally, I bought the game at Target. We removed it from the HD after a couple of weeks, though. Even my kids, who were enthralled with it at first, lost interest rather quickly. It was a great concept, and much of the execution was top-notch, but no one in my family found it to be playable over the long term. It certainly doesn't have the replayability of something like Civilization IV, or even The Sims. The hype that accompanied this game brought it a lot of interest, but I don't think it has legs - at least, not until the inevitable add-ons come along.
Of course, all this is just anecdotal, but I would LOVE to know how many of these downloads were:
1. Purchased, then downloaded to avoid the DRM
2. downloaded, then purchased (like a trial)
3. downloaded, and then, after a few hours of tinkering, deleted
My 2 coppers.
7
#11
mrbach
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Posted 12 December 2008 - 06:57 AM
When I first bought Half Life 2, the installation of Steam really put me off. The fact that I had to log on to some server and wait to play the game was enough. I wasn't in multiplayer.
Steam was a source of trouble, and now I don't buy anything that uses it. If someone figured out how to disable that POS, then good for them.
Steam was a source of trouble, and now I don't buy anything that uses it. If someone figured out how to disable that POS, then good for them.
#12
DVA_Airwolf
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Posted 12 December 2008 - 07:06 AM
It's actually a much simpler argument...
The upcoming, savvy teenage & 20-something generation, who are the main benefactors and users of Torrent technology, steal... because they can.
There is no come-back, no retribution and no consequences from an activity that is now not generally accepted as "stealing" in the traditional (you'll do time, dude) sense of the word, but "file sharing". It's out in the wild, and unfortunately there's no going back.
Only worldwide, Draconian government intervention or the upcoming, global power-cuts will ever reduce it, and we all know the former will never happen, especially in the current deepening worldwide recession towards depression, when the "stick it the man" generation will not even think twice about stealing absolutely anything that is within the digital domain, nor will they even care.
The upcoming, savvy teenage & 20-something generation, who are the main benefactors and users of Torrent technology, steal... because they can.
There is no come-back, no retribution and no consequences from an activity that is now not generally accepted as "stealing" in the traditional (you'll do time, dude) sense of the word, but "file sharing". It's out in the wild, and unfortunately there's no going back.
Only worldwide, Draconian government intervention or the upcoming, global power-cuts will ever reduce it, and we all know the former will never happen, especially in the current deepening worldwide recession towards depression, when the "stick it the man" generation will not even think twice about stealing absolutely anything that is within the digital domain, nor will they even care.
#13
minimalist
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Posted 12 December 2008 - 07:34 AM
You act as though nobody involved in the industry has ever heard the DRM-only-hurts-honest-customers mantra repeated ad nauseum across thousands of discussion boards. Software makers are keenly aware of the problems DRM foists on honest customers.
But what do you expect them to do? It?s so easy to flippantly proclaim, as so many posters have done before, that ?they just don?t get it?. But if you were in a position of power where they are in charge of the financial health of a company and thousands of people?s jobs depended on that company?s profitability you would definitely see this issue differently.
Because in spite of all the claims that these companies should just ?give the people what they want and they will stop pirating? the little data we have suggests something very different. Look at the Radiohead and the Nine Inch Nails direct download experiments. People could have chosen to pay a dollar if they had wanted to (or even pay nothing at all)? and STILL there were more people who pirated the content than got it legitimately.
The fact of the matter is that lots of people just don?t see anything wrong with downloading stuff off torrent sites and have grown up thinking that there is nothing wrong with this because their peers reinforce that its acceptable and because they have never gotten caught. So playing apologist for people by saying ?it?s wrong? BUT? ... the record companies brought this on themselves or EA brought this on themselves is giving implicit approval to their acts. If it?s wrong it?s wrong. There should be no ?buts? about it. And the author is right. If people don?t like DRM then they should vote with their wallets. But for them to claim ?you made me do this? is a just an excuse to justify what they would have done anyway.
But what do you expect them to do? It?s so easy to flippantly proclaim, as so many posters have done before, that ?they just don?t get it?. But if you were in a position of power where they are in charge of the financial health of a company and thousands of people?s jobs depended on that company?s profitability you would definitely see this issue differently.
Because in spite of all the claims that these companies should just ?give the people what they want and they will stop pirating? the little data we have suggests something very different. Look at the Radiohead and the Nine Inch Nails direct download experiments. People could have chosen to pay a dollar if they had wanted to (or even pay nothing at all)? and STILL there were more people who pirated the content than got it legitimately.
The fact of the matter is that lots of people just don?t see anything wrong with downloading stuff off torrent sites and have grown up thinking that there is nothing wrong with this because their peers reinforce that its acceptable and because they have never gotten caught. So playing apologist for people by saying ?it?s wrong? BUT? ... the record companies brought this on themselves or EA brought this on themselves is giving implicit approval to their acts. If it?s wrong it?s wrong. There should be no ?buts? about it. And the author is right. If people don?t like DRM then they should vote with their wallets. But for them to claim ?you made me do this? is a just an excuse to justify what they would have done anyway.
#14
Hurley42
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Posted 12 December 2008 - 07:38 AM
After buying Spore and learning about the DRM after receiving the product and opening it, I opted to not install it. I resold it on Amazon.com and will not buy any more video games for my Mac until after they have been released and I can hear what the community is saying about DRM tactics used by the vendor.
