super cool story bro

>I'm getting so tired of people bemoaning that pirates are killing everything
This thread is really going to help that...

I think everyone is worried about a repeat of the napster/MP3 music industry fiasco, but it's a baseless concern. The music industry wasn't destroyed by piracy, it was destroyed by the rise to prominence of rich, multimedia experiences. How many non-musicians do you know who sit down to devote their full attention to an album when they have access to DVDs, HD video-on-demand, modern video games, the internet, etc. Guns and Roses' Appetite for Destruction was a compelling experience in 1987 as compared to the handful of stations on television, an NES or Sega Megadrive, print media, or anything available on an Apple IIe or IBM Compatible running DOS. Now honestly, for the vast majority of the public, Chinese Democracy by the same band (or any other album) in 2009 cannot compete with Gears 2, Blue ray discs, or a host of other entertainment options that have become available.

We live in a world of intense, interactive multimedia experiences, and music has been relegated to being an asset within more complete multimedia products, and as background noise that drones constantly on our ipods, computers, TVs, game consoles, and everywhere else for that matter. The music industry has fallen thanks to an outdated business model, excessive greed on the part of people with their fingers FAR from the pulse of society, and the rapid rise of technology. Music is alive and well, it's just not marketable as a blockbuster, devoted-attention, retail product anymore on a mass scale. There are more people making money off of music than ever before, they just aren't making it in the traditional recording industry with major labels.

Hollywood has some reason to be concerned when it comes to physical media sales, but this is not due to piracy. The problem is that demand for physical media is starting to wane. The DVD format is no longer on the leading edge of fidelity, popularity, or most importantly convenience. Blue ray does offer enhanced quality, but if anything convenience has been reduced. Things like revision support, HDCP issues, the annoyance of 24p content on 60hz monitors, and rising costs make the format less attractive to consumers. They need to step up digital distribution efforts, and focus less on piracy and more on customer experience.

Who is doing well right now? Sony spends a lot of time trying to thwart the pirates (which infuriates the homebrew crowd and punishes the fanboys, who should be the companies biggest supporters), and it doesn't seem to have helped. EA likes invasive DRM, and it certainly didn't help Spore or any of their other recent blockbuster titles out. In fact, they were forced to remove some of these draconian measures from their products recently. Microsoft (one of the early adopters of internet activation) software is pervasively pirated.

Stardock releases games without DRM, on a sort of honor system. Most Apple software has no copyright protection what so ever. Valve has found a way to deter pirates (atleast superficially) without punishing legitimate customers.

The companies who have chosen not to embark on a ridiculous (and futile) war on pirates and have instead focused on consumer satisfaction have built up tremendous good will, a dedicated and loyal fan base, and very strong financials.

Piracy has always been, and will always be a "problem". Are revenues impacted? Probably. Is every count of piracy a lost sale? Not by a long shot. Do some pirates go on to purchase games/movies/media? Certainly. Do some pirates become brand/product evangelists, thus spreading positive word of mouth and increasing sales? Probably. Should piracy be sanctioned or ignored? No. Pirates ARE breaking the law. Should anyone lose sleep over it? Probably not. Is it killing anything? Not unless we're talking about the type of pirates that carry guns and ride around in boats.

>>30297787
I buy any game that I like that doesn't have draconian DRM or if it supports a company that I like.

As such I've bought 100% of the titles I own from Valve and pirated almost all of my EA titles.

>>30297666
>Every console post-PSX has been hit by piracy, yet life goes on.
If I hit you in the face your life would go on, but you wouldn't like it.
If I cut your legs off your life would go on, but you wouldn't like it.

I was about to comment on the intelligent discussion on DAYTIME /v/, but then I noticed the URL.

"http://zip.4chan.org/v/res/30297666.html";

>/30297666.html

>666

>>30297850
Fuck you for giving a shit about law. But you're being realistic otherwise so you have my respect.

>>30297920
Cool logical fallacy bro.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7960498.stm

PC developers are seeing growth in sales through the recession.

>Every console post-PSX has been hit by piracy

Sega CD wasn't post-PSX. CD burners, albeit expensive at the time, burned the games with no need for console modification.

Piracy isn't really hitting console publishers. I mean, most of /v/ pirates, but normal people don't.

It's not like PC games (or music) where everybody pirates 90% of their stuff. The PC games industry is moving to digital distribution because online games are the best defense _against_ piracy.

>>30298262
>intentional logical fallacies

If you're gonna copy paste my comment from joytiq atleast ask me first.

>Every console post-PSX has been hit by piracy, yet life goes on.
PS3 hasnt yet.

>>30298262

I assume you're rewording because you can't sensibly respond? That's normally the case.

i am a "hardcore" gamer and i believe piracy is not killing the gaming industry its just turning it casual

>Pirates ARE breaking the law

No.

>>30297666

Piracy has been around a lot longer than most game companies.

Why did they choose to start doing business in the video game industry when OMG PIRACY IS KILLING IT - nevermind that piracy has been a constant part of video gaming since the 80's.

No console apart from the Playstation 3 has ever been safe from piracy. The only reason the Playstation 3 has been spared is because of nogames.

>>30297666

is that actually your opinion or did you just copy paste it from joystiq?

>>30298528

I think it's turning casual for a lot of reasons, but piracy is certainly contributing to that.

>>30298634

>piracy has been a constant part of video gaming since the 80's

So have PCs, the internet, and ease of access to removable storage mediums.

Piracy injures the industry, faggot. I don't know why you people can't get that through your fucking fat skulls.

>Fortune 500 company profits are down more than 80%

If I didn't have piracy I would not own a ds or psp. I wouldn't play almost any PC games - just XBox or MMOs prolly.

>>30298472
That's what you think. Dark Alex has already hacked the firmware and has back-up dumps playing from the hard drive. More or less, it's about people having the bandwith to download games. You can of course, rent, rip & transfer.

If people could not pirate games, they would rent them or buy them used.

Overall, sales would barely increase.

>>30298718

Wait. I think you were trying to be sarcastic, but you just end up looking like a complete fucking noob.

Ever heard of a BBS? Ever heard of flashable cartridges? Heck, even a console as recent as the GBA had flashable copy cartridges.