D.A. Zollinger's Journal: Pirating Software, and Doom3

From a recent slashdot article:

The next question centered on pirating, and of course much was made of copies downloaded a couple of days before the release. In fact id staff was in Hong Kong a few days before the US release and they found pirated copies being sold with full packaging.

CEO Todd Hollenshead particularly hit away at this issue. It is his belief that pirating only hurts the industry particularly as game production becomes more expensive. He feels studios like Looking Glass may be around if it wasn't for pirating. He worries that continued pirating will lead to a gaming world of movie games and focus group games only which is not good for anyone.

Oh, man, where to begin? I love games, and I was willing to plop my $50 down to play Doom3 the day it came out. What I can't understand are those who insist on shortchanging the developer who worked so hard on producing the game. But it seems that game developers are in a lose-lose proposition. Make a poor game, and word gets out, and no one buys it. Make a great game, and no one buys it - they download a free copy off the Internet instead. Truth be told, after playing the game from beginning to end, I would have been willing to pay up to $100 for that game, and the incredible experience it created. But I know I am in the minority, and would have had a hard time coughing up $100 without knowing what I was getting into.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who the day I purchased my copy told me he was downloading his copy off the Internet. When I steered the conversation towards how his actions could hurt the developer, he brushed it off saying that he would be willing to buy it when it came out, however living in Europe delayed his ability to purchase a copy for another week or so. (Being that a week has passed, I should ask him if he bought a copy, or completed the game and has no desire to purchase a game he already played. My guess is that id software won't see a dime from my european friend despite his good intentions.)

I made it well known at work that I was playing the game. I placed the box cover on top of my cubicle, a tradition that several of us gamers have created in the office. One of my colleagues asked if I could make him a copy, and I told him my stance on pirating software, and that I would not make him a copy, and encouraged him to purchase a copy for himself. After all, the game does not cost that much, my colleague is single, and is well compensated for what he does. Surely he can afford it! He accepted my position, and the next day asked if I could bring the game into the office. I felt it wouldn't hurt to show him, and others who had expressed interest in the game what all the hype was about. I do not spend my entire day at my desk, and by mid-day my Doom3 disks had disappeared. When they returned by late afternoon, I started asking questions. Turns out my friend had "borrowed" my disks, and my cd key, and made a copy for himself - after I had expressly told him my feelings about the subject. Needless to say, I am rather upset by my colleague's actions. He claims it was to see if it would run on his machine/was a good enough game to play. I find both claims bogus as he could easily find the answers to both questions online.

What I can't understand is why. Why do people insist in cheating hard-working, honest software developers. Don't they understand that they are only hurting themselves? What happens when John Carmack and the other owners decide that id software is no longer profitable, and take all the millions of dollars they made on their previous games and call it quits? From where I am sitting I see that as a bad thing. If it weren't for id software, many of the games we play today would never have been developed. id software drives hardware and software innovation. Many software studios exist to modify the id 3D engine to produce other games. id software practically invented 3D on the computer, and their current innovations drive development even further. Despite all the hype surrounding both Far Cry and Half-Life 2, both engines are technically inferior to the Doom 3 engine. The Doom 3 engine can do things (graphically) that neither Source, or CryTek can do, and that will be something that many developers will consider when they create their next 3D game; which engine will they licence, and will they live with the limitations created by an inferior engine, or will they use the Doom 3 engine, and be limited only by their imagination.

I know most people who make illegal copies find someway to justify it to themselves. The easiest one is "its only 1 copy, they aren't going to miss my $50." Problem is, it isn't just your $50 dollars they are missing. It is the hundreds and thousands of others who are doing it as well. If it was just you, then you would be correct, and they most likely would not even miss it. As it is today, you are one of many, and you are voting with your money. However, instead of saying, "Yes, this is worth your time and effort to develop," you are saying, "Your product is not worth the time and effort you put into creating it." You are discouraging the creation of better games. You are discouraging the advancement in technology, by denying the researchers of those advancements a monetary return on their time and effort to develop those advancements.

My fear is that one day I may be so outnumbered by those who want to pirate good software, that the developers who would want to develop good software will decide against it for fear that they will be unable to make a living on their creations.