Comment This applies to Internet Piracy as well (Score 1) 591
While this article is relating to physical and for-profit piracy in poorer foreign countries, most of the points apply to internet-based piracy in First-world countries.
I, myself, pirated video games when I was younger. However, with the rise of digital distribution services, such as Steam, I don't need to. The amount disposable income hasn't changed much, but the value of legally purchasing games via dealing with the challenges of piracy has.
This has nothing to do with new DRM techniques, in fact, those harm my desire to purchase legally. If I purchase a game via Steam, I can install it any number of times as long as Valve is still in business (which is it's own issue). The Steam client provide other benefits for me, automatic patching (which is a great, but under appreciated, bonus), many useful community/friends support, and easy access to new and/or independent games.
What do I get if I buy a heavily DRM'ed game from $RETAILSTORE? A longer install process, annoying patch process or multiple background patching programs, obtrusive DRM (ubisoft, i'm looking at you), and no replacement if the physical media is damaged or lost.
Steam is far from perfect, but is far superior to the normal retail mess that is the mainstream game market. Hell, they even foster innovation in the independent game market, as they provide indie games exposure when they normally cannot get any reasonable physical distribution or marketing. I've spent far more money on games since the rise of Steam than the entire time before it, and I play far fewer games than before.
Why can't someone do this for Movies and TV shows? The few that do, such as Apple or Amazon, have high prices or annoying restrictions. When a game is released at retail stores, it's released at the same time on Steam. Why do I have to wait a week to see it on the Apple store? Why is one episode worth $2, when the entire season is $20 for 26 episodes?
If I can pirate the Movie or TV show, I bypass all of these annoyances for free. There aren't as many problems pirating video content as the chance of virus infection is greatly reduced, and any DRM methods can be easily bypassed by the 'Scene'. If anything, nasty consumer-level DRM (HDCP) is a foolish waste, as less intrusive DRM methods would prevent casual copying while not punishing those who legitimately attempt to purchase your items.
Fix the release delays, and one-download-only approach, and reduce the price discrepancies. Then you will have a healthy market again.
I, myself, pirated video games when I was younger. However, with the rise of digital distribution services, such as Steam, I don't need to. The amount disposable income hasn't changed much, but the value of legally purchasing games via dealing with the challenges of piracy has.
This has nothing to do with new DRM techniques, in fact, those harm my desire to purchase legally. If I purchase a game via Steam, I can install it any number of times as long as Valve is still in business (which is it's own issue). The Steam client provide other benefits for me, automatic patching (which is a great, but under appreciated, bonus), many useful community/friends support, and easy access to new and/or independent games.
What do I get if I buy a heavily DRM'ed game from $RETAILSTORE? A longer install process, annoying patch process or multiple background patching programs, obtrusive DRM (ubisoft, i'm looking at you), and no replacement if the physical media is damaged or lost.
Steam is far from perfect, but is far superior to the normal retail mess that is the mainstream game market. Hell, they even foster innovation in the independent game market, as they provide indie games exposure when they normally cannot get any reasonable physical distribution or marketing. I've spent far more money on games since the rise of Steam than the entire time before it, and I play far fewer games than before.
Why can't someone do this for Movies and TV shows? The few that do, such as Apple or Amazon, have high prices or annoying restrictions. When a game is released at retail stores, it's released at the same time on Steam. Why do I have to wait a week to see it on the Apple store? Why is one episode worth $2, when the entire season is $20 for 26 episodes?
If I can pirate the Movie or TV show, I bypass all of these annoyances for free. There aren't as many problems pirating video content as the chance of virus infection is greatly reduced, and any DRM methods can be easily bypassed by the 'Scene'. If anything, nasty consumer-level DRM (HDCP) is a foolish waste, as less intrusive DRM methods would prevent casual copying while not punishing those who legitimately attempt to purchase your items.
Fix the release delays, and one-download-only approach, and reduce the price discrepancies. Then you will have a healthy market again.