The three things that you see a lot of complaints about are:

1. Internet element - Especially internet activation

2. DVD Copy protection

3. Ads in games

Different people object to different things but none of the above is acceptable to everyone.

For me, 1 and 2 is ok but I don't like 3 much.

[QUOTE="lepermessiah2"]

if u can't affird it, stealing is wrong ni matter what. There is no justification for it.

TeamR

What is wrong with you? Where did I say that piracy is right? I think you need to re-read my posts.

Having a conversation about why people pirate does not = pro-piracy

I can see that you are trying to point out that this is not as "Black and White" as it appears but instead is gray. However, you should understand that it is also enabling to the person who is inclined to follow this dark path. Humans are resourceful enough to circumvent efforts to stop stealing. But they are also resourceful enough to get what they want (i.e. buy games).

The eye scan thing was meant to be a silly illusion of the future. But I think you got my point anyways. :)

I'm pretty sure there are importers to Australia. Bermuda it sounds like not. But if it were confined to somewhere like Bermuda, it wouldn't be an issue with a population that small.

I did point out that the majority (not all) of people who steal would become legitimate buyers. The big factor is the ability to play these games in the first place. If someone was willing to spend that kind of money on a PC just to be able to play games then they would not abstain from buying them. Otherwise, they have an expensive internet browser.

There would be some who would stop but those would be exceptional cases. Not the norm.

One of my least favorite reasons is: just testing it out...

How easy does it become to say a game is inadequate if it becomes a choice of paying for it or not...

I do think that all games should have a demo, however.

@ TeamR:

I certainly would not say 100%. But it would be the majority. You may have done it in college because you were broke and say that you wouldn't have played anything. But you were never in the 100% impossible situation. If it did exist, all your friends would be playing a game that was fantastic and you had no access to. Zero, zilch. Imagine a society where entering a game was directly linked into a eye scan that repeated every five seconds to make sure that only the purchaser was playing the game.

As for availability, is there a country on earth where you would have access to a high end PC good enough to play the latest games and get online but be completely unable to get games? Importing is more expensive but it does exist. :)

There's lots of things that can be done but whether it'll stop piracy is a completely different matter.

Online activation (Steam), better copyright protection that doesn't punish legit customers, stop selling bug ridden games, bring back shareware, educate parents and younger players to understand that illegally downloading is a crime, don't sell games at full price that have no replay value at all etc etc.

zeus_gb

Online Activation: Sure

Better Copy Protection: Sure

Bug Ridden games: Give the Pubs and Devs more money and you will have a longer development cycle to fixthese bugs

Shareware: You lost me here. Do you mean demos? Because the shareware I know is the one you still pay for.

Educate: I prefer peer pressure

Replay value: This is entirely subjective.

the DVD and the box increase the prices! even if it's only 10$. it a way to start reducing prices!

changing piracy begins with each of us.. its like changing war. anyway it is part of human nature! unfortunately so it won't be extinguished! so! devs must try to get around piracy! and stop fighting a neverending war!

JJVCC

I'm not against digital distribution. But I don't think it truly addresses any of the piracy issues at all.

@ TeamR

Stadock also made a great game that helped it sell well. But the whole copy protection thing attracted a bigger base due to the novelty of their approach to it. If all Publishers followed suit, the effect on piracy wouldn't be noticeable. So that ship has sailed.

Focusing on the Pubs/Devs because nothing can be done about the thieves is ok. Because Pubs and Devs can attempt to do something about it. But, everyone shouldn't forget the thieves role in this. Which seems to be the case far too often. I think there needs to be a louder voice from the community that its not ok to do this. The gaming community does have a loud voice but they don't use it effectively against the root of the problem.

As for piracy vs. lost sales, I look at it this way: If piracy was 100% impossible, would 100% of the people who steal games not be gamers? I think the vast majority would be paying gamers. They can afford a rig to play the latest games after all.

I do agree with you on innovation as well. Innovation does help and should be encouraged. But it also has to succeed in the long term. Otherwise, with growing numbers of illegal downloaders and rising production costs, it is a losing battle.

On a personal note: Not only is my livelihood based on successful games being released but I am also an avid gamer. I don't like seeing people harming the gaming industry with no regard for the supporting it. So these views are not just Dev views, they are my gamer views too.

[QUOTE="SR_Caveman"]

How do you think the price of games can be lowered? Games are more expensive for users because they are more expensive to make. There is also inflation to consider.

Hewkii

digital distribution is one alternative.

It's not the box and DVD that is the problem here.

How do you think the price of games can be lowered? Games are more expensive for users because they are more expensive to make. There is also inflation to consider.

Even in your post you say stealing won't stop. So lowering the price only means losing more money. If you are selling a game at a certain price to recover your costs in making it as well as earning some money to make another game, how can you afford to make less money with people still stealing it.

There is a segment of the people who steal games who say it is the price. There is also a segment who say it is the quality is not good enough to pay for. Then there are the other segments who have other justifications. Those in the "price" category will simply move to the "low quality" category or to another reason.

You cannot gain when it comes to thieves. They have too many justifications. You can only hope to change popular belief from "cool" to "uncool". Peer pressure when applied positively can be a great thing. If you're a "loser" for stealing than its going to change your approach to stealing.

I can tell you that I do agree that digital downloads for certain countries to balance out the price disparities is something I support. But not because of piracy... Because of legitimate users.