Ubisoft games - poster children for piracy?

[Barrister]

The better question is - if piracy was rendered impossible over-night, would there be any increase in the amount of copies sold?  I'm certain there would be.

In the western world? Maybe.

However, there are studies outthere that prove that where most of the downloading for copies of games happen in country where the people couldn't afford the games anyway.

Piracy never equals a lost sale.

Not on a 1:1 basis, no.

But to argue that piracy has absolutely zero connection to sales is just silly.

[Razgovory]

Has big as piracy is today, it was much worse before the internet.

I don't believe that one bit.  Do you have any evidence to support your claim?

Malware was much worse in the 1980's as well.

[Grey Fox]

The better question is - if piracy was rendered impossible over-night, would there be any increase in the amount of copies sold?  I'm certain there would be.

In the western world? Maybe.

However, there are studies outthere that prove that where most of the downloading for copies of games happen in country where the people couldn't afford the games anyway.

Piracy never equals a lost sale.

Not on a 1:1 basis, no.

But to argue that piracy has absolutely zero connection to sales is just silly.

Maybe a 100:1 ratio be good. Other then that it's Corporate not understanding how things work.

[Jacob]

Maybe a 100:1 ratio be good. Other then that it's Corporate not understanding how things work.

On what do you base your understanding of how things work?

[Razgovory]

The better question is - if piracy was rendered impossible over-night, would there be any increase in the amount of copies sold?  I'm certain there would be.

In the western world? Maybe.

However, there are studies outthere that prove that where most of the downloading for copies of games happen in country where the people couldn't afford the games anyway.

Piracy never equals a lost sale.

Not on a 1:1 basis, no.

But to argue that piracy has absolutely zero connection to sales is just silly.

Maybe a 100:1 ratio be good. Other then that it's Corporate not understanding how things work.

Last time you said 3/4ths wouldn't buy it.  Berkut wanted to go with l/50th.  Even with your new absurdly low number we are talking a major hit to revenue.   Close to a fifth on the Call of Duty Game.

It's not like these are out of touch corporate behemoths who don't know how things work.  A developer is what?  100 people for a major game?  Less then that for a lot of games.

[Grey Fox]

Maybe a 100:1 ratio be good. Other then that it's Corporate not understanding how things work.

On what do you base your understanding of how things work?

I'm a gamer. They are corporate fat cats. They understand profits, I understand enjoyment.

[Razgovory]

Then perhaps you should take their word for it when they say Piracy is making profitability extremely difficult on the PC.

[Jacob]

I'm a gamer. They are corporate fat cats. They understand profits, I understand enjoyment.

I see. That's what I figured.

[DontSayBanana]

One of the problems for AAA game developers is that the role of game consoles and PCs has flip-flopped.  Once upon a time, consoles were low-powered computers designed expressly for running games without the overhead of a PC operating system.

Nowadays, the consoles are the high-powered machines, outperforming all but the $1,000+ gaming rig PCs.  Even worse, since they're shipped with a premade configuration, they're so much cheaper and better-saturated than the gaming rigs that PC development becomes a prohibitive cost just to cater to a marginal number of potential customers.

Another problem is the mentality.  PC gamers tend to circulate around the Internet where they're inundated by free-and-open-source initiatives as well as well-intentioned, if legally-questionable, sites and groups with very specific views on such things as abandonware.  By contrast, the console gamers are typically disconnected from the computer while playing, so they'll stick more in a comfort zone like hanging around, say, an Xbox achievements forum instead of an emulation forum.

Yet another problem is the delivery method.  PC gaming is almost exclusively download-driven, while consoles are still predominantly box-driven.  Comparatively speaking, it's incredibly difficult to pirate a current-gen disc-based game; the drives tend to include some hardware modifications that are difficult to make media for with consumer-grade equipment (see: discs spinning backward, Sony's "wobbling" discs, etc.).  I also believe there is a psychological sales benefit to boxing a game; I've had to break myself of the "this box feels like it's worth $30, so why should I pay $25 for a volatile digital copy?" mentality.

[Cerr]

Nowadays, the consoles are the high-powered machines, outperforming all but the $1,000+ gaming rig PCs.

That's nonsense. It might have been true when they originally launched but the consoles tech is about 6 years old.

[Grey Fox]

I'm a gamer. They are corporate fat cats. They understand profits, I understand enjoyment.

I see. That's what I figured.

So you agree that I'm right? 

[dps]

I'm a gamer. They are corporate fat cats. They understand profits, I understand enjoyment.

I see. That's what I figured.

So you agree that I'm right? 

No, he figured that you were talking out your ass, and you pretty much confirmed that.

[Grey Fox]

I'm a gamer. They are corporate fat cats. They understand profits, I understand enjoyment.

I see. That's what I figured.

So you agree that I'm right? 

No, he figured that you were talking out your ass, and you pretty much confirmed that.

Yes, you always seem to miss it when I'm trying to be sarcastic.

but I'm still right.

[Josquius]

Nowadays, the consoles are the high-powered machines, outperforming all but the $1,000+ gaming rig PCs.

That's nonsense. It might have been true when they originally launched but the consoles tech is about 6 years old.

Indeed.
My computer was maybe £400 max a year ago and it runs games that were originally for the xbox 360 with ease.

[Razgovory]

Nowadays, the consoles are the high-powered machines, outperforming all but the $1,000+ gaming rig PCs.

That's nonsense. It might have been true when they originally launched but the consoles tech is about 6 years old.

And if the piracy rates are any indication there is indeed a large market share of people who can both play these games and the desire to do so.