Ubisoft claims 95% of their PC games played are pirated copies

[Faeelin]

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has told GamesIndustry International that the percentage of paying players is the same for free to play as it is for PC boxed product: around five to seven per cent.

Speaking to GamesIndustry International editor Matt Martin at Gamescom, Guillemot revealed that free to play has been an effective way for Ubisoft to market product to territories in which PC gaming had been so badly affected by piracy that profit was impossible.

"We want to develop the PC market quite a lot and F2P is really the way to do it," said the French CEO. "The advantage of F2P is that we can get revenue from countries where we couldn't previously - places where our products were played but not bought. Now with F2P we gain revenue, which helps brands last longer.

"It's a way to get closer to your customers, to make sure you have a revenue. On PC it's only around five to seven per cent of the players who pay for F2P, but normally on PC it's only about five to seven per cent who pay anyway, the rest is pirated. It's around a 93-95 per cent piracy rate, so it ends up at about the same percentage. The revenue we get from the people who play is more long term, so we can continue to bring content."

Some more in the article about why F2P is better for companies, but this number boggled my mind. Does this sound plausible?


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-08-22-guillemot-as-many-pc-players-pay-for-f2p-as-boxed-product

[Grey Fox]

Who the hell knows.

Their methodology is to go on torrent freak & see how many times their games have been torrented & equal that to a lost sale.

[Jacob]

Really?

Because it's much more accurate to compare the number of sales to the number of unique hits to the servers for updates and multiplayer matching.

[Berkut]

I think it is also hard to evaluate even from a "feel" standpoint because they may be talking about other countries, like China.

How many people have paid for copies in China? I would be surprised if it was as high as 5%.

[CountDeMoney]

I think it is also hard to evaluate even from a "feel" standpoint because they may be talking about other countries, like China.

How many people have paid for copies in China? I would be surprised if it was as high as 5%.

I would think that Eastern Europeans and Russians, as well as Western European kiddie punks, would be ripping them off at an even greater rate.

[Jacob]

Yeah, Berkut, my impression was that he was talking about specific markets where they have a hard time making a profit - I'm imagining China is probably one of them - when he talks about 95% of the games being copies.

[Jacob]

I would think that Eastern Europeans and Russians, as well as Western European kiddie punks, would be ripping them off at an even greater rate.

You think West European kiddie punks pirate more than North American kiddie punks?

[CountDeMoney]

You think West European kiddie punks pirate more than North American kiddie punks?

Yes I do.  I believe they're smarter.

[DGuller]

I think it is also hard to evaluate even from a "feel" standpoint because they may be talking about other countries, like China.

How many people have paid for copies in China? I would be surprised if it was as high as 5%.

I would think that Eastern Europeans and Russians, as well as Western European kiddie punks, would be ripping them off at an even greater rate.

[Cecil]

Oh its just Ubisoft pulling numbers out of their ass again, nothing to see here. I suppose its hard to see your shitty DRM practises forcing people into piracy because its a much superior gaming experience. Havent played a Ubisoft game in ages but I wouldnt dream of purchasing one of their games even if I was interested in any of their titles.

[Syt]

I would think that Eastern Europeans and Russians, as well as Western European kiddie punks, would be ripping them off at an even greater rate.

You think West European kiddie punks pirate more than North American kiddie punks?

For example, Austrian legislation doesn't allow copyright holders to ask for IP identification or protocols from ISPs - that's for criminal investigations only. Copyright violation in Austria  is from what I've seen prosecuted only if it's on a large (i.e. more than a kid d/l'ing the latest Lady Gaga songs) scale or if you make money by selling bootleg copies (physically or electronically).

[Jacob]

You think West European kiddie punks pirate more than North American kiddie punks?

Yes I do.  I believe they're smarter.

[viper37]

Who the hell knows.

Their methodology is to go on torrent freak & see how many times their games have been torrented & equal that to a lost sale.

if they're anything like EA, going to torrent freak is often the only way to play your legitamely bought game after a few years.

[viper37]

Copyright violation in Austria  is from what I've seen prosecuted only if it's on a large (i.e. more than a kid d/l'ing the latest Lady Gaga songs) scale or if you make money by selling bootleg copies (physically or electronically).

it's like that in all of the civilized world.  It just hasn't reached the US, but it's still under debate if they are civilized or not

[Pishtaco]

I've seen the figure of 90% thrown around a few times. The example I remember is World of Goo: http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/