As a part two to yesterday's "Video games, art and interactivity" article, I'm going to dive into the piracy issue, and how this is significant in our relationship with developers and publishers.
This came about from the same conversation mentioned in that story. Following my friend's diatribe about how "video games are created only to make money", he began to tell me about how in his home country of Bangladesh, pirated (physical) versions of games are rampant, and it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between these and the real thing. Cultural differences, I suggested. He explained it's more like they pay what they think what something is worth, which "leads to a much greater overall profit". Not sure about that, but if it's accurate, a greater overall profit for who? People who know how to pirate?
In any case, I tried to take the positive out of it, which is the "pay what you think something is worth" option is really quite a lovely thought, if not idealistic. However, as many probably know, bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have been doing similar things the past while, with great success. From what I understand, they've made more from these last few albums (each) than they have from any other single album. And if I calculate the sales from NIN's Ghosts correctly, it must be much, much more (as in millions). So it's obviously possible to survive without a publisher, and better (companies like Pinnacle Software might be best to work with in the early and maybe later stages, though), and with more flexible payment options.
With that said, personally, I don't think $50 or $60 (CAD) is too much to ask for a game, when often they cost millions (sometimes tens of millions) to make, often give you 5 times more play value than a movie (which costs 2-3 times less), and typically every person on the team works their arse off, sometimes pulling 100 hour weeks and basically giving up their social lives. I'm not just assuming here -- I've read these stories straight from developers countless times.
I'm not saying a price drop couldn't have its benefits, I'm just saying personally, I'm comfortable where it's at. That and should developers have to lower prices to make a good profit? Seems kind of demeaning. I'm also not convinced pirates would spend $40 for a game instead of pirating. How low would it have to be?
Assuming the developer and publisher treat the gamer with trust and respect (as cdv are doing with the DRM for Sacred 2, for example), I'm more than happy to pay that amount, knowing I'm supporting a game/series/developer I love. This will make more games like it come.
Especially these days when innovation can be pretty scarce and studios are either closing or being gobbled up by bigger companies (resulting in less innovation, typically), I think this is all important. I'm not lecturing people here and saying "Don't pirate, you're a bad man" -- I understand why people do -- but I think it's also good for those who do pirate without remorse to be reminded of why others support gaming.
Note of clarity: I'm not at all implying piracy is the death of PC gaming and so gamers should buy games -- that's just silly.
