(OT) Madden 2004 and game copy protection

[David E. Gervais]

My tiny view on copy protection...

1)Copy protection does not discourage piracy, in fact it sets up a challenge for them and they love to be challenged.

2) The single best protection against piracy is to lower prices. If games sold for $20 instead of $50, people would have much less incentive to pirate software. (Heck, today it costs less to buy a CDRW Drive ($37) and 10 blank CD's ($7) than to buy a new game.)

3) Look at it this way,.. If a movie costs over 100 million to make and they can sell tickets for $7, why can't a game that costs 1-2 million to make sell for the same or less? There is piracy in the film industry, but it's much less than in the game industry. Most films can be bought for less than $15 (DVD) or less than $10 (VHS) If movie tickets were $20 and the DVD and VHS copies were $50+ dollars, do you think people would still go to movies and buy DVD/VHS's?

4) I'm still waiting for the day that the game industry finally realizes this and a huge price drop is made accross the board for games. I Know that they would sell more, and in the end double or tripple their profits. The strange thing is that they are sitting on the proof but can't see it.

5) About 4 years ago, a new fad hit the software industry. "The Bargain Bin" lots of leftover games (aka overstocks) appeared in stores, and sales of these 'older' games soared. This inspired many game companies to re-release older titles and call them "Classic" editions. The industry was surprised and amazed that these "Old" titles still had selling power. They attributed the 'Fad' to people being nostalgic, and even gave the fad a name "RetroGamming". The fact of the matter is these games sell mainly because of the LOW PRICE.

Sorry if I have been ranting, but this issue strikes a cord in me. I can't understand how the industry can be so stupid and blind. The worst thing is the "Honest end-user" is always the one being punished for the crime of piracy.

One more thing (I promise) Look at 'Hockey' 15 years ago you could go see an NHL game for less than $10 today the low-end ticket price is $80 (that's means that it costs a family of 4.. Dad, Mom and the two kids $320+ to go see a hockey game. Plus any concession perchases at the arena) You know what's really funny and tragic? The NHL teams are all complaining that 'Attendance' has dropped, and that the franchises are having trouble taking in money. their solution, raise the prices,..)

I predict that in the next few years there is going to be a major 'CRASH' and the economy is going to fall through the floor. I hear that there was a 'Great' Depression back in the early 1900's. Well, I think he's comming back with a vengence.

Nuf Said,.. Cheers!

[minipol]

Well David, i couldn't agree more with you. Well said.

[Grandpa Kim]

Yes, well said, David!

[narf poit chez BOOM]

missed the birthday part. happy birthday.

David, i get a lot longer enjoyment out of a game than a movie. maybe the higher price is worth it. also, do movie's have a higher audience?

[Cyrien]

You missed one of his points. Movies do have higher audiences. They also have higher production budgets. They have more costs to cover than a game. A hundred million to Several hundred million compared to a few hundred thousand to few million. If you work off that then the games can still make great profits.

Also as another point I myself would buy far more games with far less worry about the quality of it if it was far cheaper. With game costs what they are I expect alot more for my money. As for movies... I don't expect as much. I go for a show and even if it is bad I can just sit around and make fun of it with my friends later. If it is a bad game I feel truly ripped off. That was $50+ not $5 to $7! ARGG!

I believe that his basic point is quite accurate.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

ok.

[Jake Monroe]

And all of David's points deal alot with nothing more then simple economics. I learned about how the price of something affects it's sales, and how you have to find the right ratio between the price and the sales to get max profit in a Highschool Economics class, and The game companies just can't seem to learn this. That fact is just sad, really. I guess they just don't understand that a lower price that induces greater sales can be more profitable then a higher price with fewer sales.