The Game OverThinker - Episode 64 "Beyond SOPA"
1/22/12 2:37am
With it looking like SOPA and PIPA are on the backburner, what's next for the internet? TGO has the cold hard truth.
» Show: The Game OverThinker
» Tagged In: #Game OverThinker, #pipa, #SOPA, #TGO
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
elasmar1337
=/ it will never end, yes better services & lower prices will help but it wont happen, atleast for another decade anyway. hate to say it but difference between today & napsters day is back then not many people had the internet, not every one knew how to pirate, but now every one has pirated something, its fast, easy & free
now piracy can never be stopped BUT it can be slowed,
just make netflix & hulu globally available, make shows & movies available world wide at the same time on those two services
music is at the best it can be, only other option is lower the cost
gaming is easy, lower the fracken price of games, no more region locks & offer a service eg steam on consoles & release games globally at the same time, no more japan only, look at how much the last story & xenoblade were pirated because they wernt released outside of japan, people will buy your products if you release them at a resonable price
do those things & majority of people will come back from piracy just as long as its all affordable, accessible & easy to use people will buy your products & services but aslong as piracy is a much more easy & accessible option it will continue to thrive
steam is proof that good service & prices is a better option then gaming piracy itunes is proof that a good service & prices is a better option then music piracy netflix/hulu is proof that a good service & prices is a better option then tv,movie piracy
Lordlundar
A question for anyone that knows: What is that first pirate game that Bob Shows?
Yrtnej
I agree with you OT, and I have been thinking the same thoughts all along. The main reasons most people pirate are because the product in question is too expensive or too difficult to get. Take Steam, for example, which is owned by VALVe and does a phenomenal job at combating piracy. I never pirate games that I can get on Steam, and do you know why? It's because Steam allows you to purchase and download games quickly and easily, and the frequency of giant sales with products up to 50-75% off allow me to get the product at the price that I want to and can afford to pay, which is $10 or $20, instead of paying for a full retail release that is a whopping $60 that I don't have.
Another way of combating piracy is to simply make your games so amazing and impressive that people will buy them despite the price tag. Take Skyrim, for example, another game offered on Steam. I waited for the Christmas sale to buy it because I knew it would drop in price, but even at $40, I still bought it because I knew it was a quality game with a ton of play time. The problem with a lot of game companies is that they set their mediocre game's price too high, then complain about poor sales and blame the pirates for everything. A game like Skyrim's $60 price tag is justified in my opinion, so I can understand people paying full price. But for $60 to be an industry standard now, I simply cannot buy video games as often as I'd like to, and so I do without.
It's these three combined factors -- price, quality, and service -- that the game industry has just lost sight of. It's not completely the pirates' fault. Most people aren't inherently evil and enjoy the thought of stealing money from people, it's just that one of the three needs above is not being met.
iamli3
my feelings are telling me i disagree with most of this , but that's probably just due to how hopefully all of this will be irrelevant when the reality of life starts kicking in for the masses still unaware
i strive for a time where artists will share their art with other people because it's what they like to do.......
Ben Singer
That's absurd. If that was all there was to it, there would be NO art at all because the only way for it to even exist at such a popular degree is if people can make a living while doing it. As such, the majority of successful artists already do fit into that category anyway, and it's only the ability to profit from their work that allows them to continue.
Far as the episode goes, I mentioned something along these lines awhile ago. The way I see it, the internet has changed the entire way the world works, and the people who were incredibly successful before it want their old world back when they need to adjust to the new one. The internet will change on its own without an excessive inclusion of horribly controlling laws, similar to the changes and regulations the film, television, radio, and music industries faced. The difference is unlike those mediums the internet is so much more user friendly and convenient, not to mention it is the only medium in existence to have its own share of unique cultures. Nothing else on the planet could have developed cultures like that of World of Warcraft, YouTube, memes, 4chan, the bronies, or the g1s for that matter. Things obviously can't stay exactly the way they are now, but no matter what happens, the internet will never be able to fit into the "old world" rules, and instead the new world should be accepted and adjusted to. Doing so is what will bring the changes that are necessary but not excessive.
Obviously it's not going to fix itself overnight, this internet is basically the biggest experiment ever. I hadn't really thought of it, but iTunes is an incredibly good example. As mentioned below, Hulu is another good start.
iamli3
ben ben ben , which is the truly absurd scenario here? the one where people are free to do as they please , or the one where they are forced to use their talents to "make a living" in this current social economical system?
ignoring for the moment the suggestion that any form of art has only cone into the existence under the profit motive (unless im reading that wrong cause im not entirely sure where as such part fits into that , i am also overly tired atm) , i suggest you (and anybody else reading this) check out the some of the realities of our "civil"ization and what we are currently capable of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg
and the follow up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w
ah i see then you mostly agree with the way i see things as well then , that's terrific now you just need to learn exactly how that relates back to our reality and what we can make for our society largely functioning under the same principles that our current internet does
do be sure not to keep us g1's and all in the dark of your findings from the documentaries provided......
TomPreston
Speaking as an artist, there's only so long one can do that before the need for money kicks in and you strive to make a profit off your work.... you know so you can live.
iamli3
exactly the negative i suppose in the point i was trying to make....
SacrificedAbomination
This is what really needs to happen. Hulu has brought forth a new age in how we watch TV shows and movies, You select what you want to watch and you watch it for free. There is no reason for piracy in regards to this medium anymore because you can almost watch anything for free, and all you have to do is watch a few one minute commercials during the viewing of said TV show or movie. This could be applied to games, but most people buy games and adding ads to something you purchase is like taking an arrow to the knee... Whoops I meant it is like rubbing salt on a wound.
I'm doubtful that most games will go with what Hulu has done, but the current $60 a game is causing the industry problems. If each game could be lowered down to $20 without detrimentally effecting the earnings of the publishers and developers then more people may consider buying games instead of waiting for the price to drop, pirating the game, or heaven forbid buying used.
MattValtezzy95
(Hypothetically, since I try to steer away from piracy unless it's necessary) What happens when you already bought a movie about 20 years ago new on VHS and don't want to try and copy it over to a DVD and put it onto your computer that way, is pirating that one movie somewhat justified since you already paid full price for the movie when it came out and don't want to buy it all over again. (Just putting a hypothetical scenario up)