Dealing with Pirates.

[Fractured Silhouette]

So I recently read an article about a game developer that had a unique attitude toward pirates.

"I don't really want people to pirate Hotline Miami, but I understand if they do. I've been broke the last couple of months. It sucks. And I definitely want people to experience the game the way it's meant to be experienced. No matter how they got a hold of it."

Full story here -> http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120362-Hotline-Miami-Developer-Embraces-Pirates

So this guy basically asked the torrents if they could be regularly updated with the latest patches and versions of the game as it was released.

This got me thinking, how do you correctly deal with people pirating your software? I mean, if you make a popular game, it's going to happen whether you like it or not, so how do you deal with that?

Publishers and developers have tried online passes for their games (I'm looking at you EA) which has basically achieved little more than pissing off the used game market. There was also that bill which was a bunch of balls, but that was shot down because everybody on the internet saw that it was bullshit and fought against it. I do not believe these methods are the best way to stop internet piracy. In the end your not only hurting the pirates, but the internet as a whole.

The same goes for music and software and all that other pirated software. It's interesting to note that a recent (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120147-Survey-Indicates-Music-Pirates-Are-Biggest-Music-Buyers) study (http://piracy.americanassembly.org/where-do-music-collections-come-from/#more-1917) showed that music pirates are actually the biggest music buyers. This makes sense, I am an admitted pirater of music, I have about 40 GB of pirated music on my hard-drive, but I also have 10 albums that I would not have bought if I didn't know what was on them beforehand thanks to The Pirate-Bay, and I still want to buy more. If I could buy every album that I have pirated I would, I really enjoy the feeling of being able to hold the album boxes in my hands rather than view them on a computer screen.

So back to the original question, what is the most efficient way of beating pirates? Offer better service. It's the only way, you can't "beat" them, you can make them want to pay for it though.

So, what do you think is the most effective way of dealing with internet pirates?

[Giles]

The reasons that I pirate the majority of things that I do are either;

1. I can't afford to buy it. (Generally just software)
2. Pirating is easier than actually buying it. (TV shows)

If production companies, software developers, game developers, music labels etc. can make it worth my while to not pirate their content then I will. Why should I pay for something that I can get easier and cheaper without standing up? Notch (Minecraft creator, for anyone that doesn't know) has a similar outlook to this - he once said on his blog that he wishes people wouldn't pirate his game but if they can't afford it then he'd rather they did that than not play it at all, which is the way that it should be; large companies especially shouldn't be creating content with the sole purpose to make money, it should be about providing good quality content and entertaining people.

[Korashk]

You deal with pirates by making paying for the service easier and more convenient than pirating it, while accepting the pirating aspect of software as simply one of make marketing opportunities.

Contrary to what people think, pirating BARELY hurts sales, if it even does it at all.

[syren]

In game advertising and product placement could fix the issue, but maybe special content avàilable only by purchase

[Mortal Coil]

As you said, pirates are actually the biggest music buyers, so I would say... don't deal with them (us.) This guy's attitude is, in my opinion, the most healthy one that you can have. It won't stop no matter what opinion you have, so you might as well adopt a live-and-let-live one.

[Sugaree]

I like how the developers of Hotline Miami are open to the pirating of their game. They obviously just want people to enjoy the product. The only way to combat piracy is to make it easier and more convenient for things like movies, TV shows, and whatnot to be bought. Piracy also needs to be left alone, because studies DO show that people who pirate are also more likely to buy what they download. By letting piracy be a doorway for people to experience new games, music, etc., you're ultimately going to increase your profit.

[Sephtyan]

large companies especially shouldn't be creating content with the sole purpose to make money, it should be about providing good quality content and entertaining people.

I recently watched a video on large corporations in class (I'm sorry for my inability to make the word "video" all fancy and linked, but I have no idea how to find the video again x3), and it explained that those large corporations work for profit so much because they are designed to, and are pretty much forced to due to make profit their priority due to several bills that were enacted in the past (I don't exactly know how this works, but I will try to find the video so you can find out). A leader of one of those corporations can be nice, and try to raise the good that the corporation does, give their employees more benefits and such, make products with superior quality and availability and whatnot, but their need for profit must be their prime directive.

[Giles]

but their need for profit must be their prime directive.

That's exactly my point. That's now how it should be. Businesses that provide any kind of entertainment content should refocus to make their content good enough that I want to buy it - to support them, the actors/musicians/designers whatever.

[Sephtyan]

It's right there ^ read it yourself.

You're correct in that it's a pretty shitty way of doing things. The problem is that there are a lot of factors keeping things the way they are now: A lot of bills are already passed and in place to keep things the way are right now. On top of that, there are a lot of politicians in the way of changing those anti-reforming factors.

[Human]

I pirate, and I don't see anything wrong with it. Maybe with small scale projects, it's wrong to pirate as the developers need the money to make it fun. But with big games or bands - they don't lose anything really. The biggest losers are the producers, not the artists or actual game makers as they're the ones who get the most of the money from it. Notch, (the minecraft creator) said:
”Just pirate it. If you still like it when you can afford it in the future, buy it then. Also don’t forget to feel bad. ;)”
when someone said that he couldn't afford the game.

As you see, most of the makers are fine with it. Maybe they lose out on 1p of royalties or whatever, they don't care. They want people to enjoy what they've made music, movie or game whatever