How Piracy Affects The Video Game Industry

By Author: Alduin Montagno
Total Articles: 22
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Video game piracy is a beast that the industry just cannot tame. Many different techniques have been implemented to try and tackle this problem yet none seem to work. With pirated video games becoming more easily accessible by the day, it poses a massive hurdle for the industry and one that the industry is determined to crack. This article aims to examine the ways in which the video game industry tries to combat piracy and if those methods are effective.The main thing that Video game publishers and developers must realise is that in their attempts to combat piracy they must punish the pirate without punishing the consumer. Many companies incorporated anti-piracy software onto the install disks. Consumers were getting the sense that they were being punished for what the pirates do. EA games tried to do this with the game 'Spore', they added DRM software onto the disk. It backfired and the game went on to be one of the most pirated games ever. It turned out that pirates could bypass this software protection while consumers were forced to live with it. Publishers therefore must reward the consumer for purchasing the game; this ...
... can be done in many ways. They could offer money off the sequel of that game when it comes out, offer free downloadable content or offer free merchandise with every order. One of the main reasons for piracy is that people demand more for their money. More and more games are being released per year and the consumer only has a certain amount of money available to spend on video games. By offering a better value proposition the consumer is more likely to purchase the game rather than pirate the software. Punishing the pirates can be done through numerous ways but the traditional way of fining the odd pirate just does not work. Video games must play to their strengths; just recently EA games unveiled 'Online pass' which allows the consumer to enter a code to access the online play, a code is given to anybody who buys a new copy of the game. The importance of this is that people who pirate games will not be able to use one of the most important features in today's games, online play. Of course people could still pirate these games and use the online feature by only paying $10 to acquire a code; this will allow publishers to get extra income from pirates who would not consider paying for any part of the game. As another bonus Ea games will receive extra income from the used games market. Other publishers such as Activision must take note, Call of duty is famous for its online experience. If they can utilise this same method you will see people purchasing the game rather than pirating it so that they can play online.Another way to combat piracy is to simply make a good quality game with increased longevity. As stated earlier consumers will not see the value of paying full price for a game that might be great but only lasts 10-12 hours. By making a game of good quality and longevity the consumer is going to see better value and will be more likely to buy the game. If the individual were to evaluate a video game and realise it was not worth their money they are more likely to pirate the game instead of before when they would not buy it and consequently never play it, this is due to the convenience and easiness of pirating in modern times.In conclusion, there really is no sure fire way of stopping piracy. The old method of fining people randomly for downloading Illegal software is outdated and does not work. Publishers have to be creative and think outside the box, with people having less disposable income more and more will turn to piracy as a way of fulfilling their gaming desires. By using some of the methods stated in this article developers and publishers could start to see piracy for their game falling and their profits rising.Piracy is taking a toll on video games from both gaming consoles and PC. Learn all about new games, the gaming industry as a whole and more on our website at http://fycgaming.net.