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EA Admits Pirated Copies Do Not Equal Lost Sales

news.softpedia.com — Electronic Arts says that it understands how an illegally downloaded copy is not, in any way, a copy that was lost as a sale to the company.

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  • AdeleMor, on 10/01/2008, -0/+65Not quite the same stance as the RIAA in their illegally downloaded products.
    • LightSpeed4, on 10/01/2008, -19/+15You sound ridiculous. The RIAA sues for copyright infringement. Digg users dont understand that it doesnt matter what you think equals a sale or not. Distributing a piece of art without the permission of the copyright holder is against the law no matter what.
      • DMDekoth, on 10/01/2008, -1/+16He didn't say the RIAA sued because they think it means lost sales, he didn't even mention lawsuits. The RIAA have publicly stated that they are LOSING money to piracy, that piracy is contributing to loss of sales.
      • Azerael, on 10/01/2008, -4/+24We don't care that it's illegal. Illegality does not equate to immorality, and what is moral is defined by the culture of the people, not lobbyists for the record companies. History has shown that when laws have been passed that are largely ignored, nothing save martial law (and in some instances, not even that) can enforce them, and eventually they're scrapped or cease to be enforced. The seeds of modern democracy itself was formed in this way.

        And, anyway; right now, we're more likely to be killed by a falling coconut then sued by the RIAA.

        So really, who cares if it's illegal? Get off your CD-purchasing, DRM-loving high horse and chill out. The internet is a free music party and everyone's invited. If you don't like it, you can haul your restrictions-loving ass to China.
      • fuse13, on 10/01/2008, -5/+15@Azrael. I occasionally obtain stuff from the internet (though I must admit I actually pay for it more often) but I dont pretend there is some morality to what I am doing. I am doing the wrong thing. I am being selfish.

        Maybe some of you people should actually man up and admit to what you are doing insted of trying to come up with some twisted reasoning as to why its morally OK.

        I dont agree with the RIAA's bully boy tactics, but I wont pretend that copying an album isnt essentially wrong, whether you define it as theft or not. Trying to make a wrong a right to justify yourself? Gutless.
      • mrsteveman1, on 10/01/2008, -0/+6Yea, but admitting that you don't actually have the "lost sales" argument on your side when bitching about piracy removes all credibility when they start demanding things like new laws or ISP filtering.
      • Azerael, on 10/01/2008, -5/+5@fuse13

        In what way is it immoral? The only way it could possibly be immoral is if you believed it was theft, which it isn't. Theft deprives person of the use of something, file sharing deprives nobody of anything. And don't tell me I'm depriving the artists money; we all know how little they make from albums.
      • mattyice11, on 10/01/2008, -3/+7@Azerael

        Piracy is not theft in the legal sense, but it is definitely the moral equivalent to theft. No matter how little the artists make selling CDs, you are denying them their proper royalties when you pirate, and buying a t-shirt or concert ticket doesn't change that. The record label (there are non-RIAA labels, you know) is also entitled to their piece of the pie, and you're denying them that even after buying your t-shirt to support the artist.

        I won't get on anyone's case for pirating - I'm not 100% clean myself, though I am getting closer to that. Just don't say that it's not wrong (legally and morally) when it is.
      • Cerialthriller, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2i download music once in a while, and everytime it is because im unsure if its worth the money to purchase. There isnt many places to hear new music on the radio anymore, especially if you are into heavy metal. Theres no more videos on MTV and especially not any that I would be interested in. The only way to see if I will like it before spending the money on it is downloading it or listening to the 30 second samples on the internet. Aside from that, I think the music industry isnt making much money anymore because they just want to push crap down our throats that they want us to buy instead of giving us multiple choices. You have like 200 emo bands as the "new rock" stuff and they all sound exactly the same and they are all bad. why not sign a new metal band and instead of making all you money on 2 or 3 top artists, appeal to people with all tastes of music and make more money off 10 - 20 moderately selling artists.
      • ndorox, on 10/01/2008, -1/+1I would never have paid for any of the songs I download. I only download artists I'm curious about. When I like their music, I buy their album, but more importantly, I buy their merch and turn my friends on to the band. The only thing that happens when I download music is an artists gets a set of ears listening that wouldn't otherwise have heard their song, especially since I like music other than the tripe on the top 20 pop charts. The action can me neutrally moralistically if the intent is pure.
    • Johnnyjm, on 10/01/2008, -0/+5Well, at least they're not completely clueless, unlike a certain recording industry association I know...
      hmmm....
    • unravelled, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2http://digg.com/comedy/I_dare_someone_in_Times_Squ ...
      • veesofnaught, on 10/01/2008, -0/+3I have no idea what that had to do with ANYTHING related to this article... other than the word Spore.
  • justin9, on 10/01/2008, -2/+165Great, it's about time some companies are beginning to admit this. TAKE NOTE RIAA.
    • Valyn, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1The only reason they are finally saying this is because then it means that the SecuRom DRM that caused a lot of people to pirate Spore is not the reason for lost sales.
  • HookmasterCH47, on 10/01/2008, -3/+91EA understands the issues, now can they actually execute the fix?
    • TrellSaracen, on 10/01/2008, -1/+11More likely they will implement something even more draconian, with three or four totally unreasonable and pointless restrictions and limitations.
      At which point, the gaming community will cry and scream and gnash their teeth, complaining about those unreasonable restrictions/limitations.
      After a week of this, EA will "relent", and withdraw the two most complained-about restrictions...but keep the other(s) in place.
      And then...well, you get the idea.
      • thedragon4453, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2I'd say Spore is a perfect example of that. It's not like this is a new concept.
    • JoshuaGross, on 10/01/2008, -1/+7My guess: no
    • Cerialthriller, on 10/01/2008, -4/+1no, they dont have much competition. Every week they have 5 out of the 10 best sellers on PC and the other 5 are all Blizzard games which only has 3 IPs, so EA has a pretty solid lock in PC gaming. And at the rate they are buying up little devs its just going to get worse. When PC gaming finally dies, it will be EAs fault.
      • BugMeNot2, on 10/01/2008, -1/+5US retail PC sales != the whole of PC gaming, worldwide, including digital distribution
  • JuXtaPoZd, on 10/01/2008, -4/+25i'm happy to see that a company is actually trying to reward those who spend their hard earned money on buying a game instead of punishing them because others decide to download instead. by giving access to better online in game material, that is not available in pirated copies, EA is taking a much better stance and setting an example for other companies.
    • dsmx, on 10/01/2008, -0/+40I'd agree with the moment EA stop using Securom.
  • whahaa, on 10/01/2008, -4/+41this seems all well and good at first glance, but knowing EA i strongly suspect it's a trap.
    • gotacalc, on 10/01/2008, -5/+61. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________
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    • chillypacman, on 10/01/2008, -4/+1What has EA done that's so bad? Make lots of money?

      Of all publishers EA ranks second on metacritic, Nintendo being first. I don't see how you can criticize the quality of the games they create and publish or their supposed attempts to stifle the industry (guess who funded spore?)
      • kirado4, on 10/01/2008, -3/+2... you don't get out much do.. here's a hint.. DRM in spore..
      • otros, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2Care to know what I think is the problem? Check EA top 20 on metacritic ( I think I got it right, looking for developer is not the most easiest way, if I didn't)

        5 SSX games (three times SSX3)
        4 Tiger Woods games
        3 NHL
        3 NBA games
        3 Madden games
        2 MVP Baseball (2004 flavor)

        Maybe their second ranking is not the best think to look at, for example SSX3 gives EA three games in the low 90s. That doesn't seem right to me.
  • BenKenobi88, on 10/01/2008, -3/+105EA is doing this to get everyone off their backs...they're not "nice."
    • satanguy, on 10/01/2008, -0/+4hopefully the result will be the same, nonetheless.
    • MarkBroadhurst, on 10/01/2008, -0/+3I've noticed that a lot of people were very anti EA, with good cause mostly.
      Recently they have been appearing to try and get back on peoples good side.

      I hope its a more perminant stance rather than just to boost public appearance for the next big shill.
      • Beylan, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1If the DRM in Spore is an attempt to get on people's good side, I don't even want to think about what they do when pissed off.
    • SurfingMonkey, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2Agreed, they should have included a no CD patch to my BF2142 copy I payed for. I used the NoCD for a while, but was getting kicked from some servers by punk buster. Now thanks to EA, my DVD-Rom is on the verge of dying. ***** you EA!
      • FishHammer, on 10/01/2008, -4/+1yeah! I played Battlefield 2 with a purchased copy and it makes my video card warm because of its awesome graphics, and I think it's slowly killing it! ***** you EA!
      • wutname1, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2i had the same happen with CoD4
  • LightSpeed4, on 10/01/2008, -28/+10digg users dont understand what copyright is.
    • KillsTheWeak, on 10/01/2008, -2/+15I understand, i just don't care
      • SpyDerMann, on 10/01/2008, -1/+15A wise man once said:

        "I understand AND I care. Therefore, I pirate."
    • aznhomig, on 10/01/2008, -2/+7The right to copy?
    • kirado4, on 10/01/2008, -1/+8neither do game companies that install DRM that messes up the copy you paid for..
    • anonymous1986, on 10/01/2008, -2/+5LightSpeed4 = RIAA member secretly mingling among digg users
    • brycelb, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2The content providers certainly have no clue. Just because a cartel like the RIAA declares a violation doesn't mean it's grounded in reality.
  • iamsmooth, on 10/01/2008, -16/+4Does this mean they won't mind if we download Spore?
  • godinster, on 10/01/2008, -29/+5Buried for redundant DRM crap. Palin, DRM, dailykos, HuffPost, iPhone Apps, Ron Paul nutbags. I may as well just subscribe to their RSS feeds and I'll have digg's Front Page.
    • LightSpeed4, on 10/01/2008, -9/+3seriously this is ridiculous
    • TrellSaracen, on 10/01/2008, -1/+19So piss off, then.
    • DeathJux, on 10/01/2008, -3/+4How dare you lump legitimate ***** (DRM) with HuffPost, Dailykos, and the other recent ***** that has infested Digg lately?

      Just because YOU don't give a ***** what companies do to the stuff you buy doesn't mean WE don't.
    • DforSpiD, on 10/01/2008, -1/+4Why bother with all those rss feeds when you can get them all in one place?
  • bjornoW12, on 10/01/2008, -8/+3They could have just asked someone who downloads games this.
    • fuse13, on 10/01/2008, -6/+3Oh please. The vocal people who download stuff mostly seem to have their own particular reasoning as to why its ok. Very very few people have the guts to say: "I copy someone elses stuff without paying because I am selfish".

      Thats my reason when I obtain games or music and Im not going to try and flip the script and paint it as some moral crusade or something like lots of them seem to do.
      • AntzNZ, on 10/01/2008, -1/+5Who isn't selfish with standards like that? People who hire movies = selfish, because they don't purchase them at full price. People who watch movies on tv = selfish, the makers of movies earn more income on a dvd sale. People who listen to the radio instead of buying CDs = selfish, because they don't buy the full albums of the music they listen to.
      • Paulginz, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1People who watch tv or listen to the radio pay by being subjected to publicity which pays the channel which pays the producers.
      • fuse13, on 10/02/2008, -0/+0@antznz. Not sure what your argument is there. Those channels are legal and will result in revenue for the owner.

        Just to be clear I am not judging anyone for copying, I am calling out the people whoo think that they have some moral reasoning to make it right.
  • mrmiggidude, on 10/01/2008, -2/+10Weird to think this is the same company who released Spore.
  • latrosicarius, on 10/01/2008, -1/+5when you have to sign in with a account name and password, what good is it to enforce that a CD be in the drive with SecureRom? i don't own spore so i can't say if it works this way, but it does for CNC3 and BF2 and it makes no sense to me.

    even blizzard came around, releasing no-cd patches for their games. they finally realized that it doesn't matter if a CD is in the drive or not, because everyone has to sign into battlenet with a unique CD key
    • Spik3balloon, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1The new Securom replaced the CD check with the online authentication.
  • Seann7656, on 10/01/2008, -1/+9First the economy and now this?


    We are surely in the end times....
  • GummiColossus, on 10/01/2008, -15/+0It's never a cost because they are considered "sunk costs," which are essentially costs that you can do nothing about, and you also do not count against yourself as a company. It's accounting.
  • GummiColossus, on 10/01/2008, -7/+3It's never a cost because they are considered "sunk costs," which are essentially costs that you can do nothing about, even if you tried. It's accounting.
  • Seantacular, on 10/01/2008, -3/+5what's an EA game worth buying?
    • burgermeiste, on 10/01/2008, -6/+9Warhammer.
    • Fetttson, on 10/01/2008, -0/+19Mass Effect
      (Bioware is part of EA now)
      • Abnovitas, on 10/01/2008, -2/+3Great game, bad DRM.
        Sorry, but the latter was the reason I didn't buy the game.
        I TPB'ed the game and was willing to buy it after I played an hour or so, even before I had to use the galaxy map and was f*cked, because there was no working fix yet...
        Sorry Bioware, damn you EA :(
      • renegadeafk, on 10/01/2008, -1/+4crysis
      • Tbyrd073, on 10/01/2008, -3/+2Mass Effect for the 360 ftw?
    • tbredofsin, on 10/01/2008, -0/+9Crysis. Yes, it's a pretty good shooter, and yes, you need a gaming computer from within the last year to play it.
      • Togusa09, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2Crysis is just published buy them, not made buy someone they own.... So you can get it on steam as well.
      • Tyrghast, on 10/01/2008, -4/+2Crysis is *****, sue me for wanting good writing in my single-player campaigns and not just pretty graphics. On the other hand, I pirated CoD4 and enjoyed it immensely, so I went out and bought it.
      • dezertrat, on 10/01/2008, -0/+3no you didn't
      • Ismith988, on 10/02/2008, -1/+1Pirated
        Beat it
        Uninstalled that piece of *****
        Crysis sucks
    • 2Bnor2B, on 10/01/2008, -0/+9BF2 was one of the greatest multiplayer shooters ever made. The problem with EA is that they don't know when to stop. If EA took all the money they spend on micro transactions, in game advertising and DRM and gave it to the developers to release an update that only register users would get, piracy would go away. Respect your base, THEY are the ones that pay your bills. The best thing EA could do is fire their entire marketing staff and break the mold. Someone needs to take the chance in the company and decide "no more", release Red Alert with no DRM and just watch what happens!! Instead enclose a signed picture of the developers saying thank you and release a "thank you gift (new map etc..) " later in the months only to registered users. Trust me EA, this will work !!
      • otros, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1Respect your base, release a finished product, updates and patches should fix mistakes, not be the planned way to finish your game. (I have no problem with your "thank you gift", that's cool).
      • uknowwhoibe, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2BF2 wasn't that great.
      • 2Bnor2B, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1@otros
        I agree products should be complete when released, however, I was thinking of TF2 and how Valve is still committed to the evolution of product even after the sale.
    • Tubilakken, on 10/01/2008, -3/+4EA Skate
      • reaver84, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2Best game ever...I still play it for hours to this day.
  • babylonian, on 10/01/2008, -1/+33And yet they continue with their incomparably restrictive DRM. I swear, it's like they are literally trying to be hated as much as possible.

    The only thing more obnoxious than insisting on doing something without giving a good reason is giving a reason, acknowledging that it's ***** and that you're being unreasonable, and STILL CONTINUING TO DO SO ANYWAY.
  • Anji-Mito, on 10/01/2008, -2/+9I know people are upset over Spore and everything, but EA isn't the worst company. They've been assholes before, but they're definitely doing better, and even at their worst (silly DRM because they don't seem to trust Steam) Activision is way, way more horrible. Even EA spoke out against what Activision was doing.
    • Beylan, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2They don't trust Steam because Steam allows you to redownload games you've purchased whenever you want, even years later. They much prefer their own EA Downloader service that erases your purchases after 6 months forcing you to rebuy at full price if you ever want to play again.
    • Valyn, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1EA just likes comntrolling everything about their products, like Apple and Sony. When Xbox live was a new thing, Ea had their own servers and everything with less features for their xbox games.
  • ToothyMcshark, on 10/01/2008, -1/+10Dugg for the anti-DRM creatures on Sporepedia.
  • xsquirrel378x, on 10/01/2008, -9/+7EA admits their games suck ass and not worth pirating

    fixed
  • modifiedbears, on 10/01/2008, -1/+5Lot of talk from a company that refuses to walk the walk.
  • acegi, on 10/01/2008, -2/+30well, that's ***** confusing.... why is he banging a man when he says he's not gay?
  • PanicAK, on 10/01/2008, -0/+3It's about time someone admits it!
  • jetmax25, on 10/01/2008, -6/+4thank you
    i pirate but only games i wouldnt buy anyway. im always glad to pay full price for civ and valve games
    • brainboy77, on 10/01/2008, -3/+5oh stop with ***** semantics. stop justifying stealing games. normal people don't pirate games because the company who published it is a dick. normal, everyday pirates like me pirate games because we don't feel like buying games. It's not cause we're sticking it to the man; we're cheap bastards.
      • jetmax25, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1now thats just wrong if a game is amazing you should pay for it
        in the case that your stating you might as well be stealing
    • cynicalcheeto, on 10/01/2008, -1/+3@jetmax25

      Why would you waste your time with games you wouldn't want to pay for anyway?
      • Ismith988, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Why would you waste your money with games that mostly turn out ***** anyway?
      • cynicalcheeto, on 10/14/2008, -0/+1Touche.
  • Ghostalker, on 10/01/2008, -0/+9It's a step in the right direction. Still a long way to go.
    • jerrycurley, on 10/01/2008, -3/+2A step in the right direction is also worthless pricks like you not feeling like you are ENTITLED to any piece of software, music, etc. that you want even when you don't pay for it.
      • Togusa09, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2Or worthless pricks like you realizing that a lot of people pay for what they can, and don't go maliciously downloading everything because we're evil communists or anarchists bent on destroying Americas great almighty godblessed capitalist democracy...

        Oh, wait, it's already self destructing....

        And when people like you stop assuming that all p2p user are worthless pricks, I'll stop assuming that that you lot aren't even more worthless pricks who have been able to live of their parents their entire lives...
      • Louis11, on 10/01/2008, -0/+3@jerrycurley
        I don't think the issue is that we feel like we are entitled to every piece of music, software, etc . . . the issue is with DRM and the draconian measures taken by companies that prevent legitimate users from using the game they paid for.

        It obviously didn't stop the game from being pirated in the first place.

        . . . Where the hell have you been?
  • Netik09, on 10/01/2008, -2/+3Kudos to EA for listening to their customers...for once.
  • bungoman, on 10/01/2008, -0/+3Does anyone else remember EA's response to their critics when they took over OSI and Ultima Online?
  • dropbox, on 10/01/2008, -4/+10It's all about the "lost income opportunity" idea, which is extremely bogus. Just because you could be making more money, and you aren't, doesn't mean you're losing anything. You can't bank on "could be".
    • benologist, on 10/01/2008, -4/+1You lose *potential* income. And if you don't think that hurts take next year off for a vacation.
      • MajinAku, on 10/01/2008, -1/+4This is flawed. If you take next year off you're guaranteed not to make any income. There's nothing "potential" about that.
      • benologist, on 10/01/2008, -2/+1It's money you were expecting to make and probably had plans for.
      • cynicalcheeto, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1It's not like EA's struggling to pay the bills or anything, though. Loss in potential income hurts the game developers most of all.
      • dropbox, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1Companies could also potentially gain money if they completely eliminated the competition, but you can't bank on that. If people are set on pirating your games, then you never stood to make a profit from them. If you put them in jail you don't make a profit from them either.

        For most of these people it's either download or nothing. They never wanted to purchase the game, anyway. But they will gladly sit on their ass and download it out of curiosity. So if anything, it helps advertise.

        Game developers need to make something worth buying, instead of bitching about "potential income".
  • gilbes, on 10/01/2008, -5/+7The submitter got this conclusion from the article:
    "Electronic Arts says that it understands how an illegally downloaded copy is not, in any way, a copy that was lost as a sale to the company."

    Seriously, reading comprehension is so low with the kiddies these days.

    What was actually said:
    "Mariam Sughayer, who is working for the corporate communications department of EA, says that “Stepping aside from the whole issue of DRM, people need to recognize that every BitTorrent download doesn’t represent a successful copy of a game, let alone a lost sale”."

    What she is saying is that in the entirety of all pirated copies, not every single one would have been a purchase. Not that every pirate copy would never be a purchase as the submitter seems to "think" she means.

    Of course, when it comes to justifications for things, one will always hear whatever they want.
  • tbredofsin, on 10/01/2008, -4/+22Inaccurate description. Here is what EA actually said:
    "[People] need to recognize that every BitTorrent download doesn’t represent a successful copy of a game, let alone a lost sale."

    They're not saying there is no connection between piracy and lost sales. That would be ridiculous. They're saying that not everyone who torrents would have bought the game.

    What they need to realize (and it seems they are, thank God) is that using such draconian DRM measures without giving anything back to customers (the way Steam does for example) is actually hurting their sales more than the piracy it's supposed to stop.

    One last thing: To all Digg users who are extreme advocates of piracy, it's perfectly reasonable to think that piracy is wrong AND to think that DRM-without-benefits is stupid.
    • Tyrghast, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1On the other hand, I pirate a lot of games, so that way I can buy the ones I like. I as confident I wouldn't like COD4, but it turned out to be a great game. I was confident I would like Crysis, but it turned out to be one of the worst games of the year.
    • Phyltre, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2I think DRM whatsoever in most mediums is counterproductive and, to clarify, stupid.
  • jerrycurley, on 10/01/2008, -10/+3so? does that make it morally right? Ethically right? legally right?
  • chaos7, on 10/01/2008, -0/+6"the company is getting ready to shift its approach so that it rewards the customer rather than punishing everyone for the sins of pirates"

    it's about time
  • dirtydiana2001, on 10/01/2008, -9/+1those Ni#$ers where never going to buy it anyways
  • JayKeaton, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1OMG, EA are saying something that is common sense, the seas will be boiling over and the sun will be blacked out next :S

    And they are right. Instead of trying to stop people from pirating the game, they should be thinking of ways to make the games better and make people WANT to buy it. It's just common sense really, you can't stop people from wanting it for free, but you can as the content creator make people want to pay for it.
  • deadmann, on 10/01/2008, -3/+2***** Spore.
  • Midnightbrewer, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2They are not admitting that piracy doesn't equal lost sales, they are saying that the complaints about their DRM measures are founded in truth and that they need to go a more customer-friendly route by adopting a more iTunes-Store-like mechanic (or Steam, if you like). The title is completely misleading.
  • silentb0b, on 10/01/2008, -5/+1good cuz i had 5 "lost sales" already today.

    0sec r0x0rs
  • lilhelper, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2Finally...
  • Togusa09, on 10/01/2008, -0/+7Any idea when they'll figure out that DRM doesn't stop piracy?
    • Beylan, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2When they get bought out by Stardock or Valve.
      • cynicalcheeto, on 10/01/2008, -1/+1That would be awesome...
      • Sirocco, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1Valve uses DRM. Ever hear of Steam?

        Of course you have.
      • Beylan, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1I know Valve uses DRM. Its not the mere existence of DRM that I object to, its DRM that limits how I use the software that I paid for. Steam works, and it adds as much value to a product as it takes away.

        When I go out and buy a game for $60 and it stops working because that's the way its DRM is designed, I view that as theft from ME. The only way to 100% prevent it is not buy their game in the first place.
    • Valyn, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1they know that it doesn't. Hell you could pirate a DRM free Spore before the game was even for sale.

      In realty its there to cause the people who are paying for it the game, to pay for it multiple times. ie, 3 copies in one house, not buying used games, etc.

      This is what they meant by:
      "the company is getting ready to shift its approach so that it rewards the customer rather than punishing everyone for the sins of pirates"
  • kirado4, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2***** EA and the RIAA.. they've just outed thier behaviour. .they've damaged thier own image.. to bad they screwed themselves over..that what happens when you get too gready.. you shoot your self in the foot.

    ha ha piracy is now a tool to protest DRM..
  • seavers, on 10/01/2008, -1/+1Very inaccurate description.
    “Stepping aside from the whole issue of DRM, people need to recognize that every BitTorrent download doesn’t represent a successful copy of a game, let alone a lost sale”.
  • bingo000, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1I'd digg twice if I could.
  • Freetime000, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2I suspect most people who download pirated games wouldn't be buying the game in the first place so yes how is that a lost sale?
  • primaldefense, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1In the past, I find that if I try a game a friend has, or if I borrow a game from a friend, if I like it enough or find enough merit in it, then I will buy it. The same is true with torrented games for some I believe. Bioshock, GTA4 and many other games that are out their or will be out there soon, I am sure will be torrented. If a game is that good, I would rather buy it, give the developer the money so they continue to do the same thing in their future games and create quality products. In the case of Spore, I am glad I didnt buy it. I could beat it in 3 hours, and had no urge to really play it again afterwards. I just saved a good chunk of money this way.
  • thanakar, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1They must no longer teach reading comprehension in school. The article states:

    "Stepping aside from the whole issue of DRM, people need to recognize that every BitTorrent download doesn’t represent a successful copy of a game, let alone a lost sale”.

    All they are saying is not EVERY download is a lost sale, that is not the same as saying pirated copies do not equal lost sales. Nowhere in the article is it stated that Electronic Arts understands how an illegally downloaded copy is not, in any way, a copy that was lost as a sale to the company.
  • PPCG4, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1That's right, because I downloaded Spore, got bored with it, and deleted it within 3 days.
  • IceX, on 10/01/2008, -3/+1Still, those that pirate shouldn't play it at all if they don't like the DRM or much of the game, forthe fact that they used a pirated copy they should at least pay $5 or something, so pirates are still somewhat in the wrong. If you can't or don't want to pay for it , don't play it.
  • Madcow17, on 10/01/2008, -1/+2They just need to offer more incentives for people to actually go purchase the game. Maybe 49.99 (and 59.99 for some consoles) is just too much money for a new game nowadays. I know a lot of games come out and V E R Y few are good enough to actually purchase. Most of the games i own, i wish i had never bought because the ammount of time i've spent playing them doesn't justify the price tag because they don't offer enough content. I went and bought Warhammer Online for example. Back in the day a game use to come with a larger box, usualy had a flap on the cover that opens to reveal features about the game, and the box would contain goodies.. In other words, it felt like they put work into the packaging. When i bought WAR i was handed a DVD case with a small cardboard sleve on it. Inside the case was a skimpy black and white manual, a card with my account key, and another card advertising a keyboard. Back in the day when i bought an MMO i'd get a huge colorful map, a small bible of a manual, lots of little cards offering free stuff, buddy accounts, etc.. Now they throw all that out the window and offer it in their "special edition" packages which usualy cost 80+ dollars. Give that stuff to everyone who buys it, or atleast a damned colored manual and a FEW goodies.. and an actual box! I miss opening the large, oversized PC game box and having to pull out the 2nd, inner layer of cardboard armor that had everything in it.

    It really is a trade off nowadays. I won't say i've never pirated anything, but they should also think about the times when piracy leads to a sale. Sure i bet it's not THAT common, but i've downloaded a game for many reasons: I want to see if it'll play well on my PC before i buy a game and the ridiculous anti-return rules screw me over (which are in effect due to piracy.) Some times the game gets mixed reviews and I don't want to gamble money on a game that might suck. It seems that a lot of game companies shoot for having record breaking sales and hype their games FAR beyond what they are in hopes of their game selling out world-wide within the first hour of release, ignoring the fact that their game IS NOT what they claim it is... then they wonder why people don't trust them and seek out another means of trying it. I think if you want your game to sell well nowadays, you can't ignore the multiplay. Games like CoD4.. pirate it if you like but without that key you get when you purchase, you get 20% of the best game, because 80% of the experience is in its supreme online mode.
    • gabbagabbahey, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2I prefer today's minimalist packaging.

      Who needs a giant box with a huge manual anymore?

      I can find out about the features of a game on the internet, you may have heard of it. I don't usually go into a store without knowing what I'm going to buy these days. I've read reviews, checked the features and requirements, maybe played the demo and have a pretty good idea whether I'll like it or not.

      I won't generally buy something if I do see it in a store, I'll check it out online first.

      A manual can occasionally come in handy but tutorials and in-game manuals are usually good enough.

      Keep the packaging and manual just the drop the price to make up for it.

    • evozero, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1If you think you *have* to pay $49-$59 for a new game you are not looking hard enough for ways to save money. I'm not sure what the situation is for PC games, but for console games there are many alternatives to paying retail price. I own 10 PS3 games, and only one was bought for $60. The rest were bought for well under retail using various techniques to save money.

      What exactly works depends on where you live, but in Canada it is so easy to get new games for under $30. I suggest reading sites like cheapassgamer.com and redflagdeals.com (if you are in canada) for ways to make buying new games less expensive.
  • Orbis, on 10/01/2008, -0/+8EA's new DRM scheme is about preventing you bastards from re-selling their games to gamestop. Unlike piracy, every resale is a lost sale, that money belongs to EA, not you. You don't own the game, you're just licensing it from EA, and as a filthy consumer frothing at the mouth for their amazing non-derivative titles they'll push you with that license as far as they can to milk every penny out of you.
    • jakswa, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2Cheers to you for giving me a perspective I didn't consider... I, myself, heard this from an EA speaker in one of my Cell/Xbox architecture courses, and at that time it seemed way out in left field -- but now... *shrug*
    • Ismith988, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1would get a dollar out of me!
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