Why action against piracy must be harsh and taken now

[FoolKiller]

The used games business will disappear if Internet speeds ever catch up to data file sizes. PSP games are going in the direction of downloadable content with Sony admitting they openly intend to completely move away from UMDs over time. They keep places like Gamestop happy by selling a case with a download voucher code and giving them pre-order bonuses. But there is no way to buy those games used.

Microsoft is looking at going a similar route with even 360 games.

All three of the big console developers are chipping into the eBay classic games market (rare titles selling for over $100 sometimes) with their legacy games programs. Similarly, Capcom is also bring their older titles to download with minor tweaks or online abilities, such as Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and soon Marvel vs Capcom 2. Over time companies like Gamestop will find their used business starting to slow as this continues.

The only saving grace for the used game industry? Many people do not have the Internet capability to download full games that can max out anywhere from ~9GB (360 games) to 50GB (PS3 BD games). I know I see people with download limits who aren't willing to download 250MB titles.

If Gamestop is smart they will work to support these disc-based new titles that are too big for downloads, as their used bins of older titles are going to have less and less demand if the gaming companies continue this.

 

[Sureboss]

I realise why they do it, although judging that Spore was the most downloaded game ever, it's pretty clear that it doesn't work and just pisses off people who actually purchased the game. A shame on me moment came when I purchased Spore without actually knowing the extent of the DRM on it.

This is also annoying because typically once I have played a game through and uninstalled it, I'll exchange it with a buddy for one of his games. And since I feel that I will probably get jumped on for this, I highly doubt this is illegal. I've uninstalled the game from my machine and I'm allowing someone else to use it. It's exactly like buying a used game, except another game is being traded for it instead of money.

This is unless it's illegal to have used games.

Well, I've just had a few e-mails with our DRM contact, and we were speaking about an issue (obviously this) which involved stopping people installing on other machines. It counts as a re-install and the software allows 1 (thus the extra license mentioned earlier). Whole point of DRM is to stop that.

Could be interesting on what is said for used games based on that. I think it's generally accepted it's impossible to control used game sales as so many shops sell it. I think it depends on what the individual publisher wants to do, don't know of the legal standing.

 

[Joey D]

Well, I've just had a few e-mails with our DRM contact, and we were speaking about an issue (obviously this) which involved stopping people installing on other machines. It counts as a re-install and the software allows 1 (thus the extra license mentioned earlier). Whole point of DRM is to stop that.

Could be interesting on what is said for used games based on that. I think it's generally accepted it's impossible to control used game sales as so many shops sell it. I think it depends on what the individual publisher wants to do, don't know of the legal standing.

What's the point of stopping people from installing it on other machines? If you bought the game why can't you put it on your desktop and laptop? It's not like you can play it simultaneously because you only have one CD. I can see where you start getting into a gray area with installing it on computers you don't own though. I mean look at PS3 games, you can install them onto the hard drive and I know most of my games are on more then one PS3 because they were used.

 

[Danoff]

It can be legal to sell used games just like it can be legal to sell a snickers bar that you've purchased. It can also be illegal to do either one, it just depends on the parameters of your license.

The spore DRM re-install issue isn't really an extension of copyright law. It isn't copyright that allows them to do that, it's contracts law. I'll always support the freedom of contracts - and so the re-install issue is something that we have to rely on market pressure to counteract.

If you really can't stand games that have a re-install restriction on them, then you should boycott those games. If enough people stop buying them, they will stop being made.

 

[TrievelA7X]

The used games business will disappear if Internet speeds ever catch up to data file sizes. PSP games are going in the direction of downloadable content with Sony admitting they openly intend to completely move away from UMDs over time. They keep places like Gamestop happy by selling a case with a download voucher code and giving them pre-order bonuses. But there is no way to buy those games used.

Microsoft is looking at going a similar route with even 360 games.

All three of the big console developers are chipping into the eBay classic games market (rare titles selling for over $100 sometimes) with their legacy games programs. Similarly, Capcom is also bring their older titles to download with minor tweaks or online abilities, such as Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and soon Marvel vs Capcom 2. Over time companies like Gamestop will find their used business starting to slow as this continues.

The only saving grace for the used game industry? Many people do not have the Internet capability to download full games that can max out anywhere from ~9GB (360 games) to 50GB (PS3 BD games). I know I see people with download limits who aren't willing to download 250MB titles.

If Gamestop is smart they will work to support these disc-based new titles that are too big for downloads, as their used bins of older titles are going to have less and less demand if the gaming companies continue this.

The trick there is that as internet speeds increase, game size also increases.
It took about 5 minutes for me to download Spyro on only 100mbps, while it took almost about 30 min to download the GT5P Spec III update.