Britain just decriminalised online game piracy

The British government has decriminalised online video game, music and movie piracy, scrapping fuller punishment plans after branding them unworkable.

[mixolydian_id]

Hahaha,

Law suits and the like are way too time consuming. Not only are they costly, but they'd need to bring in all sorts of evidence including ISP representatives to essentially "dob" their own customers in.

Personally, I don't believe it to kill the industry... It actually strengthens it.

The only people losing out in the music industry are the record label, the bands earn more from a tour then MP3 downloads from iTunes.

Movies... are already losing out to streaming... but to be fair... everyone hired to make a movie is contracted in.. so they're paid a sum regardless. It will just be publishers that get spanked... and to be fair... they still make a mint whether pirated or not.

Surely gaming is similar... Activision (for example) will lose money... but the developer actually making the game will get his/her paycheck regardless.

[Volkama]

No. The developer may never get a paycheck from that studio again, and may possibly never make a game again unless they are willing to relocate. It is quite common for a studio to close down entirely when they don't meet (often very challenging) sales expectations.

Clearly that is not solely the result of piracy, but it sure as hell doesn't support or justify piracy either.

@DJPlonker the stupid prices (and associated stupid budgets) are a big part of the problem, absolutely. I am also sure there is a far bigger philosophical question on whether poorer people are less deserving of experiencing a game.

I can probably accept "I really wanted to buy it but there is no possibility that I can". But I absolutely reject "I wouldn't have bought it anyway so they haven't lost anything". That just isn't a valid excuse.

[djplonker]

When games are costing £50 / $85 each I can see why people simply cannot afford to spend that much on a game to amuse themselves...

So technically the company has lost nothing because he wouldnt buy it anyway but if he downloads and likes it they have another potential customer for the future once he get out of his financial troubles.

Atleast thats how I see it :/

[mixolydian_id]

It's a strange situation. The new consoles are all capable machines.

I've noted a correlation between, unfavourable development costs and quality of game.

The quicker the development process get's streamlined, the more favourable platform the device will be.

Have any developers commented on the difficulty to port games from PS4 to PC?

DX12 is supposed to allow for seamless porting?
Perhaps a windows based "app store" is on the horizon?
Maybe even a windows based iTunes?

LOL... pure hilarity

[Gh05t]

@djplonker

"So technically the company has lost nothing because he wouldnt buy it anyway..."

This is factually incorrect. Piracy takes away the incentive and motivation to buy something you can steal for free with no repercussions.

Maybe that person wouldn't buy it... but if the ability of Piracy where to vanish, can you 100% guaranty that that person would NEVER EVER buy the game. Not to mention that's just one person lets take a group of 1000 people. Are you saying not one person out of that 1000 people would EVER buy the game if they couldn't Pirate it.

I do not believe every copy pirated makes a sale but to say that just because you aren't going to spend money to buy it you feel like you should be able to still play it is just wrong.

[PsylentKiller]

What's the difference between piracy and borrowing, trading, renting a game?

Renting means that the company doing the renting paid the publisher/developer for the rights to rent so many games.

Borrowing. How long can you borrow for? Usually it's not forever and even then the line stops with usually one or two friends. It's similar to renting but the publisher/company isn't making any money of the borrowing.

Trading. Between friends or online in exchange for another game. Selling your used game to someone else in exchange for cash or store credit. That's trading. After the initial sale of the game to the first paying customer. The developer gets no money whatsoever. Every used game purchased is a lost sale.

Piracy. The publisher/developer receives no money for they're product. Each copy downloaded is a lost sale.

Now tell me, how are the used game market and piracy different? I wonder what GameStop's used game sales figures are? Best Buy's? Your local Mom & Pop game shop?

[Gh05t]

@Psylentkiller

"Now tell me, how are the used game market and piracy different?"

Used game Market:
1 copy sold: Money to developer
same 1 copy resold no money to developer
same 1 copy traded no money to developer
same 1 copy gifted no money to developer

all in all still only 1 copy. and the devs made their money off that copy already.

Piracy:
1 Copy sold: Money to the developer
∞ copies downloaded: no money to anyone

all in all an ∞ (potentially) number of copies out there and the developers only got paid for one of them.

All the scenarios you mention other than pirating is still only one copy of the game that was originally purchased. Once you buy the game IMHO you should be allowed to sell or trade it as the developer already MADE their money off that copy.

But to take something and copy it and give out copies your are Stealing sales as that copy should never exist. Since you can still have one and now your friend can too buit you only purchased one copy from the devs not two... hence the problem.

If I buy a hammer and use it to build a house and sell the hammer when I am done the person that made the hammer doesn't see any money from that sale, they also may have lost a sale since the new person now doesn't need to buy a new one. This is common and natural.

[Gh05t]

Those are some pretty bad ethics you have there.

Its okay to take property from a publishers/labels as long as the artist still gets some money??? Even though the publishers and labels are the ones that usually front the money and take 100% of the risk (financially) they don't deserve to make as much because you think they made enough.

Not to mention they are the reason you even get the game/movie/music but screw them and their "Big" business right?

"...It actually strengthens it." Really? They are actively trying to STOP themselves from making more money. I would say that it does not strengthen anything.

You remind me of a colleague I knew in college who pirated the book for our ethics class and didn't understand the irony.

Stealing is stealing no matter how you want to dress it up. Regardless of if its a "Copy" its still not yours. If they wanted you to have it for free they would give it to you.

[mixolydian_id]

I'm a musician bro, I understand the ethical background on the situation.
I studied it through College and University.

Yeah, I should feel differently... but I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I give my music away for free. I'd rather people heard it and added it to their digital music collection.
I consider it an advantage that you can get your work out to a potential listener so seamlessly. I don't want it streamed for free with a counter.... I want it listened to in the car etc.

Yeah... it cost me years of development... practise... student loans... studio fees... band practises...

The listener/consumer decides the value of the product. Up until the point people listen/play the product, there is no value to be associated with it.

[Gh05t]

"I give my music away for free. I'd rather people heard it and added it to their digital music collection.
I consider it an advantage that you can get your work out to a potential listener so seamlessly. I don't want it streamed for free with a counter.... I want it listened to in the car etc."

I totally get that however, that doesn't mean every artist wants to give their music away for free. Maybe they value their music higher and maybe it wont even sell but that is their choice as owners of the music.

[ramiuk1]

the problem is we are lied to by companies.
every is advertised with tricks to usually con the public into wanting film,game.

half of the stuff i used to download i would never of bought anyway as its overpriced crap.
what i do is download a film(bluray) then if its good i buy it and support the artists.
although some i trust and will auto buy it,same with games i will download some games as there is no demo.
if the game is shit i wontbuy it.

with game piracy on consoles i see it liek this.
Include the content that should be included instead of planning sell it to me later with DLC and i would buy more games new at full retail.

it seems its ok for the mucic,game and film industry to scre the consumer but were not allowed to do it back?

the RPAA etc are greedy scumbags that are in it for there profit,they dont care about the thing htere protecting,jut the money they can make from screwing people.

i will support devs,i always have but it isnt the consumer shafting them ,half of time its publisher that doesnt pay them right

[brish]

@mixolydian_id

"Surely gaming is similar... Activision (for example) will lose money... but the developer actually making the game will get his/her paycheck regardless."

Tell that to the employees who lost their jobs because the game they worked on didn't make a profit.

It's true the people who made a game are paid before its release but it's also true that companies that lose money can't afford to pay their employees and are forced to let them go.

Just look at how many game companies are closing or how many layoffs there are.

From wikipedia:
"Video game developers and publishers work in a volatile market with demanding customers and slim profit margins. As a result, many spring up and go out of business quickly.

Some of the companies on this list have been purchased by larger companies, and their brand names and legacy games continue to be used, but the development and publishing operations of the original company itself no longer continue."

The following link lists the first 200 companies in the list. There is a next button at the bottom. At the time I posted this the list has 603 game companies that went bankrupt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[JBSleek]

As well they should!

[Clown_Syndr0me]

This cannot be a good thing. IM guilty of pirating movies, but it doesn't mean I think its right, it isn't.

If people are allowed to pirate everything why will developers/publishers/director s etc even bother?

As for games this may force more developers into pricing games more like a continuous subscription, like a service.

[djplonker]

I think this is a good thing considering if you buy a dvd here in the UK it comes up with an fbi warning saying you could be prosecuted and get fined $200,000 for distribution of pirated media LOL

I only download the american tv shows that decide they will wait a few months to air it in the uk and keep us a season behind...

I wont download any games though the only reason I will download tv shows is that I probably wont want to waste £30/$50 on season one of game of thrones so I wouldnt buy it regardless.

@clown

Yeah most pirates actually buy lots of legal entertainment but we cant buy everything I have well over 300 dvds and more than 200 games all legal but there comes a point where I cant justify spending another £30 on the next season of the walking dead (ages after the us gets it) when I have already spent £200 that month on entertainment.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

I use streaming services for series.
To be honest the only movies I download are fresh releases (only BR Rips no cams) and 80% of the time I buy them at a later date when the price comes down as Im a bit of a horder/collector.

[Volkama]

I don't think this decision makes it easier to pirate, or removes any currently laws and restrictions. It just means they aren't going to implement these new measures that were being discussed.

And yes, micro-transactions, season passes, DLC, subscriptions, connection requirements and such are a very direct response to piracy and legal game trading.

[M_i_c_h_e_t_]

I'm sure data caps will keep those pockets lined!

[Volkama]

Those aren't really common in Britain

[MTROB]

Shops selling second hand games is basically the same thing

[wheresmymonkey]

No they didn't no one's ever actually been prosecuted anyway. If anything this a bloody honey trap for various assholes to use the increase in piracy after everyone thinks it's ok to really bring the hammer down later on.

this is the exact same thing that happened when they decrimilised dope to a certain extent, the next bunch of arsehole simply used the new relaxed attitude as ammunition to demonise it further.

[optimus]

I wonder if this will change market strategy for the big 3... Britain can be left last in terms of game releases and consoles. It could also increase developers creating more dlc for their games which could hurt all sales around the world. The coming months should be interesting in terms of sales overseas.