STUDY SHOWS: Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by MovieBird

Hey, if he's inspired three threads to be closed because of his posts, maybe the island is trying to tell him something.

Some truth in that.

If we look back at the evolution of this thread -- which I just did -- it seems clear where it went off the rails.

[ScalyFreak]

Trying to get things back on topic (apologies for my part in derailing the thread), the Ars Technica article makes a few interesting points. The most obvious one, of course, that there are pirates and pirates. For a computer novice who barely knows what a torrent is, it will probably always be easier to buy than to pirate, because they have no idea even where to begin.

The ones that will be won over by the lack of DRM are the ones for whom the difference between a legal and an illegal download are the source and the software used to download the file, and nothing else. If it is as easy for a person to obtain a pirated copy of a book as it is to legally buy it from Sony for nearly $10, nothing but that person's ethics will prevent them from pirating the book. And even if they are strictly in favor of supporting the author, they may still download the pirated version, and then donate $10 to the author via the PayPal button on his/her website, rather than deal with the restrictions of DRM.

To quote one of my favorite game developers, the best way to combat piracy is not with restrictive and intrusive DRM, but by making sure that the paying customer gets such good value for their money that buying the game becomes more attractive than pirating it. Logically, this applies to books, music and movies, just as well as video games.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

To quote one of my favorite game developers, the best way to combat piracy is not with restrictive and intrusive DRM, but by making sure that the paying customer gets such good value for their money that buying the game becomes more attractive than pirating it. Logically, this applies to books, music and movies, just as well as video games.

Agreed. Put the money into hiring a better scriptwriter.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by teh603

Agreed. Put the money into hiring a better scriptwriter.

Actually, the way this company does it is by making the game DRM free, and then give away all expansions for free. But the same principle applies: Reward the buyer, instead of trying to preemptively punish the pirate that you can't touch anyway. (CD Project RED, if you're curious. The company behind the Witcher games and GOG.com)

[frahse]

Originally Posted by teh603

Agreed. Put the money into hiring a better scriptwriter.

Hey!

Now you are talking! ($$$$)

Let's do breakfast tomorrow.

[ScalyFreak]

The video game industry is sorely lacking good writers, both for scripts and dialog. There are some gems out there, but on average, video games are behind in that department... which makes me sad

[frahse]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

The video game industry is sorely lacking good writers, both for scripts and dialog. There are some gems out there, but on average, video games are behind in that department... which makes me sad

I have thought about that myself, but since I have never really got the game bug I have passed.

I used to like the games when they first came out, when it was more eye and hand coordination. I just lost interest when you had to go from here to there and pick up this and that. It seemed to be more a passive enjoyment for the "collector" than an active environment.
Then when I realized that the hidden short cuts had become a part of the game design from the onset, I just turned my back on the games and went another way.

[vxf]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

The video game industry is sorely lacking good writers, both for scripts and dialog. There are some gems out there, but on average, video games are behind in that department... which makes me sad

No good dialogue?

Just recently,
Fallout - 3 and New Vegas
Dragon's Age, especially the second
GTA IV
Heavy Rain

There are some great writers in the gaming industry... not in CoDs, Battlefields and similar, but, if you are looking for good story-telling, you can find it nowadays.

Heavy Rain is just superb, from a dialogue point of view.

[Ken Maltby]

Hmm... I see DRM as something that interferes with my use and ownership of the
ebooks I buy. It is not something that prevents my purchase of an ebook, as it is
relatively easy to remove the DRM. If the DRM were to become overly difficult or
impossible to remove, I would be forced to consider other options. Also, that
situation would go a long way to making real Piracy a commercially viable proposition.

Lack of DRM doesn't equate to a free ebook, (in the $ sense). The removal of DRM
from ebooks sold to the public is not likely to make it any easier "for a person to
obtain a pirated copy of a book". The pirates would laugh at DRM, if it were a factor
in their activities. Those fanatics who are posting scanned or stolen prerelease
copies of books are like our Mr./Comrade "Giggleton" who have an opposition to the
idea of property rights on principle. Fortuitously they are, as a group, small in
number and not inclined to exert themselves. (Of course if you were to add a
commercial potential to the operation, there might be a change in that situation.)

I buy ebooks to read on my many platforms or on the platform of my choice, DRM
is an irritant. I, as an honest, skeptical, prudent person, tend to avoid stolen goods
and am disinclined to trust internet sites that offer them. (No more than I would
buy a $10,000 Rolex for $10 from someone on the street.) I shop at legitimate sites
"Newegg", and such. The same goes for ebooks. As cheap as I may be, I would not
play around with "torrents" or even "eBay" for that matter.

Put another way, I think most people prefer to buy from a legitimate source, and are
not often lured by an offer of something for nothing, from a shady source. Dropping
DRM will not change that.

Luck;
Ken

[Bittybye]

I can see how removing DRM could reduce piracy. I assume that the publishers charge so much for ebooks due to the cost of putting DRM on a book. If they drop that extra cost they could (in theory) lower prices and cash strapped people suffering in a horrible economy could afford to buy books.

I would never download a book, but when I see a book from one of my favourite authors has a book coming out in Jan and the hardback is $16 and the kindle edition is $13. Really?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by vxf

No good dialogue?

Just recently,
Fallout - 3 and New Vegas
Dragon Age, especially the second
GTA IV
Heavy Rain

Those are not average!

There are some brilliant dialogue writers out there, absolutely. But they're not the norm. The games you list were all developed by companies who pride themselves on hiring talent to write for them (Bioware and Obsidian in particular), but I still maintain that they're far above the industry average.

And to add to your list, the first two Max Payne games, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and more recently Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the ones you just mentioned. Though frankly, Dragon Age 2 was a huge step backward from the first one, at least as far as pure RPGs go.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Bittybye

I can see how removing DRM could reduce piracy. I assume that the publishers charge so much for ebooks due to the cost of putting DRM on a book. If they drop that extra cost they could (in theory) lower prices and cash strapped people suffering in a horrible economy could afford to buy books.

I would never download a book, but when I see a book from one of my favourite authors has a book coming out in Jan and the hardback is $16 and the kindle edition is $13. Really?

Doesn't anyone contributing to this thread realize that they are singing into a high wind on the Texas plain? Their words and melody are being swept away by the publishers own studies showing that DRM helps, that it is necessary, and that it is a boon to the industry.. These studies were organized specifically with the intent to cut down on theft. (There I said it plainly - Theft!)

Studies like the one being talked about in this thread are viewed by the Right's Holders as nothing but propaganda that caters to a less than desirable element that the publishing industry has to protect itself from.

The book industry views DRM as financially necessary, and philosophically and morally correct. They are attempting to enforce the Seventh Commandment "Thou shall not steal."

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by frahse

Doesn't anyone contributing to this thread realize that they are singing into a high wind on the Texas plain? Their words and melody are being swept away by the publishers own studies showing that DRM helps, that it is necessary, and that it is a boon to the industry.. These studies were organized specifically with the intent to cut down on theft. (There I said it plainly - Theft!)

Studies like the one being talked about in this thread are viewed by the Right's Holders as nothing but propaganda that caters to a less than desirable element that the publishing industry has to protect itself from.

The book industry views DRM as financially necessary, and philosophically and morally correct. They are attempting to enforce the Seventh Commandment "Thou shall not steal."

Wrong. Look at history. Drm's time is numbered.

[ScalyFreak]

Piracy is not theft, it's copyright infringement. Calling it by the wrong legal term muddies the waters even further. It's not theft anymore than fraud or embezzlement is theft. Let's at least use the right terms, please?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Piracy is not theft, it's copyright infringement. Calling it by the wrong legal term muddies the waters even further. It's not theft anymore than fraud or embezzlement is theft. Let's at least use the right terms, please?

It's theft. Calling it otherwise hides the real issue.

It's theft of intellectual property.