Comments on: Arguments of piracy I reckon that convenient and inexpensive distribution channels like Steam and App Store will help to reduce piracy. Modern arguments against copyright and patent law seems persuasive. Have you had a look at those ideas? http://c4sif.org/resources/ I reckon that convenient and inexpensive distribution channels like Steam and App Store will help to reduce piracy.

Modern arguments against copyright and patent law seems persuasive. Have you had a look at those ideas? One suggestion that I liked that I heard from Extra Credits on their piracy episode is write to the publisher/developer and tell them that you are interested in their game but won’t be purchasing it because there is no demo available. If enough people do that, you can bet that they will be making demos in the future since it would be more profitable to do so.

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By: Koarl/2011/03/06/arguments-of-piracy/#comment-1310 Koarl Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:30:09 +0000 Occasionally, a demo woefully under-represents the quality of a game. In the case of Dead Space 2, I was so disappointed with the demo, it killed my enthusiasm for the game despite having found the original highly entertaining. Fortunately, a friend of mine convinced me to buy the game, and it is indeed very satisfying. So, one advantage of piracy can be a more representative demo experience. However, as you mentioned, once copied, it is unlikely the same user will subsequently pay for the title. The lesson here may be that demos need to showcase some very compelling aspects of the game without giving too much away. I would like to think that a great demo is a worthwhile investment, but I seem to recall recent research demonstrating otherwise. Perhaps this is only because most demos suck :) The KillZone 3 SP demo is a good example of a demo that successfully whet my appetite. Occasionally, a demo woefully under-represents the quality of a game. In the case of Dead Space 2, I was so disappointed with the demo, it killed my enthusiasm for the game despite having found the original highly entertaining. Fortunately, a friend of mine convinced me to buy the game, and it is indeed very satisfying.

So, one advantage of piracy can be a more representative demo experience. However, as you mentioned, once copied, it is unlikely the same user will subsequently pay for the title.

The lesson here may be that demos need to showcase some very compelling aspects of the game without giving too much away. I would like to think that a great demo is a worthwhile investment, but I seem to recall recent research demonstrating otherwise. Perhaps this is only because most demos suck :)

The KillZone 3 SP demo is a good example of a demo that successfully whet my appetite.

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By: Mikkel Gjoel/2011/03/06/arguments-of-piracy/#comment-1302 Mikkel Gjoel Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:11:21 +0000 The demo one is the only issue I consider to be a valid (or near-valid) reason of piracy. If a publisher expects me to pay MY hard-earned cash to buy their product, then why won't they let me try it first? (either to evaluate its quality or see if it's even playable on my machine) Personally I take the hard-line approach of no demo = no play/purchase at all, but I can certainly see why many people who are very interested in a game would be swayed toward piracy just because a publisher or developer intentionally (or otherwise) doesn't create a demo. The demo one is the only issue I consider to be a valid (or near-valid) reason of piracy. If a publisher expects me to pay MY hard-earned cash to buy their product, then why won’t they let me try it first? (either to evaluate its quality or see if it’s even playable on my machine)

Personally I take the hard-line approach of no demo = no play/purchase at all, but I can certainly see why many people who are very interested in a game would be swayed toward piracy just because a publisher or developer intentionally (or otherwise) doesn’t create a demo.

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