Latest Ubisoft DRM measure - all SP saves stored on a cloud server

Nameless Voice on 25/2/2010 at 16:51

Perhaps. Still, if you want to buy a game, you should buy it new to support the developers.

Jason Moyer on 25/2/2010 at 17:55

The developers already have cash-in-hand before the thing goes to retail, although I suppose good sales increase their odds of getting another project.

lost_soul on 25/2/2010 at 17:56

But... The developer doesn't have a *right* to our money. If they sell a quality product at a competitive price, then sure, we'll buy it. If they treat their customers with respect, then sure, we'll buy it. If the developer/publisher shits on us by imposing artificial restrictions to harass us (like CD-checks), then we should avoid paying/supporting them.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of id Software. That said, look at this:
(http://www.idsoftware.com/store/)
Look at those prices... $15-$20 for a digital copy of games that came out fifteen+ years ago?
Now, look at this:
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000H1AGA6/ref=sr_1_olp_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1267120337&sr=8-2&condition=used)
...and...
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00064WT0E/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1267120403&sr=1-1&condition=used)

The prices aren't even in the same ballpark!

If I build a TV and I sell it, that's it. I made my money and I'm not entitled to jack if the customer then turns around and sells it to Tom down the street.

WingedKagouti on 25/2/2010 at 21:41

Quote Posted by lost_soul

But... The developer doesn't have a *right* to our money.

The developer has a right to the money from initial purchase and nothing more.

I believe that captures what you meant to say a bit better than something which could be read as: The developer should give us the game for free.

Phatose on 25/2/2010 at 22:03

Making games is expensive business which keeps on getting more expensive, and while a success can make lots of money, failures can lose just as much. So what's a developer to do?

Use DRM and other techniques to try to get a chunk of piracy and secondary markets? Get complaints like we have here.

Go DRM free, and raise the initial purchase price to keep in line with production costs? People complain about pricing now and use it as an excuse to pirate.

Lower production costs? Sure, offshore it, cut the art budget, cut the design budget, and cut the troubleshooting budget by canceling problematic PC ports. Then get panned in the press for not being super-state-of-the-art, and go nowhere.

Reduce risk of failure? Sure, limit your productions to known IPs with a fanbase. Sequels upon sequels. I'm sure you're all real fond of that one too.

lost_soul on 25/2/2010 at 22:14

Games should cost $19.95 new at release. Once the game is built, the publisher can make an unlimited amount of disks to sell. If the price was this cheap, many more people would buy the games, which would offset the slight price increase to the publisher to press more disks.

As a bonus, we wouldn't have to pay $40 for a used copy of System Shock 2 because the publisher doesn't feel like selling it anymore and it is rare/sought after. (yeah, I did that.)

june gloom on 25/2/2010 at 22:23

Quote Posted by lost_soul

Games should cost $19.95 new at release.

As long as we're fantasizing completely impossible things, I'd like a private urinal.

Chade on 25/2/2010 at 22:31

Quote Posted by lost_soul

If the price was this cheap [$20], many more people would buy the games

Assuming you are talking about US dollars and the current price is around $40-50 ...

I'd love to see your evidence suggesting that lowering the price of a game will result in sales increasing by 100-150%! That's quite an incredible claim you've got there.

I suspect the gaming market is fairly insensitive to game prices. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if a lower price signalled lower quality, and resulted in less sales.

lost_soul on 25/2/2010 at 22:50

By and large, quality has already gone down. Instead of getting a PC game that was built from the ground up for your platform, with large expansive areas to explore and ease of modding, you get a console port. A port that is un-optimized, has lower resolution assets, and the like. I wonder what kind of game you could build on a modern PC with 8 gigs of RAM and 1+GB of video memory?

Harvester on 25/2/2010 at 23:01

Quote Posted by Nameless Voice

Developers get no money from second-hand sales.

So what? It's the same with used cars and everything else that is being sold second-hand. And no one is saying that you shouldn't buy a used car because the manufacturer doesn't get any money then.

Why should games be treated differently? I'm all for supporting developers and will buy games new if they are available for that reason, but I have had no problems at all with buying no longer available games like SS1, SS2 and Alice.