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Console Players Are Pirates 197

Posted by Zonk from the yo-ho-ho dept.
According to a study by Macrovision one in five console gamers is a pirate, or uses pirated software. Interestingly the study, detailed on GamesIndustry.biz, also found that "three quarters of them would have paid for the games if they hadn't been available for free." Coverage also available on IGN.
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Console Players Are Pirates More

Console Players Are Pirates

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  • Don't believe... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by turtled ( 845180 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:43PM (#11947188)
    I don't believe this for a second. A survey of 6000 people does not represent the millions of gamers in North America. Also... the main bias of this survey is that Macrovision is trying to peddle their copy protection services to MS and Sony.

    • Re:Don't believe... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by vandon ( 233276 )
      With the DMCA around, you're a pirate if you use a GameShark to hack the game. I'm sure that there's a lawyer who would say that having 100 health or unlimited lives circumvents some kind of protection put in place to keep you from finishing the game.

      Remember...Just be cause you paid for the game, doesn't mean you own it.

    • Re:Don't believe... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by oliana ( 181649 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:00PM (#11947373) Homepage
      Actually a survey of 6000 people with a 20% affirmative rate with a confidence level of 99% has a margin of error of 1.33% for a population of infinite size. At the same level of confidence, the number of people who'd buy instead of "borrow" has a margin of error of 3.22%.

      6000 is a lot of surveys. The approx. 1200 "piraters" is still a large basis for a survey. Unless the survey was biased, the selection of the surveyed was biased or something of the like, the numbers are probably fairly accurate.
      • According to the press release at Macrovision, the survey appears to have been conducted online at "various game-related websites." An online survey is inherently flawed; an online survey conducted by a company with a vested financial interest in the outcome is marketing.

        Nonetheless, bless you for actually paying attention in statistics class.

        • Yup, it's not a random sample. Generally any survey that is "opt-in" is going to be biased.

          For this to be accurate they would need to take a random sample of EVERYONE who purchased a console.

      • Re:Don't believe... (Score:4, Informative)

        by Bluetrust25 ( 647829 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @10:13PM (#11949659)
        The biases involved in a study like this are incalculable. I own a successful market research company and I wouldn't have any faith in publishing selected results of a survey where respondents are asked if they've participated in illegal activities. It's bullshit, there's too many variables involved.

        I also dislike that they recruited for this survey off video game review websites. That's stupid, they're pre-biasing the data to a) people with access to internet connections and b) people who visit videogame websites. You can't project that kind of information onto the public as a whole. We're talking huge swaths of inaccuracies. The percentages reported could be off by 40 - 50%.
    • ...especially what's to note.. is that for the number to be accurate, everyone of those 'pirating' would need to have a modded console(practically nobody who I know have a modded ps2 for example).

      macrovision thrives on snakeoil...
    • A survey of 6000 people does not represent the millions of gamers in North America

      If there was no significant bias in how the sample was chosen, then yes it does. The accuracy of a random survey is a function of the number of people surveyed, and NOT a function of the size of the total population. 6000 is plenty.

  • What? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CMGaretJax ( 820127 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:44PM (#11947198)
    I may have missed something, but they go from talking about software to games... software is not the same as a game, and that stat seems wildly out of whack. There are a handful (at least) of hurdles that one has to overcome before being able to priate a game, and it doesn't seem like the average gamer would neccesarily also be tech savvy enough to have, and keep the motivation in order to actually pirate the material.

    • Re:What? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Asmor ( 775910 )
      It takes a bit of savvy to be able to mod a console. It doesn't take any at all to pay someone to, or have a friend do it.

      That said, modding a console is a pretty cool experience... I modded my own XBox (albeit with a solderless chip) and it was fun. I also transplanted the guts of my Dreamcast into a different body shell.

  • I some how doubt (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Stop Error ( 823742 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:45PM (#11947218) Homepage
    That people who only have a passing interest or curiosity in a game would pay money for it. (outside of a rental)

    Now if they could download and burn the same game they may be more willing to give it a wirl.
    • As far as I can see and hear, gamecube games are some of the hardest to pirate because of their backwards spinning mini dvd disc format. It's just simply not technology that you could easily have access to from the home, unlike a plain old dvd burner which can be bought pretty damned cheap these days.

      My gaming systems include a pc and a gamecube, and while I've bought about a half dozen games for each in the past 2 years, my collection of pc games that I've aquired during that same 2 years is quite respec
      • As far as I can see and hear, gamecube games are some of the hardest to pirate because of their backwards spinning mini dvd disc format.

        GC discs do not spin backwards. They just don't conform to ISO-9660 standards, which is why ISO-9660 compliant DVD-ROM drives (read: all of them) can't read them.

        Mini DVD-R/RWs are also fairly common. You can get a pack of mini DVD-R/RWs at almost any computer store.

  • Arrr (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:46PM (#11947219)
    Yup, the BBC says [bbc.co.uk] that they're a growing threat.

    Oh wait...
    • What I like is the headline, calling them "maritime muggers" instead of "pirates." Has *AA finally succeeded in co-opting the term? :)

  • Hm.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by revmoo ( 652952 ) <slashdot.meep@ws> on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:51PM (#11947271) Homepage Journal
    I don't suppose Macrovision would have the slightest bit of bias in this sort of a study? Seeing as they sell copy-protection technology...

  • A BS Survey (Score:5, Insightful)

    by savagexp ( 531372 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:53PM (#11947306) Homepage
    For a number of reasons, including who conducted it (Macrovision), their sample target (Techno-savvy gamers), and their sample size (6,000). Not to mention that we haven't yet seen the actual survey that they (presumably) e-mailed these people. There's also the issue of multiple responses from the same person. I assume they tried to prevent this with IP logging, but it is certainly still feasible. Also unknown are they type of "gaming" sites. If they attached a survery to GameCopyWorld.com, that just might skew the results a tad bit. I will take this article and with it, a giant-sized cube of salt.

    • Re:A BS Survey (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      And we don't know how many surveys they ran before they had one come up with the results they wanted.
      The other ones, the ones that indicated that hardly anyone pirates console games... those got buried. No need to let anyone know about *them*.
    • sample size (6,000)

      6000 is plenty. Have you taken Stat 101?

      The greatest possible standard deviation is when the true proportion is 50%, which gives: sqrt(.5*.5/6000) = .00645, or .645%. We are about 99.7% confident that the true value is within +-3*stddev, or 1.9 percentage points, of their answer.

      If the survey is reasonably accurate in their 19% number, that makes the standard deviation sqrt(.19*.81/6000) = .5%, which gives a 99.7% confidence interval of +-1.5 percenage points.

      This is, of course, assu

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:54PM (#11947323)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Arrh me hearties, shiver me timbers (Score:5, Insightful)

    by infonography ( 566403 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @05:55PM (#11947330) Homepage
    Modding a PS should not be a suprise as many games from Japan don't work in a US version. They have nobody to blame but themselves.
    • Unfortunately, many publishers insist that consoles be region-encoded. If you're thinking about picking up a property from Japan, the percieved value of that property is a lot lower if it has already leaked into your home market. It's more difficult to create a frenzy that way, and some of the demand will already have been satisfied. Of course the amount of people who would buy foreign titles is margin-of-error sized for any game less popular than Street Fighter 2, but that's still how publishers view th
    • " Modding a PS should not be a suprise as many games from Japan don't work in a US version."

      That makes for a good excuse, but how many modders actually do it for that reason? How many of them actually know any Japanese? And why would they use a pirated copy instead of purchasing and importing a legal Japanese copy?
      • That makes for a good excuse, but how many modders actually do it for that reason? How many of them actually know any Japanese? And why would they use a pirated copy instead of purchasing and importing a legal Japanese copy?

        How much english is in any game? How much story do you need to fight a monster? Games come out first in Japan, if you want the coolest and latest stuff you go for the source. An unmodded console won't do the trick. That article is PUREST FUD.

  • 1 in 5 6yo can solder a mod? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:00PM (#11947376)
    There is no way! Even here at work where most people are techy, the bulk of people do NOT pirate console games. I would say more like 1 in 10 (if even). And that ratio would certainly drop in a general population count.

  • Pirated software? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rev_dru ( 618154 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:00PM (#11947388)
    ...one in five Xbox and PS2 gamers is using pirated software...

    Does this mean they are actually pirating Xbox and PS2 games, or is it also including gamers with pirated software on their computers? This seems kind of vague to me. I am curious what exactly they asked the gamers in the study.

  • I don't believe it. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BigZaphod ( 12942 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:04PM (#11947419) Homepage
    I know far more than 5 console players and not one of us has a pirated console game. Hell, I've never even *seen* a pirated disc or cart for a console and I'm pretty sure most of my friends are in the same boat.
    • Ah, the fallacy of anecdotal evidence.
      If you've been to South East Asia, you would see there the number of gamers using pirated software in that region is close to 100%.
      Although they may not have faked data, I'm skeptical of the conclusions they've drawn until they release how they conducted the survey. Did they have disproportionate representation in regions or age demographics where piracy is known to be higher?
      • All statistical studies are simply a compilation of lots of anecdotal evidence. By your logic, all statistical studies are fallacies. Which I would tend to agree with 85% of the time.
        • All statistical studies are simply a compilation of lots of anecdotal evidence. By your logic, all statistical studies are fallacies.
          To a degree they are. All statistics can say is that there is X% confidence of Y for the given data set within a certain model. Statistics is a very powerful tool, and creates meaningful data if you fully understand exactly what is being analyzed and how. However, most of these surveys just make conclusions without giving insight into all the caveats of the study. Therei
    • I've never met anyone with cancer. Therefore I don't believe that anyone ever gets cancer.

  • Riiiight... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Sylver Dragon ( 445237 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:05PM (#11947435) Journal
    A new study conducted by California-based firm Macrovision

    Just stop there, with that source, the rest of the article is worthless.
    I would be willing to grant that such piracy probably happens, but this sounds like a scare tactic comming out of Macrovision trying to prop up sales of their anti-copying technologies. I expect a study to follow which claims that games with their newest technology are pirated far less. It will, of course, be the same level of bullshit at this study, but if it drives one or two companies to adopt their technology then it will easily pay for the minimum wage they paid someone for half a day to call random gamers and ask a misleading question.

    • We know it's horse crap, but the ppl who pass the laws don't. When they get lobbied to screw over people that don't pirate games (because we also know that pirates will still pirate no matter what they try), the law makers will lookit this and go "1 in 5! Oh my!" despite the fact that they probably have a kid with a dozen friends who buy their games legit.
    • Here is my question, who wouldn't say they would buy the game if it wasn't available for free? Thats kind of a meaningless question. I mean, if I pirated games and was answering their survey, why wouldn't I say that I wouldn't say, "yeah, I would buy the game" even if outiside factors would really prevent me from doing so.
    • Just because their business is selling copy protection doesn't mean their argument or study isn't valid. However, given this strong source of bias, there is a need for strong evidence that they tried to eliminate it. I don't know if Macrovision intends to sell the study (doubtful, it would likely be used best in the hands of their sales force), but the press release and their website is lacking in details, save a sparse "The Macrovision report is based on surveys conducted in February 2005 of approximately

  • Same with crippled shareware vs the "honor system" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mc6809e ( 214243 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:07PM (#11947457)

    In the article here, [hackvan.com]shareware author Colin Messit discovered that less than 20% of the people using his software would pay for it voluntarily.

    He wrote his software in such a way that a user installing it would have a 50/50 chance of getting a crippled version or a non-crippled version at time of installation. When people registered, they sent their serial numbers which encoded whether or not they had the crippled version or the "honor system" version.

    He discovered that the crippled version was registered (people sent money) 5 times as often as the "honor system" version.

    Conclusion? Most people only pay if they have to.

    • Re:Same with crippled shareware vs the "honor syst (Score:5, Insightful)

      by RedWizzard ( 192002 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @08:47PM (#11948969)
      In the article here, shareware author Colin Messit discovered that less than 20% of the people using his software would pay for it voluntarily.

      He wrote his software in such a way that a user installing it would have a 50/50 chance of getting a crippled version or a non-crippled version at time of installation. When people registered, they sent their serial numbers which encoded whether or not they had the crippled version or the "honor system" version.

      He discovered that the crippled version was registered (people sent money) 5 times as often as the "honor system" version.

      Mr Messit says "it only took a couple of days to put together", yet he was charging US$25 for it. To me that seems like an excessive price for what seems to be a very small, specialized utility. I'd certainly think twice about paying $25 for something like that when for less than $100 I can get a game I know has taken thousands of man-hours to put together. Obviously if you have to have that functionality then you might be willing to pay $25 for it, but I expect a fair number of the people with the uncrippled version decided not to pay (and to keep using it) because he priced it too high.

      My point is that this research only tells us that crippleware worked better in this particular case, a case where I think the registration fee was set way too high. Looking at just the uncrippled registrations, he made $3900 in about a year for his couple of days work. To me that seems pretty fair, and certainly not something I'd complain about. All registrations totaled $34000, and he claims it would have been $50000 if all versions had been crippled. That seems like an awfully good return for a couple of days work. Good on him for making that, but it seems a bit off to be complaining about his users honesty given just how much he made from that software.

      • The amount of money he made should have little to do with how much work he did. Instead, it should correlate with how much service he did for others.

        I think he should be applauded for serving so many with so little of his own effort. There are those that put plenty of effort into pointless tasks and serve no one.

        Instead this man was able to, with just a few days work, provide something useful to thousands.

        So what did those he served give him in return? Well, those that were honest, gave him money. Those

        • Re:Same with crippled shareware vs the "honor syst (Score:4, Interesting)

          by RedWizzard ( 192002 ) on Wednesday March 16, 2005 @01:15AM (#11950765)
          The amount of money he made should have little to do with how much work he did. Instead, it should correlate with how much service he did for others.
          Firstly: why? A man who spends a few days building a road will receive several hundred dollars in compensation, and that's fair. This guy does the same amount of work and expects $50000+. Why is the difference so high? In both cases thousands of people will benefit from the work, so it's not the number of people who find the work useful. It's not the skilled nature of application development, most workers earn far less, regardless of the level of skill required. It's because the software vendor has the capability to perfectly replicate his product, and while automatic replication of work is the key to wealth, it's hardly a fair situation.

          Secondly, my point is that the time he spent on that app is a more accurate estimate of its worth than the entirely arbitrary price he decided to charge for it. I haven't tried the app myself, but from description (it prints out windows helpfiles) and the time he spent on it indicate to my mind that it is overpriced. If people are given the choice between being honest and paying too much or being dishonest and paying nothing it is not a suprise that many of them choose to pay nothing. People are known for dishonesty when they feel they're being ripped off. However, if the choice had been between being honest and paying a fair price and being dishonest and paying nothing the percentage of people who decide to pay will be higher. Without further research at other price points this research is not conclusive.

          Are you really defending those that would use this man's services and not even give him a "thank you"?
          Not at all. What I'm saying is that I think if his pricing were more reasonable he would have found a smaller gap between the "honest" and "dishonest" users. As I said, people who feel the price is unreasonable are more inclined to be dishonest. Take a look at his "five fundamenetals for sucess": a product users need, quality, advertising, distribution of samples, and a reason to pay. Notice that he's completely forgotten pricing. Yet most business owners will tell you that price is probably the number one thing you have to get right to suceed.
          • This guy does the same amount of work and expects $50000+. Why is the difference so high?

            Same amount of work? Really? How long did it take him to become a programmer? What about the time it took him to learn the Win32 API? He didn't get anything for that work until he turned it into software that users could take advantage of.

            And the qualitative difference in the type of work is important too. Most people can, in some way, apply brute labor to help build a road. A smaller percentage of people have the s

            • Same amount of work? Really? How long did it take him to become a programmer? What about the time it took him to learn the Win32 API? He didn't get anything for that work until he turned it into software that users could take advantage of.

              The problem with this line of reasoning is that most programmers do not get paid at anywhere near that rate. And I already stated that plenty of other highly skilled jobs do not get that rate either. How many drug researchers (for an example of something requiring eve

    • A lot of the "big" bloggers charge nothing for their site, but have a "tip jar" to accept payments from readers. They get $1000+ per month. For something that is "free".

  • most pirated game? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Arctic Dragon ( 647151 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:08PM (#11947462)
    This is [gamespot.com] arguably the most pirated game.
    • Well when Sid Meier's Pirates is released for the Xbox I'm sure it will vie for the title.
      Oh and if you are thinking of pirating (or buying) the Pirates of the Caribbean game, don't. It's not worth the cost of the blank media.

      • Pirates! [the-underdogs.org] is already pirated on the Xbox if you've modded your Xbox and installed an emulator for one of the classic systems it came out on. But don't try the NES version, as the NES version uses mid-scanline visual effects, and the emulators that can handle mid-scanline effects are typically too slow to run at full speed on the 700 MHz Celeron CPU in the Xbox.

  • 1 in 5 makes "Console Players Pirates".... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Rolan ( 20257 ) * on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:11PM (#11947516) Homepage Journal
    So 1/5th of the players (assuming the study is anywhere near accurate, which I doubt) are pirates...that doesn't support the statement "Console Players are Pirates." Yesh.

  • Uh.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:12PM (#11947528) Homepage Journal
    "According to a study by Macrovision one in five console gamers is a pirate, or uses pirated software. Interestingly the study, detailed on GamesIndustry.biz, also found that "three quarters of them would have paid for the games if they hadn't been available for free." "

    Funny, the console market is pretty darn strong. You'd think all this piracy would mean that this year would be a real drag for console game publishers.
  • As a tech-savvy Gamecube owner, I can assure you that this survey does NOT represent the general marketplace.



    One look at the boards where i hang out (the IGN Gamecube boards), you'd think that the top-selling games for the platform were Eternal Darkness, Viewtiful Joe and F-Zero. These games all NOWHERE NEAR the likes of the Mario Parties and Luigi's Mansion games (both of which I liked, by the way). Online people have a VERY different mindset than non tech-savvy/everyday gamer people...

    • "As a tech-savvy Gamecube owner"


      It is worth noting that the Gamecube most likely has the LEAST amount of piracy. It took about 4 years before the first Gamecube mod chips appeared and the unique media has made pirating a pain.
      The Xbox and PS2 modchips have been around for years .

      • It is worth noting that the Gamecube most likely has the LEAST amount of piracy

        Only for those who refuse to count the modchip that is Game Boy Player. With that and an accessory called "EFA Linker", you can play homebrew GBA games [pineight.com], but you can also play almost any pirated Game Boy Advance game.

    • I think merely owning a GameCube indicates that you are a fairly honest person who is just interested in playing some games. The console has yet to be hacked in a way that really allows for widespread piracy. I've played a single downloaded game on my GameCube... and that was the Biohazard 4 DEMO, which wasn't available in my area.

      I know that most of the people I know who have an Xbox bought one simply for the ease of piracy on it, and don't touch a GameCube, as they are expected to actually purchase t
      • That is such a weird comment. I mean...yeah, people don't go out and buy a gamecube so they can play hacked games...but by buying one it somehow makes you "fairly honest". I own a PS2 and an XBOX. The police better keep an eye on me. Just kind of a stupid, nintendo fan boy argument on your side. I will eventually get a gamecube too...all consoles have something to offer. I think one console owners like to bash the other ones so they don't feel they are missing out on the stuff others enjoy. That's ce

  • In other news (Score:4, Funny)

    by ValuJet ( 587148 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:21PM (#11947607)
    Microsoft ran a survey which suggests windows has a lower tco than linux.

    The US gov says government corruption at an all time low.

    Hot dog vendors say now is a good time to buy a hotdog

  • In other meaningless statistics... (Score:4, Funny)

    by wowbagger ( 69688 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:24PM (#11947645) Homepage Journal
    In other meaningless statistics:
    • 1 in 6 carrot eaters are pirates.
    • Nearly 100% of pirates have been exposed to the dangerous chemical DiHydrogen Monoxide [dhmo.org] at some point in their lives, and most still have traces of it in their urine.
    • Almost 100% of all pirates were born after 1900 AD.
    • 1 in 5 people who own a TV set are pirates.
    • 1 in 5 people who have ridden in public transportation are pirates.
    • 1 in 5 people who wear two shoes are pirates.


    Could it possibly be that, perhaps, by the definitions used in this study, that one in five PEOPLE are pirates?

  • BS! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by the_skywise ( 189793 )
    I personally know of 12 people who have console systems and are regular purchasers of games. Of those 12, TWO have pirated games. Of those TWO one was pirated because of REGION LOCKING for a game that was never released domestically. The other is a college student with no income.

    This is obviously a propoganda piece devoted to target the "common knowledge" specifically with the claim that piraters would buy the product if it wasn't pirated!

  • It depends on the region (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SebaSOFT ( 859957 ) on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @06:52PM (#11947855) Homepage
    I can concieve that people actually doesn't have pirated games, but take this as example:
    Here in Argentina, I would say only hi-class people with no knowledge of games get to a game store and buy original games and consoles. Simply becouse they don't care about money. The rest use "pirateable" consoles like PS1/2 and Xbox, just becouse thay sell modchipped aquipment in the stores, and copied games too.

    Enclosing things, make that survey here and you will get:

    30% Sega Mega
    30% PSOne
    20% PS2
    15% Xbox
    5% Other

    and a huge 90+% pirated stuff and a 10-% elite buying original games/consoles.

    (I get it about actually buying the console and promoting it's games, but the 1 of 5 relation doesn't make sense to me)
    Get real, look at the DC/eMuLe/BT networks and tell me you would rather download the game even before it hits the shelves and download it to your IDE 80 HD on your XBox.

    P.S.: FBI Agents, I don't own a console so don't poke me :P
  • Um, the only console I own is a gamecube. I'm curious to know how Macrovision could determine how I could possibly pirate gamecube games (which like 99.9% of gamecube owners out there, I've never even tried). Hell, I don't even own the broadband adapter. I wonder if they'll tell me how we can do it so easily?

  • ELEPHANTS are the 3rd Leading Cause of Death in US (Score:4, Funny)

    by geminidomino ( 614729 ) * on Tuesday March 15, 2005 @08:28PM (#11948758) Journal
    I have a study to prove it!

    --Acme Elephant Insurance Company, Oklahoma City.

  • If kids can't even figure out how to install Final Fantasy XI, how can they be pirates, too?
  • ""three quarters of them would have paid for the games if they hadn't been available for free.""

    I think they misread the survey results. It is far more likely that the respondants all said: "They would have paid three-quarters (75 cents) if the games hadn't been available for free.".


  • or I'll hit you with my peg leg and sic my parrot on you!

  • Actual Study (Score:2, Informative)

    by 123abc987 ( 865160 )
    Has anyone found the actual study (not another press release), or the citation for it? I did a search at the macrovision homepage, and then through the technology/engineering databases at my university, but I couldn't find this study.
  • How many PC users have pirated software? I'd say a LOT more than 1 in 5. That's actually pretty low, and encouraging for console game manufacturers. More people stole Halo PC than bought it, and a lot of coppies were sold. That's >50% piracy rate. Compared to this, console gamers are comparatively well behaved.
  • Is it just me, or has there been a big increase in advertising from companies pushing anti-piracy measures lately? I noticed that in this month's edition of Game Developer magazine there were at least three ads from different companies (including Macrovision) promoting their "solutions." One of them even featured a USB drive key, like the old dongles. Ye gad! Let's not go that route!

    I wonder if it's because they're trying to get an early foot in the door of the next console generation.

    My attitude is

  • Hmmm (Score:3, Insightful)

    by goldcd ( 587052 ) * on Wednesday March 16, 2005 @08:47AM (#11952123) Homepage
    "The survey participants were randomly selected from a pool of visitors to various game-related websites."
    Any chance of a list of which websites? Any chance to actually see the questionaire? I really really hate it when these pseudo-scientific adverts are presented without providing any backing. I understand most people aren't interested, but there's no reason the down and dirty info can't be linked off the shock and awe press release.
    Personally speaking (and I suspect I'm not alone) I have a load of consoles around my house, all chipped, or 'opened' (apart from the PSP and DS).
    I've got every console I've owned chipped as soon as I was able to. It's not a matter of wanting 'free' games, it's my urge to make the device as functional as possible. You buy your console and it does X, you chip it and it does X plus a bit more. The world's full of millions of these damn consoles, all uniform in their ability/appearance. You just have the urge to get a little bit more than the next guy - the commoner you can look down upon.
    My PS2 was nice, but I bought into DVD when it started off and US imports had the latest films, different cuts and lower prices. How f'in annoying was it to be only able to play back 2/3rds of your film collection? When MGS came out in the US months and months before the UK, why on earth should I sit twiddling my thumbs before I can play it?
    For the Xbox it's the wonders of Media Centre - Now there's no reason MS couldn't have released something similar, but they didn't. It's out there, I want it and I need a mod chip to make it happen.
    To sum up my ramblings, a large number of people don't mod purely to pirate. They mod to 'free' their console of all the artificial restrictions that've been forced upon it.
    Somebody pushes you, your first instinct is to push back.
    This is what Macrovision is fighting. The consoles have copy protection and most people happily live their lives with it. A minority are opposed to it, you know they are, they've spent an evening swearing at it whilst clutching a soldering iron. You're not going to make them stop, you just enter an escalating race against them. New protection followed by new patch/chip/technique. It's got personal and I'm not going to let Macrovision stop me.
    PSP seems to be a bit of an advance, you need to buy games for it, but it plays movies, I can just stick the card from my camera into it, it's region free for games, seemingly it'll synch with the new PSX. I'm just curious to see if my theory holds out, will it be less of a target for hackers due to it's higher original functionality.

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