Stefan

I'll use my newfound musical powers for good, uniting all the people of the world and putting a stop to war and poverty through the magic of acoustic disco cover songs.

The day the big consoles open up development is the day you can get iFart on UMD...

I'm getting so tired of people bemoaning that pirates are killing everything. Beyond the recession which is hurting everyone right now (Fortune 500 company profits are down more than 80%), all of the industries (Music notwithstanding) falling over themselves regarding piracy seem to be in fantastic shape. Hollywood's revenue has been rising at a steady clip for years, despite the rise of easy movie piracy. The game industry is bigger than it has ever been. Even the PC games industry, which is unarguably hit hardest by piracy is thriving, thanks in part to the arrival of a truly convenient digital distribution model. Every console post-PSX has been hit by piracy, yet life goes on.

I think everyone is worried about a repeat of the napster/MP3 music industry fiasco, but it's a baseless concern. The music industry wasn't destroyed by piracy, it was destroyed by the rise to prominence of rich, multimedia experiences. How many non-musicians do you know who sit down to devote their full attention to an album when they have access to DVDs, HD video-on-demand, modern video games, the internet, etc. Guns and Roses' Appetite for Destruction was a compelling experience in 1987 as compared to the handful of stations on television, an NES or Sega Megadrive, print media, or anything available on an Apple IIe or IBM Compatible running DOS. Now honestly, for the vast majority of the public, Chinese Democracy by the same band (or any other album) in 2009 cannot compete with Gears 2, Blue ray discs, or a host of other entertainment options that have become available.

We live in a world of intense, interactive multimedia experiences, and music has been relegated to being an asset within more complete multimedia products, and as background noise that drones constantly on our ipods, computers, TVs, game consoles, and everywhere else for that matter. The music industry has fallen thanks to an outdated business model, excessive greed on the part of people with their fingers FAR from the pulse of society, and the rapid rise of technology. Music is alive and well, it's just not marketable as a blockbuster, devoted-attention, retail product anymore on a mass scale. There are more people making money off of music than ever before, they just aren't making it in the traditional recording industry with major labels.

Hollywood has some reason to be concerned when it comes to physical media sales, but this is not due to piracy. The problem is that demand for physical media is starting to wane. The DVD format is no longer on the leading edge of fidelity, popularity, or most importantly convenience. Blue ray does offer enhanced quality, but if anything convenience has been reduced. Things like revision support, HDCP issues, the annoyance of 24p content on 60hz monitors, and rising costs make the format less attractive to consumers. They need to step up digital distribution efforts, and focus less on piracy and more on customer experience.

Who is doing well right now? Sony spends a lot of time trying to thwart the pirates (which infuriates the homebrew crowd and punishes the fanboys, who should be the companies biggest supporters), and it doesn't seem to have helped. EA likes invasive DRM, and it certainly didn't help Spore or any of their other recent blockbuster titles out. In fact, they were forced to remove some of these draconian measures from their products recently. Microsoft (one of the early adopters of internet activation) software is pervasively pirated.

Stardock releases games without DRM, on a sort of honor system. Most Apple software has no copyright protection what so ever. Valve has found a way to deter pirates (atleast superficially) without punishing legitimate customers. The companies who have chosen not to embark on a ridiculous (and futile) war on pirates and have instead focused on consumer satisfaction have built up tremendous good will, a dedicated and loyal fan base, and very strong financials.

Furthermore, who are the pirates? I would wager that most are 18-25 year olds. Any younger and either mommy and daddy are still making the purchases, or more money can be devoted to discretionary spending when there are no real life expenses. Any older, and the time and hassle required is often outstripped by the convenience of simply plopping down your $50. These are the same 18-25 year-olds who were "pirating" music by recording the radio to cassette, copying VHS tapes, or trading floppy discs. The fucking Commodore 64 had a problem with game piracy.

Piracy has always been, and will always be a "problem". Are revenues impacted? Probably. Is every count of piracy a lost sale? Not by a long shot. Do some pirates go on to purchase games/movies/media? Certainly. Do some pirates become brand/product evangelists, thus spreading positive word of mouth and increasing sales? Probably. Should piracy be sanctioned or ignored? No. Pirates ARE breaking the law. Should anyone lose sleep over it? Probably not. Is it killing anything? Not unless we're talking about the type of pirates that carry guns and ride around in boats.

Guitar Hero World Tour band kit + Rock Band 2 game = Ensuring that my downstairs neighbor keys the hell out of my car again.