The Witcher 2 Contains Secret Sauce To 'Catch 100% Of Pirates'

[Kreij]

The end goal is the same: sue someone for copyright infringement. Just because their DRM is reactive instead of proactive doesn't exclude it from being DRM. If you put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig.

But copyright infringement is illegal. What other course of action would you recommend they take to protect their product and their intellectual property?

 

[reverze]

they seud many people in germany for around 1000 euros for downloading the witcher, what a dickhead move..... not to mention how much support and sales the witcher got for having claimed not to have a DRM and good after release support.

All that support and potential money is going down the drain now, along with any repuation they had. the only ones happy about this are the people who bought the game and love to see people suffer who didnt have to spend money on it.

 

[Damn_Smooth]

they seud many people in germany for around 1000 euros for downloading the witcher, what a dickhead move..... not to mention how much support and sales the witcher got for having claimed not to have a DRM and good after release support.

All that support and potential money is going down the drain now, along with any repuation they had. the only ones happy about this are the people who bought the game and love to see people suffer who didnt have to spend money on it.

So you feel you should be entitled to steal without repercussions if you don't have the money to buy something?

I'm sorry, but the world doesn't operate that way.

 

[catnipkiller]

It feels like game makers spend more and more time and money trying to stop people from torenting there games and spending less on the game it self. But thats just me.

 

[garyinhere]

It feels like game makers spend more and more time and money trying to stop people from torenting there games and spending less on the game it self. But thats just me.

The games don't suck because of money wasted on DRM... even most good games are guided and impossible to die in. The games are dumbed down because idiots are playing them.

 

[digibucc]

But copyright infringement is illegal. What other course of action would you recommend they take to protect their product and their intellectual property?

exactly. it is not DRM, as it is not an access control method. as you said, you can play all you want but there may be IRL consequences. that's not DRM.
taking them at their word i would say awesome! it sounds foolproof! 100% accuracy in detection, doesn't affect legitimate players, and protects their investment, deservedly.

i do have an inclination to question how they can be sure it's so accurate. i would like to know what company they are using. i want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but the whole announcement is just a little too... shady for me.
still, i won't boycott them. i'll just wait for specifics. we'll find out what it is, who the company is, how it works and all that soon enough. i actually buy all of my games and so would like to see a solution that doesn't affect me become mainstream.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

But copyright infringement is illegal. What other course of action would you recommend they take to protect their product and their intellectual property?

Pursue those that literally violate copyright law by creating, distibuting, and selling physical copies of software (prevelant in China). Like forged books and works of art, people that buy those copies think they're legitimate but they're not. This is a serious issue with movies.

 

[garyinhere]

Pursue those that literally violate copyright law by creating, distibuting, and selling physical copies of software (prevelant in China). Like forged books and works of art, people that buy those copies think they're legitimate but they're not. This is a serious issue with movies.

Not unless you've borrowed said movie from a friend. That's what I used to do / still do / and will keep doing because it is legal. Whether it's a physical or digital copy.

 

[purecain]

i wont be supporting this company if they continue down this road....

we've already covered this subject across the net...

at the end of the day, those that can afford to buy the game...buy it...

those that have no money to purchase ANY game may have to make do with an uploaded copy...

the company doesnt lose out here.... poor people have no money to waste on a computer game...

their too busy paying their mortgage and keeping their family fed and watered...

this is just a rich company trying to get more from less... suck me off !!! project red

 

[Kreij]

Pursue those that literally violate copyright law by creating, distibuting, and selling physical copies of software (prevelant in China). Like forged books and works of art, people that buy those copies think they're legitimate but they're not. This is a serious issue with movies.

They do that, Ford, but with the advent of wide spread, high-speed internet there is little need to own a physical copy any more.

You write fantastic utilities and have been making them available for free. Thank you.
Let's say you decided that you wanted to go commercial and make a living from your work.
You figure that if you sell 5000 copies at $10 each you can make $50K a year (a reasonable income).
Instead, 50 people buy your utility and 4950 people pirate it, so you only make $500.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to put my heart and soul into an application and end up eating catfood for the rest of my life.

 

[garyinhere]

You write fantastic utilities and have been making them available for free. Thank you.
Let's say you decided that you wanted to go commercial and make a living from your work.
You figure that if you sell 5000 copies at $10 each you can make $50K a year (a reasonable income).
Instead, 50 people buy your utility and 4950 people pirate it, so you only make $500.

Your reasoning would suggest that the owner of the media should be able to predict their future capital and be able to sue based on that? What if the media sucks and 10 people bought it and via word of mouth told others not too and then you have some that will stumble on it via torrent sites, try it, then delete it... Speculative markets are bad imo

 

[MilkyWay]

Upwards of 4.5 million players pirated The Witcher 2 and only 1 million bought it. Speculative or not they have a right to protect their intellectual properties. The courts will decide in the end.

People dont bother pirating shit games. It was only £20 on preorder for the premium edition, hardly a massive price for such a good game.

 

[erocker]

they seud many people in germany for around 1000 euros for downloading the witcher, what a dickhead move.....

I would think it would be more fair if they sued each individual for the retail price of the game + legal fees.

 

[Kreij]

Your reasoning would suggest that the owner of the media should be able to predict their future capital and be able to sue based on that? What if the media sucks and 10 people bought it and via word of mouth told others not too and then you have some that will stumble on it via torrent sites, try it, then delete it... Speculative markets are bad imo

You make a very valid point, Gary.
But with market research and even minor demographic surveys you can at least get a feel for how your product is perceived, even though that may not directly relate to sales numbers.
When a new product is bound for the market, those kinds of numbers are all you have to try and estimate what you need to do to make it happen.
Releasing a demo can be an invaluable tool, but is not always an accurate gage of what will happen. Creating a demo means you walk a fine line between giving too much (demo is good don't need full version) and not enough (demo is too crippled not going to buy).

There is no simple solution and I honestly think that many of the game devs and publishers are trying just about anything they can think of. You will notice that a lot of the MMOs are going to a "Freemium" model. This is easiest described as an MMO demo. The players who become real fans will stay and buy into the game (through whatever revenue stream you are trying to generate).

You also see the "Idie Bundles". This does not make an indie developer diddly, but it gets their game and name out. This is a crap shoot for them in terms of any viable revenue.

In my opinion, what game companies need to do is a "shifting revenue" model. There is no reason that a company has to stick with a single method of generating income over the life of a product. You see this a lot in the movie industry (Theater release -> DVD -> Netflix -> general OTA viewing). As one model starts to decline, create a new one and keep your product as relevant as you can, for as long as you can.

Okay this really diverged from DRM to market analysis, but oh well. lol

As always, just my opinion.

 

[reverze]

just wait tilla family member of yours get a letter in the mail to pay 1000 euros for downloading a game. But of course you need to respond "oh he/she deserves it" so you dont look weak. All that for copying a game.

 

[Kreij]

I would think it would be more fair if they sued each individual for the retail price of the game + legal fees.

$50 for the game and $950 for legal fees. Lawyers are crazy expensive.

just wait tilla family member of yours get a letter in the mail to pay 1000 euros for downloading a game. But of course you need to respond "oh he/she deserves it" so you dont look weak. All that for copying a game.

Maybe, just maybe, if we let our family members know that it's wrong to steal someone else's work they would never see that day, or that letter. A bit idealistic, but hey, that's me.

 

[Black Hades]

I approve of this approach, fair retaliation against piracy.
I always buy the games that I like, I pirate those that have no replay value. Still I approve of CDProjeckt's sneak attack presuming no additional info is being harvested/abused.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Instead, 50 people buy your utility and 4950 people pirate it, so you only make $500.

I can't prove those 4950 pirated it and even if I could, only those 50 are customers. I have to make the other 4950 want to buy it if I want their business. And maybe I can't. In which case, I see it as charitable. It doesn't mean they wouldn't buy it if they could, they just can't. My objective as a developer/publisher is to remove as many barriers to purchase as reasonably possible (multiple languages, stores that deal with many currencies, support in multiple languages, etc.). Where the cards fall is where they fall.

The only thing I take issue with is someone else making a profit off of my work without my consent. They are literally stealing money from me. It should be easy to figure out how much they stole and get the name of the individual(s) responsible and take them to court.

 

[garyinhere]

In my opinion, what game companies need to do is a "shifting revenue" model. There is no reason that a company has to stick with a single method of generating income over the life of a product. You see this a lot in the movie industry (Theater release -> DVD -> Netflix -> general OTA viewing). As one model starts to decline, create a new one and keep your product as relevant as you can, for as long as you can.

My point wasn't necessarily market analysis but played a role in what I'm trying to say. When I use the term media I refer to Movies/Games/Music but not software. The music industry was corrupt and napster made it more legit. Their are high paid lobbyist keeping any innovation or improvements to the movie industries distributing methods for fear of bankrupting a few theaters and rental companies. A time will come when you can choose to watch a new release at a theater, in your home via computer, or in your home via renting all at the same time. Instead of waiting for the theater release, then the rental release, then the web release. This is being blocked. A new movie was coming out recently and they were going to offer it simultaneously for paid download but the theater's said they would not carry the movie if they did that. Corruption. Any form of this won't go to the Supreme court because it's not illegal. Maybe money is lost due to the sharing but nothing is stolen. Loss of money is purely a civil issue. This is why there is a big push for all of the "monitoring the webs" bills that are trying to get pushed through. How can TimeWarner tell my ISP to shut me down? There is no right answer for any of it and no budging from the Corporate guys so it will end like the Music industry imo. Cheap music faster. Gaming is a little different though. If you don't like the DRM the answer is don't buy the game. Simple. Games are way under priced as it is. I remember buying SNES games for $60 USD and prices have not changed.

 

[Kreij]

A new movie was coming out recently and they were going to offer it simultaneously for paid download but the theater's said they would not carry the movie if they did that. Corruption.

Corruption or self-preservation? How would you feel about this if you were a theater owner and knew eveyone could get it the same day in their homes on their now dirt cheap giant flat-screen televisions?
Why would anyone come to your theater (and buy your overpriced popcorn and soft drinks)?

 

[reverze]

$50 for the game and $950 for legal fees. Lawyers are crazy expensive.



Maybe, just maybe, if we let our family members know that it's wrong to steal someone else's work they would never see that day, or that letter. A bit idealistic, but hey, that's me.

they copied, didnt steal.

 

[pr0n Inspector]

i wont be supporting this company if they continue down this road....

we've already covered this subject across the net...

at the end of the day, those that can afford to buy the game...buy it...

those that have no money to purchase ANY game may have to make do with an uploaded copy...

the company doesnt lose out here.... poor people have no money to waste on a computer game...

their too busy paying their mortgage and keeping their family fed and watered...

this is just a rich company trying to get more from less... suck me off !!! project red

People with no free money should not be able to enjoy luxuries such as video games for free just because they want to. It's one of the incentives that make people work harder and get a bettre job. Take a walk in the park instead. Life is not incomplete without Fus Ro Dah.

 

[JustaTinkerer]

Guess this is my final entry.

NM wrong bit lol

 

[Mistral]

Let me start by saying that the Witcher 2 is a freaking awesome game, probably my favourite adventure/RPG of the year.

As for how they are tracking people, my bet would be on the Arena minigame that got introduced with one of the many free-content adding patches. If you have a pirated copy, give the minigame a try and afterwards think about the way it works. Post back if you think I'm correct.

 

[burtram]

All this does for me, is tell me not to buy the game until it's stupid cheap on steam, like I did for the first game (got it for like, $5 or less). Assuming I even care to bother...