Limiting Piracy of Cricket Games

[maneesh]

my suggestion for reducing piracy is to disable some features in installed game(eg: team, icon player, game modes, difficulty, venues,customization etc.) and will be able to enable only if registered online.

Another idea to get promo for Ashes 13 in India is by distributing a demo version of the game through the dvd's of IT magazines like 'chip','digit' etc.

 

[MattW]

I have a different take on it. To me the whole piracy thing would be a thing of the past if internet is widespread and has a similar penetration as mobile/cell phones. E.g., if say 90% of the target consumer base has access to net connectivity, we wouldn't need physical media at all. In such a scenario everyone logs in to PS3/4 or Xbox 360/720 store (and in case of PC, something like Steam) and purchases the game. Whenever a user logs in to play the game, a check happens to ensure the copy is "valid" and legal else the user is not allowed to play the game. Unfortunately we are not there yet and can't go with digital media and force online connectivity as a pre-requisite. In 6-8 years time I am assuming this would be a moot point.

That is something that would make me stop buying games. It's one thing for a game's servers shutting down meaning online play goes away, but it's quite another to mean nothing works at all.

Publishers do need to go some way to meet the consumer. Look at DRM on music - when it was most onerous, piracy was way up - now it has scaled back, music sales are increasing for the first time in decades. You can get subscription streaming or you can own a specific copy - it is a balance that meets both desires, one for reasonable pricing and another the need to be able to do what you want with things you've paid for.

I own a number of games on digital download services - but I can do that knowing that the bits are on my drive, and in all likelihood if something did happen to Steam or another service, they would be able to take the internet checks off or it would be avoided. I don't care for the moment, the value add of one place for the games and not dealing with discs is good - but if buying is glorified borrowing, as always on DRM makes it - and especially if it trends towards streaming downloads instead of a regular install - then pricing needs to reflect the total change of what you're getting. The 99 cent app model reflects what a download only industry would look like, DS shovelware is probably the best example of it in the console world - rampant piracy on a platform resulting in terrible games.

'People are always going to steal so put big locks on everything' is not a way to operate. There needs to be a balance between consumers and the valid need for the publishers to get paid for their work.

The best example are pirated DVDs - you know what aren't on pirated DVDs - anti-piracy warnings, unskippable menus and advertisements for other movies. If your paying customers are impacted by your DRM and the pirates aren't, you're doing it wrong.

Edit: I'll add that SimCity tips the scale for me - I'm hugely interested in the game, it looks amazing - but I do not accept that level of DRM - an inability to play the game at all if their servers are down. So I won't play it and EA don't get my money.

 

[cricket_online]

That is something that would make me stop buying games. It's one thing for a game's servers shutting down meaning online play goes away, but it's quite another to mean nothing works at all.

Publishers do need to go some way to meet the consumer. Look at DRM on music - when it was most onerous, piracy was way up - now it has scaled back, music sales are increasing for the first time in decades. You can get subscription streaming or you can own a specific copy - it is a balance that meets both desires, one for reasonable pricing and another the need to be able to do what you want with things you've paid for.

I own a number of games on digital download services - but I can do that knowing that the bits are on my drive, and in all likelihood if something did happen to Steam or another service, they would be able to take the internet checks off or it would be avoided. I don't care for the moment, the value add of one place for the games and not dealing with discs is good - but if buying is glorified borrowing, as always on DRM makes it - and especially if it trends towards streaming downloads instead of a regular install - then pricing needs to reflect the total change of what you're getting. The 99 cent app model reflects what a download only industry would look like, DS shovelware is probably the best example of it in the console world - rampant piracy on a platform resulting in terrible games.

'People are always going to steal so put big locks on everything' is not a way to operate. There needs to be a balance between consumers and the valid need for the publishers to get paid for their work.

The best example are pirated DVDs - you know what aren't on pirated DVDs - anti-piracy warnings, unskippable menus and advertisements for other movies. If your paying customers are impacted by your DRM and the pirates aren't, you're doing it wrong.

Edit: I'll add that SimCity tips the scale for me - I'm hugely interested in the game, it looks amazing - but I do not accept that level of DRM - an inability to play the game at all if their servers are down. So I won't play it and EA don't get my money.

That is why I said we are still some way off from implementing the model but if internet goes the same way as say utilities (electricity/power/water etc.) and is available most of the time, this model will be workable. Yeah, you may get an occasional outage but that would be a one-off and a rare event (hopefully). But yeah unless we reach that stage the proposed solution is not feasible.

Also, when we attain that "nirvana", the pricing model wouldn't be the way it is now. I mean you wouldn't "purchase" the game but you will only "purchase the rights to play the game for a time", i.e. I think the gaming industry will go towards a "pay as you go" model. In nutshell, you want to play a game, you go to the store and select a game and then have an agreement to play the game for a day/week/month/year etc. and pricing will be adjusted accordingly. This will also take away the "demo" issue. Now you don't need to have a demo copy available as users will be able to play the game for a day or so and then decide to go fo weekly/monthly license.

Another variation of the model would be the netflix one where you have access to no. of games for a weekly/monthly/yearly fee. I am sure pirates will come up with something but in this case user is directly connected to the "sales channel" so to speak and there's no "middle man" (stores, shops, pirates etc.). It would be tough for pirates to do much if they are taken out from the developer/publisher-to-user supply chain, and as Microsoft has shown if you revoke Xbox Live membership if a game is modded, folks will quickly fall in line. If you make folks jump through hoops and make it as difficult as possible to play pirated/illegal stuff, eventually the problem will go away.

This takes away the DRM issue as well since only a nominal check is needed when you play the game and that's about it. Maybe some sort of "heartbeat monitoring" capabilities can be built in but that would be transparent to the user and gameplay.

 

[Dutch]

The best way of stopping piracy is not to do it. There is always a temptation to download stuff because it is so easy and free and anyway everyone is doing it. It is like all crime: you choose to do it or not. If everyone on this site commits to buying the game, commits to not sharing it, commits to pushing others to do the same, commits to really supporting this thing........then it will make probably no difference whatsoever, but hey we will feel good. In the end though we consumers are the ones who determine whether this franchise can develop further or not, buy buying it. Just buy the darn thing and tell all your cricket loving mates to do the same.

 

[MattW]

I mean you wouldn't "purchase" the game but you will only "purchase the rights to play the game for a time"

Which sucks. I play Super International Cricket almost as often as I play International Cricket 2010 - I own both, I want to be able to play both for however long I keep the investment in having compatible hardware (I have a spare Super Nintendo just in case).

I don't want the publisher deciding when its time for me to get a new game - a constantly evolving online game maybe, but I certainly like being able just to play a single match of a game without caring if I'm signed in or I've kept my subscription up - if I wanted to rent I'd rent.

Ubiquitous internet might make it a viable model, but it is not a consumer friendly one - and I don't want to add gaming to the list of things that need a direct line into my wallet on a monthly basis.

This takes away the DRM issue as well since only a nominal check is needed when you play the game and that's about it. Maybe some sort of "heartbeat monitoring" capabilities can be built in but that would be transparent to the user and gameplay.

When the internet goes down is precisely the time I'd want to play a game - because I can't get work done. Again, always on checks interfere with the user experience - and more than likely they will not work.

As I said previously, the only way you can make a game that is not piratable is to not give the user a copy of the game and stream it all from a central server as needed. I don't think that's a pro-consumer model, and I don't think it is an acceptable trade off for the publisher's interest.

 

[angad]

As I said previously, the only way you can make a game that is not piratable is to not give the user a copy of the game and stream it all from a central server as needed. I don't think that's a pro-consumer model, and I don't think it is an acceptable trade off for the publisher's interest.

Best way to avoid piracy is upload the iso of the game yourself on torrent (or any such stuff which is famous for pirating) and add a virus to it which pretty much destroys the whole computer after, say, a month!!! Noone can sue you for it, for they downloaded a pirated copy, while the people would think a 1000 times before downloading something like that again !

 

[MattW]

Best way to avoid piracy is upload the iso of the game yourself on torrent (or any such stuff which is famous for pirating) and add a virus to it which pretty much destroys the whole computer after, say, a month!!! Noone can sue you for it, for they downloaded a pirated copy, while the people would think a 1000 times before downloading something like that again !

So then everyone will vote down that particular release and download the one made from the second person to upload it - you've at best delayed it a few days.

Again, anything that allows the end user to have a functioning copy of the game on their system at any point is pirateable.

Anti-piracy can't be driven solely by technological solutions. They play a part to weed out the most blatant - no game should allow you to play online without a valid disc/key - but if a magic catch all DRM system existed, this thread wouldn't need to.

Don't copy that floppy.

 

[SibiNaayagam]

So basically like the BCCI ruining international cricket, the Indian gamers are now ruining our cricket games! Bring back the colonies I say. Frankly, I'm also getting concerned about those Australian crim's as well, they need the lash brought back to teach them some good British sense!

On a serious note, I have total sympathy for Chief and all the people involved in the development of these games. Nothing can be more dis-heartening then knowing that after all the hard work you put in, a large proportion of people feel they have the right to steal your product. This is why I hate the internet as a whole. The whole anonymity of it lets people act in ways which they would never do face to face. If people who pirated these games knew that there was a significant chance they could get caught and severely punished, it would dry up very quickly.

BCCI might be many things, but it has never played for the downfall of cricket. And never generalize, watch your words. India is a great market for the gaming industry. Why else would EA even bother to feature an Indian National team in FIFA 13?
The market for cricket games in India is ruined by the publishers and the not-so-willing-to-buy-legal-copies group, almost equally.
Earlier someone had talked about EA C07 sales. It didn't sell pretty much anything in India(legally), but it was being played in almost all the households I knew. Infact even college professors play it during their break time. At that rate, its even safe to assume that about a million copies of the game were existing in India.
So, did they like the game?...They loved it.
Are they still playing the game?...Yes.
What % of them bought EAC 07 legally?...Less than 10-15%
What was the rate of EAC 07 during release?...Rs.999
What was the rate of EAC 07 after nearly 2 years?...Rs.699
What was the black market rate?...Rs.30
Where were the legal copies available?...Only in selected shops(read 2-3 in the city) that target the upper middle class and above(they don't form even 10% of the gaming community here).
Where were the illegal copies available?...Road side shops and bazaars which are around 4-5 minutes of walking distance from their home.
Where there any sort of advertising?...Nothing, not even by the shops themselves(still EA's brand name sold the game).

Targeting the wrong group, setting a steep price(back in 2006 it was a lot worse than now), no advertising, no hype nothing from the publisher's side to promote their game in this huge market.
You can't simply blame the people for voting a bad minister, they are only left to choose from what they have, while they could rather opt not to vote(but how many would?). And that would apply to gaming as well.

And those who are going on and on about the piracy in India and blaming a particular group talk, you got to know that a problem is never one sided. And it can never be solved if you force the solution.

 

[Dutch]

Buy the game. Buy the game. Buy the game. And tell your mates to buy the game.

 

[SibiNaayagam]

Buy the game. Buy the game. Buy the game. And tell your mates to buy the game.

And what do you think I have been doing? I talk about these games to as much as friends as I can. But they are not used to walking into big malls and purchasing such games. Get the copies to the streets atleast. No one wants to waste their fuel too.

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Meanwhile, about Simcity and DRM. The server issue has got me a little bit worried. But I did eventually pre-order it. Hopefully I wouldn't be facing similar problems in India.
But what if my service provider has a sudden disconnectivity? DRM is an injustice to loyal fans.

 

[Dutch]

And what do you think I have been doing? I talk about these games to as much as friends as I can. But they are not used to walking into big malls and purchasing such games. Get the copies to the streets atleast. No one wants to waste their fuel too.

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Meanwhile, about Simcity and DRM. The server issue has got me a little bit worried. But I did eventually pre-order it. Hopefully I wouldn't be facing similar problems in India.
But what if my service provider has a sudden disconnectivity? DRM is an injustice to loyal fans.

Tell all your mates to flood all the forums read by people there with the message they need to buy the game if they want the game to develop. Not only is it wrong to steal the game they are shooting themselves in the foot....I do not mean to imply it is only an Indian thing. All over the place people from this forum use other more specific forums. All of us should push this message as much as possible.

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On another note, how about working with a product....say you get points or something if you buy a packet of cornflakes, which you can collect and get half off the price of the game.....just a silly idea that needs more thinking through but might offer a perspective......

 

[anveshs]

I am going to generalise here. WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM SO UP TIGHT!!!??? AND WHY IS IT NEARLY ALWAYS THE INDIANS!!!!!???

I had a tongue in cheek dig at the Aussie's as well, you total and utter tube. Of course I know piracy is prevalent throughout the world, that's why I said, "This is why I hate the internet as a whole." Never have I come across such a sensitive bunch of people, who are always looking to be upset.

So basically like the BCCI ruining international cricket

Why are you talking about BCCI here?What proof do you have of it?You are talking about something irrelevant and incorrect and what do you expect from fellow members?Please stick to the topic mate...

 

[Biggs]

Highlander was making a joke, kids... move along, nothing to see here.

 

[cricket_online]

Which sucks. I play Super International Cricket almost as often as I play International Cricket 2010 - I own both, I want to be able to play both for however long I keep the investment in having compatible hardware (I have a spare Super Nintendo just in case).

I don't want the publisher deciding when its time for me to get a new game - a constantly evolving online game maybe, but I certainly like being able just to play a single match of a game without caring if I'm signed in or I've kept my subscription up - if I wanted to rent I'd rent.

Ubiquitous internet might make it a viable model, but it is not a consumer friendly one - and I don't want to add gaming to the list of things that need a direct line into my wallet on a monthly basis.


When the internet goes down is precisely the time I'd want to play a game - because I can't get work done. Again, always on checks interfere with the user experience - and more than likely they will not work.

As I said previously, the only way you can make a game that is not piratable is to not give the user a copy of the game and stream it all from a central server as needed. I don't think that's a pro-consumer model, and I don't think it is an acceptable trade off for the publisher's interest.

It's not the ideal model for customers but I see industry following this path. I am sure by the time PS5 (note, not PS4 but PS5) rolls around this model would be in place. I don't like it myself but this would work for publishers to cmbat piracy as well as earn more revenue. Plus majority of casual gamers who only play a game for a week or two before moving on to the next one, or the gamers who would love to play as many games as they can but can't afford to purchase those games outright, will like it.

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On a different note, request folks on this forum to raise awareness about the upcoming cricket games on any other cricketing or video gaming forums you are part of. I know there are a bunch of cricket fan forums for Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Aussie, English, NZ, WI and B'desh cricket fans. If you are part of those pls let other members of those forums know about the Ashes and Big Ant cricket games as hard-core cricket fans are more likely to purchase those than casual gamers.

 

[sahilnatu]

I think you need to take the comment with four bags of heavy duty industrial grade salt. That is why he also wrote, on a serious note.......

Oh, yea, sorry. Over reacting on my part. Realised that after checking on the forums today morning. :-P