When you play the game of piracy you win…or you die
You may recognize
the above as a play on the infamous quote from the first season of
popular HBO television show Game of
Thrones. In the last few months, it was revealed that Australia is leading
the world in Game of Thrones piracy.
One of
my earliest experiences with anti piracy measures was with a PC game titled Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the
Flame. Back in the early 1990’s complicated digital verification processes
did not exist, so copy protection (as it was then known) commonly took the form
of a manual verification check. I remember having to enter symbols from the
game manual in order to proceed beyond level one. Quite an archaic method, yet
one that was effective for the time.
Of
course with the rise of digital distribution, such a system is no longer
possible. With strict online verification or gameplay requirements, game publishers
now have more means than ever to ensure anti piracy measures. Unfortunately,
complicated and obtrusive DRM (Digital Rights Management) practices often hurt
the consumer who is using the product they legitimately paid for, which has
become a pain point for many users.
An
article by Martin, Moore and Salter (2010) discusses the challenges facing both
users and content producers when it comes to music file sharing. Many of the
concepts also apply to the video game, film and television industries,
including the issue of morality. This is an important issue to me.
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| Click Below for the full strip: Source http://yewknee.com/blog/14101/ |
Ever since being old enough to work,
I have legitimately purchased all of the video games that I have obtained,
mostly out of a desire to support the developers. Yet on the other hand, I have
no problem with downloading the latest episode of Game of Thrones each week. This relates to the issue of
availability. I do purchase each season of the show on Blu-ray as soon as it is
released in Australia, but first download it online when it airs in the US. I
want to support the show’s producers, but believe that I have a right to view
the content when it is available in the US, without having to pay close to $100
a month for Foxtel or subscribe to a restrictive Apple season pass. This
amusing comic strip highlights
how difficult it can be to legitimately purchase Game of Thrones online:
Fortunately, some developers seem
to be realizing that alternative methods of distribution can be just as viable,
and are increasing availability and taking advantage of the technological
advancements spurred on by globalization. An article by Grayson (2012) provides
an interesting example. In 2012, Jonaton Soderstrom, developer of successful
indie game Hotline Miami answered questions
and provided technical support to users on a forum of popular torrent site The Pirate Bay. He also politely requested
that users purchase his game legitimately, if they enjoyed it. Remarkably, this led
to a significant jump in sales for this title.
I certainly believe in the rights
of creators to profit from their material.
I also acknowledge that digital downloading is only one small facet of a
larger piracy issue. However, I believe that as developers like Jonaton
Soderstrom have demonstrated, the best way to approach file-sharers is to
acknowledge they are humans not criminals, and should be treated as such. So
sure, I have the entirety of Game of
Thrones season 3 readily viewable on this very computer. But I can assure you I will be first in line to
pick it up on Blu-ray when it releases next year. Does this mean that I’m a
criminal and a thief? I hope not.
References:
Grayson, N 2012, ‘Hotline Miami
Aids Pirates Instead of Murdering Them’ | Rock, Paper, Shotgun, retrieved 6
September 2013 <http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/27/hotline-miami-aids-pirates-instead-of-murdering-them/>.
Hopewell, L 2013, ‘Australia Still World-Beaters
When it Comes to Game of Thrones Piracy’ | Gizmodo Australia, retrieved 6th
September 2013 <http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/06/australia-still-world-beaters-when-it-comes-to-game-of-thrones-piracy/>
Martin, B, Moore, C and
Salter, C. 2010, ‘Sharing music files: tactics of a challenge to the industry’,
First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12, accessed online at <http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2986/2680>
The Oatmeal, 2013 ‘I tried to watch Game of
Thrones and this is what happened’, retrieved 6 September 2013, < http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones>
You make some really good points in your blog. it is stupid how we have to pay for the right of cable or satellite TV like Foxtel when they will generally show ads as well, why should we pay for ads. it is a very interesting point that you make with the buying TV shows and downloading, it’s a fine line but in the end you do buy them so it doesn't make you a thief. i have the same issue with music i want to play heaps of music but don’t want to pay for every song at $2 so i have a set subscription of $100 a year for unlimited download. i think if there is an exchange of good for money than it fine you pay the money and the artist get what they deserve.
ReplyDeleteI liked the distinction you made between going out and buying a game and downloading a television program off the internet. But I can see how there is a clear distinction between the two. Movies and televisions shows are a much simpler media form than games, and downloading them online only involves having to watch the show afterwards. With games there is the whole need for consoles, connectivity and defects within the copied product. With movies it seems easier to find a good copy taken from a DVD but with games, certain developers and found ways to make them hard to duplicate and even if they did, your consoles wouldn’t allow you to play the games. This is especially difficult with games that are regularly played online.
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