Pay For My Game: Suffer The Price
In an industry pushing towards wider participation, why are gamers treated as adversaries?
Why do we still have region-locking (thanks Microsoft)? Incomprehensible friend codes (I'm looking at you, Nintendo)? Anti-piracy measures that require game activation (you must be proud, EA)?
The "hardcore" gamer has trouble putting up with such things, how casual gamers are supposed to fare is a mystery.
The hoops needed to be leapt are too many and too complicated. Publishers need to take notice of online businesses that are absolutely destroying them at usability: Facebook is a great example. Facebook went from zero to millions of users in a year. You don't get there by making it difficult for your customers. You get there by treating them well.
The games industry should also be looking over its history books. The recording and movie industry has failed miserably it their campaigns against consumers. People who rent movies fair and square have to put up with minute long trailers about the horrors of piracy. The pirates remove those from their copies, creating a more enjoyable experience. No doubt pirates of games using SecuROM et al are also getting a better deal than those who paid up.
The industry is turning away the exact people it's trying to attract.
Comments
Damn right. The music industry had a simple choice with the advent of Napster (ancient history in internet time), either:
1. Realise that this is what people are going to want in future and work out ways to make it easier for people to obtain legal downloads at reasonable prices with no DRM to make them want to buy their music online.
2. Ignore consumers' desires and pretend the new technology doesn't exist. Then invest more time, money and lawyers in the struggle to limit consumer choice and prosecute those who circumvent your futile attempts at 'control'. Also, ignore the fact that those who pirate your music probably wouldn't have bought CDs etc. from you anyway, instead assume that every download is a lost sale and make up a number in the billions and put a £/$ sign after it and call it your losses.
We all know where the music industry went on this one, and how well it's working.
The simple fact is that people who don't want to pay for something will either find a way to not pay for it, or just not have it. Locking things down in this way immediately implies that you consider that the majority of your user base is a thief, and make them jump through hoops, usually for a less than enjoyable experience.
Nick
I just don't understand why these producers of content won't get on board with services and mediums that the consumer obviously prefers. It's basically because they didn't come up with it first and they would rather you went out to buy the product because that way the retailers bring in more money. I just want my content, ad free and messenging free.
Nick