According to renowned game designer Dave Perry, the best way to beat piracy within the videogame industry is to not cram masses of software protection on each and every disc… but to give the games to consumers for free.
Respected videogame designer claims free videogames can beat piracy. Image: Eddie Sanderson/WikipediaCommons.
Speaking in Belfast after receiving an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University for his pioneering contribution to computer and videogame development, the creator of ‘Earthworm Jim’, ‘MDK’ and ‘Enter the Matrix pointed to the Asian market as proof that such an approach can work.
Although openly conceding that handing games out for free might initially sound somewhat crazy, Perry explained that the sheer weight of piracy in Asia pushed the region into changing its pricing system, providing the games without charge but creating fees for specific items that can be purchased for real-world cash during gameplay.
“Your character might have a plain white T-shirt. If you wanted a nicer one you could have it for a dollar,” he suggested, by way of outlining how videogame creators could fill the initial retail purchase hole. “Or perhaps you could buy a magic sword for a knight for a dollar.”
According to Perry, the free game model has the potential to emerge as “the next big thing” to define gaming’s future evolution.
“It’s going to turn our industry on its head,” he enthused before stating that he wants to see the Asia model accomplish the same level of traction in both the North American and European markets.
One such Asian success story involves MapleStory , a 2D massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by South Korean outfit Wizet. Offered as a free game experience, MapleStory presently boasts an international user base of some 60 million players and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for its developer Wizet and parent company Nexon.
MapleStory creates its cash flow through ‘microtransactions’, involving character item purchases from the in-game Cash Shop, gamer-run licensed stores, or through personal trades between characters -- the latter of which often incur a virtual tax if the trade is substantial.
News.com.au reports that software piracy is a significant problem across the gaming industry, with the UK market alone reportedly losing some $4 billion USD each year to pirated discs and illegal downloads.
Beyond his involvement with classic videogame titles, Dave Perry also founded development studio Shiny Entertainment in 1993. The studio was purchased by Atari in 2002 for around $50 million USD and later merged with The Collective to create Double Helix Games . Double Helix is currently working on Silent Hill: Homecoming for publisher Konami Digital Entertainment.
WadeJul 12th, 2008 - 16:36:18
I don't believe people who love to find pirated software will stop because they get free software (even if the quality is excellent). Many pirates do what they do because they're good at it.
Report this comment