Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uunet!midway!chsun1!kusumoto From: kusumoto@chsun1.uchicago.edu (Bob Kusumoto) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Software "rentals" (was: piracy) Message-ID: Date: 18 Sep 90 16:09:29 GMT References: <692@servio.UUCP> Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator) Organization: University of Chicago Lines: 59 dalel@servio.UUCP (Dale LaFountain) writes: [example deleted] >I guess it all boils down to trust. Any form of copy protection devised >can be broken by a handful of hackers throughout the world, so copy >protection isn't the answer. Manuals can be photocopied, and photocopy- >proof manuals can be typed into a word processor, so manual protection >isn't really the answer either (although it is much more flexible for >hard drive owners). >People say that games cost too much, and the producers of games say that >pirating drives the costs up (both of which are very true). Software >companies need to lower their costs, and all of US need to be honest and >show our support by buying that low-priced software. Then everyone would >be happy. We would have more good games, because increased sales and revenue >would promote further development in this area. The big problem is that games cost too much to make in the first place. Hell, you can't put out a game like nethack in UNIX without a graphical interface to get people to buy it and play it, you need to spend money on programmers to write the game, artists to do the graphics so it look great, and the manufacturers and distributors and retailers to package, deliver and sell it. After all this, you can imagine where most of the money went. I know a few guys who decided to write a game, they ended up getting very little for their efforts and most of the money probably went to the manufacturer or the retailer or the people in-between. Its just that these days, you can't make a $10 game look good or package it to look good and still make a decent amount of money from it. What can we really do? If we can't afford it, we can't buy it, but if its a piece of crap, we don't want it anyway. Do we just quit making these games because we can't enough of them to make money? That's the way its looking to me now. A few years ago, there was tons of stuff being put out for the Apple II line, but you don't see the quanity of games you saw back them being put out now. Its pretty much down to a bunch of people who still can produce games for the machine and take a beating for it. I don't know about you, but I still place good money into those games if I think their worth it, like to Sir-Tech for their Wizardry series or Origins for the Ultima series and frown on people who pirate these games, because I really think that pirating these games will eventually take them out of the Apple II market. I had a chance to speak to Richard who makes the Ultima games at the Summer CES this year and he said he had about 1/2 the work done for the Apple II version of Ultima VI but ended up making it for the IBM compatables since it was more profitable in that market. It really hurts to know that a company is going to abandon you because of people who believe that the game costs too much when its really worth what they're charging for it. I really don't think U6 is going to come out for the Apple because of piracy and piracy will probably end up killing the Apple II market altogether. I'm not going to stand on the soapbox and say that people should stop pirating games because you know that someone out there is going to do it anyway and just sap the market (well, not only that but the fact that there aren't that many Apple II owners left to buy this stuff compared to a platform like the PCs and the Amigas). Enough said. Have a nice day. Bob Bob Kusumoto | Find the electric messiah! Internet: kusumoto@chsun1.uchicago.edu | The AC/DC God! Bitnet: kusumoto@chsun1.uchicago.bitnet | - My Life with the Thrill Kill UUCP: ...!{oddjob,gargoyle}!chsun1!kusumoto | Kult, "Kooler than Jesus"