Editorial In Russia, Putin pirates YOU!

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: King's Bounty: The Legend

It's time for some more piracy fun and knowing we have lots of Dirty Russians here, <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/01/05/gaming-in-the-russian-cosmos-part-1/">this time the focus is on their Motherland</a> and the KRI game developers' conference:
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<blockquote>It’s an eight-day train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok, where the the King’s Bounty team reside. They couldn’t make it to KRI for that very reason. What’s more it’s a place where publishers need to battle with the problems of distribution and rampant retail piracy. We might get upset about torrent sites and online theft, but up until a few years ago most games sold in Russia were pirate copies sold as packaged products on the street. The cost of broadband meant, for the larger part, it was cheaper to buy pirate product from a vendor. The problem was so bad that pirate companies were reportedly approaching publishers to offer to distribute their games. This has been quite fiercely stamped out by the Russian authorities.
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[...]
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Gaming in Russia is around 70% PC-based, and so it was relatively easy for pirates to gain the upperhand, selling games for a few roubles in the same subway stalls that people use to buy cigarettes, cans of coke, and pocket-sized bottles of Vodka. 1c knew they had to combat this and their approach was quite brutal. Firstly they launched retail products that were super cheap, to compete with the pirates, and bear them on support and service. And then they lobbied for legislation to help them out.
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[...]
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1C went as high as they could: to President Vladimir Putin himself. The man from the KGB soon realised just what value this burgeoning industry would be to his vast, developing country. The punishment for commercial piracy is now up to seven years in prison. A Russian prison. As disincentives go, it’s a good one.
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[...]
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With 300 people a year now jailed for software theft, piracy is rapidly disappearing quickly in the major cities of Russia. [...] As more and more people shopped in the 1c stores, so the Russian publishers have been able to raise their prices back towards what it is in the West. [...] Much of this, of course, is making the 1c bosses rather wealthy, but it’s also funding the vibrant creative industry that we saw on show at the Cosmos Hotel.</blockquote>
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Is piracy in Russia being stamped out or are these all lies spread by corrupt Capitalists? You decide.
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Blatantly Stolen from <a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPGWatch</a> because I could.

 

[kris]

This is a great scheme to actually create hardened criminals. 7 years of weight lifting, anal rape and hanging out with mobsters will sure make them change their ways to something better.

 

[Serious_Business]

Am I the only one that thinks DarkUnderlord's news comments have too much shitty jokes and forced humour that makes you grind your teeth in them? You don't have to be a fucking comic everytime posting news on rpgs man, you can know know, just post them, or something.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

But I don't do it everytime.

It was having "Dirty Russians" and "corrupt Capitalists" in the same post that made it go too far, wasn't it? If only I had the courage to drop the adjectives. If only.

 

[Volourn]

serius business is seriois. why so serious!?! childhood drama? gang rape victim in russian prison?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

As more and more people shopped in the 1c stores, so the Russian publishers have been able to raise their prices back towards what it is in the West. [...] Much of this, of course, is making the 1c bosses rather wealthy, but it’s also funding the vibrant creative industry that we saw on show at the Cosmos Hotel.

The problem? The quality of translation and voice acting is still down the shitter, publishers still use StarForce 'cause it's cheaper than SecuROM, and the situation is not likely to improve.

 

[mondblut]

With 300 people a year now jailed for software theft

Smells like bullshit. The only two legal cases I heard of were about a guy torrenting 1c accounting software, and about an Akella (I think) employee who leaked an unprotected localized version of Assassin's Creed online. Neither got a real sentence. That, and a funny case of some provincial teacher made an example out of for having pirated Windows installed in his school. He was found not guilty in the end.

The "piracy" prosecution is just a fancy KGB tool to stomp out the dissidents. Having illegal software is something every PC-owning citizen may be accused of, so KGB clings to it whenever it is convenient to shut some journalist up, confiscating PCs, CDs etc and generally harassing honest folk. Even if you happened to only have legal software, you can forget about your confiscated stuff for years. Hell, they are computer-literate enough to accuse you of pirating *open-source software*.

As for commercial piracy, the silent rule of thumb always was not to print anything published legally, so the more games were officially picked up by 1c and other publishers, the less were printed by pirates. And while pirated software was indeed pushed out from big retail stores and permanent stand-alone stalls, you still can freely find it on outdoors markets or temporary stalls set for a few hours a day near metro stations and the like.

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

As more and more people shopped in the 1c stores, so the Russian publishers have been able to raise their prices back towards what it is in the West.

That was, as I'm sure you understand, the sole purpose.
All that needs saying is: raise the salaries towards what they are "in the West", then we'll talk.

The quality of translation and voice acting is still down the shitter, publishers still use StarForce 'cause it's cheaper than SecuROM, and the situation is not likely to improve.

That's another reason why piracy isn't likely to go away just because a politician or an obese militia general puts on a scary face. They have nothing to offer but misery, and so a lot of people don't care what the bloodsuckers want.

In Soviet Russia, you ate shit. In Modern Russia, you pay for the privilege.

 

[MetalCraze]

As more and more people shopped in the 1c stores, so the Russian publishers have been able to raise their prices back towards what it is in the West. [...] Much of this, of course, is making the 1c bosses rather wealthy, but it’s also funding the vibrant creative industry that we saw on show at the Cosmos Hotel.

The problem? The quality of translation and voice acting is still down the shitter, publishers still use StarForce 'cause it's cheaper than SecuROM, and the situation is not likely to improve.

But it improved. 1C makes more money on retards.

As for RPS they are retarded.

Gaming in Russia is around 70% PC-based, and so it was relatively easy for pirates to gain the upperhand

Explain to me what he was trying to say

1C went as high as they could: to President Vladimir Putin himself. The man from the KGB soon realised just what value this burgeoning industry would be to his vast, developing country. The punishment for commercial piracy is now up to seven years in prison. A Russian prison. As disincentives go, it’s a good one.

Putin saves the day again.

Except with today's access to the internet you don't need to buy shit on subway stations anymore - you can just torrent it.

 

[Hamster]

Is piracy in Russia being stamped out or are these all lies spread by corrupt Capitalists?

Second option. When i was in Gorbushka(main electronic trade center in the country) yesterday all the pirates were still there and did not look scared at all.

 

[Hamster]

And while pirated software was indeed pushed out from big retail stores and permanent stand-alone stalls

What? Who told you this?

That was, as I'm sure you understand, the sole purpose.
All that needs saying is: raise the salaries towards what they are "in the West", then we'll talk.

Fail. Russian PC gamer needs to buy a gaming PC that costs as much as in the West, he have enough money by definition.

 

[MLMarkland]

Awesome

 

[Korgan]

Absolute and total bullshit. There are a couple of shops in my city's department stores that openly sell pirated everything. Music, movies, games, software, you name it. They have TONS of this shit, but everything has some bullshit sticker on it that says they have a special license for selling it in the region. Apparently that covers stuff like a movie and 2 games on a $4 DVD. A couple of times a year some of the disks are confiscated and found to be counterfeit, but the police are so kind and understanding that they just give the owners a fine and go away. Everyone knows it, but nobody gives a shit.
Oh, and Akella started out as pirates back in the 90s. So did GSC Game World. They don't remember anything about that now, though.

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

Fail.

Have to love the trash-slang.

Russian PC gamer needs to buy a gaming PC that costs as much as in the West, he have enough money by definition.

I know reality to be different from your words on personal experience. You can't change it with talk.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Absolute and total bullshit. There are a couple of shops in my city's department stores that openly sell pirated everything. Music, movies, games, software, you name it. They have TONS of this shit, but everything has some bullshit sticker on it that says they have a special license for selling it in the region. Apparently that covers stuff like a movie and 2 games on a $4 DVD. A couple of times a year some of the disks are confiscated and found to be counterfeit, but the police are so kind and understanding that they just give the owners a fine and go away. Everyone knows it, but nobody gives a shit.
Oh, and Akella started out as pirates back in the 90s. So did GSC Game World. They don't remember anything about that now, though.

Nothing wrong with starting out as a pirate. It certainly worked for Sir Francis Drake.

On a serious note, I will have to duck over to Russia one day. Sounds like a winter wonderland for shopping.

 

[inwoker]

Akella made good Full Throttle translation as pirates.

 

[oldschool]

What a novel idea, putting thieves in jail. I like the way them Russkies think.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

On a serious note, I will have to duck over to Russia one day. Sounds like a winter wonderland for shopping.

There is a certain harbor hidden amongst the untamed waves of the Internet. Merchants there give unbeatable 100% discount.

 

[denizsi]

There are a couple of shops in my city's department stores that openly sell pirated everything. Music, movies, games, software, you name it. They have TONS of this shit, but everything has some bullshit sticker on it that says they have a special license for selling it in the region.

We had the same here for a while. Pirated everything in nearly every single shop owned and run by individuals (ie. shops not part of large commercial chains), sold with holo-labels (which must have cost more than the pirated good itself) of Ministry of Culture & Tourism on them. Basically, what it meant was that the state taxed you over selling pirated stuff in exchange of you being able to sell pirated stuff openly without worries. Some shops even gave you coupons per cd you bought, and you'd get various freebies with various amounts of coupons.

Then all that changed about 6 years ago. Retail game selections in major shops have flourished since then, often at very affordable prices. Except for localization, the evil.

Still, many single shops still sell pirated software, albeit secretly, and often under guide of something else. A certain shop owner has collected a shitload of Warhammer figures and ther related stuff over the years, selling pirated games. If you went into his shop, you'd think he's selling PnP and other wargaming stuff, except he's not selling most of them.

 

[aweigh]

On a serious note, I will have to duck over to Russia one day. Sounds like a winter wonderland for shopping.

There is a certain harbor hidden amongst the untamed waves of the Internet. Merchants there give unbeatable 100% discount.

looool

FAKE EDIT: the ring blah

 

[mondblut]

And while pirated software was indeed pushed out from big retail stores and permanent stand-alone stalls

What? Who told you this?

Stand-alone stalls with pirated disks used to be dime a dozen next to every metro station in my city. None now. Well, most non-disk stalls were removed as well, but some remain, plus, there are always nearby stores left with cigarettes, beer and whatever - but not with software.

And major retail networks are afraid to deal with pirated software since that gives an excellent excuse to their competitors to raid and devour them using some well-oiled hands in ministry of interior, fiscal organs and whatever. Cases in point - 505, probably also "the ten". They were officially raided and closed due to dealing with pirated software, although that was just an excuse for another network to take over, of course. But they wouldn't take risks now.

So outside of markets, the primary way of pirated software, movies etc trading is just some guy setting up a table in subway, buying off local cops, selling his shit for a couple of hours, then disappearing. Seen that a thousand times.

 

[Hamster]

Where exactly do you live?

 

[Ogg]

Don't know why, but I thought Russians were better at stealing gas than softwares...

On topic, who the hell buy pirated dvd when torrents are available and free. All Russia needs is a better network.

 

[inwoker]

Russians stealing gas

what?

 

[Korgan]

Don't know why, but I thought Russians were better at stealing gas than softwares...

See, Skyway? You faggots *are* Russians, everybody knows that.