Interview CDProjekt explains their anti-piracy measures

[spectre]

Therefore, even if you're absolute pond scum, you probably still shouldn't alienate them, for example with attempted shakedowns.

Can't be arsed to check the domestic sales vs. international sales of TW2, but here's hoping the ratio stays in favor of the former. If only to keep CDPR from getting any bright ideas.

Speaking of notorious pirates, an interesting specimen for you monocled gentmen. I pray the irony is not lost on you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x_Q4L99ZrY

For those of you who cannot into moonspeak, it's a scene demo made in 1991 for an Amiga (?) release by a Mr. Martin Iwinski. He even gives his address so that guys can come over for some more. (around 1:00 - 1:10)

nice find.

indeed. So it's the same Marcin Iwiński - the founder of CD Projekt?

Yep the very same. .
He actually was the head honcho of the warez scene in Warsaw (and it seems it wasn't uncommon knowledge back in the 90s), back when it wasn't technically illegal (and in fact was the only source of games at that time, so it prolly counts as public servce).

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact issue #, but there was an interview with Iwiński in Gambler gaming rag right after CD-Project took off and had some success. I think it was in the 1998-1999.
Being a true bro, Alex pressed him on the issue, and Iwiński was glad to spin a few highly amusing tales from the days of yore.
Like when they actually put drm in their warez so that other groups don't steal their releases.

Fun times the early 90s.

 

[SCO]

Speaking of notorious pirates, an interesting specimen for you monocled gentmen. I pray the irony is not lost on you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x_Q4L99ZrY

For those of you who cannot into moonspeak, it's a scene demo made in 1991 for an Amiga (?) release by a Mr. Martin Iwinski. He even gives his address so that guys can come over for some more. (around 1:00 - 1:10)

nice find.

indeed. So it's the same Marcin Iwiński - the founder of CD Projekt?

Surprised it wasn't hit with a copyright takedown notice yet.

 

[Wunderpurps]

Whatever the point legitimacy of piracy, retribution HAS TO BE PROPORTIONAL TO THE CRIME COMMITTED. It's not that hard. It has been already explained by 18th century Italian philosopher Cesare Beccaria; since then the adaptation of laws to that principle has been steady. Why should this case be exceptional?

Like spending 30k a year to put someone in prison for stealing 1500 bucks from a gas station?

 

[spectre]

I'm unsure of the legality of forcing people to pay up in order protect themselves from being sued.

It's not technically illegal. You admit that youd did harm and you show the good will by repairing it as per the instructions of the one you've offended. You are now officially BFF.
Which works when you actually did the damage and the claim is reasonable.
Ceasing to infringe copyrighted material immediately is reasonable. Anything beyond that is debatable at best.
Because to my knowlede nobody has ever determined how to calculate the value of a download/seeding, and how does it relate to the list price of te software, if it does at all.
Unless it's done, the whole situation is basically:
"You ran over my dog. You should know, it was a rare breed and costed me one hundred thousand potato."

Yeah, it's the moral implications that are questionable at best.
Aw fuck this shit, not questionable. People who do it are subhuman scum, period.
In practice it still amounts to: "pay up or there'll be trouble. Our guys will see to that" and no amount of sweettalk will change this.

Sad thing is, there are lots of people willing to avoid "legal trouble" whatever that may be, because, yeah, you don't want to get tangled with them lawyery business and stuffies and nya, amirite?
At least if you're a perfectly normal and sane person that got the shitty end of the stick when it comes to basic education about the judicial and legal system.

BUT, whenever the shitstains go against somebody who is prepared to take them on, that's where the real fun starts. Just like the mentioned Davenport Lyons. Once you start digging, you'll find little bits and pieces, for example that the IP address owner name was not obtained in a perfectly legal way, the damages claimed were overblown, they don't fully own the rights to the intellectual property, or the whole case is not really admissible, etc.

 

[crufty]

What is wrong is that bit torrent sw doesn't tell people what the damages could be if it is used illegally

I agree it sucks though, a bit like having all ones friends drive home drunk while you catch a DUI (driving under the influence).

Still I am no fan of pirates as there is NO excuse to pirate sw.

Instead

Buy it used! Yuk yuk yuk.

 

[DraQ]

Buy it used! Yuk yuk yuk.

Yes, better to not support anyone at all rather than support after verifying they're worth it.

 

[el Supremo]

Buy it used! Yuk yuk yuk.

Yes, better to not support anyone at all rather than support after verifying they're worth it.

Do you eat dinner at the restaurant, then decide if it was good enough to be worth paying for?

 

[PorkaMorka]

The reason you should be butthurt about this doesn't really have anything to do with the Witcher.

CDProjekt are the scumbags behind Good Old Games. They have been going around buying up the rights for a lot of classic games and they now own the rights to a hundreds of classic titles.

If this extortion scheme is successful, it will set a precedent. For now, maybe it will only apply to the Witcher, but once they know it works, why would they stop there?

CDProjekt (as GOG) now owns the rights to many of the classic games sitting in your collection. Next time you go to play Age of Wonders 2 and find that your CD doesn't work or is lost, you'll probably hop on a torrent.

This sets a precedent for CDProjekt to try and extort money from you for doing that, unless you want to pay them for the privilege of playing a classic game that they had nothing to do with.

I've never felt more smug about never having purchased a game from CDProjekt or GOG.

 

[crufty]

Do you eat dinner at the restaurant, then decide if it was good enough to be worth paying for?

a good line to try with the ladies " i like to try me dinner then decide if its worth paying for if you catch me drift"

 

[Wunderpurps]

The reason you should be butthurt about this doesn't really have anything to do with the Witcher.

CDProjekt are the scumbags behind Good Old Games. They have been going around buying up the rights for a lot of classic games and they now own the rights to a hundreds of classic titles.

If this extortion scheme is successful, it will set a precedent. For now, maybe it will only apply to the Witcher, but once they know it works, why would they stop there?

CDProjekt (as GOG) now owns the rights to many of the classic games sitting in your collection. Next time you go to play Age of Wonders 2 and find that your CD doesn't work or is lost, you'll probably hop on a torrent.

This sets a precedent for CDProjekt to try and extort money from you for doing that, unless you want to pay them for the privilege of playing a classic game that they had nothing to do with.

I've never felt more smug about never having purchased a game from CDProjekt or GOG.

Wow someone sensible. Yes, this is not something I like.

OTOH it's easier to use GOG since they update to work on new systems anyway, and 3-4 bucks is a small price to pay for saving you 5 hours fucking around with M&M 7 to get the fucking thing working.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Buy it used! Yuk yuk yuk.

Yes, better to not support anyone at all rather than support after verifying they're worth it.

Companies that don't release demos don't deserve support.

 

[DraQ]

Buy it used! Yuk yuk yuk.

Yes, better to not support anyone at all rather than support after verifying they're worth it.

Do you eat dinner at the restaurant, then decide if it was good enough to be worth paying for?

Shit analogy by shit poster.

1. Eating a dinner would already entail cost on part of the restaurant. Pirating the game, even seven times, doesn't.

2. Dinner follows much shorter development cycle, is needed periodically and is not one of a kind product. If I like a dinner I can continue coming back and paying for subsequent dinners which will be more or less the same, at least for a time, whereas if I buy a game I don't have any guarantee that the next game will be in any way similar even if it's part of the same series, and not, for example, turned into a cinematic experience or something otherwise majestic, so my liking or not a game has little effect on my support if I pay up front.

3. I tend to not eat out.

 

[Wunderpurps]

Companies that don't release demos don't deserve support.

I agree but I don't see the need to demo witcher or call of duty or ass effect or skyrim to know it's shit.

 

[St. Toxic]

Do you eat dinner at the restaurant, then decide if it was good enough to be worth paying for?

Where do you live where you have to pay up front? All the restaurants I've been at, you pay after finishing your meal. Why? Because if it tasted like total shit, and you can tell by what's left on the plate, then nobody is going to force you to pay for it. They'll probably even apologize. If we could get that from rpg devs...

 

[DraQ]

I'd certainly like someone to apologize for oblivious.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Buy it used! Yuk yuk yuk.

Yes, better to not support anyone at all rather than support after verifying they're worth it.

Do you eat dinner at the restaurant, then decide if it was good enough to be worth paying for?

Shit analogy by shit poster.

1. Eating a dinner would already entail cost on part of the restaurant. Pirating the game, even seven times, doesn't.

Yes. Why is it so hard to understand for these aliens? Is it some kind of rocket science or what? I still don't know why these xenos are still alive. How it's possible that they don't accidentally kill themselves while trying to tie their shoelaces?

 

[villain of the story]

Still I am no fan of pirates as there is NO excuse to pirate sw.

Yep, absolutely not when you live as a privileged shitstain. As for the rest of the world, they can go fuck themselves and maybe whore out their mothers and sisters if it's so important.

 

[DraQ]

How it's possible that they don't accidentally kill themselves while trying to tie their shoelaces?

Some Darwin Awards should brighten your day.

 

[crufty]

Still I am no fan of pirates as there is NO excuse to pirate sw.

Yep, absolutely not when you live as a privileged shitstain. As for the rest of the world, they can go fuck themselves and maybe whore out their mothers and sisters if it's so important.

So I assume you are posting from a public library?


Look, $30 - $60 is $3 / wk for ten to twenty weeks. What a life of privilege that must be! If only i could play free games like roguelikes. Wait a minute...some games are free?? Geez. Evil.

 

[Gord]

1. Eating a dinner would already entail cost on part of the restaurant. Pirating the game, even seven times, doesn't.

Developing a game in the first place entails cost on part of the developer. While pirating a game does not create any further costs to the developer, it doesn't create compensation either.

If you consider a game worth playing, you should pay for it (at least if you can afford it).

whereas if I buy a game I don't have any guarantee that the next game will be in any way similar even if it's part of the same series

Yes, we definitely need more demos again.

 

[hiver]

Yep the very same. .
He actually was the head honcho of the warez scene in Warsaw (and it seems it wasn't uncommon knowledge back in the 90s), back when it wasn't technically illegal (and in fact was the only source of games at that time, so it prolly counts as public servce).

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact issue #, but there was an interview with Iwiński in Gambler gaming rag right after CD-Project took off and had some success. I think it was in the 1998-1999.
Being a true bro, Alex pressed him on the issue, and Iwiński was glad to spin a few highly amusing tales from the days of yore.
Like when they actually put drm in their warez so that other groups don't steal their releases.

Fun times the early 90s.

at moral fags and CDsuckers from the other thread.
hilarious innit faggots?

Even a thread on a site like Rock,paper,shotgun is full of angry posts shitting over CD and people calling it what it is.


Meanwhile in Valve headquarters, guess the fuck what Gabe is doing while whole world creams money over their latest holiday sales!

 

[DraQ]

1. Eating a dinner would already entail cost on part of the restaurant. Pirating the game, even seven times, doesn't.

Developing a game in the first place entails cost on part of the developer.

But that doesn't mean I should buy every game ever developed so the point is moot.

While pirating a game does not create any further costs to the developer, it doesn't create compensation either.

If you consider a game worth playing, you should pay for it (at least if you can afford it).

And I do just that. It tends to not be on day one, but I usually don't wait till the price drops either (unless it's unusually high), if I determine it's worth it, I buy it.

If I determine it's worth it without even pirating, I'll buy it without playing pirated version.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Speaking of notorious pirates, an interesting specimen for you monocled gentmen. I pray the irony is not lost on you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x_Q4L99ZrY

For those of you who cannot into moonspeak, it's a scene demo made in 1991 for an Amiga (?) release by a Mr. Martin Iwinski. He even gives his address so that guys can come over for some more. (around 1:00 - 1:10)

nice find.

indeed. So it's the same Marcin Iwiński - the founder of CD Projekt?

Yep the very same. .
He actually was the head honcho of the warez scene in Warsaw (and it seems it wasn't uncommon knowledge back in the 90s), back when it wasn't technically illegal (and in fact was the only source of games at that time, so it prolly counts as public servce).

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact issue #, but there was an interview with Iwiński in Gambler gaming rag right after CD-Project took off and had some success. I think it was in the 1998-1999.
Being a true bro, Alex pressed him on the issue, and Iwiński was glad to spin a few highly amusing tales from the days of yore.
Like when they actually put drm in their warez so that other groups don't steal their releases.

Fun times the early 90s.

Guys....
That info needs to appear in every fucking the The Witcher Extortion news comments on the fucking internets. Now.

For Goodness and Justice.

 

[hiver]

I think John Walker on R,p,s would like it.
If any of you is registered there post it in that thread but also send it over to John Walker.

 

[Turjan]

So, how was the Codex reaction when CD Project did the exact same thing two years ago? Or when they announced they would do it again with their new release one year ago?