Great job, Bioware!

[Lumpy]

Xi. Conspiracy theorist. Pirate hater. He fights crime.

 

[Ander Vinz]

"omg piracy kills devstudios.. oh wha? yep that's my ferrari"

Lexus is cool too.

 

[kenney bounces]

There were two ways to approach this, out of fear, or out of hope.

Let me elaborate this a bit:

Out of fear: Your customers are bastards who will rip you off! OH NOES!

Out of hope: Your customers will buy your product if your product had damned nice shiny things attached to it.

Give them incentives instead of punishments for BUYING your game. ATTACH nice looking posters or key chains, or shiny things in the box. Bring with it more than just a CD, invest all the money you poured into creating worthless security for your product to ADD VALUE to your product, and you will see higher returns per net investment.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

Not a big deal! You think downloading games for free is not a big deal?! Put your coats on! I'm gonna show you something! And I don't think you're gonna like it!

This is the home of Todd Howard, the executive producer for Bethesda.

Look. There's his pool. This month he was hoping to have a gold-plated shark tank bar installed right next to the pool, but thanks to people downloading his games for free, he must now wait a few months before he can afford it. Come. There's more.

Here's Herve Caen's private jet. Notice anything? Herve used to have a Gulfstream IV. Now he's had to sell it and get a Gulfstream III because people like you chose to download his games for free. The Gulfstream III doesn't even have a remote control for its surround-sound DVD system. Still think downloading games for free is no big deal?

You... didn't realize what you were doing, eh... That is the folly of man. Now look through this window.

Here you see the loving family of John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts.

Next week is his son's birthday and, all he's ever wanted was an island in French Polynesia. I see an island without an owner. If things keep going the way they are, the child will not get his tropical paradise.

Man must learn to think of these horrible outcomes before he acts selfishly or else... I fear... developers will be forever doomed to a life of only semi-luxury.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Pwned!

 

[Darth Roxor]

Not a big deal! You think downloading games for free is not a big deal?! Put your coats on! I'm gonna show you something! And I don't think you're gonna like it!

(lots of expensive stuff)

Man must learn to think of these horrible outcomes before he acts selfishly or else... I fear... developers will be forever doomed to a life of only semi-luxury.

Yes, it's true that the fat bubbas of all the companies have so much cash that the whole world would have to quit buying their products to change it. However the problem is that by "dloading for free" and thus lowering the amount of bought products, the rich devs can say stuff like "sorry ordinary workers, you've done a crappy job at making this game, because people don't buy it" and the ordinary programmers go "bye bye", so it's a bit of a paradoxal situation, 'cause by buying - you give the fat people even more means to get fat, but by dloading you screw normal people.

 

[MetalCraze]

Pwned!

 

[Binary]

and as a gamer, it's in your interest to support game development because for all the bad games that you may purchase, it is through these bad games that developers earn enough cash to trip over a diamond in the rough.

You are such a fucking moron.

I was thinking of taking a more rational approach to point out the obvious, but thanks aron, that will do the job

Well, I wasn't commenting on the DRM itself -- I certainly feel for anyone who buys their game and can't play it, that's a sucky situation to be in. It's a bad situation all around.

So please understand that us non-pirates will not take chances with DRM and purchase a different game instead.

As someone who has spent money on games that ended up giving me issues or not working on my PC, "fool me once..."

 

[Volourn]

L0L CEOs, owners, and main guys in all sort sof business make tons of money. That proves nothing. This doesn't change the fact that theft is theft and piracy *is* theft. Making it immoral. Period.

Also, thread title says it all:

Great job, BIO! For making some fo the bestest games of all time. Period.

 

[Korgan]

L0L CEOs, owners, and main guys in all sort sof business make tons of money. That proves nothing. This doesn't change the fact that theft is theft and piracy *is* theft.

WTF. You clearly need to play more Liberal Crime Squad.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

Yeah, Volly, it's funny how most of the revenue games make doesn't go to the developers of those games (they've already gotten paid most of what they're getting). Your money isn't going towards them when you buy a game; it's going to "main guys". They already have tons of money, and their desperate attempts to grab as much more of it as possible is annoying when it goes as far as screwing over the people who already bought the game.

I'm not even trying to justify piracy. I'm just saying it's retarded to think it's acceptable for fat cats to treat their customers like bitches with shitty copy protection that doesn't even work, just so they can perhaps make a tiny bit more money so they can buy that gold-plated shark tank bar for their pool, instead of waiting for a few months. Or maybe they are in fact smart if idiots keep on buying their games.

 

[Volourn]

It's really simple. You don't like giving money to rich people don't buy the games. Dumbass. Also, it should be noted, the people who 'suffer' first, and most usually if a game/product/service does poorly are the 'small people. The guys at the top tend to be the last to feel negative effects.

That said, it's not about charity. If you don't like a game or a company's policies; you have a simple choice - buy or don't buy. Both are morally acceptable. Stealing soemthing is NOT.

It's a video game. Not food. You won't die fi you don't get it. If you absolutely have to play x game then fork over the fuckin' cash, be a grown up, and put your chin up. Stop being a scummy thief deserving of only spit!!!

P.S. the rvenue of the game does go to the devloeprs, and what not. That's how their salaries are paid. Their salaries, afterall, don't grow on trees.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

You don't like giving money to rich people don't buy the games. Dumbass.

It's not about not liking giving money to rich people or not. Dumbass. It's about disagreeing with this retarded business practice. I don't care if rich people get my money, as long as they treat me like a customer should be treated.

And I didn't say I download games either, dumbfuck. R00FLES!

 

[The Rambling Sage]

When VO sides with the pirates, even if just by accident and chance, you start to think maybe the world is really about to end by means of a huge, green, tentacular case of culture shock.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

Well I'm not really siding with them. I'm just saying I don't think they have this apocalyptic effect on the gaming (or music) industry that head ponchos like to tell us. I still think games should be payed for if you intend to use them for your entertainment.

 

[Sir_Brennus]

Not that there's much point to my saying so, but hey -- this wouldn't be the internet if everyone didn't feel the need to throw their two cents into the pool.

Not trying to get on your nerves, kind Sir, but would you care to answer my tiny questions on page 4?

Please, please with sugar on top? I swear I won't cancel my preorder.

 

[Volourn]

I perosnally don't give a shit how piracy effects or doesn't effect the industry. It's wrong no matter what. hell, I don't care if someone could prove that piracy actually incrase sales (some actually make that argument, lol); piracy is still theft hence it is wrong. Period.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

It's really simple. You don't like giving money to rich people don't buy the games. Dumbass. Also, it should be noted, the people who 'suffer' first, and most usually if a game/product/service does poorly are the 'small people. The guys at the top tend to be the last to feel negative effects.

That said, it's not about charity. If you don't like a game or a company's policies; you have a simple choice - buy or don't buy. Both are morally acceptable. Stealing soemthing is NOT.

It's a video game. Not food. You won't die fi you don't get it. If you absolutely have to play x game then fork over the fuckin' cash, be a grown up, and put your chin up. Stop being a scummy thief deserving of only spit!!!

P.S. the rvenue of the game does go to the devloeprs, and what not. That's how their salaries are paid. Their salaries, afterall, don't grow on trees.

Here comes Volly to the rescue, Biowares first class Clown.

I perosnally don't give a shit how piracy effects or doesn't effect the industry. It's wrong no matter what. hell, I don't care if someone could prove that piracy actually incrase sales (some actually make that argument, lol); piracy is still theft hence it is wrong. Period.

If he's gonna go to heaven I prefer Mr. Satan's company.

 

[Castanova]

I'd like to see numbers reported on how much time/money it cost for EA to develop, place, and support this copy protection scheme on Mass Effect. Between the development costs and the upkeep, I'd estimate that 5-10 people who would otherwise contribute to the betterment of the actual product lost their jobs.

 

[Volourn]

This has nothing to dow ith BIO, fucknut. Thi is true even when dealing with companies I dislike like Bethesda. I don't like their games so i don't buy them. I most certainly don't steal them. Dumbnutz.

Fuckin' thief apologists cna be just as bad as actual thieves! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111

 

[obediah]

I only meant to comment on those people who feel they have the right to play a game they haven't paid for, and now hold up DRM as justification-- as if "sticking it" to us greedy types makes them somehow heroic instead of greedy types themselves. Do what you think you must, but at least own up to it. It doesn't make it right, but at least it's not pathetic

We don't live in a world of moral absolutes. Shades of grey and all that. Piracy is only as wrong as society thinks it is. And it's safe to say that society finds PC game piracy a little less offensive today than it did before the ME release. Piracy may be a bad thing, but people don't mind as much when bad things happen to bad people ( Bioware and ME in this case ). And for the people that paid for ME and now have to download a crack to play it, I hope they have the good sense to just pirate the next game. Bioware has no qualms about stealing $50 from them, so why shouldn't they return the favor?

You seem like a reasonable guy. Please startall conversations with anyone at EA with 'Hey. I had this great idea. We should make games for people that buy them! If we treat our customers as customers rather than collateral damage in our war with piracy public opinion will shift our way. People that get what they pay for are more likely to pay!"

And while we're owning up to things, I'm waiting for the post from Bioware acknowledging that they took a shot at pirates, missed completely and instead hit paying customers. Since everyone knew this would happen, also please let us know whether or not you're just plain retarded, or knew that paying customers were going to be fucked and didn't care. Also explain how EA's support has once again completely failed to live up to it's promise, and never will live up to it. Finally, you might as well fess up that when EA grows tired of this failed securerom scheme, that the activation servers will be retired, and there won't be any special patches developed - because EA will have no financial incentive to.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

This has nothing to dow ith BIO, fucknut. Thi is true even when dealing with companies I dislike like Bethesda. I don't like their games so i don't buy them. I most certainly don't steal them. Dumbnutz.

Fuckin' thief apologists cna be just as bad as actual thieves! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111

Fuck you Volly, you are nothing more then a MORON taking a moral high-ground. It makes me sick when I see your "pussy" tag.

 

[Volourn]

"Bioware has no qualms about stealing $50 from them, so why shouldn't they return the favor?"

Lie. BIO didn't steal anyone's $50. People chose to spend it. Dumbass.

 

[Castanova]

It is a form of stealing if people paid the $50 under false pretenses - the pretense that the game would actually work properly and as games have worked historically.

 

[Sir_Brennus]

It is a form of stealing if people paid the $50 under false pretenses - the pretense that the game would actually work properly and as games have worked historically.

So, then we do agree that Troika did that with all the three games they made?