" I believe the main reason for piracy is the cost being so high. In Canada gomes come out for 69.99 which is extremely high, considering that it costs more than a person can make at minimum wage in one work day. So piracy is very tempting for them, if you make good money then $70 is not much and buying the game is so much more desirable. Personally being a super budget student, i only buy games that are either 39.99 or cheaper. MY most expensive purchase was Modern Warfare 2 for $50 from someone on craigslist.   SO patient and wait for the game to be cheaper, the game wont disappear over night.♠ "

" I might pirate it just to prove a point. "

" @Vade said:

" @Jimbo: Revenue mostly coming from console sales. "

Non sequitur.  It was hugely profitable on both platforms. "

"To be fair from the moment Ubisoft sent out the press release detailing their new DRM solution for upcoming titles released on the PC I think everyone felt the exact same two things. The first being this was a step backwards to the horrid draconian measures of anti-piracy and the second being the game is going to get pirated as an attempt to prove a point to Ubisoft.  I am not surprised to see this new DRM solution is cracked, did anyone really think it would never be cracked? Look at IWnet getting cracked within 24 hours of MW2's release. Steam and VAC have been cracked, although arguably Valve manage to keep it updated regularly enough to combat this effectively.  The reason most PC gamers continue to repeat the phrase of "treat us as customers, not as criminals" is because frankly we've all been gaming long enough to know that no matter what DRM or anti-piracy software a company uses, it will always be cracked. So for those honest consumers out there who bought the game these anti-piracy measures become intrusive and a hindrance to our gaming experience but we're forced to use them while the pirates are playing the same game(s) without the DRM software because they cracked it.  Arguably the biggest reason piracy exists on the PC is because the PC itself provides the option. You'll never stop people doing it, what you have to do is focus on the folks who do buy your product and make sure they get a great experience and feel like continuing to buy and support your products in the future. Mistreat the honest consumer however and you might as well just point them toward the nearest torrent site and explain how it works because that is arguably where they will go if this sort of draconian method and desire for control continues on the PC.  That or just release your game through Steam and be done with it. "

" @Jimbo said:

" @Vade said:

" @Jimbo: Revenue mostly coming from console sales. "

Non sequitur.  It was hugely profitable on both platforms. "

Nonsensical, the sales were disappointing on PC/MAC even though there's a wider market and a lot more potential customers. Piracy fucked up WoG pretty badly but of course it made a profit because of low costs and overwhelming popularity. Even though a big number of pirates won't buy the game in any case, the lack of DRM and especially advertising the lack of DRM increases piracy. Saying 'We're selling a game without DRM' WILL increase piracy and reduce sales. I don't agree at all if someone says that DRM isn't necessary or profitable when it obviously is. "

" @phrosnite said:

" So... that means that Splinter Cell and PoP: The Forgotten Sands will come out with 6 months delay after the console ones? F you pirates. You ruined PC gaming. "

I don't want to be insulting but that's a bit of an ignorant viewpoint.
 
 
@Fallen189 said:

"  http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=237724 "

Thanks for this. If Ubisoft does indeed patch the DRM out of the AC2 at a later date they will get my money 100% "

" Even as a PC gamer, I'm starting to feel like I'd rather see PC gaming die off. If people are just going to continue to pirate the games, they should stop releasing them on that platform. I'd say stick with a Steam release, but A) I'm not sure it's worth it for them to develop a whole new version of the game just for that *I guess it would depend on the game and how much they expect Steam users to fit into their demographic) and B) I'm sure Steam remains just as crackable as anything else. "

" @animateria said:

"Give incentives to paying customers instead of shackling them, ignore pirates. "

This is the solution. I don't see why there is so much emphasis on punishing everyone. Both legitimate customers and those who develop the DRM are punished. Actual customers need to jump through increasingly obscene hoops in order to play games and the publishers waste money and time developing DRM which is consistently cracked within a day or two (maybe 3).
 
Why not instead reward legitimate customers with new content? Make people want to purchase a product and make people feel positive about purchasing a product, rather than making people feel frustrated and resentful. "

Penny Arcade's done several comics on this topic, and I really feel like they nail it: 
Piracy is illegal. You can do it, but don't pretend like somehow it's NOT against the law and game developers have no right to try and stop you. 
I agree with this sentiment and, even more amusingly, they get called "anti-consumer" for it...but pirates are, by definition, the OPPOSITE of consumers. I don't care whether or not people pirate, but getting self-righteous about it is just silly.

" Penny Arcade's done several comics on this topic, and I really feel like they nail it: Piracy is illegal. You can do it, but don't pretend like somehow it's NOT against the law and game developers have no right to try and stop you. I agree with this sentiment and, even more amusingly, they get called "anti-consumer" for it...but pirates are, by definition, the OPPOSITE of consumers. I don't care whether or not people pirate, but getting self-righteous about it is just silly. "

I find this to be an entirely ridiculous stance.  Movies are pirated, TV shows are pirated and so is music in much larger numbers than PC games and yet nobody is crying the corporate shill stance that these mediums need to die.   Steam is a fine release venue for corporate and independently funded games.  Shut. Up. "

" @SeriouslyNow said: 

I find this to be an entirely ridiculous stance.  Movies are pirated, TV shows are pirated and so is music in much larger numbers than PC games and yet nobody is crying the corporate shill stance that these mediums need to die.   Steam is a fine release venue for corporate and independently funded games.  Shut. Up. "

There is a big difference between movies/music and games. The difference is choice. 
  
Out of all the things you mentioned, games are the only one where the creator can choose not to make it available on PC. It is also the only medium where the developers have to put in an extra effort to make it work on PCs. Nobody is asking for the other entertainment mediums to die on the PC because they know it's impossible due to the existence of video capture and music ripping. However, game developer can make that happen by simply not making games for PC. "

" @SeriouslyNow:  I never said DRM was the way to go, I simply said the pirate's stance of saying what they're doing is right is incorrect. "

" You realize 95% of intrusive drm does nothing to pirates and just makes the actual buyers have to jump through hoops right?  Hell I know people who have legitimately bought games THEN played the cracked version off a torrent because it had shit like Securom "

" @Killjoi said:

" @SeriouslyNow said: 

I find this to be an entirely ridiculous stance.  Movies are pirated, TV shows are pirated and so is music in much larger numbers than PC games and yet nobody is crying the corporate shill stance that these mediums need to die.   Steam is a fine release venue for corporate and independently funded games.  Shut. Up. "

There is a big difference between movies/music and games. The difference is choice. 
  
Out of all the things you mentioned, games are the only one where the creator can choose not to make it available on PC. It is also the only medium where the developers have to put in an extra effort to make it work on PCs. Nobody is asking for the other entertainment mediums to die on the PC because they know it's impossible due to the existence of video capture and music ripping. However, game developer can make that happen by simply not making games for PC. "

Mate, I hate to burst your bubble, but all developers of all console games use Windows and Linux PCs to develop them.  Not only that but the majority of these developers on consoles have working models of their products running on PC for the majority of the development cycle.  The only people who want PC to die are the corporates who want to create a landscape where they earn money at every turn and level.  Independent developers, modders and myriad creative people need PC as a game platform to survive in order to bring fresh approaches and ideas into the market.  We all need PC to thrive as a platform and by the way it does, despite what corporate shills are trying to make people believe.  The fact that PC NPD figures are no longer published does not reflect poorly on the PC as a gaming platform, it reflects poorly on how easliy NPD can be bent to certain corporate wills and desires.
 
Steams huge pickup rate over the last two fiscal years indicates that PC as a platform is nowhere near death and that's only one of many forms of retail which reaches PC.
 
The difference between what you're saying and what I'm saying is indeed choice.  I choose reality where you choose the falseness painted by corporate interests and greed.  Pirates are consumers in all mediums.  Get that through your head and then we may start to see eye to eye. "