Gerstmann is a reddit superstar

http://redd.it/p317w

#2 Post on the front page right now. A quote from his "Jar time videos" Also, he has one hell of a rock star pose.

I believe it's spelled "Ghjeurstghmawnnn"

That is a pretty badass rockstar pose.

So I go to Reddit and find a post related to Giant Bomb. Cool! I come to Giant Bomb, post relating to Reddit relating to Giant Bomb! Sweet. :3

Also, yes that is an amazing pose.

@Zephyria: Its a infinite loop of Giantbomb!

He said that? He's right - convenience is everything.

An effective way of punishing piracy without inconveniencing customers wouldn't go amiss either though. I do believe people have a responsibility to pay for something if they want it. However, as soon as the tough approach makes the pirated version in any way better than the legit option then it becomes counterproductive and a complete waste of time and resources.

I always knew this day would come.

Everything he said is correct. That quote hits the nail right on the head.

Reddit is one of the worst sites on the internet.

@Jimbo:

Duder's right!

@oatz said:

Reddit is one of the worst sites on the internet.

He's completely right.

@Animasta said:

@oatz said:

Reddit is one of the worst sites on the internet.

He said that? He's right - convenience is everything.

An effective way of punishing piracy without inconveniencing customers wouldn't go amiss either though. I do believe people have a responsibility to pay for something if they want it. However, as soon as the tough approach makes the pirated version in any way better than the legit option then it becomes counterproductive and a complete waste of time and resources.

The man should write a book

@AhmadMetallic said:

@Jimbo said:

He said that? He's right - convenience is everything.

An effective way of punishing piracy without inconveniencing customers wouldn't go amiss either though. I do believe people have a responsibility to pay for something if they want it. However, as soon as the tough approach makes the pirated version in any way better than the legit option then it becomes counterproductive and a complete waste of time and resources.

Gabe Newell said the exact same thing like 5 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87pevh2Q0hg#t=3m31s

Yeah I thought I had heard a similar argument before. Great minds think alike! Or rather, good logic leads to similar results.

This is a strange happening.

You finally made it, Jeff! :P

While the quote is not really anything that novel in our sector, it's an almost revolutionary concept that seems to resonate with a lot of people. Hopefully, that quote being at the top of Reddit will allow for some of my friends who haven't been to Giant Bomb to understand why I love this site so much.

I can't decide on whether or not that picture is supposed to be supporting his views, or just making fun of them. I agree with the sentiment though, he has stated the case for piracy a couple of times in those jar videos, and he's right. Give people an effective and convenient platform , and they'll abide. There will always be piracy, but I'd like to think most will be willing to pay for a good service.

Netflix is a great case in point, its only recently been brought over to the UK and I've seen multiple people complaining about the selection. They would like to use the service, but in comparison to the US catalogue its severely lacking. The intent (to pay) is there, it just needs better execution. I mean a lot of well known US sitcoms/shows never see the light of day over here, despite being well received. The only feasible way some of its fan base could have viewed these shows is by committing piracy, not that I condone it, but you can easily see the other side of the equation.

@Jimbo: Agreed, although I still do run up against problems when trying to find certain shows/films, particularly when a prohibitive cost is slapped on anything that I attempt to import through legal means.

@WatanabeKazuma: I agree at this point....like pirating almost seems like way more effort. With things like spotify, netflix and steam I have zero need to pirate anything. There are good legal and convenient alternatives to just about everything now days.

@AhmadMetallic said:

@Jimbo said:

He said that? He's right - convenience is everything.

An effective way of punishing piracy without inconveniencing customers wouldn't go amiss either though. I do believe people have a responsibility to pay for something if they want it. However, as soon as the tough approach makes the pirated version in any way better than the legit option then it becomes counterproductive and a complete waste of time and resources.

Gabe Newell said the exact same thing like 5 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87pevh2Q0hg#t=3m31s

Was just about to mention this. And for anyone that doesn't like links...

Sweet! Can't wait to read all the unknowingly racist/anarchist/uninformed comments with hundreds of upvotes!

But can't we also get it trending on TWITTER?

He's totally right. I remember a game not too long ago that came riddled with frustrating DRM and the pirated version didn't have any, so... the pirated version was superior in quality in the consumer's eyes than the commercial product. When your own release is second in quality to a hacked release... you need to fix something in your design.

Most people don't WANT to pirate. Most people are FANS of the stuff they're pirating. They pirate when they feel divorced from their content in some way, be it cost or accessibility. Mending that divorce is what leads to ending piracy.

Yeah it's not really a new argument, it's just that the industry still often seems hell-bent on minimising piracy, when the only thing that should matter to them is maximising sales. Minimising piracy and maximising sales are not necessarily the same thing, and each calls for a different approach.

You hear Ubisoft claiming success because their piracy rates are way down since they brought in always-on DRM. That may be true, but it's also irrelevent if the price they're paying for it is less sales than they would otherwise have had. The way they keep flip-flopping on their DRM policy suggests that they themselves aren't sure about whether their approach is actually helping or hurting (personally, I suspect the latter).

Anyone else catch the irony that the quote was taken from a subscriber only video?

Now if Jeff only says something super pro-athiest

Awesome.

People commenting on how great the Whiskey Media sites are put a smile on my face.

Saw that was pretty cool. Why do people hate reddit around here, I find it funny and informative at times and fills up my spare time when I'm bored.

I wrote this a couple of years ago - as you can see it was a pretty hot topic at the time! ;)

http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion/30/the-piracy-problem-from-the-perspective-of-a-paying-pc-gamer/392384/

I understand the logic behind it, but I am not sure I can fully support those views. It's easier to just steal something and walk out of a store than to wait in a line and pay for it, but does that mean stores have the responsibility to make it easier to pay for something then to steal it? Noone is blaming stores for tagging products and using alarms, even though it could be viewed as them not trusting their paying customers.

I know that piracy is the hard reality, and if there are better ways to battle it than inconveniencing people who do pay for your product I am all for it, but it does not excuse people stealing stuff. I know it's not what he means, but people will take his comments as "See, as long as publishers make it hard for us to buy something it's ok to steal it.". Many people will rather click 10 times to get something for free, then pay $60 for it even if they can buy it with one click. Not everyone has the deep pockets or poor financial impulse control that Jeff seems to have.

That is an absolutely fantastic quote. Jeff deserves his internet celebrity.

@EnchantedEcho said:

Saw that was pretty cool. Why do people hate reddit around here, I find it funny and informative at times and fills up my spare time when I'm bored.

People seemingly hate a lot of things around here for no reason...you get used to it

@DrFidget said:

Anyone else catch the irony that the quote was taken from a subscriber only video?

No, because they are offering the exact kind of business model he's advocating: easy to use, and worth the money.

Giantbomb.com:

• New Yorker recommended
• Time Magazine top website
• Quoted on the front page of reddit once

How far we've come.

Go Jeff!

Yep, Steam is a great example where making a purchase actually saves you a tonne of effort when compared to pirating.

Awesome, it's spot on, really.

@Dtat: My point was more towards the fact that his advice was re-posted for free on reddit.

CATSSOPARONPAULATHEISM4CHANSTOLENCONTENT

In all seriousness it's nice I guess. Not a fan of their gaming forums but quite a few subreddits are awesome.

Giantbomb dot-com? What's that?

@Demoskinos said:

@Jimbo:

Is that what Jar Time is?

@DarthOrange: Yes sir... you send jeff questions and jeff answers said questions via video and posts them. He often has some really good points. One of my favorite subscriber videos.

@DarthOrange: Yep, pretty much Jeff riffing on various subjects, games and otherwise. Oh, and proclaiming that all your parents WILL DIE!

Even though I loathe Reddit that's pretty cool I guess.

@Demoskinos: @WatanabeKazuma:

That might be enough to get me to subscribe when I come into some money, why don't they show small previews of what that subscriber stuff is?

I think it's pretty sad that this sort of thing even has to be said. So many companies now build their business practices around the idea of inconveniencing consumers are much as possible out of some misplaced fear in a lack of prophets. Meanwhile the pirates just laugh their asses off and continue getting the better experience. Nonetheless awesome quote from Jeff.

@WatanabeKazuma said:

Netflix is a great case in point, its only recently been brought over to the UK and I've seen multiple people complaining about the selection. They would like to use the service, but in comparison to the US catalogue its severely lacking. The intent (to pay) is there, it just needs better execution. I mean a lot of well known US sitcoms/shows never see the light of day over here, despite being well received. The only feasible way some of its fan base could have viewed these shows is by committing piracy, not that I condone it, but you can easily see the other side of the equation.

The opposite is true for UK shows. I used to pirate Doctor Who and Skins because it would take months to a year for the episodes to come out over here, if at all.