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 Gameguru Mania News - Mar,15 2007 -  
Funcom drops 'offline' PC games - briefly
(hx) 01:57 AM CET - Mar,15 2007 - Post a comment / read (13)
Funcom, the developer behind the adventure game classics The Longest Journey and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, have announced their decision to stop producing traditional, offline PC games. Funcom, who previously have mentioned MMOs and adventure games as their primary focus, blames piracy as the reason for the decision. According to Funcom's Trond Arne Aas, there had been over 200,000 illegal downloads of Dreamfall, even before its release last year. Also, he estimates that for each PC game that is sold, between 3 and 10 times as many is stolen, thus resulting in Funcom's decision to stop producing offline PC games. No info was given on the recently announced Dreamfall chapters, although given the fact that the project has already gotten financial assistance from the Norwegian Film Fund, we have all reason to believe that they are still on schedule. However, this could result in PC gamers needing to have an active internet connection in order to verify the game's authenticity.

Heh, I'd like to see them cite even the slightest proof of the numbers they claim. How are they possibly able to know that 200,000 copies of the game were downloaded or what the ratio is of bought to pirated copies?
last 10 comments:
Ozieo(09:26 AM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
Pussies, nobody is willing to play online crap.

Venom1(10:52 AM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
Funcom = asshole

Safer(11:48 AM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
I am more interested in where the hell they get their numbers. They cite download numbers here and download numbers there... but how do they get them? Plowing around trackers looking "snatched" counts?

hairball2(02:51 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
the numers is probably higher, all thou... so he is "probably" right. Funcom is a small company, and they make good games, so they need to get most out of the games, cashwise.

Online games is the bomb nowdays, wow cs anyone?!?

but episodes are the worst thing that has happend, just hate it...

Sabot(04:00 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
If the figures are 200,000 illegal downloads, then surely they would opt for retail only!?!?!?
That means that you get genuine people making an effort to go to a shop or buy from an e-tailer because THEY want THAT game.

Digital/Online piracy is the way forward for the majority of lazy assed teenagers. It's too easy to sit in a bedroom and 'steal' without any effort on their part. Whether they want the game or not, give them an opportunity to download The Sims Xmas Special and they [u:536e2aa56a]will[/u:536e2aa56a] for the sheer hell of it.

When Half -'brain'- Life 2 was released digitaly, there were thousands of 'bought' copies with stolen credit cards etc and accounts banned!

xxxx(04:40 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
Teenagers only huh? Pfff :roll: Yes lets blame teenagers and kids for all the piracy that goes on. :roll: I'm so sure you're an angel..

Nosferatu(05:04 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
Damn, I loved Dreamfall the Longest Journey so much! I don't think they'll be able to make mmo games that are as good as their offline games. Though everybody wants to make more money, so I don't blame them.

Safer(05:39 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
hairball2: Or less maybe (I'm not interested in that matter that they make kickass games and deserve to cash in on it, which they do.) - if they cite figures they need to cite sources. Semantics, sure - but it sure as hell beats the hell out of factual errors and smack talk for sympathy like others in the industry op for.

Stumpus: Et tu Stumpus? You seem affixed to the morale of piracy and how a creator deserves a right to get money out of their creation. This black and white viewpoint takes you only to extreme measures on how to counter react piracy or contra: letting it flow freely.

Instead, consider the very nature of this... "conflict" and what lies at it's base:

Piracy is the result of the universal computer where all information is reduced to 1 and 0 and a psychological laziness of the human mind. In such a system, the computer that is, the very fundamental function that makes it work is copying of 1 and 0 from one place in the system to another.

Now, developing software, which indeed is a set complex instructions - unique even, for a system which reduces all information regardless of level of complexity or uniqueness, you will and need to live with the fact that "your" information is being copied around and that there exists no kind of prevention of this which will not brake the logic of the system itself.

Considering this and the fact networking, ergo Internet, has expanded so much it is only logical to take the next step in distribution is via a direct medium instead of spending time and effort on pieces of plastic being shipped around.

By removing the matter of boxed copies and having authentication through online connections they are inflicting one of the most draconian copy protection schemes in existence, superseding the serial key. Even though loop holes from time to time have been found they gain a upper hand;

- Better copy protection control through online authentication.
- Better means of distribution.
- Cost cuts in reproduction and distribution.
- Cost cuts = Cheaper software.

This will hardly curb piracy, but combined with a better value for what you buy, this will and already has convinced many people to contribute by buying the product in question with the bonus of not needing to get their arse not even a millimeter out of their chair.

The morale of copy or to not copy is probably as weak as the attempts to stop it. I for one need not to justify that fact that I download stuff from the internet. But what I do to help the creators is what is more important - get the product "legally" if I like it buy some merch, help the community and so on.

This is essentially the key in getting customers: offer great stuff apart from the product itself. More value. Fan service.
So while downloading it, I might get the software, but not the fun, interesting, maybe even intricate stuff that comes with "the real deal".

In closing; this status quo (will it last), combined with efforts to give more value instead destroying everything with evil copy protection apparatus (Starforce... >_>), probably will level the standings in time.

The great irony is that the soon whole regional economies, maybe even a great deal of a countries economical basis will stand on immaterial property. Judging by history - our leaders do really stupid things when the word "economy" is involved (read draconian law enforcement).

By the way: piracy is NOT a youth en devour. My grand father, 69, probably downloads more then me. On the other hand, we are Swedish.

xxxx(06:30 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
Now do you see what I mean about verbal diahrea...

Genoism(06:46 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
its pretty freakin easy to find out how many people stole your damn product are you people ignorant or brain dead?
Go to any torrent site, search for the program and 99% of them will tell you how many people have stolen it. Its that fckin simple! Those numbers are probably not even CLOSE to what the actual number is, and I mean the actual number is probably way higher.

I feel for those guys, they spend years making a game(although i heard it wasn't so great) but still, fact is they invested in it, they may have made profit if people weren't asses and bought it rather then downloaded it. We'll never know of course.

All these great places are seriously going to move to online stuff for the protection or just quit and its only because people steal like no tomorrow.

Safer(06:49 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
XXXX: Indeed - but I feel better now ^^

Sabot(10:23 PM CET - Mar,15 2007 )
Yeah but it doesn't quite sound right blaming pensioners does it?

Afterall, the MASSIVE majority of illegal music and game downloads are by teenagers -period!

At the end of the day, my point was completely missed -as per usual.

quote:
genuine people making an effort to go to a shop or buy from an e-tailer because THEY want THAT game.


The main thing is if you make it an effort -for the majority- to get off their arses and BUY a physical copy, then you reduce a helluva lot of opportunistic thieves!
Now do you get what i was saying?

xxxx, what is it with you and miopia? You make no attempt to understand it -like a teenager- rather read into a post what YOU want to see and not what is implied..... :roll:

So what you are saying is the internet had nothing to do with the increase in piracy? That's bull and you know it! The majority of those illegal downloads were not by people that wanted that game : Oh the penny drops now...yes i'm talking about Dreamfall But by 'free for all' attitudes. Who think it's their god given right to steal.
Give up smoking, drinking and you would be able to easily buy a game every couple of days!!
The youth of today..pfft.

Anyway, why is it a topic about piracy brings out the 'defenders'?
I thought people could post contructive critcism? Instead of moaning and crying.
Hell i can buy whatever games i WANT, and that's because i enjoy PC gaming as my hobby -as for console games... I will buy them always second hand or in sales in shops -there is a limit!
There is of course an easy long term old solution to game prices etc and that's to NOT buy (and NOT pirate) That way games sit on shelves and end up budget and the Dev loses out -But that's too hard eh....
Nope; it's Mr&Mrs Justify-the-right-to-steal :roll:

Guys, get real and grow up!
Buy or don't buy

Safer(12:03 AM CET - Mar,16 2007 )
Stumpus> Yeah but it doesn't quite sound right blaming pensioners does it?

Afterall, the MASSIVE majority of illegal music and game downloads are by teenagers -period!

At the end of the day, my point was completely missed -as per usual.

quote:
genuine people making an effort to go to a shop or buy from an e-tailer because THEY want THAT game.


The main thing is if you make it an effort -for the majority- to get off their arses and BUY a physical copy, then you reduce a helluva lot of opportunistic thieves!
Now do you get what i was saying?

xxxx, what is it with you and miopia? You make no attempt to understand it -like a teenager- rather read into a post what YOU want to see and not what is implied..... :roll:

So what you are saying is the internet had nothing to do with the increase in piracy? That's bull and you know it! The majority of those illegal downloads were not by people that wanted that game : Oh the penny drops now...yes i'm talking about Dreamfall But by 'free for all' attitudes. Who think it's their god given right to steal.
Give up smoking, drinking and you would be able to easily buy a game every couple of days!!
The youth of today..pfft.

Anyway, why is it a topic about piracy brings out the 'defenders'?
I thought people could post contructive critcism? Instead of moaning and crying.
Hell i can buy whatever games i WANT, and that's because i enjoy PC gaming as my hobby -as for console games... I will buy them always second hand or in sales in shops -there is a limit!
There is of course an easy long term old solution to game prices etc and that's to NOT buy (and NOT pirate) That way games sit on shelves and end up budget and the Dev loses out -But that's too hard eh....
Nope; it's Mr&Mrs Justify-the-right-to-steal :roll:

Guys, get real and grow up!
Buy or don't buy

You'll have to excuse me if don't quite get your point. You don't want digital distribution because it makes more people pirate? Shiver me timbers if I stop you right there and rant you out!

So the upstanding and law abiding persona as yourself that walk down to Gamestop and buy your games are so easily swayed to download it and not pay a penny as soon as you have torrent flapped in your face?

Come on, your demographic group will always be there to buy games that you think are gold. So forcing people to walk down and buy it at a store will curve the punk ass teenagers apathic interest to download it as effective as World Wars has been in keeping down our "armed conflict mortality rate".

Question: How will you stop them from pirating? You rant about your attitude but never seem to give out a strategy of implementing this "stop" campaign of yours.

I know that you do fully understand the premise of networking and a computer machine so what have you to offer aside from a elitist attitude? How will you make people who are not there, ready to buy the game, wake up from the dream and realize that they need to get up and visit the game store?

How will you stop pirating?

I justify my crap load of words in the previous post by voting for the evolution of digital distribution.

I at least know why I act like arrogant and now annoyed elitist bastard... now show me your raison d’être to think that you know what you are talking about.

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