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Developers not too worried about piracy

by Sylvie Barak on 16 November 2009, 08:51

Tags: TIGA

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Game on

While piracy may be no fun for games developers, it certainly doesn't mean game over for the developer industry, according to a recent survey by UK trade industry group, TIGA.

TIGA reported it had recently compiled feedback from its members, in order to give the development community and the British government a bit more information about how developers themselves view the threat of software piracy and the results were a tad surprising.

Whilst 60 per cent of  games developers agreed that piracy was indeed a problem - with 90 per cent noting the phenomenon would persist, if not increase in the near future - 60 per cent also noted that it would also not sink their business.

Only 20 per cent of developers saw the risks of piracy as a medium threat, whilst a minority 10 per cent were afraid that the threat to their industry was high. A further 10 per cent didn't seem to care one way or another.

Surprisingly, there was a split between developers when it came to whether or not they believed the British government should step in and try to tackle piracy by either cutting off or significantly restricting broadband to known pirates. Only 50 per cent of developers thought this was a good idea, with the other 50 per cent disagreeing with the proposed move.

Instead of letting the nanny state step in and fight their battles for them, many developers seem pragmatic and proactive enough to want to find their own ways around piracy. A full 50 per cent said they had already started thinking about different ways of doing business as a consequence of piracy, with 75 per cent of those mulling digital distribution, subscription based services and/or ad supported free games as the ways they would or could change their business models.

TIGA's CEO, Richard Wilson, said the results showed "initiative" and that developers were "not complacent in dealing with this problem." He also lauded developers for "seeking to find solutions for themselves rather than simply relying on the government to solve the problem of piracy."

"This is testament to the pragmatic approach of the industry," he concluded.

HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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Posted by badass - Mon 16 Nov 2009 13:12
Developers prepared to change their business models in a changing environment like any good business that has a future.

Music and Movie studios trying to change the world to better fit their outdated business models and actually believing they can?

Funny that. One market is increasing in size whilst another is shrinking. Guess which is which :rolleyes:


I'm currently loving digital distribution as I have an adequate broadband connection. Got a load of gamkes for less than a fiver last week in fact thanks to steam and EA.
Posted by Zhaoman - Mon 16 Nov 2009 13:16
Videogame developers are artists and although i imagine it would hurt to see their work getting copied illegally I'm sure that as long as they have a sufficient income they would rather more people experience their work through whatever means than a strict clampdown that meant much fewer people can experience it. As REM said in an interview: We would rather 100 people buy our CD and 10,000 people listen to it, than 1000 people buy our CD and only 1000 people listen to it.

Of course this would only apply to the creative developers who have put so much into their designs and creations and are passionate about their work than a purely profit driven cashcow company with a cashcow franchise…
Posted by MrPink - Tue 17 Nov 2009 13:41
Although not in the gaming industry, I am a software developer myself. I know how much time and effort goes into a large software project. While I don't like the idea of people taking the result of all my hard labour for free, I also know that ever pirated copy is certainly not a lost sale, and might even generate a future sale.

If I was a games developer I'd be more concerned about over-zealous publishers enforcing over-the-top anti-piracy systems which really annoy and turn-off the people who are actually paying for the games.
Posted by aidanjt - Tue 17 Nov 2009 14:15
Developers don't think software piracy is a threat to their livelihood? What a complete shock.

All publishing houses/record studios are rapidly becoming redundant, and should hurry up and die.
Posted by Sippin40oz - Tue 17 Nov 2009 15:36
Developers prepared to change their business models in a changing environment like any good business that has a future.

Music and Movie studios trying to change the world to better fit their outdated business models and actually believing they can?

Funny that. One market is increasing in size whilst another is shrinking. Guess which is which

I think the Music and Movie studios seem to have the wrong attitude with their products. The truth is if you create a quality product people will buy it and the company will make money. They seem to still be holding onto the old business model of if it sells lets copy it again and make as much money as possible. I guess they have had it easy for so long that they are upset they have to work for their profits now!! Its refreshing to see game developers have really grasped the changing markets and are looking to the future instead of constantly complaining how things are not how they used to be!

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