Warez Scene Takes A Hit

Dupre · Dec 12, 2001

Doh.. instaposted. Well, here's another article..

Interplay supposedly breaching contracts with respected developer
Blue's had some pretty interesting news yesterday regarding Interplay, recently taken over by Titus, and Canadian software developer BioWare Corp. BioWare, developer of the acclaimed Baldur's Gate series of PC RPGs as well as MDK2, has filed a lawsuit against Interplay. According to Blue's,

"BioWare alleges in its complaint that Interplay has breached two contracts with BioWare by sublicensing distribution of BioWare games to third parties without the knowledge or consent of BioWare."
Interplay's not the only one in legal hot water though. British distributor Virgin Interactive and French company Titus Interactive S.A. have also been targeted for legal action by BioWare AND Illinois-based software developer Parallax Software Corporation. In this complaint, BioWare and Parallax allege that there are "additional royalties due" to the both of them.

More on this turn of events as it unfolds. Man, Interplay's been in a lot of trouble lately.

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/articles/headlines/Games/1240/

Dupre · Dec 12, 2001

While these companies bash each other in legal action, gamers ultimately lose out because they can't release any games. I have yet to see a healthy relationship between a big publisher and a game developer that doesn't "sell out". Maybe it just doesn't exist.

MadWoffen · Dec 12, 2001

These are old news. Bioware is bluffing so far. They can't distribute NWN without the agreement of Black Isle/IPLY who owns the rights of the game.

MadWoffen · Dec 12, 2001

IPLY-Titus asking bioware 22 M$
by: distambouli 12/09/01 05:15 pm
Msg: 8043 of 8081

That's the information Eric Caen, titus CEO gave last week at a french web site (boursier.com). According to Eric Caen, Bioware is on the verge of bankrupcy, and iply will size interesting assets for a buck.

Man this is looking a chat

I only have french articles of this but Caen brothers won't let Bioware ruin the game. It's a too important product for the sake of IPLY.

Sweep · Dec 12, 2001

I must be stupid, I've never heard of DrinkOrDie.

That said I leech every single piece of software I have, and if I had to buy it I wouldn't get it at all... They're not losing any money with me at least. Now that the videogame market has surpassed the movie industry as a multi-billion dollar a year industry they can cry me a river over "lost" money to pirates anyway...

UDTSNAKE · Dec 12, 2001

For gaming companies it relly breaks down to a simplw term. An econmy of scale. If One cd cost 100,000 dollars to produce including all costs of prjects, resources, printing etc...and this number is arbatrary....then of course if you distribute and sell 50.000 of the game or whatever , the cost per cd decreases. But if in the equation some number cruncher has to take itno acount an industry standard for piracy, then this is very real and calculated in to the equation.

Now the other question is how much does piracy really effect that bottom line for the consumer...I dont see game prices going up any more than ussual....just like in the example of the music.

It is a different industry though that is way more dependent on technology....video games dont have the luxury of broascasting their stuff over the radio or MTV.

Dupre · Dec 12, 2001

Originally posted by MadWoffen
I only have french articles of this but Caen brothers won't let Bioware ruin the game. It's a too important product for the sake of IPLY.

Well, I'm expecting the same turnout as the previous examples of strife between developer and publisher. The game is cancelled and the developers are let go.

DEFkon · Dec 12, 2001

I foresee a change in PC gaming eventually.

Rather than companies making games the way they do now.
A company makes an engine and a dev kit, some modeling tools, and maybe some various animations for temp kit. No game. or a very basic on just to show off the engine ect.

They in turn just sell that in the stores at 30-60 bucks a pop.. people who buy these "kits" (modders) then make their own games and from a labor of love make a game based off that engine. In addition to the kit once the mod team registers, they'll have access to "defkon wares" for upgrades, and access to archives of various models, animations, textures, and other odd goodies.

and then selling in the stores is also a striped version without the dev kit, that just has that tech demo.. and. an account with Defkon wares, which will let you download and play other peoples mods. the striped package will run a gamer about 5-15 USD.

The change is that instead of focusing that 2 years dev time in an engine and a game, you just build a sweet engine... and let the gamers support it.

Dupre · Dec 12, 2001

Not that I'm saying Titus is wrong or Bioware is right or that. Just this situation really cramps the style of the game developers. Who can code well when your job is in limbo like that?

The_Fur · Dec 13, 2001

A company makes an engine and a dev kit, some modeling tools, and maybe some various animations for temp kit. No game. or a very basic on just to show off the engine ect.

That is how ID made its bucks, that is why people still buy UT and that is why OFP has no replay value.

Lance201 · Dec 13, 2001

may be it is a discussion about chicken and egg and wich was first, but the industry want believe us, that if piracy would stop the CDs would be cheaper. I say if the CDs (Music/Games what ever) will be cheaper piracy will cut down!!

Lance201 · Dec 13, 2001

what I wanted to say is that they have to make the first step!

phatcat · Dec 13, 2001

Lance201 · Dec 13, 2001

piracy LOL

JaFO · Dec 13, 2001

Originally posted by Lance201
what I wanted to say is that they have to make the first step!

They already have made the first step ...
PC-games have become cheaper since I got my first PC (I think I paid ƒ 150,- for civilization, IL2-Sturmovik cost ƒ 99,- that's a 33% reduction in price over the past 10 years not counting inflation and such). And then there are the 'budgetgames' if you don't want to pay for the latest title.

The problem for the industry is that they are monopolies.
You can't get UT cheaper from a competitor. You either buy UT or you don't ...

Altough reducing the prices of games might reduce the piracy, it won't eliminate it either, because when given the choice of paying or simply stealing the latter still is too easy and there are no serious disadvantages.

Still you've got to face the facts :
as hobbies go, playing games on your pc/console isn't the cheapest way of spending your time.
You don't hear anyone complain that they can't afford a F-1 car to race for a hobby. Such a person wouldn't steal a F1-car and race anyway ...
Altough he would have alternatives, there's no one who simply steals a car so they can race. (at least I don't see that happening).
Yet with games that is seen as 'acceptable' by some people ...

Lance201 · Dec 13, 2001

I paid 10.000 $ for my first IBM-PC with expansion unit!!! And now I pay only 1.000 $... so where are the games for 15 pound???

JaFO · Dec 13, 2001

hardware costs less the more advanced & widespread the technology becomes. The basic technology used to build pc's 10 years ago hasn't changed that much compared to now. We still have motherboards, CPU's, a powersupply, graphicscards (unless they've been integrated in the motherboard). ie massproduction made everything hardware-related cheaper.

The cost of producing software has increased (motion capture equipment, real actors and such) as the games themselves became more complex. The development teams grew from the two-man team to a 30+ man company with increased demands for housing & other stuff ... (that's not including the increasing cost of advertising games, marketresearch to make sure people want to have those games and all the other 'advanced' management-practices that have become the norm ...)

SoSilencer · Dec 13, 2001

I just want to see my avatar...

Kibbles-N-Bits · Dec 13, 2001

Jebus fucking Christ!! Razor pulled out!??! You gotta be fucking me. Any news on Myth and Class?? Do NOT tell me they went down. There is no fucking way...

phatcat · Dec 13, 2001

yay!! Ed-Chan!

Originally posted by SoSilencer
I just want to see my avatar...

Warez Scene Takes A Hit

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