Gabe - Piracy non issues for Steam.

[BaRRaKID]

":1lc5hx12]I still don't understand how come it's cheaper to order a game from Amazon than it is to buy it from steam, shipping included..

That has been explained before, but the publishers are the ones that set the prices on steam, so it's not entirely valves fault, except for that policy they have (had?) that dollars=euros, so a 50$ game costs 50€ when it should cost around 35€.

As to why the publishers charge as much (or more) for a digital copy as for a retail copy, I believe it's made so that the perceived value of the product doesn't change (which is also one of the reasons I think the latest COD games are doing so well). Basically, if you give a uninformed consumer two similar products the one with the highest price will always be perceived as being better, so if your digital copy costs less than the retail copy the consumer might think that he is buying an inferior version of the product. It's also the reason why a indie game costs much less than a AAA game. If you put the indie label on the game it's perceived value drops, so most buyers expect it to have a much lower price even if the actual quality of the game is on par with many pricier AAA games.

You can see how the perceived quality of a product changes it's price by looking at the humble indie bundle. The average price of the bundle is around $3, but there are people willing to pay more than $100 for the same product.

About piracy I still download must of my music, but that's because there are no real good music stores around here, and most online stores suck. I used to buy from a Portuguese online store, but after receiving a few albums with broken cases i started doing it less.

On the other hand my ISP provides a music streaming service for 8€ a month that I love and use. Basically you have thousands of songs that are provided via streaming. You can add them to playlists that you can then listen to on your TV, computer/laptop and smartphone. You can also download 10 musics for free each month, but if you want more you have to pay for each song. I never felt the need to dowload any songs tough because their steaming quality is great.

[Izuno]

Where broadband goes and language barriers come down, online gaming and digital game distribution follow. Sure, piracy follows, but also does legit digital game sales. I've seen the underlying data for years in countries that develop the infrastructure where content creators localize for language. China/Korea = poster child for this but so are emerging gaming markets like Brazil.

Anyway, more on topic it is all about access. Here in Los Angeles we have a Redbox everywhere and I can rent a movie for 24 hours for $1. I rent way more movies now and I don't mind if what I choose ends up sucking. I have zero incentive to pirate a movie because the service for new movies has improved greatly when I combine redbox with iTunes/Hulu or whatever other digital service there is.

So yeah, I basically agree with Gabe. Great interview.

[Puddy]

Gabe and Valve continue to do the right things and think in the right way. Love em

I may or may not pirate TV-shows because of the current distribution BS (wait 1-2 years for Swedish release... MAYBE), but everything else I do pay for. I haven't pirated a game since I was perhaps 16-17, and then it was mostly for LAN's. I go to the cinema for movies and I pay for spotify for most of my music needs (the rest I buy digitally usually).

The reason I avoid piracy is not only "ethical", so to say. I actually like that a game purchase is a decision that needs to be thought about and that not ALL content is so easily available for free at all times; it dilutes things imho. And there's always a risk that the pirated version may disrupt or interfere with the intended experience/functionality of a game which I dislike a lot. And online play is usually good to have too.

When it comes to steam, I only buy games when there's a sale. I have Webhallen nearby, which sells games, and it's usually a lot cheaper.

[ctswin]

Slightly on topic/off topic subject...but i'm kind of biased as the interview was done by my brother. Some of you guys might remember my brother, he hung around in the old days of the core with CTSwin and Hinkey.

Ax0r black / Mayco / George?! !!

[Jetsetlemming]

I download Doctor Who because I don't know of any station I get with my RCN package that airs the current episodes, especially not on time. I've actually downloaded some of the older stuff, like the 2006/7 seasons, even though I have legit access to them through Netflix streaming, so I can put them offline on my ipod

[Skacky]

":ls6gyzb4]Serious question, do you guys still download shit? Movies? Series? Music? Games?

I won't hide the fact I download music quite a lot, and when I love what I hear I order it on vinyl right away and go to the bands' gigs when they come to France, and I also buy some stuff from their merchandise. I still have a lot of vinyls to buy though, but some day I'll have them all.

I sometimes download series and movies but I haven't done that in quite some time now. The last series I downloaded was Game of Thrones because it isn't broadcasted in France yet.

I haven't downloaded a single game in ages since I usually wait for the holidays when they are a lot cheaper, and this year I think my wallet will hate me as usual. On the other hand, when games are stuffed with DRM I don't bother and just pirate them if I absolutely want to play. Otherwise I just avoid them. Punishing the honest person who pays for the game with a shitload of DRM is really a bad move. I've always liked Valve's position on piracy/DRMs and I share their opinions on the matter, but yeah the 1$ = 1€ policy on Steam can be quite bothersome when the game is just released and you absolutely want it. On the other hand, for us developers, that policy is pretty good since we can make, erm, more money.

[Jetsetlemming]

I occasionally casually pirate games that I don't REALLY want to play, but want to at least dabble in to take part in the overall gamer conversation and see what they're about, like the COD games. I played MW3 up until they laughably attempted to make controversy in the UK level, and quit, and I don't really feel like I owe Activision any money for that. I'd probably buy these games or ignore them at all if my budget was bigger, because then I'd have more work to make that extra disposable income and I wouldn't be wasting time playing tripe to get the context of videogame discussions.

Games I actually want though, like BF3 and Saints Row, I buy. This month has been super expensive. I actually wanted to upgrade my hardware but couldn't afford it yet because VIDEOGAMES. Thankfully all three of those run ok with settings turned down. Saints Row had some stutter issues until I edited the ini to turn off motion blur, but after that it's just fine. Also coop, fuck yeah!

[Taylor]

I still download TV and Radio shows, though I pay my TV License (nothing good has been on C4 for about 11 years, and nothing good has been on ITV ever). I won’t lie and say I’ve never downloaded music, but anyone I like I obsess over anyone own pretty much everything they put out - I have Giant Squid vinyl and I can’t even play it. While I was in Japanland I even tried to find some of the random doujin circle stuff I’ve 'acquired' too.

Back in the PSX era I remember getting games as presents or saving up for them. These were games I knew were awesome through magazines or tell-tale signs like “Capcom” on the box. I did get a Gameshark/PlugMod so I could import Final Fantasy Tactics (awesome) and Chrono Cross (not awesome), but everything else was legit.

At one point I went around a friend’s house and where he had a modded PS1. He stuck a pen and some blue-tac into the lid so he could manually open it, caught the disc and then got out a massive folder of CD’s with game titles in marker. Though he played things completely different; he’d throw something in, randomly stab the buttons, and then pick up something else. I remember that made me more irritated off than the piracy, though I was cool about it all.