It's Sad That It's Newsworthy When An Entertainment Industry Exec Decides Not To Sue Customers
from the sign-of-the-times dept
In noting that the Entertainment Software Association (the ESA) had hired the RIAA's VP in charge of its litigation strategy, we wondered if the ESA was going to ramp up lawsuits against customers. After all, over in the UK, there's been news about law firms suing hundreds for file sharing games. But, in the comments, someone pointed to an interview with the boss of EA Sports, Peter Moore, saying that he doesn't think it's a good idea to follow the RIAA's litigious path:"I'm not a huge fan of trying to punish your consumer... I think there are better solutions than chasing people for money. I'm not sure what they are, other than to build game experiences that make it more difficult for there to be any value in pirating games."Of course, he also does make some other comments that suggest he very much views it as an "us vs. them" sort of thing, rather than looking for potential win-win solutions:
"We absolutely should crack down on piracy. People put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into their content and deserve to get paid for it. It's absolutely wrong, it is stealing."That's a bit of a mixed message, but at least it sounds as though EA is not anxious to sue its customers -- and, of course, EA is a major member of ESA, so hopefully it can help keep ESA away from going down this path as well. The next step would be starting to figure out ways to set up better business models that use so-called "piracy" to the company's advantage. Those will come eventually. In the meantime, though, how sad is it when it's newsworthy that an entertainment industry exec says he doesn't think suing customers is a good idea?
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Filed Under: esa, peter moore, piracy, suing customers
Companies: ea, esa
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huh?
yet you write about it anyway?
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Re: huh?
yet you write about it anyway?
Yes, it can be both newsworthy and sad that it's newsworthy at the same time.
I shouldn't write about newsworthy stuff that's sad?
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EA really surprises me sometimes
The one thing that they don't seem to "get," however, is how much people tend to despise DRM after they learn a thing or three about it (or get horribly burned by it). The whole SecuROM issue is just...nasty.
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Re: EA really surprises me sometimes
I guess something could also be said about their tactics against other publishers of sports games, taken right out of the old-school Microsoft business handbook, but since I don't care for sports games anyway (I'd rather play the real thing), I usually let that slide. I still miss Sega Sports, though.
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Sad, but true.
I think Microsoft has part of a good idea in the Zune Marketplace. Users pay a monthly fee, download as much music as they want and they can share it freely with other Zune users. But they need to nix the DRM. Treating it as a content delivery system as opposed to a music store could be a huge win for all parties. Artists can promote themselves through the power of social networking and cut the middle man out (RIAA).
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(hint : you don't need to read or blog on stuff that you don't think is news).
"That's a bit of a mixed message.." no it doesn't it just shows someone trying to understand the whole scheme of things rather than just adopting one fixed point of view and insisting you are expert, like some bloggers do.
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Re:
No, not at all. It's got nothing to do with the fact that they reported it or that it was reported. It *IS* newsworthy. The comment on it being "sad" is a societal thing. It's sad that such things are so *rare* in society that it's newsworthy.
no it doesn't it just shows someone trying to understand the whole scheme of things rather than just adopting one fixed point of view and insisting you are expert, like some bloggers do.
It is very much a mixed message to say on one hand that they won't punish customers, but at the same time they want to "crack down" on what customers are doing.
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Good business strategies already exist
- Create great online multiplayer experiences. Most standalone games can't connect to the multiplayer servers if they are pirated, and many online-only games require a monthly subscription to said servers (ongoing revenue).
- Create physical peripherals that are integral to the gaming experience (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, that dancing game, etc)
- Offer downloadable extras for an additional cost. Xbox Live seems to offer a plethora of pay add-ons.
With enough of these types of innovations, it seems to me that many games could soon be given away free, or close to free, with the complimentary goods providing the revenue.
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The saddest part is that Moore doesn't get it AT ALL: paying customers aren't even figured into his equation - and that's what makes it newsworthy.
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EA > RIAA for certain, but still not perfect
On the other hand, they both still use DRM to inconvenience their legitimate customers as much as possible while the true pirates get to enjoy DRM-free versions without the arbitrary limitations or crippling. They need to realize that even a minor irritant, if experienced long enough, will drive people crazy. As proof consider ancient Chinese authorities used water dripping slowly on the forehead of captives as a form of torture. It wasn't fast, but it was highly effective.
The RIAA is finding out their customers hate being tortured (although they still can't grasp that THEY are the source of the problem). The game industry is experiencing the early symptoms of the same problem. From what I can see, it will only get worse for both industries.
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Don't kid yourselves, EA is still evil.
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Re:
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How the hell is this “a mixed message”? First off, I DO NOT condone or condemn file-sharing, piracy, or whatever you want to call it. But for you or anyone else to suggest a company (small or large) consider “better business models“ in order to take advantage of “so-called piracy” is one of the most absurd things I’ve heard of.
What do you expect EA to do? If they sue, they’re greedy bastards. When they raise prices, they’re greed bastards. When they talk about ways to stop piracy, they’re greedy bastards. I don’t get it. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
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Re:
First he says that they won't attack their customers, and then he says they need to crack down on what the customers want to do. That's very much a mixed message.
But for you or anyone else to suggest a company (small or large) consider “better business models“ in order to take advantage of “so-called piracy” is one of the most absurd things I’ve heard of.
Why? If doing so enables them to be better off for it, why shouldn't they?
What do you expect EA to do? If they sue, they’re greedy bastards. When they raise prices, they’re greed bastards. When they talk about ways to stop piracy, they’re greedy bastards. I don’t get it. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
Has it occurred to you that there are other options? It's not damned if you do, damned if you don't. There are models they can adopt that don't put them at odds with their customers.
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Peter Moores job
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I don't see it that way
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Link Back
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080814/0222171973.shtml
EA needs to take a lesson from that guy.
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Re: Link Back
Or stardock who as a long time application developer (newer game developer) have expressed surprised, confusion and even horror at the way customers are treated by EA and other "big time" ESA members. Stardock has a totally different take on this and as I recall in response to the measures taken by EA and others the Stardock CEO once said; "its like they dont realize they make software".
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Logic Problem
It sounds like Peter Moore is all for going after the pirates of their games that are NOT customers (for example pirates that make bulk black-market copies) but would like to see the line drawn at individuals that just want to play their games.
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