Cluster
13th November 2004, 09:33
Looks like we will be playing this at AberLAN !! Cool.....
The gap between those who have the game and those who don't have it yet is part of what drives people to pirate games. This week, Halo 2 was released two days earlier in the US than in the UK. With the worldwide community created by the net - indeed, by Microsoft's own Xbox Live - having a bunch of your friends play a game 2 days before you can is unacceptable to many. Companies don't appear to understand that staggered worldwide releases aren't conducive to their anti-piracy cause - either give gamers the game at the same time, or put up with the fact that people will get it elsewhere. Companies can't create the amount of hype that they do then expect gamers to sit back while other people play games they can't get their hands on yet.
Which is why Valve's anti-piracy plan is such genius. I mean, it's utter, simple, calculated, but undoubted genius. Valve decided that the best way to stop piracy was simply to give everyone in the world the game at the same time. Early code to journalists? Fat chance. If journalists wanted to play the game early for reviews, Valve flew them to their offices in Seattle so they didn't have to send out copies. Online media won't get copies until the day before release to prevent leakage. But - and this is the kicker - US, UK, Italy, China, France, Germany - they all get localised versions on the same day, Tuesday the 16th, next week.
Not only that, but to beat those tricksy retail staff that pinch from the stockroom when the game arrives, they have added in an online authorisation system which means that no-one can play the game until Valve has hit an online switch that says the time is right. Whilst reports have been showing up across the net of gamers having boxed copies in their hands, no-one can play them because Valve hasn't bodged the switch-on. Perfect. |afro| |afro| |inlove| |inlove|
The gap between those who have the game and those who don't have it yet is part of what drives people to pirate games. This week, Halo 2 was released two days earlier in the US than in the UK. With the worldwide community created by the net - indeed, by Microsoft's own Xbox Live - having a bunch of your friends play a game 2 days before you can is unacceptable to many. Companies don't appear to understand that staggered worldwide releases aren't conducive to their anti-piracy cause - either give gamers the game at the same time, or put up with the fact that people will get it elsewhere. Companies can't create the amount of hype that they do then expect gamers to sit back while other people play games they can't get their hands on yet.
Which is why Valve's anti-piracy plan is such genius. I mean, it's utter, simple, calculated, but undoubted genius. Valve decided that the best way to stop piracy was simply to give everyone in the world the game at the same time. Early code to journalists? Fat chance. If journalists wanted to play the game early for reviews, Valve flew them to their offices in Seattle so they didn't have to send out copies. Online media won't get copies until the day before release to prevent leakage. But - and this is the kicker - US, UK, Italy, China, France, Germany - they all get localised versions on the same day, Tuesday the 16th, next week.
Not only that, but to beat those tricksy retail staff that pinch from the stockroom when the game arrives, they have added in an online authorisation system which means that no-one can play the game until Valve has hit an online switch that says the time is right. Whilst reports have been showing up across the net of gamers having boxed copies in their hands, no-one can play them because Valve hasn't bodged the switch-on. Perfect. |afro| |afro| |inlove| |inlove|