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Jaz
Late Night Spook
Joined: 20 Jan 2002
Posts: 9708
Location: RPGDot |
| Gothic II Copy Protection and Marketing Campaign |
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Hello folks, if you're interested - we have some news on the Gothic II copy protection and the massive marketing campaign JoWooD will launch in Germany. Just click on the link to get to GothicDot's news section.
Click me!
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Jaz |
Sat Nov 16, 2002 1:11 pm |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
Wow! Looks like they don't mean to drop the ball this time around! 
_________________
Freeeeeeedom! Thank heavens it's summer!
What do I have to show for my hard work? A piece of paper! Wee!
=Guardian, Moderator, UltimaDot Newshound=  |
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Sat Nov 16, 2002 2:34 pm |
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Rendelius
Critical Error
Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 16
Location: Austria |
As far as I know, they used this copy protection with their game Wild West of Far West. It got cracked one week before release.
I understand the need to protect the property of a developer/publisher. But it is us loyal customer paying the price. The copy protection lowers the performance of the game by 10-15%.
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Rendelius
former Senior Editor RPGDot
now at http://www.theastronomers.com |
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Sat Nov 16, 2002 2:46 pm |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
Yes, the copy protection, or was it only a very similar one?, was used on Industry Giant II and Far West.
The connection between considerably higher sales numbers and the existence of a copy protection has been proven in a study some time ago. I might be wrong here but I think Blizzard was responsible for the study.
Of course the copy protection will be cracked. A German company even announced a new program claiming they guarantee whoever bought Gothic II will difinitely be able to backup the original CDs! 
The developer and the publisher are fighting an uphill battle against crackers. The idea behind the modified SecuROM is:
-Of course it will be cracked, but every single day it takes is worth a lot of money.
-Crackers, etc. can be ignored because they arenīt interested in the game itself.
-The standard programs arenīt able to copy it (yet). So at least Joe Average will give up after a few toasted CDRs. People who buy an Aldi PC will hardly know where to find the noCD patch the crackers created.
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Webmaster GothicDot |
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Sat Nov 16, 2002 3:11 pm |
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Urnakh
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 03 Jun 2002
Posts: 49
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I hate this darn, worthless copy protections(especially secureROM). It's ridiculous that i, a 'paying' customer, have to play some games with performance losses and have to have the CD inserted every time i want to play, while a sofware pirat has none of this problems. |
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Sat Nov 16, 2002 5:00 pm |
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Remus
Overgrown Cat
Joined: 03 Jul 2002
Posts: 1657
Location: Fish bowl |
Why still unable to create a anti-privacy schemes that won't cause performances loss and reading problems on certain CR-ROM/DVD-ROM? It is unavoidable because of the constant CD checking mechanisms?
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Sat Nov 16, 2002 7:53 pm |
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SirDeity
Gothic's Loyal Hero
Joined: 14 Jan 2002
Posts: 602
Location: Maine, USA |
Is the U.S. the capital of software piracy? I'm thinking maybe releasing the game late in the U.S. might be a strategic move, based on the assumption that they'll make more money by delaying the outpour of piracy.
If designers already know that it will be cracked eventually, then they should just have faith in their loyal consumers and don't worry about copy protection. Copy protection may guarantee a larger initial income, but lets face it, the designers put a lot into this game. Its a shame that they feel obligated to resort to something that will inevitably take away from the gaming experience for their loyal fans. I could understand if it were a permanent insurance. How long will the protection last? One week maybe?
Bottom line, crackers are best left ignored.
Gorath - "People who buy an Aldi PC will hardly know where to find the noCD patch the crackers created."
 Careful bro  You never know what scum could read this text and turn around, next thing you know they type in "noCD patch Gothic 2" at google... 
Gothic's Loyal Gate Keeper, SirDiety. |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 3:59 am |
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SirDeity
Gothic's Loyal Hero
Joined: 14 Jan 2002
Posts: 602
Location: Maine, USA |
Gorath - If you agree with my last statement, then delete/edit my post, and edit yours. Lets not educate the ignorant. 
Gothic's Loyal Gate Keeper, SirDiety. |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 4:05 am |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
quote:
Originally posted by SirDiety
Is the U.S. the capital of software piracy?
Nope, the Asia/Pacific area is. In fact, the U.S. isn't even in the top 25 countries with the highest rate of piracy. The U.S. and U.K have the lowest piracy rates at 25% in 2001. (No numbers for 2002 yet)
Info from the Business Software Alliance.
_________________
Freeeeeeedom! Thank heavens it's summer!
What do I have to show for my hard work? A piece of paper! Wee!
=Guardian, Moderator, UltimaDot Newshound= |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 7:57 am |
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hwfanatic
Average Fanatic
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 2850
Location: Belgrade, Serbia |
quote:
Originally posted by Val
quote:
Originally posted by SirDiety
Is the U.S. the capital of software piracy?
Nope, the Asia/Pacific area is. In fact, the U.S. isn't even in the top 25 countries with the highest rate of piracy. The U.S. and U.K have the lowest piracy rates at 25% in 2001. (No numbers for 2002 yet)
Info from the Business Software Alliance.
This is quite logical, if you think about it..
The piracy is more developed in less developed countries 
In some countries, like mine, piracy was the only option(till a few months ago), and people who normaly wouldn' t buy pirates, bought them..
You may be angry on us at the moment , but not all of us could affort the trip to Hungary.. |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 11:00 am |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
quote:
Originally posted by Val
quote:
Originally posted by SirDiety
Is the U.S. the capital of software piracy?
Nope, the Asia/Pacific area is. In fact, the U.S. isn't even in the top 25 countries with the highest rate of piracy. The U.S. and U.K have the lowest piracy rates at 25% in 2001. (No numbers for 2002 yet)
Info from the Business Software Alliance.
The BSA isnīt talking about games. 
Most tools for making exact backups or cracking copy protection are developed in Germany (!).
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Webmaster GothicDot |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 3:39 pm |
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DevilsBane
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 13 Nov 2002
Posts: 39
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LOL USA doesn't even come close to being the top piracy place. Definately its Russia, followed closely I suspect by China and other Asian countries.
Those damn Ruskies are piracy mad, in fact they are just black market mad over there Its actually a very bad place to try and buy legitimate goods from, because they are a rare thing to be had over there. You buy a DVD/Game or anything in RUssia odds are it will be a pirate of some quality
Anyway copy portection is a waste of time, never has there been one which isnt cracked before release so why bother?
At the end of the day it achieves nothing except extra cost for the company for a useless protection, and usually lots of problems for genuine customers. Lets face it the fans of a game will buy it anyway. At least I think most would.
I certaily do for the game I enjoy, I like to have a manual and maps and things with it |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 7:06 pm |
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SirDeity
Gothic's Loyal Hero
Joined: 14 Jan 2002
Posts: 602
Location: Maine, USA |
I am surprised! Its facts like that which make me proud to me an American! 
Seriously though, I remember reading a study done a couple years back. It showed on a graph the percentage of homes in the U.S. with a computer compared to other countries. If I recall correctly, I remember it showing that only one other country had a higher percentage of homes with computers in them. Anyway, I just thought it would be a logical assumption that the U.S. is home to a higher majority of "computer nerds." (Btw, I sincerely hope someday I can call myself a computer nerd - the good kind  ) I forgot to take into account the despair of deprived individuals from foreign nations. (Someone should tell those foreign pirates that Ellis Island has been out of commission for the last 59 years to be exact. Getting U.S. citizenship no longer requires you live in a cage for 6 months before being processed! Forget the California gold rush, we now have software! )
Gothic's Loyal Gate Keeper, SirDiety. |
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Sun Nov 17, 2002 10:44 pm |
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Lysander
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 09 Apr 2002
Posts: 265
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Copy protection is useless. It always gets cracked, and only costs the paying customers performance and money. If they didn't use copy protection, the game would be cheaper, and more people would actually buy it.
It astounds me that PC game makers don't see what a unique opportunity they have. They could offer full game CD images for download at a very reduced price, because there's no CD duplication, manual, box, shipping, retailer markup, etc., and many more people would buy the game; obviously the pirates are willing to download large files. |
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Mon Nov 18, 2002 2:06 am |
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Irf
High Emperor
Joined: 18 Jul 2002
Posts: 1032
Location: England |
But not everyone has a broadband connection, and even then, some games (like mafia) would still take quiet a long time |
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Mon Nov 18, 2002 2:45 am |
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