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Honey and Carrots - Anti-Piracy, P2P, Used Games and beyond

ceo@secureplay.com (SecurePlay) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:04:29 -0700

The most important lesson of Facebook is that a lot of people will trade their sensitive personal information for a virtual hat.

Game companies regularly have trouble ENFORCING good behavior. DRM systems being the most extreme examples, but also dealing with cheating and, in a recent incident, using your customers as a peer-to-peer distribution system.

Givem' a hat. or an affiliate program, or a referral reward, or a contest, or a coupon.

Transparent rewards for good behavior - carrots and honey - can encourage good behavior and be a great marketing tool. The key is that the rewards be real and that they are not substitutes for services that users expect from the game (the danger of charging for multi-player and Project $10).

"Game Publishers Using Stealth P2P Clients", http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/03/2047247/Game-Publishers-Using-Stealth-P2P-Clients

B. Parfitt (2010), "THQ talks premium online multiplayer, tackling pre-owned impact", http://www.mcvuk.com/news/40360/THQ-talks-premium-online-multiplayer-tackling-pre-owned-impact

M. McWhertor (2010), "Machinarium Maker Offers Amnesty To The 85% Of People Who Pirated Their Game", http://kotaku.com/5606886/machinarium-maker-offers-amnesty-to-the-85-of-people-who-pirated-their-game

KEEPING SCORE: Poker is a Game of Luck in Switzerland, Ohio struggles with Skill Slots

ceo@secureplay.com (SecurePlay) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 07:36:53 -0700

The Swiss Supreme Court has ruled that poker is a game of luck in Switzerland and can only be played in casinos.

Meanwhile, the Ohio House has introduced a bill to regulate "skill games" (mostly games similar to slot machines, but with some element of skill).

There are some interesting public policy questions implied by a game played for money that may need to be considered:

1. How do you prevent money laundering?
2. How do you handle addiction / problem gaming? Do you?
3. What age limits or verification are appropriate?
4. How do you ensure the integrity of the game, skill or luck?
5. How do you ensure the integrity of the game operator?
6. If there is a game machine or software, who validates its integrity?
7. What the __ is a game of skill and how do you "prove" that a game as implemented is actually a game of skill?

E. Engeler (2010), "Swiss crack down on Texas hold 'em matches", http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g49nVKzWWNq_7AJOjVIjuC34WBYQD9G348UG1

J. Nash (2010), "Ohio House tackles 'skill' games", http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/06/02/copy/house-tackles-skill-games.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

NOTED: Virgin gets into Tournament and Skill Games

ceo@secureplay.com (SecurePlay) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:23:04 -0700

There are substantial rumors that Virgin / Virgin Gaming is getting into the the skill / tournament games business for money & prizes.

If so, this will be the most serious move by a larger company into the skill games business.

It looks like the early games being considered are conventional console games. While this may be good for yielding a larger number of games, these games were not designed for this environment. Cheating is a much bigger issue, of course, and the bigger the prizes and cash, the larger the incentives for abuse... and the very fact that the games are being played over a network also increases the risks.

J. Fletcher (2010), "Virgin Gaming to offer online game tournaments", http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/01/virgin-gaming-to-offer-online-game-tournaments/

"Virgin Gaming - ModNation Racers - Tournament Details", http://virgingaming.com/modnation/details

NOTED: Namco Bandai backs Ubisoft's Continuous Connection Strategy

ceo@secureplay.com (SecurePlay) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:21:15 -0700

Namco Bandai's CEO has come out in support of Ubisoft's Continuous Connection strategy for fighting game piracy.

The re-engagement of the game industry on the issue of piracy is interesting to note - last year, it looked like DRM was on its last legs and everyone was moving to very loose policies for their PC games. It could be the economic hard times for the industry has a whole or a re-emphasis on PC games (or the first move in abandoning PC games) by the major game publishers.

Of course PC games outside of the major publishers are in more than a bit of a renaissance. The vibrant MMO market, the up & coming social games market, and a growing range of indie games that are optimized for the PC, not to mention classic PC titles from Valve and Blizzard perhaps making the traditional game publishers rethink their PC game strategies.

B. Parfitt (2010), "Namco backs Ubisofts DRM", http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39196/Namco-backs-Ubisofts-DRM

Piracy vs. Used Games - Charging for Online Play

ceo@secureplay.com (SecurePlay) — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:29:22 -0700

THQ and Ubisoft are apparently considering joining EA in their strategy to fight used games by charging for online play (EA's Online Pass requires a $10 fee to pay if the game is pre-purchased).

Of course the "Used Game" market has been fueled by the very same focus on consoles that virtually every major publisher has embraced - reducing the number of platforms that need to be supported and making the game play experience virtually an "instant on" proposition is good for development, good for a customer experience, and an enabler of easy used games.

Is the game industry fighting used games because it is possible?

In some sense, the rise of the "anti-used game" movement has corresponded with the rise of online play and value-added, post initial sales services. In the last generation of consoles, used games were not seen as a huge problem because there was nothing that COULD be done about them. Nintendo is still more focused on piracy than used game, perhaps because of its lack of focus on online services.

Certainly, the book industry, at least until very recently, had no real concern with the "Used Book" market, or even libraries, except as a peripheral argument.

In some sense, the used game market problem also corresponds to the relatively high prices paid for used games (compared to used books) and that the experience doesn't "deteriorate" (say, as with a "musty" used book).

Of course, locking out online play makes piracy worse as online services are one of the best ways to battle pirates by forcing game copies to be legitimate.

There are other anti-piracy and anti-used game strategies. Collectors editions can work. Ultra mega collectors editions that are true and truly limited editions create substantial additional value for modest cost. The problem with the collector edition strategy as implemented by most game companies is that the collector's editions are pretty cheap. They don't offer much of a perceived value and seem to be done without any passion.

I spent some time on the Nine Inch Nails' promotion strategy in my book Protecting Games as well as other collectors edition and promotional strategies. My sense is that different versions of a game can be used as a quite powerful anti-piracy and anti-used game service by creating real value for customers and real scarcity.

B. Dutka (2010), "More Publishers Looking To Charge For Online Play", http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/7120.html

B. Parfitt (2010), "SCEA frustrated by pre-owned sales", http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39128/SCEA-frustrated-by-pre-owned-sales