I like the part where he pretends  you don't have to install P2P software to pirate first.

I lol'd

Sounds good, but would be less trouble to download them.

Flaws though, lol wouldnt be stealing, it would be borrowing, since you would be returning them, No?

Heh, my opinion would be the exact opposite of this. Impulse is the reason I don't pirate. When I'm bored and feel like browsing for a new game, I  check Impulse.

Then there's the occasional sales where you can get random games for 3.99 (I'm still playing Titan Quest and Dark Crusade).

I love Impulse, and my list of software purchased through that is getting quite lengthy.

Actually its funny that Publishers are now trying to copy pirates.  Now you have to have special software to download their games.  It usually requires an account.  NO CD is needed.  And the price of computer games has stayed very stable, unlike the huge price hikes that consoles are getting.  $70, puleeeease!!!

I think some of their propaganda is effective.  Look at the music industries reversal after the last decade of fighting a losing war.  I purchase games because I support the vision of the developer. 

Game developers have never gone down because a great game had poor sales (unless the publisher screwed the advertising which happens a lot, example: Nexus, Hegemonia, Age of Wonders, X3:Reunion, Dungeon Keeper 2), but because they made a flop and nobody bought it.

The only way for publishers to win the morale fight is to stop punishing us.  A over simplistic example is the american revolution as to what is happening.  The actions of a few individuals had the King put punitive taxes and punishments (search and siezure) across all the americans.  This made them all rebel.  Its what publishers are currently doing to its consumer base, just like what England did with its luxury goods to the colonies.  Pirates can't win crusades, only when you involve the honest people who would not have gotten involved if they felt they weren't forced into it do you get a small problem turn into a serious one.

DRM was irritating but tolerable through the 90's.  Windows had the worst but it wasn't awful.  Now you find you really don;t own what your are buying anymore.  This is pissing off a lot of people, esecially when a game can cost close to $100.  Add in strat guides, internet connection, etc and gaming is not a cheap habit.  Most gamers I know blow off thier steam by playing games, but when you make it harder for them to jump right in, it makes them start looking to alternatives.  Gamers aren't kids in their teens anymore.  People from 7-80 are playing them and they are generally better than uneducated.  I find 6 y.o. running through FF XII reading, counting money, etc.. so they can play games.  Most of these skills aren't even taught in school this early.  They will lose against educated resistance.

PS. I am learning a great deal by reading up in preperation for Empire: TW

If developers was European, they have need to make a lot of visit to the numerous video game store before be able to steal Sins !!!

My first version of Sins was a pirated one... only a few month after Sins release, when it have hit the local store, i have buy the boxed version... good move since only legal version is allowed for online game... Single player is great but once you have some experience, the AI suck... only a other human become the real choice...

For Entrenchment, it is the same thing... illegal version... let see, boxed version is planned for after the two next expension... to long for me...

Buying online... maybe but not with the actual option for sins... if you implement a bank transfer system, money from my account to your account... i will but it directly... All my matrix game are pay online, can only reach the download/update with serial but you can download a install/setup .exe... Impulse suck... how much people are not obligate to download again the full game and all the update if something go wrong... i have made my own installer 1.05 to 1.13... 200 mb only... it have take me a lot of time for make it but it is more easy to use that each time use impulse...

About impulse... i am a linux user and it don't work... but the old stardock central software was working on Linux... you was with a good piece of home software, and now we have a bad thing called impulse...

Pirates will not exist if people was not asking it... Why people ask it is in some case the responsabilities of the game creator/distributor... if some customer ( or potential customer ) are unhappy, seek why they are unhappy and try to resolve the problem...

Stardock is not so bad that some other compagny but not everything is perfect...don't obligate people to have IE7... in Europa, Microsoft have loose a lot of process due to his bumble system... here, microsoft media player is a option, soon it will be the same with IE and the Microsoft office xml support... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7834792.stm  ... Why impulse ? Stardock central was good... Why different boxed release date worldwide ( this was one of the main reason of piracy on video film )...

No piracy is not the final solution... but piracy will always exist ( we have thief everywhere )... but piracy will lower a lot if game creator/distributor take more care of their potential customer... Stardock is on the right track for this... but the final destination is not yet reach

I'm another one who was introduced to Sins by a pirated version from a  mate. I have bouhgt both the Original and also the bought the Entrenchment Beta as soon as I realised I could. This is a good example of how piracy can be a bonus. AS I live in Australia a lot of stuff never comes our way - except over the internet. P2P is oftent he only way to get stuff - particularly music.

AS far as games go - I find most games over priced and too limited in the approach/gameplay/expandability. I simply cannot justify spending $50-$100 on something that is really not much different than other products - brings nothing new - won't offer me different play options - and has a fixed story line that becomes boring inside 2 months.

anyway my 2 cents worth

Black Isle was a perfect example.  I loved Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale, Fallout, etc. but the last four games they made were bad to awful.  Dark Alliance 1&2, Brotherhood of Steel. and one other fallout spinoff that I can't even remember anymore.  Plus being a small developer, that had trouble upgrading the graphics of their game.  Dark alliance wasn't bad, gfx wise, but it was overshadowed by poor repetitive gameplay that was a shock coming from a developer that usually used so much depth.  Most because they used all their resources on the gfx.

I do not care what pirates think about.  The problem is what main stream people think.  As long as they are seen having the high morale ground, people will shelter and not encourage their representatives to do something about them.  Let developers seem like they are getting the short end and then people will change their support back to them and put piracy back to the small side show it was in the 90's.

Worst part is that generally, people feel like they are being treated as criminals and the pirates are just doing something about it.  Stop treating the consumers as if everyone is criminal just waiting to steal stuff and you might get some sympathy.  Everyone learns the hard way though, you would think history could teach us something.

Perhaps one of the most apt usernames I've ever seen given the content of what was written.

Look, there have been many posts prior to mine that bluntly or otherwise spell it out.  I don't know what fantasy reality people who think the way you apparently do live in, or if maybe most of the people who  are just (forgive me because I mean no offense to all teens and children) still living at home and haven't spent any time in the workforce/real world.

If you make something and someone takes it without permission (ei in this case buying it) it's stealing.  Doesn't matter what it is or what media it is.  If it's not yours it's stealing.  Piracy is taking something without permission that doesn't belong to you and it's stealing.  Perhaps my moral compass is outdated or I'm just some eccentric whomever, but I don't think I'm alone in thinking stealing is not right in any shape or form.  There are these things called law enforcement and prisons that show someone, somewhere also thinks there is something wrong with that kind of behaviour.  Developers are artists in form of electronic media and they deserve return for their efforts and respect for what they do.

I don't see why this is so difficult a concept to understand.

Stop the crap.

It wouldn't of been too hard to put the actual updater IN the game itself.

Adding an "optional" program for "nice features" (that are required for online play) and only really serves to sell stuff from Stardock anyways, open the door to this sort of piracy talk.

IF the updater for the GAME was IN THE game itself, there would be absolutely NO reason for pirates to cry over how they cannot game Entrenchment over torrents or "stuff" like that. Because there is no target for their anger/frustration/need to grow up.

IF you appear to be a greedy money lover, people just are will grow a pair to give this kind of bs to you on a digital spoon (forum).

Besides, for those who say nothing is monitored... how come ALL data is encrypted? (allright... this is for the security for purchasing stuff, makes sense). But seriously... another program just sitting there...

And don't try to sell me that MS doesn't include Alexa in Windows!

Also, well... many game devlopers have NO say in what the publisher wants.

It's impossible to stop money lust from affecting everyone. See, if you were Stardock, and you wanted to moniter (I meant "create a more enjoyable experiance") you have a choice between putting the updater IN the game, or putting an external app that sells more (drips of crarp) to the user. The latter choice makes far more money.

Well not like that, more like the EA patch downloader.

Besides... the game ain't running off of the same code, so the updater shouldn't be loaded.

wow your a cry baby mate. first off impluse is a great program that allows you to stay uptodate and current to what is going on with your games and allows you to give feedback its a very fast DL speed comparied to others out there and installs the program on its own what ele do you want. Mabey you should send in some feed back to get a Tech to come to your house hold your hand and teach you how to wipe your A** also. out of all the people running implus allof the error or problems that I'v heard myself are of the user it self wether your not in admin while running your firewall is up ect next rather than ranking on here about it sreach your problem read some posts and mabey youll  either learn something or find out your issue