Speaking to Penny Arcade, Deep Silver CEO Klemens Kundratitz spoke about the piracy issues. “Many publishers are not launching day and date because the PC is so difficult, but they fear the piracy issues, so they’d rather first focus on consoles.”

That doesn’t mean the Saints Row IV and Metro: Last Light publisher will be implementing any DRM “We have not, no. Uplay is not the way we want to approach things, definitely. I think we just need to make sure that the games we publish are worth the money, and certainly there is always this piracy situation that any publisher has. No publisher can tackle, really.

“In a business plan, we typically ignore it. It’s not something that is new, it’s something that has been part of our business for decades. As a publisher you just live with it, yes?”

Kundratitz also spoke about the success of Metro on the PC, despite all the issues of piracy floating around. “When we look at Metro for example, Metro is first and foremost a PC brand. In the first iteration, it was launched on Xbox 360 and PC, but it is at its heart a PC product. There is not a question about whether it’s difficult to also launch on PC, because PC is number one.”

“Console sales were bigger, no doubt, for the last Metro product, but PC has a very decent share and it has got a very active and committed community. As you know, we are supporting modders for Saints Row now, and also for Metro. It is a different type of gamer who plays on PC, and we keep them very much in focus. They are different groups.”

Do you agree on Deep Silver’s stance? Let us know in the comments below.

Co-founder Patrick Klug stated recently to GameSpot that, “They were so oblivious that they didn’t realize that what they see is what they actually do.”

“We had this opportunity to let users feel what piracy is like. Because we didn’t tell them that it is a pirated version, they actually started posting [on forums] saying, ‘I’m going bankrupt because of piracy,’ and I think that was what really connected with people.”

While Klug realizes that there other factors at work, he does remind people that, “If you wake up years later and there are no games anymore like that, then it’s your own fault because you didn’t support the developers. If people think that they only need to pay for a game that is perfect, then the industry is going nowhere.”

We asked him about the impact of piracy and used games, and here’s his thoughts on it.

“I think piracy won’t be as big on the next generation hardware,” he revealed. “I’m actually really happy to see Just Cause 2 on the used-games shelves as it’s a rarity – hard to come by! Games are often returned to the stores, not because they are bad, but because they are too short, offer very little or no player autonomy and does not encourage exploration.

“That’s what we’re trying to change. I mean, still to this day, three years after release, we still have hundreds of thousands of Just Cause 2 players every month. So that pretty much squashes the common publisher argument that every game needs multiplayer to “combat” second hand sales, without even looking at what the game really is.

“Nobody wins in the end; the developer can’t make the great experience that they want to, the publisher doesn’t get its money back and the consumer is disappointed. I am convinced that this mentality contributes to the downfall of the industry.”

There was a lot of brouhaha over anti-used games tech and its supposed presence on next-gen systems. Sony has been saying cryptic things while Microsoft is awfully quiet on this matter as well, but more will be revealed as we come closer to the next-gen console launch.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is among one of the big publishers to embrace F2P. In conversation with GamesIndustry International, he outlines the benefits of choosing the model over getting boxes on shelves. It saves on manufacturing costs of retail copies and their distribution, one of the biggest reasons any developer needs a big-time publisher in today’s day and age to get their product out (besides exhorbitant funding). And while it may be a great cost-cutting measure in terms of gameplay and design, Guillemot was nice enough to point out that this shouldn’t lead to a decline in quality.

“We take content which we’ve developed in the past, graphics etc, and we can make cheaper games and improve them over time. What’s very important is that we change the content and make it a better fit to the customer as time goes on.”

Did we say ‘nice enough to point that out’? Because it doesn’t look like he did. It sounds more like “repacakaging yesterday’s content”. But hey, if developers are clever enough to get assets and graphics out of the way to focus on design for a fun game, there’s no complaint here. Not like they haven’t been doing that already with the Assassin’s Creed series for the past few years, but that’s another story.

Then again, why is Ubisoft extolling on the virtues of F2P in the first place?

Well, that’s simple: It cuts costs while still giving the same return that their retail copies have. Quoting the GamesIndustry article, Guillemot said, “the percentage of paying players is the same for free to play as it is for PC boxed product: around five to seven per cent.”

But the main reason Ubisoft finds this useful? Why, combating the 93-95 percent of PC piracy, of course! And not piracy in major countries, like the UK or US, no. They refer to “revenue from countries where we couldn’t previously – places where our products were played but not bought. Now with F2P we gain revenue, which helps brands last longer.” That’s an interesting phrase – “helps brands last longer”. If one didn’t know better, they’d think it meant “continue milking this for as long as we want”.

Forget that Ubisoft’s “attempts” to rectify piracy lead to it losing tens of millions of dollars when it first introduced it’s DRM system for Assassin’s Creed 2 PC. Forget the hurdles and utter lack of benefit such a system created for gamers, who had to restart missions simply because they had been disconnected from the Ubisoft server. And forget those people who don’t have an internet connection (yes, they still exist in today’s world) or, heaven forbid, can’t access Ubisoft’s server at any given point to play.

No, instead, focus your attention on “places where our products are bought but not played”. Is Guillemot referring to third world nations where Ubisoft’s distribution is completely bungled, where you’d have an easier time finding Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood in the used games category than on the main store shelves (and we know how much of that money goes to Ubisoft)? Where the PC version of Assassin’s Creed 2 was simply missing for two months as the release date kept getting pushed forward? Ask anyone who’s ordered a game off Flipkart why they didn’t just go to the store to pick it up. Sometimes you’ll hear about convenience and pre-order bonuses, but the real reason is: Who can be sure it’ll be in stores to begin with? And that’s the nice-enough crowd with XBox 360s and PS3s. PC gamers have already wizened up to the fact that Ubisoft could care less about them.

Free-to-play is an alternative business model as much as it is a new kind of genre. It’s not an exit strategy for pushing franchises past their due date. It’s not an excuse to peddle the same old content in new wrapping paper for the masses. And if it’s the means with which you’ll counteract piracy in smaller countries, it’s wishful thinking, pure and simple.

Guillemot of course outlined how this isn’t meant to replace it’s “core” business structure. “We must be careful because the consoles are coming. People are saying that the traditional market is declining and that F2P is everything – I’m not saying that. We’re waiting for the new consoles – I think that the new consoles will give a huge boost to the industry, just like they do every time that they come.” F2P remains a way for them to break into new markets, and nothing more.

So wait: A plan to break into new territories without having to provide your core business products, at a reduced cost and development cycle without the need for manufacturing and distribution woes, simply because of a guesstimated piracy rate for some places while others are apparently squeaky clean?

Words, that don’t begin with “F” and end in “irst game developer mafia”, fail me in this case.

Piracy is bad. DRM is bad as well, but when it’s done like this, it’s great. Check out the video which shows what happens when you pirate Serious Sam 3. Croteam has put an immortal scorpion in the game, which can’t be killed obviously.

It’s hilarious to see people posting in forums asking for what to do regarding this problem, and revealing themselves to be a pirate in the process.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Thanks, GAF.

Valve and CD Projekt are two of the best PC developers, and it’s not surprising that they say the most sensible things. Gabe Newell mentioned earlier that piracy was a “non-issue” to them, and the only way to be successful is by offering better services than the pirates.

This time we have an entirely different topic at hand. CD Projekt are well known for creating the Witcher franchise and of course, GOG.

They said that they’ve exhausted all metahods of DRM and it frankly does not work. Any game will be cracked within a few days so it’s a futile effort, which will only end up hurting their legitimate customers.

“We of course experimented with all available DRM/copy protection, but frankly nothing worked. Whatever we used was cracked within a day or two, massively copied and immediately available on the streets for a fraction of our price,” said Martin Iwinski, CEO of CD Projekt in an interview with PC Gamer.

But he said that they found a way around that. They devised a new strategy to counter this which was to offer high quality product, by beefing it up with collectibles like walkthroughs, soundtracks and making-of-DVDs.

This strategy worked for them, as they made quite a profit for selling Witcher 2 on GOG without any sort of DRM.

But it isn’t that rosy, of course. Piracy still exists and is very hard to get rid off. He revealed that The Witcher 2 was indeed pirated by “tens of thousands of people” after release. But they didn’t feel the need to use any sort of DRM, because it’s quite logical, isn’t it? you can’t prevent the inevitable. It will be cracked.

“Plus, the DRM itself is a pain for your legal gamers – this group of honest people, who decided that your game was worth the 50 USD or Euro and went and bought it. Why would you want to make their lives more difficult?” Iwinski added.

But the thing that strikes me as odd was his estimated piracy numbers for Witcher 2. Iwinski revealed that he estimated 4.5 million people pirated the game, and 1 million legitimately bought the game. He doesn’t regret it though, and says that he will take that “ratio”.

Since it’s an estimated figure, I personally believe that his numbers are way off, but hey, as you know people can come up with ridiculous numbers.

I Am Alive

Ubisoft just don’t get it, do they? After throwing all kinds of DRM at PC gamers, they are now saying that they won’t put I am Alive on the PC because of Piracy concerns. In case you don’t know, I am Alive is an upcoming action game which was supposed to be released on PSN, Xbox Live and the PC.

The game reportedly went through development hell, and PC gamers were wondering if the game will be released on the PC or not. Ubisoft has finally put those concerns to rest by calling majority of PC gamers, pirates.

Ubisoft’s creative director, Stanislas Mettra raised these issues in an interview with Incgamers and mentioned that putting the game on the PC was very risky and they won’t make much money from it.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them“, he said. “But are these people just making noise just because there’s no version or because it’s a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?”

Someone needs to tell Ubisoft that plenty of indie developers and big publishers have found success on the PC platform and especially on Steam. It’s the general attitude of Ubisoft towards PC gamers is what encourages customers to reject their products. Including draconian DRM like “always-on internet connection required” is only going to hurt the legit customers.

In fact, I’d like to quote Gabe Newell here. He said, “The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.”

It’s such a simple logic, which Ubisoft doesn’t understand. Instead of adapting to the PC market they’re just turning away their legitimate customers due to DRM.

Ubisoft had earlier claimed that their DRM measures were reducing piracy a lot, but they didn’t reveal whether there was an increase in sales or not. Whatever it is, their entire approach to the PC platform is wrong and just insulting to the PC gamers.

Mettra had more to say, though. He added, “It’s hard because there’s so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games that we have to precisely weigh it up against the cost of making it.

“Perhaps it will only take 12 guys three months to port the game to PC, it’s not a massive cost but it’s still a cost. If only 50,000 people buy the game then it’s not worth it.”

All companies have a profit oriented mindset, but Ubisoft just takes it to another level. Although, they make some good games for the PC like the Anno franchise, which was always a PC exclusive.

Are you upset by their comments? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is already at eighteen million units sold worldwide ever since its release just two months ago- now that’s a heavy number in a very short span of time. Activision must be really happy. What they will not be happy about is that it’s also the most pirated game of 2010, with over four million illegal downloads having been made already, and that is just for the PC.

According to PC Gamer, over four million torrents of the PC version of Black Ops were downloaded. For the XBox 360, it was torrented 930,000 times.

The Wii’s most pirated game was Super Mario Galaxy 2, having been torrented 1,470,000 times already.

Here’s the top 5 pirated PC games of 2010:

01. Call of Duty: Black Ops – 4,270,000
02. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – 3,960,000
03. Mafia 2 – 3,555,000
04. Mass Effect 2 – 3,240,000
05. Starcraft 2 – 3,120,000

OzModChips, ModSupplier, and Quantronics have already removed the product from their listings. Sony has also claimed all the damages for the “inconveniences caused” PLUS the profit made by all retailers in Australia.

The product can neither be sold, NOR BE IMPORTED in Australia, now, according to the new law.

Sony has also filed a case against Zoomba LDC in California, distributors of Jailbreak in the States.