DarkeSword

The business model is fine because it works. I'm not arguing against digital distribution. I'm not talking about DRM and EULAs. Digital distribution for games works. Steam proves it. XBLA proves it. People make money hand-over-fist through digital distribution. It's the preferred method of content delivery for PC gaming. Record companies fought against it with CDs but they eventually adapted by selling digitally and it works for them. They make money. They make a lot of money. They're still in business. They sell DIRECTLY too. They don't give away music and say "pay what you want." That's all experimental and rarely works. They charge a price and people find that price reasonable so they reach that sweet spot and stay in business. They operate the same way. Piracy happens, but they've adapted. I do deserve my money. I put in the work, I create the product, I sell it. This is how the world works. That's capitalism, which is quintessentially American! I'm not repeating any mistakes! Nobody is! The only people worried about digital distribution of video games are the brick and mortar retailers (and they're not trying to pass any laws)! Publishers love digital distribution. Developers love digital distribution. Consumers love digital distribution. Everyone likes it! They just want what they deserve. And you know what? They do deserve to get paid for their product. I make something, I set a price, I sell it to you. This is how the world works. This is how the world works. Piracy is wrong, no matter how you spin it. Downloading a game you didn't pay for when the publisher is selling it is wrong. You're getting something for free that you shouldn't be getting, because you didn't make the fair exchange. If you say any differently, you just want something for free. You're not fighting the system, you're not sticking it to the man, you're not championing the cause of new media or any other such nonsense. You're taking something that isn't yours because you didn't feel like paying for it.

I did read it! There is nothing there that answers my questions in my post. Explain to me how I can digitally distribute a game that I want to sell for free. I'm not talking about television, advertising, and publicity. I am talking about a digital distribution solution for video games that is free. If someone buys my game, how do I get it to them without spending money?

Except you know, we're not talking about HISTORY. We're talking about NOW. We're talking about the way things work TODAY. I'm well aware of the history of copyright law and what Disney did. I have my own opinions about that, which are irrelevant to the matter at hand, but suffice it to say, it's a good thing that artists are afforded copyrights for their work. It's a good thing that they're given the protection to own, license, and profit from their own work. It doesn't matter if that's life of the author plus x years or not. Artists deserve to be compensated for what they do, and it's their right to charge as much as they want. And seriously, what are you talking about with this "digital distribution doesn't cost content creators money?" And remember, we're are talking about video games here, not distribution TV shows over BitTorrent. How can I, as a game development studio, SELL my games for PROFIT through DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION without SPENDING MONEY? BitTorrent? How do I manage licenses? I still need storefront software and pay credit card transaction fees, I still need to provide tech support for people having trouble getting my product, I still need to provide a dedicated seed and download alternatives for people who can't use BitTorrent, I still need to be able to track and analyze download statistics, I still need hardware for all this to run on, and I still need to pay the electrical bill for that hardware. So how is that free? Nothing in life is free. It's trite and cliché but it's also very, very true.

Moved to recruit and collaborate.

It does, actually. You're talking about digital distribution, right? Bandwidth and servers cost money. All that hardware and electricity, system upkeep, analysis and tracking, etc. Steam's online store isn't a couple of guys sending you files over AIM, y'know. It's a pretty involved operation. Artists that release albums for free and take donations are hobbyists, not professionals. You can't live comfortably solely on the income that comes from people who deign to grace you with their money. And anyway, who's outlawing anything? Are you talking about anti-piracy stuff like DMCA? Because at it's core, the DMCA is just that: an anti-piracy law. And piracy is wrong. The problem with the DMCA is not that it's an anti-piracy law, it's that it's so poorly written that it can be abused by copyright holders to curtail Fair Use (like making personal copies of media). Your button maker analogy doesn't make any sense here. Button makers were trying to outlaw competition. What exactly are digital media companies trying to outlaw? Digital distribution? They love digital distribution, because it cuts out the middle-man. I'm pretty sure that the one thing that all digital media companies are trying to fight against is people getting their product without paying for it. How is that bad? I work really hard on my video game, why should I give it away? Why can't I charge what I want for it? That's my right, as a creator. That's my right, as a creator. An artist owns his work, and an artist has the right to be compensated for his work on his own terms. I don't really care what the Founding Fathers have to say on that matter. If you don't want to spend what I'm charging, skip it. Go without it. Find an alternative. That's your right, as the consumer. But don't pirate it. Don't take it without paying for it, saying it's too expensive. Don't tell the government that they should make a law that says I can't charge that much for my game.

I'm COMMENTING on your posting style because it's a PROBLEM. There is a reason that every single thread you participate in devolves into people basically saying "Jack, you don't know what the hell you're talking about; what the hell are you talking about and why are you posting massive walls of text?" This happens every single time because you just can't get it into your head the way people actually discuss things here. This isn't Smashboards and this isn't your college logic and philosophy class. Your arguments are incredibly naive and people always call you on it, and you always shrug it off and continue to hammer the same, flawed points over and over again. Stop doing that. This is OverClocked ReMix; these forums have a specific atmosphere and rhythm. Find it and learn to adjust to it, otherwise the same damn thing will happen every single time you post in any thread. Don't be verbose, be concise. Know what you're talking about; actually know what you're talking about. Realize that you're still young and afaik, still in college, and that your life experiences are actually pretty limited at this point in time. And please, for the love of God, stop saying things like "economists don't understand economics." Furthermore, shut up about the trolling and discuss game prices like we're supposed to in here.

that is banworthy i'm gonna ban you

Sure it is. Your entire approach to debate is exactly the same as Jack Thompson's approach. Argue, offend, insult; don't worry about your tone, so long as you're being frank and making your point. Don't be nice, don't be civil; so long as your arguments hold up, it's okay! As far as I'm concerned, the two of you are interchangeable.

If you're going to post on these forums, don't be incendiary. Argue without offending people, because if you can't, well, then the following has never been more true and relevant. Also this is insanely condescending and belittles everything we do here: If you don't think people here get passionate talking about music and other things we do here, then you really don't know anything about this place. What you do in your competitive gaming scene doesn't have any more weight or importance than what we do, and doesn't inspire or fuel any more "passion."

Five hours, start to finish, on a Sunday night.

caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake

Nintendo's Seal of Approval didn't really mean much more than indicating that the game was licensed by Nintendo for release on the NES. There were plenty of terrible games with that on the box.

People pirate games because they want games for free. Sure, they'll justify it to the internet and their friends as trying to "stick it to the man" or "making a statement" or "I can't afford it!" or some other such nonsense, but really they just want a game for free. It has nothing to do with the price or quality of the game. It's the same reason people pirate music, movies, TV shows, and books. It's free. You can spend your money on more important things, like cream soda, or a good sandwich. That's why you can't stop piracy. Adjusting game prices won't fix that. There will never be a reasonable price-point low enough to end or significantly curtail piracy. It doesn't matter how good you make your game; people will pirate it. It doesn't matter how easy you make it for your customers to buy and use your product; people will pirate it. It doesn't matter how much your charge for it; people will pirate it.

It was renamed to Final Fantasy Type-0, not Final Fantasy 0. Also keep the FF13 sequel discussion in the appropriate thread. I prefer to have specific threads for specific games, but if people just mash all the discussions together, I'll just have to roll them all up into one. Anyway I'm really looking forward to Type-0. It runs on a modified version of the Crisis Core engine, and I thought that game looked and sounded fantastic. The trailer looks good too.

No, my point about Horn is that for a long time he was a Luke Skywalker clone. Rogue Squadron pilot with an R2 unit sidekick, whose father was a Jedi, etc. etc. etc. It felt like one of those Sonic fan-characters; you know, those hedgehogs who ALSO ran at super speed? JUST LIKE SONIC!!!~1` Aside from that, Stackpole's a great author. I've read his non-SW stuff; quite good. And yes I agree with you about Starkiller. A ridiculously stupid character with no redeeming qualities aside from the fact that his name is the original hero's name in the earliest drafts of Star Wars.

Let's move on. Any further arguments need to be taken to PM, IM, or any other form of personal correspondence.

Not contesting that. Just saying. Starkiller has nothing on Horn. Also TFU is a terrible game with a dumb story.

Your knowledge of programming seems very limited. You're applying first-year CS knowledge to game development. That'll only get you so far. Also, try not to call people stupid. So much of what you're saying is very naive.

Let's get back on topic and talk about Extra Credits.

They just released a trailer for it. Third one down. http://kotaku.com/5736564/a-visual-guide-to-new-square-enix-trailers

Corran Horn begs to differ.

caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake

No, it's still infringement. Intent has nothing to do with infringement. It doesn't matter if someone is a fan or a professional working for another company. It doesn't matter if they're doing something for-profit or not-for-profit. Infringement is infringement. If you're using someone's intellectual property for any reason, you're still infringing on their rights. IP means intellectual property, so yes, technically Square Enix is the only one allowed to do anything with their games. Because, you know, it's their property. Yep. I don't believe anyone here has any illusions to the contrary. We do, however, have a very good relationship with many industry folks, so we're not too worried about that sort of thing happening to us. Plus, you know, Fair Use and all that.

That is absolutely not what "dynamics" means. Dynamics have to do with the changing volume of your piece, i.e. soft sections, loud sections, crescendos and decrescendos.

Well, infringement is still infringement, whether you intend to profit or not. Also the "taking your ball and going home" analogy doesn't really apply.