Remedy's message to Alan Wake PC pirates: "enjoy the story!"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 15 February, 2012

Hopes it'll convince them to buy future Alan Wake games.

Remedy has a message to those who intend to pirate the PC version of Alan Wake: enjoy the story!

Alan Wake launches on Steam tomorrow nearly two years after it launched on Xbox 360. It goes live on other digital platforms, such as Origin, in a couple of weeks. A retail boxed version launches on 2nd March courtesy of Nordic Games.

With Alan Wake hitting the PC both digitally and at retail, and it being a single-player only game, Remedy is bracing itself for a tidal wave of illegal downloads. But it's not too bothered.

"Of course we care about it," head of franchise development Oskari Hakkinen told Eurogamer.

"We spent five years creating this game and went through a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Hopefully people see it's a cult classic. We're a small team of 60 people.

"But some people are going to pay for it and some people aren't. At the end of the day for us it's about entertaining as many people as possible."

Hakkinen hopes Alan Wake PC pirates will have so much fun with the game that they'll fork out their hard-earned cash for future Alan Wake titles, thus benefiting Remedy in the long run.

"Of course we hope people will pay for it, but if they don't, at least enjoy the story," he said. "Maybe they'll get something else in the Alan Wake universe somewhere down the line."

Hakkinen compared pirates eventually buying into a product they've stole to the freemium model used by so many mobile games.

"You get to pay Tiny Tower for the first 40 minutes and then it asks you, well, you can carry on grinding and building your burgers and selling fries by sending people up and down the lift, or you can pay.

"So they give you something for free and if you enjoy it after your 40 minutes maybe then you start investing in the game. If you want to play a little bit more maybe you just put in a pound and you can play some more.

"It's not the same, but maybe there's something in Alan Wake they enjoy and they didn't realise they were going to enjoy it. They grabbed it because they've just heard, it's okay, but not something they've sought after. They enjoy it and then they grab something else we make."

Ultimately, though, Hakkinen and Remedy employ a laissez-faire attitude to PC game piracy.

"You can't fight it, really," he said. "It's just the way it is. Of course I hope people go on Steam or get the retail copy. But if they don't, they don't. I'm not going to get a stomach ulcer from it. It's just the way it is."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (85) Latest comment 3 months ago

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  • guernican #1 3 months ago

    I rather like the typo in the subhead. Intentional?

  • riceNpea #2 3 months ago

    not likely, that's why they pirate. bunch of cheapskate tramps.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #3 3 months ago

    My message "just buy this good game, cock suckers!"

  • bad09 #4 3 months ago

    "But some people are going to pay for it and some people aren't. At the end of the day for us it's about entertaining as many people as possible."

    "You can't fight it, really," he said. "It's just the way it is. Of course I hope people go on Steam or get the retail copy. But if they don't, they don't. I'm not going to get a stomach ulcer from it. It's just the way it is."

    A very mature and real world attitude to the issue of piracy from a dev, I'm shocked! :)

    That attitude hasn't stopped them chaining a physical retail disc to Steam internet DRM though ;)

  • Abdu@EG #5 3 months ago

    Thank you, Remedy. As a proud pirate, I'll do so.

    I'm just kidding you fools
    Edited by Abdu@EG at 16/02/12 @ 00:32

  • orangpelupa #6 3 months ago

    atleast pc pirates wont get achiecements.. in xbox pirates they got all features just like original games.

  • bikmate #7 3 months ago

    Man I wasn't really interested in this game, but after reading this I'll have to get it on principle.

  • Shikasama #8 3 months ago

    There are a number of franchises that continue to benefit from my pirating days when I was a teenager.

    I downloaded them when I had no money. I liked them a lot. When I had money (started working) I bought them. Liked them a lot. Now I buy their sequels.

    Not saying that's what all pirates do or that was why I was justified in pirating back in the day (ultimately there is no true justification), but I bought their games directly because I enjoyed the illegal copies I had.

    That would seriously blow the ESA's mind.

  • Paul_cz #9 3 months ago

    Many people pirate in absence of demo and then buy it if they like it.

    Many people actually realize that without paying for it, it will not get made, whatever "it" might be.

    Some do not, but I doubt they are majority.

  • m0dm0use #10 3 months ago

    Now if only Epic and Bungie and other studios had there way of thinking!

    Halo 1 PC & Xbox
    Halo 2 PC & Xbox
    Halo 3 Xbox 360
    Halo ODST Xbox 360
    Halo Reach Xbox 360
    Halo Anniversary Xbox 360

    Gears of War PC & Xbox 360
    Gears of War 2 Xbox 360
    Gears of War 3 Xbox 360

    Notice how those pc players get left out in more recent times.

  • galerian86 #11 3 months ago

    Oh no! The world is ending!!!

  • Nithron #12 3 months ago

    @Shikasama Same here. Same for... Most of my friends as well. I'm pretty sure this is how it normally works when you're a poor teenager that's into games, then of course, grow up.

  • Lunatic4ever #13 3 months ago

    I enjoyed the story until I began to realize that they do not have a really cohesive ending. I googled proper explanations but couldn't find any. Does anyone now really know what was going on?

  • Ahskay #14 3 months ago

    @Nithron

    Then how did poor teenagers did it back in the days when there was no internet?

    I did it by working in the weekends and saving money. Games are a lot cheaper now then back in the day. 1 day of work = a game.

    Fact is people pirate way too much but the big corporations are also to blame for stalling progression. If there was a steam service for movies and tv there wouldn't be so much mumbling about pirates. Because it has become such a drastic problem the industry has responses such as SOPA-PIPA & ACTA. The internet reacts again and it has become again a stalemate without even getting to a solution.

    Do note that i am no way supportive of the companies implementing all sorts of DRM but something has to change or the honest consumers will pay the price for it even more.

  • arcam #15 3 months ago

    @Nithron Yep same here too, and same for my three IRL friends who are PC gamers. Pirate games took us from casual to hardcore, and these days we all spend lots and lots of money on games.

    I think more developers know this than they let on (most of them probably did exactly the same thing).

  • skunkfish #16 3 months ago

    I strongly advise that nobody downloads a pirated version unless they want their computer and personal details compromised... Piracy just isn't safe any more, at least in the old days it would only f*ck up the data on my computer - now if f*cks with the money in your bank account.

  • v.profane #17 3 months ago

    I don't think he should be mentioning smartphone bollocks in the same breath as his supposed 'AAA' game if he's trying to underline how worth paying for it is.

  • arcam #18 3 months ago

    @skunkfish I would love to know the steps that happen between downloading a pirate game and getting your bank account cleaned out...

  • Darren #19 3 months ago

    "Hakkinen hopes Alan Wake PC pirates will have so much fun with the game that they'll fork out their hard-earned cash for future Alan Wake titles, thus benefiting Remedy in the long run."

    I know the guy means well and it's surprising to see a developer that isn't calling pirates for the scum that they are but he's living in cloud-cuckoo-land IMO. Pirates download games illegally because they can get away with it and it doesn't cost them a penny. As long as they can continue to do that then why would they go out and buy games? These people are selfish and don't give a damn about the hard work that goes into making games. They think they're entitled to free games because they can get them. The predictable response from Abdu@EG pretty much confirms it. He's "proud"! Moron. :rolleyes:

  • bad09 #20 3 months ago

    @Darren

    Don't fall into the same generalisation many in the industry and their white knights do. There is a lot of people out there doing it (although oddly now it's so easy I don't actually know anyone who does pirate games compared to the days of PS1 and Dreamcast!) but realistically there are a number of reasons for it from unfairly high taxes on games (a big problem in south america in particular as I understand it), demos, DRM avoidance, being in an area of the world games aren't sold (yes they exist). The thieving scumbags who don't give anything back but could are just one slice of a very large pie. Also while all entertainment industries would never admit it there's evidence that unsurprisingly the poorer nations are some of the bigger downloaders.

  • prudislav #21 3 months ago

    @Remedy Shut up and take my money ;-)

  • ruthlesskiller #22 3 months ago

    Got this and the DLC for it, one of my games of 2010, looking foward to American Nightmare... will look gorgeous on a top spec PC
    Edited by ruthlesskiller at 15/02/12 @ 19:07

  • miiiguel #23 3 months ago

    atleast pc pirates wont get achiecements.. in xbox pirates they got all features just like original games.

    What's the meaning of this Alan Wake PC is not a Live game. What was the point, seriously, one of us must be lost in translation.
    Edited by miiiguel at 15/02/12 @ 19:27

  • bad09 #24 3 months ago

    @miiiguel

    It's steamworks which has achievements.

  • Nithron #25 3 months ago

    @Ahskay I think you answered your own question there. I didn't always have a job when I was younger. When I did, I bought games, although not nearly as many as I wanted to play. When I didn't, it was pirate them or not play them. I could've just not played them, of course. But that wouldn't have funded games development either, and maybe I wouldn't have stayed with the hobby.

    The fact that games have got cheaper now kind of illustrates my point. Even with a job, back then, I couldn't really buy many games at all. There wasn't the huge, easily accessed used games market that there is now, and they didn't drop dramatically in price either, so I basically had to save up £30 every time. Not easy when you're a kid.

  • DurzoBlint #26 3 months ago

    If they're hoping the story is going to convince pirates to buy any sequels, they're in for serious disappointment. Both because duh, pirates and because Alan Wake's writing is shit.

  • jonathanstoffregen #27 3 months ago

    thx i will cause i sure as hell aint paying full price for a game 2 years old no matter how much more optimized it is?

  • Inmediasress #28 3 months ago

    I just don't get one thing.
    Why is a game that was intended for the PC in the first place then canned by M$ because we all know Alan Wake needs a couch and a controller, is not even released for the PC but the devs already moan about piracy.
    Then why the f*ck are they releasing it in the first place.

    In fact as far as I'm concerned they can keep it after all devs don't owe us anything and neither do I to them.
    Honestly its not the pirates that give a bad name to PC gaming but the indsutry itslef.
    Edited by Inmediasress at 15/02/12 @ 22:23

  • bad09 #29 3 months ago

    @Inmediasress

    Basically MS no longer puts those 360 exclusives like Halo, Gears etc on 360 and PC (whatever lame reasons they give it boils down to wanting people buying xboxes which you don't need to if it's on PC to) and MS also needed a new exclusive title for 360 that's why it went 360 only back then. I don't know why MS aren't involved now but somehow remedy are able to bring to the PC as they planned and supposedly always wanted to do (the stupid comments about sofas was an MS suit)....and if you read the article there isn't actually any moaning about piracy, in fact Remedy are kinda excepting it's gonna happen to some degree whatever happens saleswise so not really concerned about it.

  • matt606 #30 3 months ago

    @Shikasama This is exactly me as well. I pirated when I had no money to buy, now I buy from the franchises I care about and don't buy from the ones I dislike.

    If it were a formula it would be: Money + Maturity = A Purchase

  • Shakey_Jake33 #31 3 months ago

    @JaguarCD32X - That's actually wrong though. The game was designed as a PC-specific title, before being forcibly switched to being a 360-exclusive by Microsoft, citing nonsense reasons such as the game being 'not suited' for play on relative closeness of a PC monitor (not that this is a problem for any other game).

    Then they have the cheek to release the game on the PC two years later. Thanks, but you can keep the game, guys!

  • danidrums #32 3 months ago

    He means that if a pc pirate likes the game and wants the sequel, he'll have to go out and buy a fu##ing Xbox. That's what he's trying to say.

  • webdes #33 3 months ago

    "Hakkinen hopes Alan Wake PC pirates will have so much fun with the game that they'll fork out their hard-earned cash for future Alan Wake titles, thus benefiting Remedy in the long run."

    Hiny Hint! Future Alan Wake Games Confirmed!!!

  • cowell #34 3 months ago

    The guys stance is admirable but it's a bit "if you can't beat them, join them" if you ask me. I totally see his point about future potential business from former pirates, but the vast majority will just rub their hands with glee and leave the shop without paying. Every time a freebie is offered.

    I worked on a game that was eagerly anticipated by gamers and a large number just went and pirated it. I genuinely worry for the likes of Remedy and CD Projekt with this stance as most will just take full advantage.

  • Rodster #35 3 months ago

    They should just stick to consoles. And use that time to develop Alan Wake 2. I got it for the 360 and the game is pretty amazing. And pirates do suck, they'll just play stuff for free.

  • Baihu1983 #36 3 months ago

    Hope it does well. Its a great game that deserves more than its 1.5M sales and MS should have never canned the PC version.

  • skunkfish #37 3 months ago

    @arcam

    1. Install pirate game.
    2. Replace genuine .exe with cracked .exe (with free bonus gift)
    3. Find out about the surprise MitB trojan - activated when you visit certain banking websites and ready to send your log-in details to unknown parties.


    Then there's the botnet risk...

  • Inmediasress #38 3 months ago

    @bad09
    Thats the problem piracy will happen like with every other console/pc title out there pointing it out before the game is even released is already moaning about it.

    What I'm trying to say is that this article and the whole malady about Alan Wake was pointless and only there to incite a flame war between Console/PC, generate interest in Eurogamer and has almsot no influence on sales.
    The only thing it achieves is to give another moral high ground for publishers/devs to stick the branding iron to the PC crowd's ass.
    I admire their stance on piracy but this article would have been better timed after release and after some sales data.
    (or better even no article at all instead a good review)

    The main problem is the indsutry brands PC players pirates and console gamers second-hand cheapskates.
    Sad how many people buy into this PR brainwash.
    Honestly a few years ago nobody gave a shit about second-hand.
    Now the big publishers come crying yes we sold 5 mill but oh no worse than piracy bad bad second-hand cheapskates robbing us form a another million sales... blah blah.
    You should be ashamed of yourselves for buying secondhand your no better than pirates blah blah.
    Then people buy into this bull and in a blink of an eye second-hand is the new devil.

  • aphex187 #39 3 months ago

    @skunkfish Your obviously downloading your games from a Ugandan Torrent site then.
    Edited by aphex187 at 16/02/12 @ 09:09

  • SuperBas #40 3 months ago

    The message is "we barely put any effort into this port, so if you pirate it we don't lose too much money!"

  • apoc_reg #41 3 months ago

    Well I brought this on 360 as you didnt release the game as promised on PC and denied you would.... so that will be quite a few peoples message back to you rememdy.

    Release games on PC as well... within a good time frame or people are going to have likely already paid £40 for your game once... and are unlikely to do it again...

  • hiddenranbir #42 3 months ago

    Why would they buy it once they've played it through. Scum will be scum.

  • SpartanGR #43 3 months ago

    @apoc_reg

    My thoughts exactly. F* you remedy.

  • 5h1nj1 #44 3 months ago

    quote: "A retail boxed version launches on 2nd March"
    Not really a retail, if it has still Steam in it. It's the same as digital, you only have to download less stuff.
    Release a REAL GODDAMNED BOXED VERSION. No freakin' broken internet activation, regional locks, additional applications, game redownloads...
    Yes, I know people were told it's good for them for so long, they started to believe it. I don't. I would buy a real standalone boxed version immediately.

  • Daeltaja #45 3 months ago

    Sorry but once a pirate always a pirate. They won't magically open their wallet because they enjoyed the game they stole from you.

  • Nithron #46 3 months ago

    @Daeltaja No, that is definitely something that happens. I know a load of people that've done that exact thing.

  • obscured021 #47 3 months ago

    Most people that pirate would not have bought it any way, and the game has prob been and will be pirated more on the xbox, so why single out the pc version. There are more xbox pirates than pc pirates. you can use xlive with a cracked 360, I can't think of one current pc game that will let you use offical servers unless you payed for it.

  • Ezzekhiel #48 3 months ago

    First I'll aknowledge Mr Hakkinen's attitude, it is a mature way to see the problem. Regardless of the many protection one can add to a product, someone will always find a way to break it, even if it's just for the "fun" of breaking it.

    The other option would be to offer a demo version. I used to pirate games when I was young and broke, cause it was easy and "cool". Also back in the days games sold on 4 floppy disks did not cost millions of dollars to produce, so I didn't really think great companies would die because of what I did. Today I'm 32, not much richer but I can appreciate the effort invested in a game. So when a demo is available, i'll install it, try the game and buy it or not.

    People buying a pirated game because they liked it so much? Can happen. People buying the future iterations of an IP because they enjoyed the original pirated one? Less likely imo.

    Steam has many flaws but I honestly think that it is actually helping fighting piracy by offering really amazing deals on not-so-old games. Last week had Skyrim at a 35% price cut a couple of weeks after release, that's simply awesome .

    Download a demo, wait for Steam sales and enjoy good games without punishing the devs and without (completely) ruining yourself.

    PS: Then of course you have EA dumping you a turd like the Amalur Demo on Steam, which is so broken I couldnt even get it running on my computer. If EA don't care about it's potential customers, well then let me say fuck you very much EA.

  • dingo75 #49 3 months ago

    Way to go while crawling back to PC gamers.
    Stop insulting us ffs you wankers!
    This makes me wait for a Steam sale to pick up the game.

  • asphaltcowboy #50 3 months ago

    ...they've stole...
    Really? :/

  • JohnnyNoir #51 3 months ago

    @Paul_cz
    Some people pirate in absence of demo and then buy it if they like it.

    Some people actually realize that without paying for it, it will not get made, whatever "it" might be.

    Most do not, they are the majority, they pirate because they can.

    There fixed it for you.

  • leoknight10 #52 3 months ago

    Remedy is not giving people much of a choice to buy the game, those who purchase the game are force to join Steam service while the service is love by a lot of people it doesn't mean everyone will like to join the Steam fan club which forcing those to goes down the shady route to download the illegal pirate copy just to get away from Steam.

  • UncleLou #53 3 months ago

    it doesn't mean everyone will like to join the Steam fan club which forcing those to goes down the shady route to download the illegal pirate copy just to get away from Steam.

    Or they could do what the grown-ups do: if they disagree with something, just do without it. It's a videogame. Noone is "forced" to go down a shady route.

  • Darren #54 3 months ago

    @bad09 - A developer telling pirates to enjoy his game totally sends out the wrong message though IMO and sounds like he is advocating piracy because there's a very slim chance that they might possibly buy one of his games in the future, maybe.

    If you ask me he shouldn't have said anything at all.

  • Stricker #55 3 months ago

    You know the once brilliant team of Max Payne has counted their days when they feel so proud about a game that failed to deliver on so many promises.

    What a disgrace.

  • toa_boa #56 3 months ago

    Some of the best developer insights and points in a long while. Cudos to Remedy, and the similar minded CD Projekt!

  • IronCladChicken #57 3 months ago

    It's already available to download via torrent.

  • bad09 #58 3 months ago

    @Darren

    Nah he's not advocating, I would say if anything he is playing minds games. "Go on enjoy my game, it's great. Tell others (who do buy) how great it is maybe buy it yourself if you like it hey maybe even buy my next game I can't make more if you don't pay me". He's not really judging and looking down on pirates like many do and this statement is engaging them in positive way really.

    It's also a refreshing change for us legitimate gamers not to have "pirates! You're all Pirates! I'm not making games for you anymore if you're not careful!" shoved down our throats.

    Personally I think he's playing some clever marketing here and looking at how many agree with my post on his attitude I'd say it's working...


    @Inmediasress

    Yeah I do see what you mean there to be honest, it does seem there is always a villian to fight rather than get on engaging with people who do by games.
    Edited by bad09 at 16/02/12 @ 11:15

  • CaptainKid #59 3 months ago

    I'm not even going to pirate this game, that's how little interested I am in this.

  • bad09 #60 3 months ago

    @CheeseChipsAndBeans

    Oh hey sock boy I've missed you, you got banned real quick last weekend :)

    I am curious though, why exactly do you think I'm a pirate? I know you are complete and utter dick but have no idea where you got that one from.

  • BigJonno #61 3 months ago

    The point that so many people completely miss (and the industry would never admit) is that, outside of a few cases of pirated copies causing server issues with repeated access attempts, the act of piracy hurts absolutely no-one. I could download a dozen games right now and no-one would be any worse off. In fact, it would be a net positive because I would have new games.

    It only becomes an issue when you look at it in terms of lost sales, which is almost impossible to gauge. You have to assume that the downloader has access to the game through legal channels, can afford to buy the game and won't buy the game at some point. Those are pretty big assumptions to make. I've got a hunch that actual lost sales are a rather small percentage of piracy figures, but we'll never know for certain.

    People who make games generally want those games to be played. If they didn't care about that, they'd probably be working in any of a number of other, better-paying industries. If it comes down to it, they'd probably prefer that someone download and play their game than not play it at all. Of course they'd prefer someone to actually buy it, but if we accept that many pirates can't afford the games they download, then that just isn't going to happen for a lot of people.

    Ultimately, your stance on piracy comes down to this: capitalism or culture? Which is more important; that everyone pays fairly for the media they have access to, or that even the poor have fair access to media? I know we're talking specifically about games and they're not exactly considered high culture, but it wasn't all that long ago that the vast majority of art, science, philosophy and all that other stuff was restricted to an elite minority. I can see the merits of both arguments, but I'm a dirty hippy socialist at heart and I'll always err on the side of access for all over money for some.

  • KingFunkIII #62 3 months ago

    @Inmediasress I'm not sure you can classify the dev chap's words as 'moaning'...

  • cheeky-sod #63 3 months ago

    Thanks Remedy, i will do!

  • Neil__ #64 3 months ago

    @orangpelupa
    Achievements are for kiddies that haven't grown out of collecting pokemon cards.

  • Nithron #65 3 months ago

    @BigJonno Yes, exactly. If someone was not going to buy a game, due to a lack of funds, DRM, or not having access to it at all, then the developer wasn't going to get any money. If they then pirate it instead, the developer still doesn't get any money.

    The only possible downside is if someone notices them pirating it, and then acts on that information, by instituting more DRM or by not developing any more games. But those are not direct results of the person's behaviour.

    Of course, then you get people that could pay for games but just download them instead. I assume, I don't actually know anyone that does that, but there's probably some out there. Maybe my group of acquaintances isn't representative, and they're even the majority - who knows. Those people, if they would buy the game if piracy wasn't an option, are costing money in lost sales. In so far as you can consider that to be "costing" money, but you get the point.

    This is why I find it confusing that people act like pirates are somewhere between Ian Huntley and Hitler in terms of morality, when there's only a specific group of them that are actually causing any harm to anyone at all. I don't mind people criticising the ones who just pirate because they're cheapskates. But some people insist on generalising it to everyone who's ever downloaded a game. It's ridiculous, black and white thinking that has more or less no relation to the reality of the situation, which is much more complex.

    I guess people just like having someone to hate, and don't like complex situations.
    Edited by Nithron at 16/02/12 @ 12:35

  • cianchristopher #66 3 months ago

    I hope this runs well on my Core 4500k, 16gb DDR3 RAM, SLI GTX590(x4), SATA 3 Mobo, USB 3.0, SSD, HDD, 2000W PSU, 2560x1490 TrueColour, Razer Diamondback, G17 Keyboard, SmoothSurface Titanium Mousemat, Corsair Cooling Fan, Akasi Heatsink, Windows 7 SP1, 5.1 Klipsch gaming PC.

  • Hivess #67 3 months ago

    Why only to PC pirates? :p BTW, why so much hate here? Buying used games is the same thing for developers/publishers (they've got no money from it), but no one is calling people buying used games "cock suckers"... :f

  • Ezzekhiel #68 3 months ago

    @cianchristopher
    I guess you get a lot of pussies with that computer...

  • cianchristopher #69 3 months ago

    Oops, forgot to mention the RAM is gold-plated. For added conductivity.

  • bad09 #70 3 months ago

    @CheeseChipsAndBeans

    Haha wonderful post, you really are the best troll EG has had in a while, great comedy value. Such a good post deserves a reply :)

    I don't see it as missing out or indeed "having the last laugh" I am only one customer in a sea of millions....but you know comments pages are generally for...er comments. These days I don't spend, or spend very little, with bad companies end of. I buy some DRM (mostly the one time activation ones) but cheaply in steam sales (I use their DRM obseesion against them by only buying those cheap games on Steam) and there are limits and the main reason Steamworks disc DRM is bought cheaply is I am one of the PAYING folk who have experienced the twitchy nature of it's offline mode first hand so will never pay more than a fiver for Steamworks ever again (sorry remedy).

    Doesn't make me a pirate but does make sure I spend with good companies (who more and more are the indies) and my own collection has more than enough to ignore most of todays games and still have loads to play until they shove out titles for 2-3 quid on Steam.

    Trust me I'd prefer not to be like that as I'm still very much in love with gaming itself but the industry and it's anti-consumer ways have sunk too far south for my liking sadly.

    Thanks for making me smile though.
    Edited by bad09 at 16/02/12 @ 12:59

  • mfolwell #71 3 months ago

    @BigJonno Just to further muddy the waters of the mythical "lost sales", I know several people who will download every movie they stumble across on torrent sites -- but most of those illegal files sit unwatched (easily upwards of 90%). Not only are they not a "lost sale", they're not even a "lost advertising view on TV".

    The other day, I stumbled across a forum where people were boasting about how big their Steam libraries were (having seemingly bought into every sale that had ever been run), despite freely admitting to having never played most of the games they owned.

    Put those two stories together, and it's not hard to imagine that there's an awful lot of pirated games sitting on hard drives around the world that have never and will never be played by anyone.
    Edited by mfolwell at 16/02/12 @ 13:14

  • UncleLou #72 3 months ago

    The point that so many people completely miss (and the industry would never admit) is that, outside of a few cases of pirated copies causing server issues with repeated access attempts, the act of piracy hurts absolutely no-one.

    I'll take your word for it and start downloading my games illegally now instead of paying for them. Noone gets hurt, right? Cool.

  • Ezzekhiel #73 3 months ago

    @UncleLou

    Pirates: "Piracy is not hurting anyone cause I wasn't gonna buy the game in the first place."

    Game industry: "Piracy is killing the business cause every pirated copy is a lost sale"

    Truth: somewhere in between.

  • artyom #74 3 months ago

    :evil::evil:
    You can go out and buy for the good price a normal disk, and I'm from Georgia
    and do not have license games in magazines
    And now I can not buy - a Overpayment twins (because bad rate in webmoney - the same thing with the visa)
    I have not money for the bare key - the amount of twins (different matter would discs)
    If the disks were delivered to me in the country, I would at least - would have taken 10 pieces in support of the Remedy - because the game is cool, I want a PC that would be not forgotten in the trail. time
    but the situation is so terrible:evil:

  • sosrandom #75 3 months ago

    @arcam
    Opposite for me, when torrents came out the number of PC games I bought dropped to just multiplayer games. Only games I buy are console games.

  • Krakn3Dfx #76 3 months ago

    I bought it on the 360 when the official line was there wasn't going to be a PC version. I definitely would have waited if I had known, but I didn't, so...there you go. I'm not going to buy it on the PC OR pirate it, but I'm betting there's going to be significant overlap between people who bought it on the 360 and who pirate it on the PC just to see it on the PC.

    If I was a betting man, I would bet that this game is going to sell poorly on the PC, and a part of that will be piracy. But another part, maybe (probably) even bigger, will be that people played this game on the 360 already and moved on. I hope Remedy didn't invest a whole lot of money into this version and they get their money out of it at least, but I'm personally not going to throw down $50-$60 a second time for the same game. Sorry Remedy, I love you guys, but not that much.

    Now tell me that American Nightmare is coming to the PC before I buy it on XBL, and I will totally wait and buy the PC version.

  • Almostas #77 3 months ago

    check out my playthrough

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTkKA_sE5a8&feature=plcp&c

  • leoknight10 #78 3 months ago

    I won't be buying this game, I can't speak for everyone but for me the reason I am not buying it is because it is using Steam service, I know a lot of people like Steam service and think it is better than EA Origin. As far as I am concern Steam and EA Origin are both equally annoying: Both of them required you to create and sign in the account and both have it own separate application which you must launch the program before you can start any of the games that used the service as DRM.
    Edited by leoknight10 at 16/02/12 @ 21:53

  • BigJonno #79 3 months ago

    @UncleLou Go for it. Download a game illegally. It hasn't cost anyone anything, it hasn't deprived anyone of anything they own. The only difference to the state of the world is that you are up by one game. It is not, despite what anti-piracy campaigns suggest, theft.

    The problematic bit is when people who can afford to buy games decide to download illegally instead.

  • TrevHead #80 3 months ago

    Im really getting sick of these articles on PC piracy, yeah it happens but so does console piracy, which for some 360 games isnt that far behind PC.

    When was the last time I read and article about console piracy?

    Honestly no wonder most Publishers are retards when it comes to PC development
    Edited by TrevHead at 17/02/12 @ 07:18

  • ocbaker #81 3 months ago

    @Darren Pirating for games is generally because you can't get the game (L4D2 Australia is different and crap compared to L4D2 USA), because you are poor or because you want to try it out without paying for a full game.

    I'll admit it I pirate, I enjoy downloading TV Episodes. Why? I am not an asshat, I buy a lot of stuff, and I have the money to buy what I am pirating, more to the point I would be more than happy to pay for it! I pirate TV Episodes because Big Corporations wait AGES until they release each episode in foreign (NZ in my case) countries. In which case I have been alerted to every single review and comment that by the time it got released in my country nothing would be a surprise.

    Media Corporations need to update the way they sell, rent and promote their media to the public. The world is no longer bottled up into Countries, media is international and real-time. They are trying to deal with the modern world using old and outdated strategies.

    Here in New Zealand there is only one way to really get TV and that's by getting a subscription to Sky TV, even then I am not guaranteed my show. We do not have any real streaming services here and renting a series online from Sky TV for 48 hrs costs just as much as buying the damned thing on disc.

  • ocbaker #82 3 months ago

    @leoknight10 Are you not going to play PC games because they require a computer? Or Physical Games because they require a disc? Both of those require you to give out your personal information.

    Running a game that uses steam is a 3 step operation: Start Menu, Find Game, Start Game. DONE!

    Not only do you get your updates automatically and whatnot but you also get the assurnce of know your have a digital copy safely locked away on the internet.

    So I don't exactly see the problem here? Unless you are going to pass the game on, copy the game illegally or something else that requires no DRM then I really don't see your issue with Steam?

  • Superabound #83 3 months ago

    I already bought this for Xbox years ago, but im going to go ahead and buy it for PC now too, just to reward Remedy for having such a great, enlightened attitude towards PC gaming and consumer purchasing structures.

  • Superabound #84 3 months ago

    @Krakn3Dfx After only 48 hours of Alan Wake being available on Steam, it sold enough copies to surpass 100% of the development and marketing costs of the game.

  • Lets_gt_u_reg_hombre #85 3 months ago

    I admit that I got the pirated copy of this game and I enjoyed so I bought it off steam. Great game and the devs are cool.