An open letter to publishers

Dear publishers,

I couldn’t help but notice your recent, rather ramshackle attempts at curbing the growing problem of piracy. It’s a serious issue, and I can understand your eagerness to see it go away. After all, who can blame you for wanting to protect your own property? Homeowners protect their houses with locks and burglar alarms, so why shouldn’t the owner of intellectual property be allowed to protect their investment with an assortment of activation keys, install limits and online passes?

As you can see, I have no problem with you wanting to protect yourselves from all the game-hungry pirates out there. What I do take issue with is your handling of the situation. You’ve tried many things over the years to get people to part with their cash: the simple product key, printed on the back of the box or the instruction manual; limiting the number of times a game can be installed (taken to the admirable extreme by EA with Spore and its outrageously reasonable limit of 3. A real shame those gamers wouldn’t stop whining about it, right?); and now Ubisoft’s “always on” DRM, which requires gamers to be constantly connected to the internet to play their games.

These are all great schemes, with their own individual successes and, unfortunately, individual failures. And that’s the problem. They are individual. Piracy is such a massive issue, we need to stop thinking on a case-by-case basis and tackle the entire industry as a whole. We need to unite, to pull together and make a concerted effort to rid ourselves of this menace.

I really think the guys at Ubisoft are on the right track with their “always on” DRM. Requiring the player to be constantly connected to your network to play your game is a fantastic way of ensuring that gamers must buy a legitimate copy to play. And if a player doesn’t have a stable internet connecton, well, that’s their problem. It’s unfortunate that the system was cracked so swiftly, but I have a proposal that may just put an end to that kind of flagrant behaviour.

As I said, Ubisoft’s system is a good one, but I don’t think it goes far enough. The speed with which the system was hacked proves that we need something altogether more drastic. That is why I am proposing something I am calling the Video Games Supervisory Scheme. The VGSS will not only eliminate piracy; it will completely revolutionise the way we play games, allowing for a safer and more user friendly community.

At it’s heart, the VGSS works on the same principal as the “always on” DRM. However, instead of merely requiring the user to remain constantly connected to the publisher’s network, the VGSS requires the user to remain under supervision for the duration of their session. Players will need to book, in advance, a time slot during which they will play their purchased game. (This could be anything: an hour, two hours; even a whole day. I do think a standardised time slot would increase efficiency, but I will leave the logistics to you!) A trained VGSS supervisor will then arrive at their home at the allotted time, authenticate the player’s copy of the game, and supervise their play session.

Imagine! You, the publisher (at least, a representative of you, the publisher), will be able to monitor exclusively every gamer as they play the games you have worked so hard to develop and market. Those with illegitimate copies of your games will be entirely unable to play them, as only the trained VGSS supervisors will possess the special software keys required to connect to the VGSS gaming network (a connection to which, of course, is required to play your games).

I am sure that the VGSS will not be without its share of controversy. Few of mankind’s great leaps forward have been. This is to be expected. Opponents will undoubtedly accuse the VGSS of limiting the consumer’s ability to use a product they have legitimately purchased. They will say that it is needlessly punishing the majority for the actions of a minority. Do not bow under the pressure of these naysayers. We will need to remind them that they have not purchased a game. They have purchased the licence to play a game. And as such, it is the publisher’s right to limit, in any way they see fit, the consumer’s ability to use this licensed product. It’s for their own good.

Piracy is the single biggest problem facing our industry at the moment (along with pre-owned games, but that’s another matter entirely). Lord knows we’ve been reasonable with gamers. £40 is a more than fair price for a product that can provide up to several hours of entertainment, and Day One DLC is a very generous incentive to buy these products. And yet these people continue to acquire illegal copies of your games. I hope you can see how effective the Video Games Supervisory Scheme could be at battling this problem. It could usher in a truly safer, more profitable era for the industry.

Yours truly,

Trilby Norton