News Nintendo lost $975 million to piracy last year

[CardJoe]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/02...cy_last_year/1

Nintendo has released new figures, estimating a loss of $975 million in potential sales last year due to piracy.

[iwog]

Yeah, the xbox hooked up to my TV has 200 gig HDD and mod chip in it, the N64 goodset, the megadrive rom collection and a few classic Dreamcast games running on Chankast. So i'll just sit here and wait for the barrage of comments saying how i'm destroying the game industry.

But if you look carefully none of those systems are supported by their developers any more. Apart from the xbox stuff everything was sourced of Underground Gamer, a site the deals with retro gaming of unsupported platforms. And as i'm not a collector and dont take great pleasure in own the physical hardware and only enjoy playing games i dont have a guilty conscience.

The same rules apply for why I occasionally visit abadonware sites and dont worry too much. Show me where i can legally purchase those games on there first hand and i'll stop using abadonware. The problem is that most of this stuff will never fall into the public domain due the ever extending Copy Right laws. (first post and already kinda OT)

[DXR_13KE]

i have 2 letters that show what i think about this value: BS.

edit: if this value includes wii games i have to say the next: F*** you nintendo, make those games cheaper like you promised, they are as expensive as 360 and PS3 games around here......

[Bigturk]

alot of people only buy the DS knowing this is possible....thats why i got the DS and PSP, i wouldnt have if i had to buy the games lol

[Almightyrastus]

Only modded console I have had was a PS1 unless you count removing the cart lock from a megadrive in the same vein.

Seriously tempted by an R4 though, even if it just to have a play around with and see what can be done.

[Eloquence]

Ugh, 1 download does not equal 1 lost sale. I get so tired of these big corporate giants blaming everything on piracy.

[JADS]

In other news sperm banks blamed the widespread use of internet pornography for the loss of 432 million gallons of semen a year and the national statistics office blames a loss of 78.67% of it's statistics on rent-a-soundbite companies releasing shock reports with made up statistics.

[Jamie]

I would hope the actual truth behind this figure is that Nintendo believe it is the value that all the pirated games comes to this if everyone had bought the game, whilst in no way suggesting that they would.

[will.]

I don't see how they think they lost the sale... The person who downloads a game never intended to buy it?

[Veles]

I know a lot of the games I downloaded for the DS, I very, very rarely play my DS, so dropping £25 on a game I might play for a few hours seems pointless to me, things like Phoenix Wright though I tend to buy.

The R4 style carts are also really useful for putting all the DS games you own on there so you don't have to carry around a handful of cartridges and switch them around, it's all on one cart, you can take your DS with you and that's it, you'll have access to all your games.

IMO, nintendo should get on the ROM scene, like mp3s, if people are downloading it, give them the option to do it legally. They could produce their own R4 and they sell game ROMs on their site for cheaper than they are in the shops. I wouldn't really mind paying for a few hours of play every blue moon if they were only a fiver.

[legoman666]

Originally Posted by Bigturk

alot of people only buy the DS knowing this is possible....thats why i got the DS and PSP, i wouldnt have if i had to buy the games lol

same here, I wouldn't have got my DS if I wasn't able to use my SuperCard. Be it a demo or illegal download, I try every game before I'm willing to buy it.

[rjkoneill]

"Nintendo lost $975 million to piracy last year"
and earned $975 million from ramping up the price of the wii

[lewchenko]

Im normally very anti piracy... but my reaction to Nintendo here is BullSh**

I cant possibly think how they came up with that ridiculas number, and am fed up at being ripped off with Wii games/accessories that were supposed to me a good deal cheaper than 360/PS3 games. Mario Galaxy... £35 to £40. ($70-$80) Hardly any discounts online from play/amazon/either in the UK.

Nope... no sympathy whatsoever for Nintendo. Hope they choke on all the cash they are making.

So Pirate away...

[mmorgue]

I'm in the same thought as iwoq...

If there's a game I want and it's no longer available for purchase, I'll get it by illicit means.

Same with movies/music. I have been aching to find "MST3K: The Movie" on DVD but it's no longer produced. Occasionally you see it on fleabay for a criminal price...! Then I found the DVD rip on the newgroups, thank Christ!

So if the movie / music / game industry arent going to provide for the consumer, the consumer will do what they need.

Now, as for material that *is* available, well, I personally havent had a modded console since I had a PS1 all those years ago. And even then it was the original "lid spring" trick I buy my games. If they suck, as sadly many do, I return for instore credit.

[cyrilthefish]

Originally Posted by Veles

I know a lot of the games I downloaded for the DS, I very, very rarely play my DS, so dropping £25 on a game I might play for a few hours seems pointless to me, things like Phoenix Wright though I tend to buy.

The R4 style carts are also really useful for putting all the DS games you own on there so you don't have to carry around a handful of cartridges and switch them around, it's all on one cart, you can take your DS with you and that's it, you'll have access to all your games.

IMO, nintendo should get on the ROM scene, like mp3s, if people are downloading it, give them the option to do it legally. They could produce their own R4 and they sell game ROMs on their site for cheaper than they are in the shops. I wouldn't really mind paying for a few hours of play every blue moon if they were only a fiver.

Indeed, i think nintendo could make a killing with a nintendo branded flash cart and a clone of xbox live arcade for it...

Would be easy to sort out, say each cart has a serial number: sign into the nintendo website with it, buy games, and the next time you switch on the DS the games get downloaded over WiFi.

It'd be a brilliant way to get game demos out for DS games too, must say i love that feature on the Xbox360

Rather than companies whining about piracy, why can't they just deliver viable alternatives instead?

[BigPoppaJNutZ]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I would hope the actual truth behind this figure is that Nintendo believe it is the value that all the pirated games comes to this if everyone had bought the game, whilst in no way suggesting that they would.

Agree! It's not like people are going to buy the game if they can't get a copy. It's usually how so many people would ever try it out. The exposure should count for something...

[jswilson64]

Given that they're the only console maker that claims a profit on console sales (vs. the 360 and ps3 being sold at a loss), they'd have made a lot more money if they could figure out how to get more Wii consoles to market. Each of the 3 nearby Target stores received 5 (yes, 5) Wiis last week, and it was the first shipment since before Christmas. FIVE! Are you kidding me?!

[evanbraakensiek]

Originally Posted by JADS

In other news sperm banks blamed the widespread use of internet pornography for the loss of 432 million gallons of semen a year and the national statistics office blames a loss of 78.67% of it's statistics on rent-a-soundbite companies releasing shock reports with made up statistics.

BEST ANALOGY EVER!

[completemadness]

Where did they even pull this figure out of?

[The Infamous Mr D]

Originally Posted by completemadness

Where did they even pull this figure out of?

My bum. Obviously.