Piracy is a hot topic for any PC developer, so when I went to check out Dragon Age: Origins in Edmonton, I took the opportunity to ask BioWare whether a loyal fanbase makes piracy less of a problem and, if not, how the studio deals with it.
“Piracy is always a problem, for all media,” answers Mike Laidlaw. “Certainly offering people editions of the game that include bonus items do help encourage them to purchase the title rather than pirate it, as do options like additional content that check for valid copies of the game, these measures help because they don’t penalize the legitimate users of the game by adding additional steps to install or launch, for instance.
“Instead, they offer an incentive to the player who is running a legitimate copy of the game. This is certainly a paradigm shift away from the harsher copy protection we’ve seen in the past, and I think it’s not only working, but appreciated. It creates a friendlier environment for everyone.”
Electronic Arts won itself no fans with its continued and insistant use of SecuROM in all of its products. Hopefully BioWare’s commitment to treating paying customers with a little more respect will be rewarded. Knowing what pirates are like though, it’s a little doubtful.
