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Capcom Blames Piracy for Poor DMC4 PC Sales
by Aaron Linde, Aug 01, 2008 8:00pm PDTCapcom corporate officer Christian Svensson revealed that the PC edition of the company's demon-slaying action title Devil May Cry 4 (PC, PS3, 360) saw poor sales since it debuted early last month, owing in some part to rampant piracy of the game.
"It's not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail," Svensson wrote on Capcom's official blog. "It's such a good version and it really deserves better sales. I know it's getting pirated to hell and back (it was up on torrents literally the day it shipped)."
The executive added that he had pushed for more prolific digital distribution of Devil May Cry 4's PC incarnation, but was stonewalled by Capcom Japan. Despite the frustration, Svennson reiterated his commitment to bringing more Capcom titles to digital distribution outlets.
"For the record all CEI-developed titles will be distributed extremely widely via digital channels... I've spent the last year building up that channel," Svennson stated, noting that GRIN's downloadable side-scroller Bionic Commando Rearmed (PC, PS3, 360) would see "broad digital distribution for PC."
"I have a presentation I'm making shortly that I'm hoping will make that approach something we do with all of our PC content, even those developed in Japan, but no promises. It might not happen," he added.
Comments
No, not everyone who pirates a game would have bought it. But when you can go to any torrent site at any given moment and see thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people downloading a game, even weeks after it came out, how can any reasonable person not accept that there were lost sales there?
Sure, we don't know what percentage of those pirated copies are lost sales, but just because we don't have that figure, does anyone truly believe that means the potential sales are negligible?
We know from firsthand statements that Ritual saw considerably more technical support requests from pirates than from legitimate customers on Sin Episodes. Does it matter if you thought that game wasn't good? No. Clearly, those pirates thought it was good ENOUGH to try to get it to work right.
It would be absurd to think that's an isolated example. Because every time anyone brings this up--be they a top-shelf developer, or a less prominent one--people think of a million reasons why that particular game or that particular developer just don't DESERVE the support of the discerning PC gamers. At that point, they stop being isolated examples, and they become part of a very clear trend.
Arguments like "Nobody wants to play this on PC" or "PC software is buggy" are ridiculous. If people genuinely didn't want to play it or already played it on consoles, they wouldn't pirate it. If PC software is too buggy, they shouldn't be pirating all those PC games.
The really sad and frustrating part is, the only effect this shit has is that more and more developers and publishers are just going to stop bringing their games to the PC. Why even bother, if the system is already such a pain in the ass, and the community is full of so many stubborn idealogues?
I'm not even accusing anyone here of BEING a pirate, although doubtless there are some. People just have this incredibly quick-tempered reaction as soon as piracy comes up, citing all these other potential factors, always the same ones--too buggy, game sucks, not right for the PC, etc. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, if lots of people are still pirating it, those arguments are basically meaningless.
Sure, console piracy exists. But I would bet real actual dollars it's not remotely as much of a problem on home consoles as it is on PC. I mean, look at the PSP--there's a system where piracy is known to be considerably more widespread, and unlike the home consoles it's pretty easy to see the effect. Maybe it's because it's harder on home consoles (I haven't tried on either, so I wouldn't know), maybe it's just a psychological thing where people don't associate those systems with piracy.
But again, when it comes down to it, regardless of those factors, if PC software is consistently pirated more than console software, and it clearly is, it's going to continue to be a disincentive for full-scale game developers to put their games on the system.
And yes, you can point to Blizzard and Valve all you want. Not every developer is, or can be, a Blizzard or a Valve. In the real world, that's just how it is. Other companies can't really afford to sit around and generate twelve years of goodwill while they hope that their games turn out to be some of the best-selling titles of all time--not everyone is actually capable of that, and you shouldn't have to be stacked up against two of the top few companies in the entire industry every time this shit comes up. It's completely unrealistic.
So people can be self-righteous and smug until the cows come home, but it's not going to be doing anything good for the platform long-term.
I love the smaller, more niche, lower-budget PC titles, the ones like Stardock's that are less affected by this type of thing. Those are great. But I ALSO like the bigger-budget ones that just by virtue of how the world works need to sell more to make it worthwhile to put them on PC. I like being able to use my PC for a wide range of gaming. I like that companies are starting to take more chances on the PC again, finally. I don't like that when they do, and they run into the sad reality of rampant piracy, they're met with nonstop snarkiness.
I'm not even going to get into arguing against people who defend the piracy itself (rather than just attacking the developers who cite piracy), because those arguments seem self-evident. Fortunately I don't see much of that here to begin with, which is at least something of a good sign.
I can already envision what all the responses to this post are going to be, if this thread stays active! We'll see how it goes.
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But I guarantee you I'm not going to waste my time/money buying the console versions of the remaining 2 editions of that game.
DMC ins't my type of game, so i wouldn't have bothered with it on any platform.
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Anticipate realistic sales and maybe devs and publishers won't feel burned as often.
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It is just a cop out to blame the so called "pirates" and say that it is there fault people arn't buying your game, neither am i justifying copying software.
The bottom line is release a good product that people really want, and it will sell
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As much as i feel for your loss i'd say it is about time to stop yapping about lost sales and start making up for them by introducing new ways to generate revenues. Shit like subscriptions, well executed multilayer features like Battle.net (ladders, chatrooms), MMO-like gameworlds, digital distribution and other cool stuff that's been around for ages can be combined into new services that will bind your customers to your product and provide a tool to beat piracy.
For god's sake do something innovative that isn't based on "this time the mobs will hide from your bullets.... no really!" but on getting your well deserved money into your bank accounts.
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If they had come out at the same time i would have bought them for the PC not the 360.
Not that i am trying to say this is the only reason, but i wonder how many people have actually purchased this on another System but are pirating it on the PC
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Oh! One other point. The economy isn't doing so well lately. I don't know about others but I personally have less money to spend on games. The way this plays out is... I have to limit the number of games I buy and "Save" my coin for games I really want. Personally, IF I bought this game, it would be for the Xbox 360. Then again I tried the Demo and I'm not interested! Sorry Capcom!
Piracy is runs rampant with EVERY game released on the PC and 360, be it a smash hit or complete failure. Loss of sales to piracy is a guarantee in this industry. Every developer and publisher knows that they will have to write off X number of sales to piracy. They've been doing this for years.
Simple sitting there and blaming piracy for poor sales is a marvelous way to ignore every other inconvenient truth like:
1. Game was released on BOTH next gen consoles back in February. Most PC gamers have a 360, PS3, or both. This game most likely hit market saturation back in February. Anybody who was going to buy it probably already did.
2. Most gamers don't buy the same game twice, even if you add an extra bonus level or new boss. People don't go buy the next model year of their vehicle when it's released, even if the passenger sun visor now has a vanity mirror.
3. As cited, PC gamers are pretty much over the whole brick and mortar boxed game experience. A lot of PC gamers simply won't buy anything, aside from an AAA title, that isn't released via Digital Distro.
DMC4 was not a smash hit on the PC. Sales were lost to Piracy, that is not to be denied, but the real failure was with the release and marketing of this game - as Svenson stated near the end of the article.
Release DMC5 on 360/PS3/PC simultaneously with a decent digital distribution method in place and I bet your sales will not tank. You will of course still lose some to piracy, that's just a sad constant in this industry.
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1) The Publishers/Developers already believe that their loss of revenue is due to piracy, and nothing will change their beliefs.
2) Once developing games for the PC is no longer profitable, they will stop doing it, and in the eyes of an average gamer, the ps3 and the 360 can already do whatever a PC can do. And once this happens, again piracy will be blamed again, and there will be nothing you can do about it.
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Piracy has always been around and will always be around, and anybody with half a brain would factor that in. Torrent numbers mean nothing. "Data Mining" that some stupid lemming hails as proof for OMG PROBLEMS means nothing. It does nothing but give the developers and publishers a convenient excuse why their shit did not sell.
Ask Stardock, who releases games without any copy protection or DRM. They get pirated but the games are so well done that those who seriously want to play them, pay. Look at Blizzard, their stuff was pirated to high heaven and sales still were/are through the roof, enabling many-year development cycles.
Take your shitbag of a game, cry to your boss about the douchehattery on torrent and keep making shit games until the cows come home. Your crap will never sell because it's crap.
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Of course, some sales are lost, but considering that most of those people wouldn't even buy the game - it's much smaller step to pirate a game, than it's to buy a game. Crytek lost a lot of sales due their incapability to optimize their engine better, and stop that pre-release shit of it running with nothing but supercomputers - you are bound to lose sales with such an _arrogant_ approach. Then dropping support for non-functioning game, Crysis MP component - serverside, is still highly flawed. It will not be fixed. That is like taking a dump on the people that bought the game, me included. I don't have to take such attitude from anyone.
Crysis Warhead can rot on shelves all I care - I am not buying it even as it comes with reduced price. Don't worry, I wouldn't waste my time on pirating such thing either. I will buy games that I like, and play those. Companies that threat their customers as customers, and not as wallets.
You can go and claim piracy = lost sales route - that is as wrong statement as saying it has _no affect at all_. DMC4 isn't a game for PC platform to begin with - that comes down to knowing your market. Honestly, in the end, you need a good game, bit of innovation, that will sell. But your best bet is with good multiplayer component that needs cdkey check. Also, dismissing the fact that Blizzard and Valve have succeeded there is bit off the line also - they know their markets - and work towards that. Of course, not every developer can go that route, but still, if you make shit games - I bet people aren't willing to spend 60$ on such thing. It is a lot easier to sell "bad games" on consoles - that is a sad fact.
The thing that happened with SiN:Emergence is sad, since I highly enjoyed that game. Bought it the first day it was available on Steam. The thing I hate on pirace the most, is that they consume the resources of the companies support - I can't even describe how low such behaviour is.
Transparent and honest approach, respecting approach, towards customers. Most big companies don't listen to their consumers at all, and threat them like shit. Such behaviour doesn't strenghten the confidence customers have towards publishers - and going that route the developers. Arrogant approach doesn't help.
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If you could estimate, how many console games have a demo come out via Playstation Network or Xbox Live Marketplace (whatever it's called) ___BEFORE___ the retail game comes out?
The reason I ask is because I've noticed what seems to be a trend for PC games that has progressed over the years in the demo's being released after the retail game has come out. I seem to remember a time a few years ago where demo's would come out well in advance on the PC and would give everyone a chance to play them, whet our appetites a little, and then when the retail came out we had money in hand ready to go.
The reason I bring this up is because if there really is a trend where PC games don't get the demo's early but console game demos are released early, I wonder how much that could be affecting game sales. If someone is dying to play a PC game but can't because the demo isn't out yet but the retail (and a pirated version) are out, it would seem feasible that many people who are ok with ANY form of "try before you buy" would see it as way to make sure they don't lose money on a crappy game.
I'm certainly not justifying piracy, I'm just curious as to if this trend that I felt I had seen was in fact true, and if so, what the chances were that it could be affecting sales.
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the game is like something stuck in 1995... I run into a new room holding a direction and it auto moves me in the opposite direction because the new room has a different control scheme...
capcom 1995 called they want their technology back.
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And people wonder why many developers prefer to devlope for consoles or use copy protection?
And then eventually everything will just *pop* right out of existence. Like a reverse Big Bang.
1) Devil May Cry is a franchise which originated on consoles, and PC gamers aren't as familiar with it
2) It is a game best played with a console controller, rather than the mouse and keyboard
3) It came out on consoles before it came out on PC
Basically, any real fan of the DMC series likely already owned a console and purchased a console copy. It is unlikely that they would bother to buy a copy for their PC as well. The curiosity of seeing how the PC version played may have even motivated some people who already owned a console copy to download a prirated PC version, thus artificially inflating the piracy rate.
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If you bought a game for a console and you also wanted it for the PC, would you consider it OK to pirate it for the PC? Assume that both games are the same.
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I bought it for the 360 and honestly, I like playing on my 42in plasma than my 22in LCD, and another huge point, this game plays much much much better with a gamepad. But a simultaneous release would have faired much better in regards to sales numbers for the PC.
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But indeed, DMC4 has been downloaded out of its mind and it's sad because this game wasn't just a lousy port it was a strong copy of DMC4 made for PC.
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It's just mind boggling to automatically assume that the people who are pirating games are actually people who would buy the product.
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So WTF can I do to stop piracy besides buying the game, assuming I care about that game? (And I'm not just talking about DMC4 since I don't give a fuck about that game.)
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/thx, have enough. pls shoot the messenger!
I am guessing most PC gamers with a GeForce 6600 or better are in the 30-70k income bracket. There is probably a smaller but still substansial group falling in 70k+ range that is less prone to piracy, but it is the minority. You take your average guy in the 30-70 range with a PC capable of running DMC4, Crysis, or anything that really requires something that is gaming-friendly (has a video card with reasonable fill performance). In this context, there is a 99% chance that this guy is going to know how to work his uTorrent. Now give this guy a choice between spending an hour on a torrent or paying 50-60 bucks. Especially if he's closer to that 30k end range, he is probably going to say fuck-all to guilt and productive societal practices and hop on the torrent. That is just the bottom line here. Your audience is also the audience most prone to piracy of software and other forms of media.
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