Over half of the 2,219 PC gamer respondents to a recent survey have recently
downloaded pirated software: that’s the conclusion of a wide-reaching poll conducted
by the copy protection experts Macrovision (Nasdaq: MVSN). And whilst estimates
on the impact of packaged software piracy suggest a figure of $3 billion worldwide
(source: Electronic Software Association), Macrovision believes the rise in
high-speed Internet file sharing – which currently isn’t taken into account
in the ESA estimate – pushes the figure substantially higher.

Macrovision conducted a survey across a number of popular gaming sites. Of
the 2,219 PC gamers quizzed, 52 per cent admitted to obtaining cracked software
while 33 per cent of those reported acquiring ‘ISO’ files – essentially
full CD images with copy protection hacked out. Alarmingly, 15 per cent of respondents
admitted to acquiring 15 or more pirated games within the last two years.

As a follow-up to the survey, Macrovision has published a White Paper which
offers insights to typical hacking methods and presented potential solutions
in a special presentation entitled ‘The Changing Face of Piracy and its Strategic
Implications’ which ran at ELSPA’s Games Summit on June 9th.

Based on the survey results, Macrovision estimated that for every four weeks
a game’s copy protection remains effective for a highly desired title, significant
revenue could be generated at retail as users become frustrated with waiting
for ‘free’ working versions, and instead opt to buy a legitimate copy. Two-thirds
of those that admitted using pirated software claimed they were not patient
enough to wait six weeks after release before buying a legitimate copy.

Diligent use of Macrovision’s sophisticated SafeDisc® copy protection technology
combined with its Security API (application program interface) can extend the
time it takes to break a game’s security. The firm is using its Hacker University
and SafeDisc Developer Program to offer inventive ways of frustrating the hackers
at several stages. And with every week the game’s code remains secure, publishers
and developers can reap significantly more income for that title – up
to $1,500,000 dollars for a title selling 1,000,000 units worldwide during the
first month( ).

“The results of this survey highlight the economic impact of slowing hackers
down by even a day,” says Martin Brooker, Director of Sales, Macrovision
Europe. “As the world’s leading copy protection experts, we want to draw
attention to the benefits of integrating security measures into game code –
something which is both easy and efficient using our SafeDisc technology. And
when you can generate significant additional revenues by investing a small amount
of developer time to protect code properly, we think it’s important that publishers
choose the most robust and flexible security available.”

The Hacker University was held on June 9th at Le Meridien Hotel, Piccadilly,
London, as part of the two-day Games Summit conference, organised by the Entertainment
and Leisure Publishers Association (ELSPA).

Note (1): The incremental retail sales potential is estimated based on a popular
title selling at 1,000,000 units, with an estimated 20% or 200,000 black market
units representing incremental segment of users who acquire illegal copies online.
The recent survey indicated that 25% of pirate game users would have purchased
legitimate copies if unable to obtain free working hacks within the first 4
weeks of a desired title. This would represent 50,000 incremental unit sales
potential for the game. With an ASP of $30 per unit, at 50,000 units, this represents
$1,500,000 of incremental sales potential.

Filed under: Software

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