DreamRift on how DS piracy affected publishers, 3DS piracy concerns
3DS piracy has started to become a hot topic as of late. With rumors circulating that hackers are coming to close to breaking the system open, such a result could impact the market significantly.
Piracy was a monstrous problem on the DS. It eventually became so troublesome that publishers were hesitant to release games for the portable, and would sometimes pass on titles completely – like original IP.
DreamRift co-founder Peter Ong discussed the negative impacts of DS piracy on both his studio and publishers’ mindsets while speaking with Gamasutra:
“We definitely found that piracy was a significant factor in our Nintendo DS development efforts. When we approached publishers to propose potential game projects with them, most of them brought up their concerns about piracy at some point. Many publishers even cited the issue of piracy as a specific reason why they decided to back away from our game project, especially with it being an original intellectual property concept. The publishers’ fear was that, in a climate where piracy is commonplace, original games and new mechanics are far less likely to be successful than games based on previously successful mechanics, established licenses, sequels, and sports.”
Ong feels that through his experience, publishers were more cautious of piracy in particular territories. As a result, DreamRift found that its games were “directly affected the distribution and marketing efforts of our games within those regions.”
“In DreamRift’s experience, publishers tended to be most concerned about piracy on the Nintendo DS in certain regions of the world, such as Europe. This directly affected the distribution and marketing efforts of our games within those regions. A publisher would go as far as to avoid spending the investment necessary to even release our game in Europe due to their projections of how piracy would impact its sales.”
Ong also has quite a few thoughts regarding 3DS piracy:
“Whether or not you should take note of piracy on the Nintendo 3DS as a serious issue depends on who you are. If you celebrate the decline of one of the last platforms where great games are rewarded and held up as shining examples, then there’s no need to be alarmed here. Or if you wish upon yourself (and all other 3DS gamers) a market flooded with uninspired licensed/sequel/sports games over original ideas and mechanics, then by all means there’s nothing to worry about. There are so many things that are unique about the 3DS right now as a platform, and to see it falter would be heartbreaking. It’s a handheld gaming machine that’s dedicated to playing games first and foremost rather than making phone calls or checking your Facebook page. It offers a home for passionate world-class studios that aren’t so small as a garage-operation, but aren’t 100+ person juggernauts. As for myself, I am definitely taking notice, because the day that I have no option but to make a sports game is the day that I must look for a new profession. If piracy becomes prevalent on the Nintendo 3DS, it will affect DreamRift’s efforts on the 3DS detrimentally.”
