[MM360]

As per subject line. I couldn't find a thread like this so I created one. Let's post all the interviews, articles, reviews, etc. here and discuss them.

Marcin Iwiński talks Witcher sales, DRM and more

[Teamsleeper]

How about Interviews and Articles regard The Witcher 3 !?

[Costin Moroianu]

Does that mean future CD Projekt RED games will have no DRM?

Because I sure hope so.

[SensesRefined]

Great interview! I love their views on DRM and PC always being an important platform and I hope they stay true to their words as many others in the industry don't. I especially enjoyed the part about piracy and pirates being potential costumers as, say what you want, I fall right into that category.

"Like in every society you have a small percentage of thieves. They will rather steal than buy; but statistically speaking that’s just a fraction and we should not be bothered with them. I strongly believe that you can convince almost any gamer to buy legal games if only you have the right offer for him/her."

This is the positive attitude many others in the industry should adopt. Rather than punishing the potential thieves, support the game for current players.

[Mariusmssj]

Quote

We are PC guys at heart, and nothing will change that.

That's all I needed to hear if witcher 3 comes out first on pc and few months later on consoles like it's happening with witcher 2 I'll be happy chappy

[Aditya_the_warrior_within]

nice interview! yes drm sucks bit time for everyone! one of the big reasons why I respect CDPR (ok now you guys are just CDR right?) so much along with many others.

Sure most must have read this one, still posted it here again. Probably the best one I read. Really respect you fellas for your thinking and approach
and not to mention TW

[Aditya_the_warrior_within]

Teamsleeper said:

How about Interviews and Articles regard The Witcher 3 !? ›››

hell yeah
but now would be too early

[slimgrin]

Depressing how many times it got pirated.

[▫ Dona ▫]

Yep, glad this company is addressing the pirates in such ways, instead of doing the old "It's bad! It's bad!" dance and sweeping the problem under the DRM rug.

[Maxx01]

DRM free the Launcher internet only or is this a bug. before whe get in to Witcher 3. i only ask for simple patch to fix the Cam & FOV.

[227]

Maxx01 said:

i only ask for simple patch to fix the Cam & FOV. ›››

Look, I agree with you, but constantly belaboring the point by bringing it up in almost every post (especially in threads like this that are about something else) is doing both yourself and everything you're arguing for a major disservice.

More on topic, that stance on DRM is seriously admirable. The number of copies pirated is unfortunate, but attitudes like that stand a considerable chance of slowly but surely turning the tide.

[Kaldurenik]

Well it was a good read and i still think you should use day 1 drm (to stop pre release piracy) and then remove it. But this time make sure you have a publisher that are not so anti-customer.

Beside that... Pirated numbers dont say alot and lets be honest... The math is wrong.

I do however hope that the game continues to sell good over time maybe get 2-million in its life time (in sales) Well ofc anything more is great also.

[Saoe]

slimgrin said:

Depressing how many times it got pirated. ›››

Yes thats pretty bad! although expected! I think Marcin should avoid giving number of how many copies has been pireted even tho it was only "routh estimation" still in some eyes it looks laughable (especially console gamers I presume)
I'm confident TW2 on PC will pass 2 mil copies sold next year alone which for PC exclusive game is very impressive. I'm crossing fingers for good sales on 360! and good and effective marketing strategy!

But I really think the way Bohemia is trying to fight pirates is very good and should be explored even further!
Im aware that Witcher 2 have impremented some of that idea but still its not a game breaker for pirates to consider buying the game even if they love it to bits!

Consider looking at flame war that is started on Eurogamer commant section:
http://www.eurogamer...kons-cd-projekt

[eskiMoe]

slimgrin said:

Depressing how many times it got pirated. ›››

Everything gets pirated nowadays. Games, movies, music, audio books, comics etc. You name it.

People need to stop thinking that "oh boy that product could've sold x million copies if it wasn't pirated so much". The thing is the people who pirate those things would most likely not buy them even if pirating them wasn't an option anymore. They either don't care enough to spend that much money on those products or most likely, even if they wanted to, don't have the disposable income to do so.

What people need to remember is that The Witcher 2 had great sales despite the fact that it's a game that couldn't be called very "mainstream friendly" by any means. 400k on its first week (about the same amount as Dragon Age did on its first week on 360 & PS3.) More that can be said about many console exclusives/multiplats. And since it's a PC game it will keep selling through retail & digital distribution services for years to come when people upgrade their PCs or new people get into PC gaming. And the budget for the game was relatively low since developing for PC doesn't require as much money & resources.

Just my 2 cents.

[Costin Moroianu]

I kinda doubt the Witcher 2 was that heavily pirated. Hell I really doubt any game gets pirated that heavily.

What 4 million players getting the game and playing it? Doubtful.

Quote

And the budget for the game was relatively low since developing for PC doesn't require as much money & resources.

How would developing a game for an Xbox 360, all of which have the sames specs, cost MORE then developing a game for the thousands of possible PC configurations? It makes no sense.

[eskiMoe]

Costin Moroianu said:

How would developing a game for an Xbox 360, all of which have the sames specs, cost MORE then developing a game for the thousands of possible PC configurations? It makes no sense. ›››

http://www.gamecaree...sole_vs_pc_.php

"As an independent game developer, there's nothing to stop you from releasing a game on PC or console or both -- except money. The cost of development for PC is generally lower than developing a game for console. When I say "cost," I mean money, time, human resources, and technological resources. To make a marketable game for modern consoles just generally costs more than one for PC. And there seem to be more tenable niche markets among PC game players than among console players, making it easier to access those markets and produce a profitable game. "

[Corylea]

CDPR leads the world! Not only do they make the best games, but they also treat their customers the best.

They're gamers first and businesspeople second, and that makes all the difference. Would that I could buy every game from gamers, not from businessmen!

I liked The Witcher better than The Witcher 2, and there are some things I don't like about the way the game seems to be headed. But I still have tremendous respect for CDPR, and this latest article only confirms that.

[SensesRefined]

I'm being cautiously optimistic. Similar articles and comments were published by other companies claiming similar ideas, at least where PC still being important are concerned. The products they released afterwards however proved otherwize. I have no reason to doubt CDPR with their current track record but if they're looking to make big bucks with "triple AAA", multiplatform titles, I just can't imagine them not succumbing to the dark side of the gaming industry.

[gregski]

The dark side is there and it's tempting.

I guess time will tell and verify their words and our hopes, that there are still honest people around that can keep their promises. If not - shame, but hey, we've all seen this before, so I guess it won't hurt that much. Everyone in this world seems to be running after easy money - why wouldn't another game dev?

[Songlian]

eskiMoe said:

People need to stop thinking that "oh boy that product could've sold x million copies if it wasn't pirated so much". The thing is the people who pirate those things would most likely not buy them even if pirating them wasn't an option anymore.

+1