Speaking to Strategy Informer last week, Newcomb mentioned how is biggest concern with piracy wasn’t so much the lost revenue or wages, but on how it then prevents future projects:
”I think Piracy’s biggest negative is the fact that the money that it takes stops development of certain titles,” he said.
”So Jon’s ability to make decisions and another game in the future are very dependent on basic sales. You did this, it sold this well. But if half the copies out there are pirated, even if people really liked it, he wouldn’t have the same opportunities to take advantage of that.”
”Unless it’s ridiculously bad, it might not be destroying company profits, but it erodes the individual freedom to create.”
It’s already been announced that Civilization V will be shipping with Steamworks, along with its account-based DRM which Firaxis are firm supporters off. Jon Shafer, the Lead Designer, thinks piracy is a very complex issue:
”Piracy is a big deal, and even though people argue about how much it actually impacts anything, the fact is people perceive an effect to it, and so a response is necessary.”
”It’s a complex issue, and I don’t think it will ever be something that will really be solved. I mean they just announced that the PlayStation 3 was finally hacked and so you’re going to see pirated games on that. It’s back and forth.”
You can read the rest of the interview HERE.
Civilization V ships on September 21st for North America, and September 24th for Europe on PC.
