Dave_K. wrote:What I love most is that people are quick to point out any trivial copyright infringement and use that as their own moral justification to download/trade any game they wish for free. It is hurting the industry. And although buying 2nd hand PCB's may not put money back into the original developers, it does still justify their market!
I am not trying to "justify" ROMs downloads. Far from it. What I am trying to do is make people realise that buying a 2nd hand board does not put money in developer's pockets. It seems the world is far more concerned about archaic western copyright law than they are about actually putting money into the pockets of the games developers that they love.
I really, REALLY care about the games industry. I would like to see it, and the small-time developers I love within it profit for quite some time to come, and continue to deliver the games I enjoy. Heck, imagine a world without people like Treasure and Cave. That would suck.
I have contacted countless developers and publishers over the years begging them to think differently about sales. Quit these shitty limited and costly console ports and offer ROM licensing direct to the public. Hell, I'd pay $200 or more direct to Cave for an approved download of a DoDonPachi ROM. What option do I possibly have right here and right now to purchase this game legally and ensure that the money goes not to some arsehole collector but to the brilliant people who made the game? None. Sad truth.
Rumour had it that David "I tried to steal the MAME copyright" Foley of Ultracade fame was going to release an "iROMs" service this year. For a few bucks you could download your favourite ROM legally and play it in a non-profit manner in your own home (It was mentioned original SF2 was going to be around the $10 mark, which is an absolute steal). Now, Mr Foley is a self-made multi-millionaire, and has the cash to make these schemes work. However I still don't see the fruits of that labor. That was probably my last hope of seeing a reasonable and realistic way to purchase original arcade-quality games and have money go directly to the developers, and not to eBay and the collectors who abuse it.
Imagine if SF2 goes for $10. Imagine if 100,000 people download it (not unreasonable, considering it's popularity). There's a million bucks in sales. Even if Ultracade only makes 10-20% and the rest goes to Capcom, that's several hundred thousand bucks in Capcom's pockets that doesn't arrive there from second-hand PCB sales on eBay.
As I said, I'd pay some serious money to have a Cave-approved ROM with the knowledge that the cash (or at least a majority of it) lands in the hands of Cave staff. And I'm sure there are dozens of people reading this who feel the same way. I buy every single Cave console port I can reguardless of the quality and/or side issues, but that still leaves me unsatisfied.
THAT is the point I'm trying to get across. THAT for me is the big picture. I really want to see this market last, and second-hand sales (and yes, emulation too in it's current form) do nothing positive for it. Short of writing a cheque to Cave for a few thousand bucks every year, it gets harder and harder for me to give my money to the people whom I feel deserve it.
Apple saw a huge hole in the music market when the release iTunes. In the first 48 hours of operation they made US$11 million PROFIT. Not sale, but actual all-expenses-counted PROFIT. Before that time, the RIAA and all the legal eagles spent all their time and effort arresting people for downloading MP3s. Overnight Apple turns a supposed "crime wave" into a legal and hugely profitable industry which benefits not only them, but the musicians directly. It has gone as far now as that some musicians are releasing their music on iTunes only, as they actually see more profit than from con-artists like Sony/BMG, Mushroom, etc who pay these people as little as 1 or 2% of their gross profits.
Fast forward a few years and here we have an industry of games publishers bitching that nobody pays for games and they all go and download them illegally. Well, obviously the demand is there, so why hasn't someone filled the hole with a business opportunity? Make some goddamn lemonaide out of these lemons! Sell ROMs online, legally!
StarROMs tried it, and failed.
http://www.starroms.com/goodbye.php
Why? Not because people weren't buying ROMs, oh no. The StarROMs CEO himself has told me privately (and the world quite publically in interviews) that quite simply it's the games developers who DON'T WANT to sell their games online, instead preferring the traditional (and less profitable) publishing house alternatives. Are these people mad? Do they actually want to cut a profit?
This whole thing tires me to be honest. I've said the exact same thing on the mame.com, mameworld.net and byoac.com forums, all of which has been met with great enthusiasm by MAME devs and users alike. Not that it has gotten anyone anywhere.
I'm no multi-millionaire, so my ideas have no financial weight to make them work. Dave Foley might stand a chance if he still cares about the industry as he claims. If he's telling the truth, I wish him luck. I'm pessimistically doubtful, however.
So whatever. Buy your PCBs and enjoy them like I do. But until the money goes to game developers directly, the enjoyment for me still leaves a bitter aftertaste.
[edit: spelling]
BTW the copyright screens on PCBs say that its illegal if you sell or operate a PCB outside its intended region. Nothing illegal about buying a board for home use only (not making any profit off it). And what about if I buy an international or USA PCB (my region), am I allowed to clear my guilty conscience then (compared to people who download roms)?