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Scott Miller · 06-07-2006, 11:11 AM

Quick comments (haven't read this thread):

o Yes, we're going to lose some people over this. Such is life.

o However, we're trying to slow down piracy, and unfortunately, because piracy is so completely out of control, we need to take measures that upset paying gamers.

I'm someone who despises Steam myself, so if I like Triton, I think it will change the minds of other Steam haters, too.
o We have data that shows that the anti-piracy measures we're taking within Prey can greatly increase legitimate sales. This data is not available to the public.

o Half-Life 2 and the Episodes do this, too, but Prey will do this to a less intrusive degree. We've taken a hard look at Steam's method and have improved them, making them more customer-friendly.

o Trust me on this: This will become significantly more common in the next year. It's the leaders that catch all the arrows, though.

o Again, I hate that we have to do this, but games are costly ($10,000,000+), and it will take roughly 800,000 sales just to break even. (Our publisher makes money well before this point, simply because they have a different break even level, and it's the developer who pays for the development cost -- the publisher merely loans the developer money, then recoups it from the dev's royalty stream.)

o This system comes with benefits, in that if we cut down piracy we can stay in business longer. We can also patch Prey behind-the-scenes without the player ever needing to lift a finger (assuming the player connects to Triton, to allow auto-patching to take place).

o Triton will not blitz players with marketing and ads like Steam does.

o And remember, with Triton you can download games and begin playing them when they've reached about 20% complete on average -- not a bad deal.

I'm someone who doesn't like Steam. Triton has completely won me over. Hopefully it'll win over other Steam haters, too.

06-07-2006, 11:11 AM	#105
Scott Miller 3D Realms Staff	Re: System Requirements? Quick comments (haven't read this thread): o Yes, we're going to lose some people over this. Such is life. o However, we're trying to slow down piracy, and unfortunately, because piracy is so completely out of control, we need to take measures that upset paying gamers. I'm someone who despises Steam myself, so if I like Triton, I think it will change the minds of other Steam haters, too. o We have data that shows that the anti-piracy measures we're taking within Prey can greatly increase legitimate sales. This data is not available to the public. o Half-Life 2 and the Episodes do this, too, but Prey will do this to a less intrusive degree. We've taken a hard look at Steam's method and have improved them, making them more customer-friendly. o Trust me on this: This will become significantly more common in the next year. It's the leaders that catch all the arrows, though. o Again, I hate that we have to do this, but games are costly ($10,000,000+), and it will take roughly 800,000 sales just to break even. (Our publisher makes money well before this point, simply because they have a different break even level, and it's the developer who pays for the development cost -- the publisher merely loans the developer money, then recoups it from the dev's royalty stream.) o This system comes with benefits, in that if we cut down piracy we can stay in business longer. We can also patch Prey behind-the-scenes without the player ever needing to lift a finger (assuming the player connects to Triton, to allow auto-patching to take place). o Triton will not blitz players with marketing and ads like Steam does. o And remember, with Triton you can download games and begin playing them when they've reached about 20% complete on average -- not a bad deal. I'm someone who doesn't like Steam. Triton has completely won me over. Hopefully it'll win over other Steam haters, too.