Today I was thinking about a debate I was reading on a Mega Man board not too long ago. For those who don’t remember, Capcom released a game, Mega Man: Powered Up, which was basically Mega Man 1 with a couple new features, new bosses, new playable characters, and the ability to create custom levels, upload them, and download others. Capcom also created a couple light add-ons they intended to release online for download as well.
One of these were skins for Roll (one of the playable characters), released one per month. Some of these had a theme (Halloween for October, etc.) so they would be appropriate. But the interesting thing is, this content wasn’t something you downloaded, it was already in the game. What Capcom did was unlock the skin one per month via online.
Now the stitch in this is that someone hacked into the game and made something where you could download the hack, and unlock all the skins, and whatever else was hidden on the cartridge. Capcom didn’t like this and declared it illegal or something, since he’d hacked the cartridge, and since been hunting for copies of this exploitation (but its impossible to completely delete something from the Internet). But this was content already paid for by the consumer. Should the consumer have the right to access to these features, or do they have to abide by the company’s ‘unspoken’ contract with the consumer? Even if you paid for the game, doesn’t that give you the right to everything on that cartridge/disc?
Which is that unspoken contract? I’d rather have the content if it’s already on the cartridge. Especially considering it’s a PSP game wink, wink.
I agree. You bought it, it’s yours. I have the right to copy over my videos, right? So why can’t I hack my game? Although it is unfair for that person to get it all at once instead of waiting, if there was no actual agreement, the hacker’s done nothing wrong and taught Capcom a lesson.
I think the whole “we’re gonna sell you something, but you can’t see all of it until you access our promotion” deal sucks. However, if you buy it knowing its limitations, you can’t complain (and it’s the buyer’s responsability to know, as long as the makers make it clear.) Then again, once I buy it it’s mine, and if I want to hack it, that’s my business- as is the blame if I ruin it.
Now: the problem here is, is it legal if I make a hack that allows others to access the stuff hidden in the products they bought? I think so. Otherwise stuff like Game Shark would be illegal. On the other hand, if I charged for it, Capcom could sue me for making money off their product without permission.
You know, I can’t help but think the entertainment business is lacking in foresight. Look at how the music industry complains about music pirates. But didn’t anyone foresee that was going to happen when the technology to record things was introduced on the market? They should’ve prevented the makers of tape recorders and CD burners from starting their business in the first place.
I actually expect the entertainment business to go at some point, “We can’t stop piracy. We might as well find a way to profit from it.” You know, the way our society gave up and accepted alcohol as legal after prohibition just gave organized crime a source of income.
:no2:
So you’re saying the entertainment industry should have attempted to prevent the public from owning any equipment they could potentially replicate a copyrighted work with? Home video recorders, VCRs, computers, Internet, etc…where would they have stopped?
I think he meant “if they really wanted to prevent even the possibility of piracy.”
I think if you buy something, you can do whatever you like as long as you don’t send any of it to someone else. If the hack unlocks the content that already exists on your own home copy, I don’t see any problem with it, any more than using a Gameshark to cheat and unlock a bunch of stuff the programmers would prefer you do via arduous and nonsensical quests.
Piracy trouble? Maybe lower quality, cheaper versions could help reduce the piracy. Or they could put out their own “pirates” and take some of the loot themselves (authorized pirates?)
And if I buy a book, am I not allowed to write in it? Can I not read the ending first if I want? If I buy a picture, can I not draw on it? And if I see a movie, can I not reveal how it ends to all those who haven’t seen it? Granted, I’ll seem like (and be) a jerk, but it’s legal, right?
I think the issue more is this guy made a hack and distributed it, so everyone gets a chance to use it. Now if he hadn’t distributed it, just kept it for himself, Capcom probably wouldn’t have had such a big problem with it (they also likely wouldn’t have known about it, which makes the point moot). But he did distribute it, allowing people to access hidden content on their own game. But it was their own game, so they were just accessing something they already owned, technically.
hmmm…maybe not the best example, but suppose you buy a chest that comes with a lock on it. but for some reason, it’s already locked when you get it, and the company says they’ll send you the key in a month. would it be illegal to go to a locksmith to get it open earlier?
I think the bigger question is why are more developers selling the public uncomplete games? Some of them are selling added content like new dungeons and horse armor. While others are treating games like a sitcom selling you episode after episode. And if that’s not bad enough remaking older and more complete games with tacked on bonuses and easter eggs are spawning all over the place. (If I have to get MegaMan 4 again on the promise of new content and all I get is a stupid weapon that shoots confetti that I can’t even get because I need an activation code sent by Capcom on a holiday then heads will ROLL, Rawwr.)
A confetti gun sounds like fun, actually. Like one of those noisemakers.
Pink_Lugia: That is a pretty close example, I think. Although, the chest isn’t the whole of what you buy. It’s more like you buy a bunch of other chests, and it comes with one locked chest. You have the choice of waiting, and enjoying the other chests or doing something with the locked chest.
Killmore: I don’t think they are selling incomplete games. I think they are selling complete games, and then offer additional content like on XBoxLive. By sitcoms, I think you mean .hack//sign and compilation of FF7. I think these games are few and far between, really. They’re expensive and risky to make, and a huge investment of a gamer’s time. Each game in Comp of FF7 is a stand alone piece, independent of the others. What I really, really, really hate are games that you need to unlock things in single-player to make them available for multiplayer. That really sucks if you rent with a friend. Stuff like skins and crap isn’t a big deal, but when large chunks of gameplay and content are unavailable to me right from the get-go is not user-friendly. There is very little added value from the ‘challenge’ of progressing and unlocking and so on.
Here’s another cog. Someone on the NeoGAF board has noticed that a lot of the XBoxLive Marketplace items are exactly 108 KB in size. These are mostly stuff to unlock content, like unlocking characters from Lego Star Wars I in Lego Star Wars II. The size suggest that there is no data in these files, and that they are simply unlocked on the disc instead of needing to download them. This means you have to pay extra for something you already bought. Is that right?
I personally hate the idea of having to buy anything extra for a game you already bought, whether you physically have it or not. The extra stuff should be on the game to begin with; if it isn’t, that’s the fault of the developers for not including everything on the first try. Customers shouldn’t have to swallow the cash for that.