Free legalized distrubtion?

[cheesepuffly]

I am almost certian this has come up before (i have not seen it but i can bet it has anyway), but why can't Battlezone 2 be distributed to the public for free?

Pandemic just CAN'T be making any money of of Battlezone 2, if it flopped in the beginning, how is it gonna do in 10 years? The mostly only place anyone can find copys are second hand shops, and Pandemic gets no money from those.

So why? Whats stopping Pandemic from letting Battlezone 2 be freely distributed to everyone? Pandemic is on to bigger and better (hopefully) things, why does it care about something that sales wise, failed? I am sure if anyone could play without buying a copy (and said people are against piracy of course) we would get tons more players and maybe even more modders.

Why people?! WHY?!

[Feared_1]

Because it's their game. They're selfish, just like everyone else on Earth.

You'll understand in a few years

[GSH]

Don't bother Pandemic. Activision, as the publisher, is the one that controls distribution. They were the ones that put it on CDs and into stores. They have the rights.

If, hypothetically speaking Activision wants to eventually sell BZ2 at any future time -- think something like the Wii's Virtual Console selling old console games -- then it's in their interests to not make something free. Nintendo's shown that there's a good reason to not make things freely copyable. Even if there's no current revenue from something, why cut off future options.

-- GSH

[cheesepuffly]

Oooooooh.

But still, as i said, it wanst popular then, what makes you think its gonna be popular now?

[GSH]

Dunno. But, lawyers and bean-counters rarely choose to throw away an option. As I said, keeping it for-pay gives them the option to sell it later in some other format. Going free does not.

-- GSH

[cheesepuffly]

True, still i wish they would...

But if theres anyone who understands it, its you.

[TheJamsh]

*TJ risks brave territory

Failing that, you could always just lend the disk to a friend, then their friends, then their friends friends... and do it illegally instead lol.

You see where im going with this

[bigbadbogie]

But if theres anyone who understands it, its you.

No kidding.

*TJ risks brave territory

Failing that, you could always just lend the disk to a friend, then their friends, then their friends friends... and do it illegally instead lol.

You see where im going with this

To a dark, dark, dark place my friend...

[TheJamsh]

lol. with bars... known as prison

[bigbadbogie]

I doubt it... nobody ever gets caught for piracy... except those bloody Somalians.

You will just end up hating yourself from the guilt. 

[Red Spot]

The mostly only place anyone can find copys are second hand shops, and Pandemic gets no money from those.

Not true ...
2 years ago I bought a new and still sealed copy, for fun I inquered if he had more copies and he replied he still had enough ....
Do note that this particular store has got games so old I never even heard about them, but dont think you get them cheap. I bought BZ2 for about €30,- ....
(My first (MIA) copies where bought for something like f15,- (that means that 6 years later I payed about 4* as much for the game))

[bigbadbogie]

Well, antiques tend to cost a lot more when they get older don't they...

[AHadley]

I think very few people here haven't lent their disk (or offered to) at some point.

[mrtwosheds]

Piracy made microsoft what it is today,  The theft of windows 3.1 (it was on floppy discs) spread it worldwide and started microsofts overwhelming dominance of the o/s market...there can be allot to be made from giving stuff away! Ask any preacher!

[King Gladiator]

let me put it like this. they may not be selling lots of copies but they are selling them. here is a brand new BZ2 game for 78.43 US dollars thats roughly 58.50 euros and 52 pounds.

http://www.amazon.com/Battlezone-2-Pc/dp/B00001R3XA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1241921050&sr=8-1

they are selling copies. i don't think activision is going to let go of something that is pulling in a revenue. it wont be until doom was like for id, where decades from its creation virtually no copies are sold and either people are not buying or pirating it, that is when it will most likely be released. but im just guessing there are probably a hundred factors in deciding when a game should be released to public domain.