Here is an excerpt from a very good article on a troubling trend. Lets all be good stewards here and promote product loyalty, no matter how frustrated we get at times.
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Inside the business
A misconception exists about how the Mac games industry works. To publish a popular title such as Halo, developer/publishers must customarily pay the owner of the PC version of the product a licensing fee. They must then sustain development costs, packaging and distribution costs – and are often required to pay a certain royalty to the original publisher on sales. In many cases, even a minimum royalty payment is set, and Mac publishers may have to pay the balance due under that agreement if a game fails.
Adams said: "Because the Mac is a small market we are always having to make the case that there will be enough sales to make it worth bringing a game to the Mac. If sales shrink because of piracy, it gets harder to make that case."
MacSoft's Tamte said: "Damage is huge: all publishers make decisions about which games to bring to the Mac based on how well earlier, similar titles sold. Stealing games today robs the platform of tomorrow's titles."
Smith observed: "The Mac game market is a small pond. Each lost sale hurts because we sell only a fraction of the games PC developers do. A hit on the PC side can make you rich; a hit on the Mac will pay the bills and bring some capital to get the next game going. If fewer games do well because of piracy, there may not be a next game."
UK games developer Mark Thomas of porting house Coderus said: "If we don't recover costs, future projects can be at risk – users have less titles, and fewer developers risk introducing Mac games.
"We understand there will be piracy, but such massive levels will affect future titles. We are losing money that we need for future games. Mac gamers aren't getting the full picture here."
Stephen explained: "It may end up that only blockbuster games reach the Mac, because they are the only ones that can make a profit despite piracy. This will reduce the number and the range of titles available."
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complete article
*****
Inside the business
A misconception exists about how the Mac games industry works. To publish a popular title such as Halo, developer/publishers must customarily pay the owner of the PC version of the product a licensing fee. They must then sustain development costs, packaging and distribution costs – and are often required to pay a certain royalty to the original publisher on sales. In many cases, even a minimum royalty payment is set, and Mac publishers may have to pay the balance due under that agreement if a game fails.
Adams said: "Because the Mac is a small market we are always having to make the case that there will be enough sales to make it worth bringing a game to the Mac. If sales shrink because of piracy, it gets harder to make that case."
MacSoft's Tamte said: "Damage is huge: all publishers make decisions about which games to bring to the Mac based on how well earlier, similar titles sold. Stealing games today robs the platform of tomorrow's titles."
Smith observed: "The Mac game market is a small pond. Each lost sale hurts because we sell only a fraction of the games PC developers do. A hit on the PC side can make you rich; a hit on the Mac will pay the bills and bring some capital to get the next game going. If fewer games do well because of piracy, there may not be a next game."
UK games developer Mark Thomas of porting house Coderus said: "If we don't recover costs, future projects can be at risk – users have less titles, and fewer developers risk introducing Mac games.
"We understand there will be piracy, but such massive levels will affect future titles. We are losing money that we need for future games. Mac gamers aren't getting the full picture here."
Stephen explained: "It may end up that only blockbuster games reach the Mac, because they are the only ones that can make a profit despite piracy. This will reduce the number and the range of titles available."
*****
complete article
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