World Wide Purchasing & Distribution

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by Razor

I am not blaming the developers, but whoever is responsible for the decision to not release all over the world at the same time. If there is a delay, because of the need to get an ESRB rating or whatever, then they should delay the release everywhere. Having different release dates is a really bad idea. And if the difference is almost a month, that's a REALLY bad idea. That's like inviting people to pirate the game.

I think that many people in the US are not just going to go a month of reading about how we here in Europe are enjoying the game without getting to play it themselves, not when there is certainly going to be cracked versions around that they can download.

Ah i see what you mean. Yes, staggered releases are indeed a recipe for increased piracy. It might start innocent for many "ah, let's try this game, i'm going to buy it anyway when it's released here", but then they settle for their illegal copy and never get round to buying a legitimate one.
On the other hand, i don't expect the majority of the real fans to settle for a pirated copy even if they download one.

At least that's what i would do if my region's release was delayed, i could be tempted to try an illegal version to try out and get a feel for the game, but i'd still buy a legitimate copy as soon as possible, first of all to support the developers and second, i like collecting boxes of games i really like. But in any case, you are correct that a certain number of people would not upgrade to a legitimate, bought copy.

On the other hand the developing studio is strapped for cash, so maybe they really needed an injection to keep going and that's why they decided to distribute on each region as soon as they can. Maybe it's a "lesser of two evils" kind of thing.