TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, today released the results of a snap survey on piracy.
The TIGA Piracy Survey compiles feedback from TIGA members and is designed to provide TIGA, the development community and Government with information on how UK developers view the piracy and its effects on their business.
TIGAs Piracy Survey demonstrates three principal findings:
Firstly, the majority of video games developers (60%) see piracy as a problem for their business and most also see this as a constant or increasing problem for their business going forward (90%). However most developers view the actual threat of piracy to their business survival as low (60%) with only 20% ranking the threat as medium and only 10% considering the threat to be high (10% had no view).
Secondly, when asked about the Governments plans to tackle piracy through slowing down or cutting off the broadband supply of pirates, developers had mixed opinions, with 50% agreeing this was a good idea and 50% disagreeing.
Finally, developers are pragmatic and proactive in finding solutions to deal with the threat of piracy. 50% said they are considering different ways of doing business as a consequence of piracy, with 75% of that 50% citing digital distribution, subscription based services and/or ad supported free games as the ways they would or could change their business models.
Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO stated: The results of the TIGA piracy survey clearly demonstrate that UK developers are taking the initiative when dealing with the issue of piracy and looking for new ways of delivering content and communicating directly with their consumers. Developers are not complacent in dealing with this problem and are mostly seeking to find solutions for themselves rather than simply relying on the Government to solve the problem of piracy. This is testament to the pragmatic approach of the industry.