This idea will not work because it does not actually solve the problem, and adds greater complexity.It is also, in my opinion, based on a flawed concept.

What you are saying, is because so many people are stealing, we should find a way to legalize it. That is just like having a "snack" tax, because so many people shoplift snack food. Sure, they wouldn't be "stealing" the snaks anymore, but is the problem truley solved?

First of all, there will still be those people that will pirate just because it is simpler. Why download a huge game, when your friend already downloaded it, and can burn it onto a cd for you. In fact, there may be more people justifying pirating because it is "free" anyways.

On the same note, not everyone has acess to a high speed internet connection, and even many of those who do will not want to spend hours downloading a game. And this is only the begining of the introduced complexities.

Obviously there must be a way to identify a person, or else the same person can download the same game multiple times and the cost of the game would be charged the general public multiple times. Also you would have to guard against multiple accounts for the same person. I also doubt very much that "mom" will want to spend the time and effort filling out forms, and downloading a game for her son. In the current system, she goes into gamestop, ask for the game, pays and it is done.

It would also ruin giving PC games as gifts. . . you can't wrap a download.

And this says nothing about the cost of actually downloading a game, and maintaining stable servers that could handle such a large load.

It is important to remember that even though we are living in the "technology age" people in general are not really that tech savy. I mean, how many people still have trouble programming their VCR? :D

One final thing I wanted to say here: I for one do not buy that many games, music, or movies. If you look at my collection, it is fairly small, and most of it were gifts! I am sure I am not the only one like this, and I don't realy think a system that forces me to pay the same as the guy down the street who has the lates computer system and all the lastests game, with that high tech stereo system and 50 CD changer with the hundreds of CDs to match. . . These extremes do exists, and so what you want is for me to support this other guy's expensive entertainment habits.

Turning everything over to government is a fairly socialist notion, and one that Americans are, by doctrine, opposed to. Government is always large, fairly slow-moving and almost inherently inefficient. This wouldn't solve anything.

Besides, being proto-Capitalists, we're also classic laissez-faire economists. Leave the market to work it out. If piracy is a big problem, then maybe the product and the distribution mechanisms have to adapt to the consumer patterns. Rather than charging an up-front purchase price for product, charge a back-end fee for use of product - this is the basis of the many subscription service attempts, and sooner or later one of them is bound to stick.

The reality is that we're in a transition period, unsure of what the next stage will be and lacking the infrastructure to implement an ideal system just yet.

@kindfluffysteve:
I think I can objectively assert that socialism is a failure. Capitalism isn't quite a resounding success, but it has done the best job of the systems we've (man, collectively) been able to develop over our history at proportional distribution of wealth. Capitalism needs a socialist safety net, but it does not need essential socialist mechanisms.

Translating to the specifics of our conversation, there is no room for socialist approaches in entertainment markets outside of grants for the arts. While quality of life is unquantifiable and the contribution of various elements to quality of life cannot be precisely measured, it is obvious, self-evident and intuitive that medical services, food, shelter and clothing respectively contribute more to quality of life than entertainment.

Given that we are willing to allocate only for a socialist safety net, then, the portion of resources available does not cover entertainment production initiatives, though it will cover a limited amount of entertainment purchasing.

In short, your idea Sucks™

Quote:Original post by kindfluffysteve

wrong, the most wealthy per capita western nations are more to the left of the wests centrists.

And the USA is the ranked fourth in the world on this standard. Not too shabby for a right wing country (it's even fourth if you include the East).

Of course any current game developer would not want this as most of them earn roughly twice the average per capita income of an American worker. BTW, World Bank says the average American has the third best purchasing power (fourth in raw income) of the natives of any country in 2004.