Peter Moore: Suing PC Pirates Not the Answer, 'It Didn't Work for the Music Industry'

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Following the announcement that several game companies are filing suit against PC video game pirates, former Microsoft VP and current EA Sports head Peter Moore said that he expects the measures to be ineffective toward thwarting further file sharing.

"It didn't work for the music industry," said Moore to Eurogamer. "I'm not a huge fan of trying to punish your consumer."

Atari, Codemasters, Reality Pump, Topware Interactive and Techland have hired law firm Davenport Lyons to file suit against 25,000 file sharers on their behalf. The lawsuits demand the pirates pay GBP 300 (US $557), or face trial.

While Moore recognizes that constructive solutions to piracy are scarce, he would rather the industry look for some than run to the courts.

"Albeit these people have clearly stolen intellectual property," he continued, "I think there are better ways of resolving this within our power as developers and publishers."

Several EA Sports games, including Madden 2009, did not see PC releases this year, with Moore citing "serious business challenges" as the reason. Moore has said that the franchises will return to the platform next year, but bolstered with "meaningful" online connectivity.

"I think there are better solutions than chasing people for money," added Moore. "I'm not sure what they are, other than to build game experiences that make it more difficult for there to be any value in pirating games."

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 21, 2008 8:04 PM

    That's pretty sensible of him.

    • reply
      August 21, 2008 8:19 PM

      Who knew we would be cheering for Peter Moore.

    • reply
      August 21, 2008 8:30 PM

      though tbh, ea's been one of the more proactive companies about watching bittorrent and such, as far as i know. i'm guessing.. yeah, like he said, they know it didn't work for the music industry and doubt it'll work for them.

      • reply
        August 21, 2008 8:32 PM

        They're also the leader in loading DRM on their products. So much for not punishing the consumer.

        • reply
          August 21, 2008 8:36 PM

          Heh, wouldn't that actually be the opposite, then? DRM hurts the consumer, suing pirates doesn't, because they didn't purchase your product in the first place.

        • reply
          August 21, 2008 8:52 PM

          Leader? They're one of the last ones to go in on SecuROM. Most other companies have been dumping it in for a while.

          • reply
            August 22, 2008 3:20 AM

            They're leaders, yeah. Why are you protecting EA all the time? I read you used to work there before?

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