Town The copyright of this thesis rests with the University of Cape Town. No quotation from it or information derivedCape from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of theof source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non-commercial research purposes only. University Games, Copyright, Piracy: South African Gamers’ Perspectives by Anna Malczyk Town Cape Of University Thesis presented for the Degree of Master of Arts Centre for Film and Media Studies University of Cape Town January 2010 Plagiarism Declaration 1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and to pretend that it is one’s own. 2. I have used the Harvard convention for citation and referencing. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this essay from the work, or works, of other people has been acknowledged through citation and reference. 3. This essay is my own work. 4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. 5. I have done the word processing and formatting of this assignment myself. I understand that the correct formatting is part of the mark for this assignment and that it is therefore wrong for another person to do it for me. Town __________________________ __________________ Signature Cape Date Of University 1 Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to thank my parents and my family for their constant support and encouragement during my studies. This would not have been possible without their assistance, guidance and the value they place on learning. Also, my thanks to my supervisor, Adam Haupt, and the many excellent teachers in the Centre for Film and Media Studies for their wisdom, enthusiasm and support. Town Cape Of University 2 Abstract This thesis examines video games, copyright law and gamers’ attitudes to copyright infringement, with particular reference to South Africa. The work provides an overview of the debates about copyright law and digital media, and offers an analysis of attitudes expressed by South African gamers about copyright infringement, popularly termed ‘piracy’. The thesis reveals that, while about 70% of the gamers in this study share content illegally, they express complex and varying motivations for doing so, and have various and conflicting means of understanding the supposed illegality of the act. Some of the issues raised by participants in this study relate to contested perspectives on Digital Rights Management (DRM). In this work, I argue that DRM erodes civil liberties and does not necessarily extend the interests of gaming corporations. In this regard, the thesis explores alternative strategies to the restrictive approaches adopted by advocates of DRM as well as prohibitive copyright laws and multilateral agreements on intellectual property. In essence, this work intends to establish middle ground between gamers, who place a high premium on usabilityTown and affordability of gaming products, and the gaming corporations, who are interested in extending market share as well as protecting what they deem to be their intellectual property. Cape Of University 3 Table of Contents GLOSSARY INTRODUCTION Introduction Thesis statement Thesis Structure Methodology Why research gaming? Notes on terminology 1. COPYRIGHT HISTORY AND LAW 1.1 Origins of copyright 1.2 Current regimes against copyright infringement 1.3 SA copyright 1.4 Media piracy and copyright scares 1.5 Framing of copyright issues in the digital age and measures vs. piracy 1.6 Critiques of copyright law issues Town 2. COMPARATIVE COPYRIGHT 2.1 One regime for all? 2.2 Music Cape 2.3 Movies/TV 2.4 Ebooks 2.5 Software Of 3. GAMING AND PIRACY OVERVIEW 3.1 Brief overview of gaming 3.2 Games and copyright 3.3 Piracy in games 3.4 DRM in games 3.5 Challenges to DRM and gamer rights 3.6 EA: Miss andUniversity a Hit 3.7 Difference of games to other media 4. PIRACY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS 4.1 Questionnaire outline 4.2 Sampling method 4.3 Questionnaire structure 4.4 Feedback 4.5 Concerns 5. QUESTIONNAIRE DISCUSSION 5.1 Statistics 5.2 Overview of gaming practices 5.3 Overview of piracy practices and understanding 4 5.4 Hypotheses 5.5 The motives for piracy go beyond simply wanting to obtain free games 5.6 Gamers are aware of DRM and feel strongly negative about it 5.7 Gamers sometimes express social activism through acts of piracy 5.8 Gamers justify their acts of piracy, or do not consider them immoral or wrong 5.9 South Africans are well-informed about the legalities of copyright infringement and have a unique approach or relationship to piracy 5.10 Discussion 6. ALTERNATIVES FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY 6.1 Time for a new business model 6.2 What worked for music, movies and others 6.3 What is the product? 6.4 Valve, subscriptions and other DRM 6.5 Stardock and moving away from DRM 6.6 Micro-transacting, freemiums and the rise of mobile/casual gaming 6.7 Open source, crowdsourcing and service 7. CONCLUSION Town Cape Of University 5 Glossary Demo: an official demonstration version of a game, released by the developers to introduce the game’s features and/or story. Often contains limited gameplay and few of the final features, serving as an interactive trailer. Emulator: a computer programme that emulates (pretends to be) another – usually obsolete – programme, type of hardware or operating system. FPS: First Person Shooter game, which involved the player taking the role as a gun-wielding character (usually in a war or conflict zone). Jailbreaking: illegally modifying the hardware of a gaming console to enable it to play pirated game discs. LAN party/event: organised events where users connect their computers through a LAN (local area network) in order to play games cooperatively and often to share data Townand files. The connection relies on physical proximity, and can involve anything from two to several thousand computers. MUD: Multi-User Dungeon, a type on online game involvingCape large groups of players, the precursor to the MMOG. Rootkit: a malicious type of software that, onceOf installed, prevents unlawful access to or activity on the computer from being detected by antivirus programmes. In essence, it acts as a firewall against the computer’s own protection mechanisms. RPG: role-playing game, which involves the player creating a persona of a character who interacts with the game world according to his or her character traits and skills. University 6 Introduction Introduction The rapid advancement of internet and communications technology today allows for unprecedented human contact on a global scale. Slowly but surely, all corners of the world are being touched by the proliferation of information and communications technologies, which bring with them both the potential to develop and enlighten but also to disrupt and interfere. As different peoples, cultures and societies become connected, great care must be taken that all who participate in the new online community are given equal rights and capabilities. It is especially important that the laws and regulations that govern this new communication arena – the internet – are balanced, fair and account for different cultural perspectives. These laws are integral to the spread of cultures, information and knowledge and dictate the relationship between content producers and consumers. Unfortunately, in the realm of copyright and intellectual property law, this balance has been skewed heavily in favour of the wealthy content producers of the global north who control the development of the law in their favour (Halbert, 2005: 63). In essence, the direction of the law ensuresTown that intellectual property is protected at the expense of fair use, free speech and the free spread of knowledge. Content is locked down behind impassable legal barriers. But counter-hegemonic movements, such as advocates of open access policies or Creative Commons licenses, areCape attempting to relax the exclusionary grip on intellectual property by making it more widely, freely and cheaply available. Of This thesis aims to explore the nexus of games and copyright in the South African context, studying the uncertain ground underlying video games, their relationship to copyright, infringement and culture and the particular situation in South Africa. It will address, and challenge, the perception of copyright infringement – ‘piracy’ in common parlance – and will suggest alternatives for both game developers and customers. South Africa is in the unique position of being the most technologically advanced country in Africa, withUniversity what is generally considered the best access to information and communications technology on the continent (Zachary, 2004). The only type of content that has existed exclusively in the digital sphere is the video game (Coleman and Dyer-Witheford, 2007: 947). Games were first created in the 1950s and have evolved concurrently with computer technology ever since, growing ever more complex, detailed and resource-hungry. They are immensely popular throughout Western and Far Eastern cultures, and come in an almost infinite variety of genres, formats and styles. Games can at once be entertainment media, expressions of culture, mediums for education and works of art. However, their unique digital nature makes them particularly susceptible to digital copyright infringement, as they do not exist outside of the digital sphere. While other media may attain increased value in the non-digital context – music when recorded on an LP or other high- 7 fidelity medium, a book in hardcover or limited edition, a movie reel projected at the cinema – games in physical form have no real value. Their value is purely in their digital form and content. Thesis statement The central goals of this thesis are three-fold: first, to analyse, explain and compare the way that copyright regimes function across all media, with a focus on video games; second, to uncover the reasons behind the practice of computer game piracy as perceived by gamers themselves; and third, to suggest solutions to the conflict between the game-creation industry and gamers themselves.