Edit: I understand not everyone needs monetary rewards to create something, however I think there are a lot of things that without the monetary reward would not exist.

Do you like video games? Everyone here seems to think we can just copy the files without any harm to anyone. But if all games were free, what sort of games would be created? If game companies stood to make no money, why would they bother with such a large production? Why would Nintendo bother being Nintendo?

It's not that video games wouldn't exist without the IP, it's that without the monetary reward there wouldn't be such a drive over such an extended period of time. But maybe we only need indie games and no one here has ever enjoyed AAA games. That's fair, if true.

[–] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago (7 children)

If game companies stood to make no money, why would they bother with such a large production?

I'm a games industry professional. I would continue to do this work as an unpaid job if my basic needs were met on a societal level.

You think you're asking a neutral question, but you're not. Companies operating within capitalism will behave in the interests of capitalists. IP laws aren't required for the AAA studios other than to domineer control over an idea. A game like Call of Duty is a titan made by 1000s of professionals. One of those games gets launched every year. By shear force of momentum, there are very few companies that could ever replicate it in any fashion.

Now imagine if COD was made by a company in which IP didn't exist, all the profits went to the workers rather than shareholders, and that the workers have a say in the launch schedule. Would you be willing to pay for a game in that instance?

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