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Frant
King's Bounty
Posts: 24607
Location: Your Mom
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 Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 11:27 Post subject: Old style anti-piracy measures |
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I'm reading an article about the old software house ACG (aka Ultimate Play The Game) for the Spectrum between 1982-1988, and they used to release some of their games in these gorgeous (compared to other games) boxes while almost doubling the price.
Now I know why. They RAISED THE PRICE to combat piracy..  To justify the price hike they created a neat box for their brand.
| Quote: | | In 1984 came Sabre Wulf, the first game of the Sabreman series, which was the first Ultimate game released at a recommended retail price of £9.95. The price of Ultimate titles had previously been just £5.50, which was typical for Spectrum arcade-style games at the time. This increase was in order to discourage piracy, with the idea being that if customers paid more for a game they would be less inclined to give away copies. This coincided with the introduction of the distinctive Ultimate "big box" packaging (used with all further Spectrum releases until Gunfright, and with various releases on other platforms), which the company felt might also help justify the price increase and encourage gamers to buy the game rather than copy it. |
I love old game history (totally uninterested in console gaming history though, I was always a computer game guy, owning Spectrum 48k+, C64, Amiga 500, Amiga 1200).
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
"The sky was the color of a TV tuned to a dead station" - Neuromancer
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 12:08 Post subject: |
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loved all my spectrum boxed games.. those days were the best..
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 12:10 Post subject: |
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You do know that all these old systems you quoted were consoles, right? Sealed machines with predefined hardware.
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 12:11 Post subject: |
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| me7 wrote: | | You do know that all these old systems you quoted were consoles, right? Sealed machines with predefined hardware. |
No they weren't, they were defined as "home computers" They weren't consoles in any way, except for specific machines like Amstrad's GX4000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer
A games console was originally defined by the fact that its sole purpose was to play games, nothing else. A home computer had functionality for many applications and wasn't just limited to games. If you want to get technical, then the very term "games console" very well would be moot these days, as all new "consoles" have various functions well outside the realm of playing games.
... oh and C64 represent!! My mum was always a Speccy fan, she absolutely loved the Speccy, but us kids always preferred the C64.
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Frant
King's Bounty
Posts: 24607
Location: Your Mom
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 12:21 Post subject: |
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Man, I miss my Miggy days...
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 12:26 Post subject: |
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Oh shut up. You're a moron if you think the C64/CPC464/Spectrum/Amiga/ST were "consoles"
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TSR69
Banned
Posts: 14962
Location: Republic of the Seven United Provinces
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 12:46 Post subject: |
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and did you gamers remember games like Turok , Stranglehold or GTA4 that doubled or even tripled it size to stop piracy
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garus
VIP Member
Posts: 34200
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 13:54 Post subject: |
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snip
Last edited by garus on Tue, 27th Aug 2024 21:25; edited 1 time in total
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Epsilon
Dr. Strangelove
Posts: 9240
Location: War Room
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 14:47 Post subject: |
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Those old computers came with a keyboard, built in. The X-Box or the PS2 or any other console, didn't and doesn't.
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 15:06 Post subject: |
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sweet fucking geebus lol..
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TSR69
Banned
Posts: 14962
Location: Republic of the Seven United Provinces
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 15:12 Post subject: |
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well sabin already gave a good definition/explanation:
| sabin1981 wrote: | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer
A games console was originally defined by the fact that its sole purpose was to play games, nothing else. A home computer had functionality for many applications and wasn't just limited to games. If you want to get technical, then the very term "games console" very well would be moot these days, as all new "consoles" have various functions well outside the realm of playing games. |
The hardware demands for consoles these days means it needs a removable media device (blu-ray/dvd player) and it needs a powerful graphic subsystem. Games need to be able to play audio and video tracks.
So that consoles can play DVD discs or MP3s is just a simple side feature/expansion of things that are already in the box.
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 15:20 Post subject: |
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Frant
King's Bounty
Posts: 24607
Location: Your Mom
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 15:31 Post subject: |
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deelix
PDIP Member
Posts: 32062
Location: Norway
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 15:47 Post subject: |
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if anyone think that external addon keyboard for the xbox are overpriced trash...
 Spoiler: | They are completely right |
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Neon
VIP Member
Posts: 18927
Location: Poland
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 16:05 Post subject: |
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 18:03 Post subject: |
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So you were trolling then, just as you are trolling now, and just because the reactions were different.. that means what? Sod off mate. It's got nothing to do with religion or brand loyalty, but common sodding sense.
Tard.
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 18:06 Post subject: |
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wow lenslok i remember those  fold it into table shape and look through it at the image lol awesome hahah...
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Ankh
Posts: 23283
Location: Trelleborg
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Nalo
nothing
Posts: 13510
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 18:12 Post subject: |
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Last edited by Nalo on Wed, 3rd Jul 2024 07:10; edited 2 times in total
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| Posted: Thu, 10th Jun 2010 18:46 Post subject: |
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| Posted: Sat, 12th Jun 2010 15:58 Post subject: Re: Old style anti-piracy measures |
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| Frant wrote: | I'm reading an article about the old software house ACG (aka Ultimate Play The Game) for the Spectrum between 1982-1988, and they used to release some of their games in these gorgeous (compared to other games) boxes while almost doubling the price.
Now I know why. They RAISED THE PRICE to combat piracy.. To justify the price hike they created a neat box for their brand.
I love old game history (totally uninterested in console gaming history though, I was always a computer game guy, owning Spectrum 48k+, C64, Amiga 500, Amiga 1200). |
Thanks, thats interesting, im a vintage "home computer" fan and started with the ZX80 and ZX81 (yes i remember when 1k was enough lol) going through a spectrum (rubber keys rule),Vic20,BBC,amstrad,Dragon32,c64,ST (my favorite scene by miles), amiga and i never knew that was why they made the larger boxs, a fantastic software house at the time none the less.
thing is aslong as no one cared who owned the original back then , go 1/2 or 1/3 or 1/4 even with your mates and job done 
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Grale
Banned
Posts: 3321
Location: Invert
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Under
Posts: 667
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Sat, 12th Jun 2010 18:07 Post subject: |
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| Grale wrote: |
Haha damn i had forgotten all about that protection system!!
Remember having to enter a certain word from a page and paragraph of a manual or copy sheet?
My true gaming started back in 1982 when i was bought a ZX Spectrum...
Ahh those were the days |
Holy shit that reminds me the Indiana Jones : Fate of Atlantis security thingy
At the start up screen where you had to put certain symbols in the correct order, but i lost the manual  although i beat it by trying every single combination available once
good times
Best PICKUP LINE :
"Hey, does this rag smell like chloroform to you?" |
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