As reported earlier this weekend, hackers are close to cracking the 3DS's copy protection schemes wide open. This is good news to some, like those who are fans of the import and homebrew scenes. But it's also bad news to others, like those who create commercial software.
Jools Watsham is one such person. He's the head of Renegade Kid, which is responsible for Dementium and Mutant Mudds. And he has stated that if the 3DS succumbs to piracy like the DS did, his studio will not be able to continue supporting the platform.
In a blog post that Polygon has highlighted, Watsham lays it all out:
"Piracy on the Nintendo DS crippled the DS retail market, especially in Europe. We’ll never know how/if Dementium II landed in as many hands as the first game, Dementium: The Ward, due to the rampant piracy at the time. Dementium: The Ward sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide, which is a great success for an original mature-rated title on the DS. Recorded sales of Dementium II are less than half that. We’ll never truly know why that was so, but many seem to believe that piracy had a lot to do with it.
Some say that piracy leads to more game sales, claiming that it enables players to try before they buy. Bullshit. The percentage of people who will spend money on a game that they already got for free is surely very small – especially with so many “free” games already in the market. The line between what should/should not be free is getting very blurry."
Watsham also states that those who are interested in creating software for the platform should just become legitimate developers. Why? Because…
"Many of today’s great programmers used to be hackers back in the day. It is a great way to learn the craft. Putting ones efforts towards the creation of legit games instead of potentially crippling the market seems like a much more fulfilling path."
