New Study from ECD Finds Only 28 Percent of Consumers Avoid Copy Protected Games

Business Wire, Sept 28, 2006

"Middle Ground" Solution is Needed for Protected PC Games

MARSTONS MILLS, Mass. -- In direct contrast to many game makers' perceptions about consumer attitudes, buyers of PC games believe that copy protection is not an impediment to game purchases, according to results from a survey released today by ECD Systems, the innovator in anti-piracy and copy protection software company.

The results showed that 72 percent of consumers are "not actively avoiding" buying games that have copy protection, and nearly 60 percent believe that it doesn't matter whether the game is protected.

However, most gamers don't want their game play experience hurt by copy protection/anti-piracy measures: 51 percent noted that copy suppression technology that impacts initial download time, but does not slow down or otherwise interfere with game play is the ideal. The survey found there is a wide "middle ground" between too-heavy protection and no protection at all: 68 percent of consumers are happy with a technology that protects games without impacting game play -- even if the solution allows a minute or more of delay.

The vast majority of respondents (69 percent) stated that their PC has never been negatively affected by copy protection technology; 45 percent of respondents claim they find it inconvenient when copy protection requires them to keep the disc in the drive during game play.

"The survey suggests several important trends - first, that consumers may not be as quick to shy away from PC games with copyright protected technology, contrary to what some game creators believe," said ECD Systems' CEO Jack Hart. "Another key point is that consumers are willing to accept copyright protected games, as long as game play is not negatively impacted, and so long as the pricing of games remains at a reasonable level."

Of the 83 percent of consumers who reported actually purchasing PC Games, 77 percent would be in favor of purchasing copyright protected games if they were available at a reduced cost.

About ECD Systems, Inc.

The technology leader in protecting valuable title assets during entire product life, ECD Systems, Inc. was founded in 1999. ECD is focused on providing robust protection for independent to large publishers against the theft of digital content throughout the life cycle of a product. ECD has developed unique patent-pending technologies that combine to form the Digital Armor[TM] solution that protects a product from its earliest transfer from design studio to design studio, internal and external product testing and review, mastering and replication and finally, protection for when the product is in the hands of the end-user. By providing life-cycle product protection, ECD has taken a major step in preventing unplanned or unauthorized product releases. Additional information can be found at www.ecdsystems.com.