Another "Service promotes Piracy Story."

 

When I was on staff at the 3DC, I was working closely with Pixologic on some promotional marketing of ZBrush.

(Newsletter, Contests, Banners, Building a forum and gallery for them, etc...)

I closed one deal by requesting a dozen or so NFR copies of ZBrush (1.2 back then I think) so I could dole out some copies to some of the hard working staff.(All Volunteers)

 

Non-Problematic...everybody's happy....that is until we started encountering the notoriously horrific licensing procedure they had back then.

 

After a while...most got fed up with having to contact Pixologic every other day for a new license, then waiting...sometimes days to get a replacement license, and they eventually just uninstalled it, never to even look at it again.

 

Others kept at it because...well....when it ran...it was an awesome program.

 

In an unrelated phone call to Pixologic...I asked if the problem had something to do with copies being  NFR's (Not For Resale).

 

'No...NFR's are identical to the paid versions,complete with updates,etc...." 
....said the voice on the other end.

 

It wasn't that long before forums everywhere... were filled with the screams of horror and frustration of the licensing procedure.(From Paying customers)

 

I had talked with many folks about it... and several of them got so fed up, they "Bought" the retail version...but "installed" the warezed version so they could get around the licensing problem...and actually get some use out of the app..

 

In a later unrelated phone conversation with Pixologic...I asked if they knew paying customers were using "alternate" versions due to the licensing problem.

(No names mentioned, offered, or requested...by either party)

 

"Yeah..we know...but it'll be fixed in version 1.5" said the voice on the other end.

 

Pixologic eventually did get the problem resolved around version 1.5 I think,
(Paid upgrade IIRC)

And 2.0+ is off the hook one of the most robust graphics apps on the market today and is used

by many motion picture and gaming studios these days.

 

( Ever hear of .... WETA Digital .... ILM,....Electronic Arts .... to name just a few)

 

Anyway...The long and the short of it is that people were willing to "Buy" the software...and they did...but installed and used the cracked versions instead so they could actually get some work done.

It was simply the more stable version back then.

 

So I guess I should say it wasn't really a "service" related problem...

Pixologic was trying to fulfill customers needs as quickly as possible.

But rather a software licensing "Feature" that sent folks into the shady part of the net...

To cop what they had already bought.

 

Tom

 

 

“The fact that no one understands you…Doesn’t make you an artist.”