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News Piracy killed the PC game star?

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Da Dego, 8 Aug 2006.

  1. sheepdog

    sheepdog What's a Dremel?

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    Well lets see...
    Consoles have a larger market, they cost less, easier to operate, and are far more visible. Pc's on the other hand, cost an arm and a leg to play games on, crash, have system requirements to meet, are much more difficult, and are not as visible. Then you have trojans, virii, adware, etc... When was the last time you saw a commercial for a PC only game? When was the last console only game? For the average person, consoles are just easier and of course FAR cheaper..

    Broken down...
    Xbox - $300
    Games $60
    Keeping system up to date over the next 3 years - $0
    At the end of 3 years, you buy the next console.

    Pc
    Homebuilt budget gamer - $800 (yeah right)
    Keeping system up to date over the next 3 years - $500
    Alternative:
    High end gaming system that lasts 3 years - $2000 (?)
    Games $50
    At the end of 3 years you have to spend how much to keep going?

    How many of those games are even worth $50 much less $60? Worse you still have internet charges, and possibly monthly game fees (W.O.W.). As far as ID goes, sorry, but if you think piracy hurt Doom3, how about looking into gameplay, and replayability. I tried it once, saw how repetetive it was right away, and went back to my RTS and BF1 and 2 games. Oh and W.O.W. was just so flawless on launch.

    By the way, graphics alone do not make a good game. Proof of this is Nintendo. One of the best racing games of all times is the Mario racing series.

    What is hurting PC game sales is the pc industry itself, bad press, and the game companies not getting a clue. ID seems about as up on things as the MPAA and RIAA.

    Piracy?
    Give me a break. That is just an easy cop-out. It is what you tell the press and investors when you messed up or your maket is failing.

    Piracy has been around since the beggining of the computer. Why is it only now such a huge problem? Because they need an explanation for why they are doing so poorly in sales. It is like dropping the race card when trouble starts.
     
  2. leviathan18

    leviathan18 What's a Dremel?

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    i want FINAL FANTASY in pc
     
  3. _ViC_

    _ViC_ What's a Dremel?

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    I want to comment on "piracy isn't on top of the Russia list of problems". Sure, it isn't the top of the problems here, but still it is one of the major issues.
    Our software base is 80% pirated, way down from previous 90% point few years back. And now our government has to fight piracy because USA blocks our country application to WTO membership till we start protecting copyrights. (AllofMP3 anyone? the site is still legal here). And how major software resellers here battle pirates is a very good example for others to follow. They just drop prices. I don't now how they manage to acquire licences for distributing games under these terms, but in the result we have fresh PC games for 8 - 25 USD. For example I bought legal DVD with localised version of Prey for 10 USD a week after it came out in Europe. A typical price here. It is higher than a pirated DVD for 5 USD or than free download, but still you can't complain that the games are expensive.

    All isn't that good though. First, we don't have every game the moment it hits European stores, sometimes localisation takes as much as 3 months. And other issue is with our soviet era customs: if you can get it cheaper, just get it. Many people still won't buy genuine version just because it costs a bit higher. But anyway, I want you to know the simple fact, just 5 years back no one bought copyrighted CDs here, though they were available for sale, but at the world's average price point. Only when game prices did drop, PC became dominant gaming platform in Russia. Why not consoles? Simple, console game prices are the same as they are in the rest of the world. Still expensive for majority of Russia citizens.
     
  4. Veles

    Veles DUR HUR

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    Yet another person saying, this is the sole reason PC gaming is declining, blah blah blah.

    I have to agree with what many other people have said in this thread, some of the main reasons PC games are declining is because;

    1) Most of them are complete balls, even the lastest 'blockbuster' titles like FEAR and Prey are just boring eye candy with little gameplay
    2) Said crappy games are also hugely overpriced, I'll admit it, I've downloaded many games before (and I'm sure the majority here has too), and like most pirates that are "destroying the PC game industry", I download it to test drive the game, if I like it, I buy it, if I don't like it, I uninstall it and delete it.

    We also still have the problem that consoles are alot cheaper to buy than a gaming PC, still a PC is better than a console IMO, but for many people it's not 100s of pounds better, but still, the PC audience isn't shinking at all, it's just the console audience is getting bigger every day, and so are the production costs (games like spore address this though, as the game doesn't need warehouses full of artists, 3D modelers and animators).

    What I would like to see is better quality games that are fun and don't rely on amazing graphics to draw the crowds, both is good, but graphics without the gameplay is like watching a retarded film.
     
  5. Kasrkin Guard

    Kasrkin Guard What's a Dremel?

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    How convenient of ID to put the blame on piracy. :rolleyes: It's been touched about the apsects of console and PC to death. All I have to say is stop focusing on making the best possible graphics and give us better gameplay that are not rehashed and are better playable! :duh: I'm getting sick of the attitude we should have a better PC to enjoy the games.
     
  6. LEAX

    LEAX What's a Dremel?

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    overpricing etc.

    In my opinion piracy is destroying BUT this is only because the games are overpriced .. in my country (Slovakia) i could buy a game OR i could buy for same amount of money a 512 DDR2 memory card (what would you buy ? :wallbash: )

    In these bad times is a good idea : STEAM ... games arent overpriced and you can buy and play the game in same day because you dwnld the game at max. speed and you dont need to wait for a curier or go to shop to buy that game ... and games are at high quality - STEAM games rocks :p

    ... and YES i have some original games at home but these games i have are good at online/multiplayer gaming (CS 1.6, DoD:S, EVE online etc.), i dont have any original singel player games because i think they arent worth of it..

    OH i have one original singel player game : FINAL FANTASY VII :rock: :clap: :naughty: :thumb:
     
  7. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    I know for me I don't buy many games for a couple of reasons. One is that I don't have much tiome to play them, but another is that I just plain hate buying software. Somthing about shelling out money for software just plain bugs me and so I'm much more willing to put up with a crappy free version or go without. Yes, it's hard to justify $50 for a game, but even $20 for Halo has been more than I want to spend right now even when i have people bugging me to get it and join their clan.
     
  8. Kipman725

    Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?!

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    pc gaming industry needs to move away from gaming enviroments that are pre generated by artists. As graphics get more complex more and more time is taken up creating game assets. If the game assets were generated on the fly each play though of the game would be different and the games would be much much smaller than today. One example of this would be an fps.. you need lots of bad guys that need to look different, how about only having modles for parts of bad guys and then asymbling them in game saving the creating of multiple characters models. Also the same models could be reused more in other games with some element of randomisation so that they weren't identical.

    Steams a good distribution system as it promotes games that woulden't be viable on shop shelves and makes the whole game playing experiance less hassle. It has drm but that DRM is quite passive and will allow you to sign in at freinds houses etc. which rocks if your going away as you don't need to take your cd's :rock:
     
  9. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    I think you may be on to somthing there. Maybe the player and NPCs could be generated ala Spore and traded across a server. I'll agree that the static NPC models get pretty boring after a while.
     
  10. yahooadam

    yahooadam <span style="color:#f00;font-weight:bold">Ultra cs

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    Exactly it ...

    Steam is almost a good distribution platform, except it only accepts credit cards ... that's what causes the biggest problem ...
     
  11. phantomxc

    phantomxc What's a Dremel?

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    I dont consider myself a "pirate" but I have downloaded games illegally. I usually just download them to try it out for a week and see if I like it. I cant afford to buy a $50 game that I might not like and cant return as its open. As for the big games like BF2 Call of duty 2 HL2 Ive bought all those games plus several others the day it comes out. I know that im going to like them and I love playing games online. Competitive online play is what drives a game for me. I myself have owned my steam account since the day 1.6 was released. Which I would like to show to the people who banned me from the bit tech CS:S server along time ago and many other servers who ban me becuase im better then they are.

    but anyways I guess im trying to say is there are so many games that look like they are going to be good and have some good gameplay but end up being duds. $50 down the drain.
     
  12. speedfreek

    speedfreek What's a Dremel?

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    There are a lot of theories about why pc gaming is shrinking, consoles, price, and their personal favorite scapegoat, piracy. I personally really hate the copy protection, playing the pirated versions is just easier and faster than running it off the cd. I own several of the games that I have bootleg copies of but havent touched them since installing them, easier running them right off the hd. Some people test drive a game and thats a good idea, games that suck dont get bought and less game that suck get made, we all would hope. Piracy isnt their biggest concern, it should be quality. Steam seems to address most of those problems by having a good game, HL2, and making it just inconvient enough to not pirate it. The price is reasonable too, not great but ok, if it would drop more more people would probably buy it.

    Anyone who says consoles are replacing pcs for gaming must be talking about the somewhat distant future. Until quality catches up with pcs I wont ever go back, save the ocasional game of duck hunt or 4 way goldeneye. Sure a decent computer costs more but think of how much more you can do with it, I use my computer for almost everything and as sad as it sounds Im almost lost without it. If you look at my specs it isnt anything fast but I havent found a game yet that really takes it out of it, and I didnt have to max my credit card to build it. This is turning into a pc vs console rant and Im not really sorry for it because I dont see the advantage fiscally or in quality of owning one.

    I see quality being the only real reason for the decline in gaming at all. Who really enjoyed doom all that much anyway, too dark.
     
  13. Bladestorm

    Bladestorm What's a Dremel?

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    Its almost unheard of that Play.com sells new games for any more than £24.99 delivered by the way, and some they sell for less :) so £35 is a touch more than anyone should really be paying for PC games in the UK.
    I think that they are probably a notable reason that PC game store shelf space is declining in the UK too heh as lets face it : if you have a PC you use the internet and its hard to beat there prices.

    Anyway, as much as there is a fair bit of this "piracy is killing pc games!" going around from publishers and some developers, last figures I heard had the market actually increasing in size, despite the claims it was dieing.

    And yeah, ID software themselves haven't really released anything more than average games with impressive engines of late, Its not so surprising they are fairly heavily pirated.

    Edit added :

    While I'm on, DirectX 10 should (touch wood, cross fingers, rub a lucky goblin for luck) reduce the problems and costs of developing for PC since it basically requires graphics cards to conform to its standard or not be DX10 and simplifies the way things are done - so while relative overall power may differ and still require graphics options settings to get smooth frame rates on a range of systems, developers should only have to develop for one single graphics pathway.
     
  14. Lucidity

    Lucidity What's a Dremel?

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    Just a little BTW for all you guys. If you still think PC is the where its at, why are the first Unreal 3 engine games launching on the 360????????? Also playing on 1080i allows for a resolution of 1940x1080! I don't see too many games on PC that run well at that high of a res. Plus you also have the ability to play on 65 inch sets, on your couch.
     
  15. airchie

    airchie What's a Dremel?

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    Probably to do with M$ paying shed-loads for the rights or something, nothing more.
    My Pc is pretty run of the mill now (3200+ venice, 1GB PC4000, X1800XT) yet I still game at 1920x1200. This res is MUCH better than 1080i since it's not interlaced. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that 1080i is about the equivalent of 720p, nowhere near the 1200p I have on my PC screen (2405FPW).
    Also, since the native res of the TV you use (assuming it's LCD) will more than likely not be the same as the res being output from the console, the TV will have to scale it to fit which makes it appear fuzzy and out-of-focus at best.
    True, but didn't anyone ever tell you that size doesn't matter? :D
    Seriously though, when it comes to gaming, I'd far rather have my 24" monitor at a res of 1920x1200 and have to sit closer than have a projector displaying 640x480 at 100"!
    Just because it's bigger, it doesn't mean you'll see more cos the resolution isn't increasing. ;)
     
  16. yahooadam

    yahooadam <span style="color:#f00;font-weight:bold">Ultra cs

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    also, don't forget a lot of people will buy the games anyway, pirated versions can be like trials, just without time limits

    i know Ive downloaded a few games, played them, and never played them since, nowadays there are 10 sh*t games for every 1 goodish one ... why waste money on all these crap ones, i support the games industry, and if i liked a game i would buy it

    also, you generally cant play pirated games online, online play is the best motivator to get people to buy games
     
  17. Piddu

    Piddu What's a Dremel?

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    i think that the main problem is the quality of the games... lot of software house tend to develop games that maybe are good for the console market... i think there is a big difference between console games and pc games

    console game are made to be faster and console players play them at the beginning or occasionaly when they are with friends, this comes becouse they have more game that they can chose to play

    pc games are played by comunities, when a big title comes out it create a comunity of player who decide if that game will be played for 2 years or not, if the game has a good longevity and makes the player feeling that while is playng it he become stronger and he continues to learn how to play, the game will be played for a long time, if the game doesn't do that the game will be discarded in few mounth...

    btw things are changed since the introducing of the LIVE on console wich permits player to play with each other, but i haven't seen the same thing that happend with pc games, btw i am not a console player and i am not too much infromed of that.

    an other thing to consider is that games are no longer played only by children or teens like 10 years ago, nowdays games are a rutine for everyone, the problem is that not everybody can afford to buy 2 3 game per mounth and payng billing fees, i.e. the most of the students can't afford to spend 100-150$ per mounth just to play videogames. But a worker can , this has pushed software house to point on the quantity of game published instead on the quality... a good example of this trend is the EA or recently 2k6 games...
    the other point is that this major have surely made a pact to keep the price of game around 50$ or more if this are console games...

    for me what they have to do is to aim to develop good games wich last years and are played from a lot of players... if u want to play online u have to buy it u spent 50$ u play 2 years, this is the gamer side. The developper side is, i develop 1 game , i don't spent enormous budget to develpo 4 5 games alltogether, i will sell 10 bilion copies of the game in 2 years...
    as i can see now the only SH who is working in this way is Splash Damage with they ET quake wars, they say that they are making a good testing on the gameplay to don't make it repetitive, and u think that the old ET is still played we can expet that QW will be a great game :D

    on the HW side it has no sense sayng " console worth 300$ and it last 3 years " , "pc need to be upgraded", if u buy a good pc at the beginnig u can use it for 2 years+, today buy a conroe sistem with a mid level vga is not an impossible thing. Plus we have to consider that a PC is not just for playng like a console, this should be enough to fill the gap between console price and PC price.

    if u think this reply is too long to be red don't read it =)
     
  18. Flibster

    Flibster What's a Dremel?

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    Hmmmm...Lets look at the games I've bought in the past few months.

    Prey *subsequently sold on as it's crap*
    Star Wars: Empire At War *Love this*
    Oblivion
    Air Conflicts
    Lego Star Wars

    I think thats about it...

    Further back I bought Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 and have recently started playing through them again...I think this is the 5th time

    I refuse to touch anything that uses Starfarce. It's caused me too much grief and it appears to have been doing much worse to other people - these sorts of 'protection' doesn't help at all and imho pushes people towards the pirated version as it's simpler to install and run and doesn't cock your system up.

    But there's been numerous games that I've been looking forward to that when they came out I played the demo and it was cack.

    Most memorable - Deus Ex - Invisible War
    Blatently directed towards consoles and was terrible.

    I can see where the failure has come from - fighting to be the newest engine, prettiest game, most realistic physics, most complicated plotline... *cough HL2, Doom3, Quake4, Prey, GRAW etc...*

    Sod that..

    I want FUN!

    Take Air Conflicts - probably no-one has heard of it - it cost me £20 as a download and I'm loving it. Very simple and a lot of fun. Not the prettiest of games around but who cares.

    I still play a lot of Amiga/SNES games as they're fun.

    I'm looking forward to the back catalogue on the Revolution *still refusing to call it the Wii* at last a console with a lot of games that are fun to play.

    Although stuff that needs consistant patching puts me off as well - I still remember the shambles that was the original release of SiN. Also BF2 apparently still doesn't work *played it for 1 weekend..decided it wasn't a patch on 1942*. It's just silly. If there was this amount of problems on a console they would be lucky to sell anything at all.

    Although harming the whole game industry is EA and their endless sequals... How many versions of FIFA has there been now? Also them buyig up every games company they can as well.

    Ramble over for now...

    Simon/~Flibster
     
  19. yahooadam

    yahooadam <span style="color:#f00;font-weight:bold">Ultra cs

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    for me - recent game purchases

    HL2:E1
    Oblivion

    i dont play either now

    currently im playing dystopia, a HL2 mod, and some other HL2 and HL2 mods, eg NS (natural selection)

    currently i seem to be playing the free games o_O
     
  20. mrpete

    mrpete What's a Dremel?

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