Piracy...can it kill PC gaming?

[stiffy]

Aren't Wii and DS games super easy to crack? (I dont have either) I never hear that piracy will be the downfall of those systems.

DRM (at it's least obtrusive) winds up being like seeing the "you wouldn't steal a car..." PSAs they used to put on DVD's (remember those). The studios know it wont help the issue, but put it there as a glorified legal disclaimer. Like "hey we gave it our best shot, now please don't rip this"

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Its easier to to play day one 360 games than day one PC games, so no.
File sharing is generally a moot issue as you can not easily make something from nothing and that is what a copy is.

 

[Vault101]

Aren't Wii and DS games super easy to crack? (I dont have either) I never hear that piracy will be the downfall of those systems.

I think the issue with PC is its easyer to pirate all you really need is an internet connection

anyway when I say PC gaming I don't mean WOW or farmville, games like that are a given, Im more worried about other genres like RPG's or action games or even FPS

 

[Twilight_guy]

I think people will still develop for the PC. At some point, the internet will be so pervasive that requiring internet access is going to be like requiring hands. Nobody will care and the continuous internet checks will help prevent piracy (it will still get cracked but its an ongoing process not a stagnate goal).

 

[Vault101]

I think people will still develop for the PC. At some point, the internet will be so pervasive that requiring internet access is going to be like requiring hands. Nobody will care and the continuous internet checks will help prevent piracy (it will still get cracked but its an ongoing process not a stagnate goal).

in the mean time internet is still an issue for people like me but yes I do see things heading that way in the future

I hope Australia gets in new broadband thing into action, we are still stuck in the dark ageis (ok some of us are.....well I am)

 

[stiffy]

when I say PC gaming I don't mean WOW or farmville, games like that are a given, I'm more worried about other genres like RPG's or action games or even FPS

That's a valid point. I always worry when a new title is released if I'll get a simultaneous PC release. AAA titles seem to be 'more of a hassle' to get released consistently on PC (Alan Wake, Gears2, AssCreed: Brotherhood, Deadspace 2 dlc, RED DEAD!!!!) I believe the motivation for developers is and always will be money. They simply sell more units on consoles. Their excuse is that the PC wont sell as much because of piracy is a cop out.

 

[zsewq55912]

well yes in a way, but if your like thos ppl like me that play video games form the old days where you can't get it anyway, well i use ebay, by thos developers that or long died go for it, i think same body made a video heres the linkhttp://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2653-Piracy

 

[Vault101]

when I say PC gaming I don't mean WOW or farmville, games like that are a given, I'm more worried about other genres like RPG's or action games or even FPS

That's a valid point. I always worry when a new title is released if I'll get a simultaneous PC release. AAA titles seem to be 'more of a hassle' to get released consistently on PC (Alan Wake, Gears2, AssCreed: Brotherhood, Deadspace 2 dlc, RED DEAD!!!!) I believe the motivation for developers is and always will be money. They simply sell more units on consoles. Their excuse is that the PC wont sell as much because of piracy is a cop out.

agreed though Im pretty sure Assins creed brotherhood is coming to PC eventually

as for the Dead space DLC theres a bit of confusion there...but wasnt it actually on the disk? therefore technically with a bit of know-how possible to access? because DLC thats technically already there is a rip-off anyway

aIve always wanted ot play gears of war but its not worth getting an xbox...

 

[viranimus]

Honestly if anything is "killing" PC gaming... its PC gamers. I think it does a lot to put off people to have this constant superiority complex when it comes to PCs. People get this misconception that you have to have a 1000$ + gaming rig to even scratch min specs on games which is almost always false.

In a way devs want to kill it because of the misconceptions of Piracy on the PC. Also DRM techniques like Steam are not the solution because steam games are just as pirated as non steam games. Hell even VALVE games are pirated.

Could it happen? No. Not directly. The only way Piracy could kill PC gaming is if Devs just out and out refuse to develop for the platform. (which honestly seems silly, considering how most titles that come to release on PC are either piracy protected MMOs, or ports of existing console titles that 8/10 were initially developed on PC in order to create console versions.

I dunno, I see this as the merging of two obnoxious concepts that keep popping up individually, is PC gaming dying, and Piracy R bad.

 

[Lordmarkus]

Well, it certainly has scared of triple A developers doing PC-centric games.

Will it kill of the PC gaming as a whole? No. Will it scare of more Triple A studios? Maybe, though it feels like we already hit the bottom.

 

[Vault101]

Honestly if anything is "killing" PC gaming... its PC gamers. I think it does a lot to put off people to have this constant superiority complex when it comes to PCs. People get this misconception that you have to have a 1000$ + gaming rig to even scratch min specs on games which is almost always false.

In a way devs want to kill it because of the misconceptions of Piracy on the PC. Also DRM techniques like Steam are not the solution because steam games are just as pirated as non steam games. Hell even VALVE games are pirated.

Could it happen? No. Not directly. The only way Piracy could kill PC gaming is if Devs just out and out refuse to develop for the platform. (which honestly seems silly, considering how most titles that come to release on PC are either piracy protected MMOs, or ports of existing console titles that 8/10 were initially developed on PC in order to create console versions.

I dunno, I see this as the merging of two obnoxious concepts that keep popping up individually, is PC gaming dying, and Piracy R bad.

agreed and to be honest I can cope with ports..even bad ones just as long as I am able to play most games that come out Im happy

there are only two games I can think of off the top of my head the are PC exclusive and not MMO's

The witcher- which was boring as hell but Mbaye I should give it a secodn chance, plus if youre into that kind of thing more power to you

Starcraft- actually looks pretty cool and I havnt any RTS for a while though Im not sure the songle player holds up on its own

 

[Lordmarkus]

It's already mortally wounded it, there's no way it can survive another half-decade against the various natural predators out there.
Arcade people were convinced arcades weren't going anywhere when they died.
PC game sales make up aboot 7% of the market, and that figure is shrinking.

I dont know if those figure factor in digital distribution...because if steam sales are anything to go by then there are still alot of people buying PC games

I got that figure from Michael Pachter, he keeps up to date on things like steam.

Steam users are a loud minority. If you shout loud enough, people will pay attention no matter what.

No, Mr. Pachter don't keep tabs on Steam. No one but Valve themselves keep tabs on the Steam sales and they never release salesnumbers. Thus making your argument invalid.

Though counting in digital distribution I don't think PC-game sales are over 20 % anyways.

 

[TimeLord]

Not as long as my bank account stays linked to the TF2 Store it won't....

 

[Vault101]

Well, it certainly has scared of triple A developers doing PC-centric games.

Will it kill of the PC gaming as a whole? No. Will it scare of more Triple A studios? Maybe, though it feels like we already hit the bottom.

well there are lots of (hopefully) good games coming out for PC this year (dragon age 2, portal 2, bulletstorm the list goes on and on) plus theres always great older games ot go back to (Im going to get STALKER at some point)

BUT I can't think of many games coming out ONLY for PC, most of them are on consoles and we also miss out on great games (where is my red dead redeption?? I WANT MY RED DEAD REDEMPTION!!!) I think its because alot of the audience/money is on consoles so thats where the devs go

that said I honestly dont mind if we play the same games as consoles/ vice versa, as long as the games are good and at least take advantage of the benifits of PC (unlike saints row 2...but even then a bad port is better than no game at all)

 

[mikecoulter]

Yes, I believe it can ruin the future of pc gaming, it makes the platform look too risky for developers to release on (Crysis 2 for exxample) causing more and more developers to turn their back on the platform.

 

[Soraryuu]

If game sales are people, then piracy is violence. So yeah, it can kill PC gaming...

BUT. Nowadays, it's more like a slap to the face. It has to go way, way above this before it can threaten PC gaming as a whole. All the developers who are jamming their games full of DRM are just paranoid.
Now, consoles. THAT can kill PC gaming, and already is. Just look at how many games are made for consoles these days(and don't say this is to avoid piracy, because it ain't. it's to reach a much broader market that lacks great PCs).

 

[matthudson]

Honestly if anything is "killing" PC gaming... its PC gamers. I think it does a lot to put off people to have this constant superiority complex when it comes to PCs. People get this misconception that you have to have a 1000$ + gaming rig to even scratch min specs on games which is almost always false.

Certainly is today. No doubt this is due to the aging consoles not being able to handle anything overly impressive graphics wise.

 

[Vault101]

If game sales are people, then piracy is violence. So yeah, it can kill PC gaming...

BUT. Nowadays, it's more like a slap to the face. It has to go way, way above this before it can threaten PC gaming as a whole. All the developers who are jamming their games full of DRM are just paranoid.
Now, consoles. THAT can kill PC gaming, and already is. Just look at how many games are made for consoles these days(and don't say this is to avoid piracy, because it ain't. it's to reach a much broader market that lacks great PCs).

but if piracey isnt an issue then why not release on all platforms if its not a console exclusive?

from my point of veiw other than console exclusives and a few other titles I havnt felt like Ive been missing out on that much

I will say as Ive said before that there are less PC exclusive games, to be honest RTS MMO and FPS are not my favorite genres so that dosnt bother me as much

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Kill PC gaming? No.

Lessen the number of huge budget PC releases and increase the number of shoddy ports due to less investment in the PC format? Ooohhh yes.

I think you'll find indie devs etc carry on just fine however.

Yes I know they pirated to hell and back too, but they're more likely to be bought (No, I've got no evidence, I'm going purely on $10 vs $60), and there always the people who have the feeling it's ok to screw EA, but won't do it to indies. (It's not of course, but, it's an opinion.)

 

[Madman123456]

PC Gaming may arrive at a point where there are no PC exclusives and everything comes from the consoles. There will always be some People who buy PC Games and if a port of a game wont cost too much i don't see any Reason to not release it for the PC to grab that money as well.

Also, there are genres that still play better with PC controls. Unless you want the console turn into a pc even more (we already have patches, updates and the like, why nod add mice and fully grown keyboards?) those games will be seen on the PC.

Pc Gaming has always been just one of the things you can do with the PC. Pretty much everyone can afford a PC and has done so already. You can buy a machine that is as fast as a PS3 pretty cheap, you don't need a multi thousand $ machine to play games that look as good as they do on any console.
Unless the Developer screws up the port, like with GTA4. And even then there are tools to fix that. There are tools for GTA4 that remove several of the "gritty" graphical filters and then you can play GTA4 on a PC that is cheaper then the xbox and it even looks better.


Since pretty much everyone who can afford a console can afford a PC and many People have done so, the PC Market is very large. Even if your Game gets pirated a lot, at least a small percentage of the PC users will buy your game. And a small percentage of the many many People who have PCs will bring in quite a lot of money.