You are killing PC gaming. (Updated)

[geldonyetich]

When World of Goo came out and the developer compared the number of people hitting up the high score board with the number of people who actually bought the game and found about 90% of them had pirated the game, then is when it was pretty clear that the PC platform is, indeed, far too heavily pirated.

Everyone outside the US had to wait 4-6 weeks longer for that game.

Spoiler: What I said before I did a little research

Longer than what - the wii version?

Well, looking at release dates just now, it was one week - or really more like 5 days - Oct 13 versus Oct 17, but I suppose that might have seemed like 4-6 weeks to the hardened game addict.

Well okay, that was fairly asking to get ripped off if you release a same-language version of the game without copy protection in Europe several weeks before the U.S. version.

Still, even if it was several months, that's just an excuse. I don't go down to the game store and steal a copy because the product was released in Japan first.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Honestly at the beginning part of that first post I was certain he was trying to be ironic.
Pirates don't care if they're ruining things for the rest of us, they're freaking pirates.

 

[Abedeus]

Mmmm... No. I remember the better times when there were tons of demos, and people worked hard on games you didn't regret to buy.

Now you buy something like Mirror's Edge, a game with no PC demo and a short console demo that is basically 1/10th of the game, and you can just replay it few times.

I don't mind paying for GOOD or at least adequette games. Batman: Arkham Asylum, Borderlands, Torchlight, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Portal, Plants vs Zombies, Left 4 Dead. I don't regret buying any one of those. But I tried half of them before buying, except for Borderlands, because I pre-ordered, paid and then downloaded the US version three days before EU release.

You know who's destroying the PC gaming (since... 1985?)? The developers who just use piracy as a scapegoat. Notice how console devs don't blame renting stores for their failure. They know they made a crappy game and that's why people would rather pay $5 and play it for 3 days than pay $50-60 and own it.


Also, you lost all validity when you said something about EA. They make one game per series a YEAR and barely change anything. I don't think it should qualify as an ADD-ON, or an expansion pack, tops. Not a new game worth $50. So I don't care that another MADDEN LOLOWTF 10!! didn't come out on the PC. *

*... Not to mention that I just don't like sport games. I prefer games that are a lot better on PCs than on consoles. FPS games, strategies, MMOs, online games in general.

 

[Sulu]

I only pirate games I would never actually buy. So the developer isn't losing money.

 

[Pingieking]

For all the PC gaming pirates out there, please send me your mailing address. I have a gift package for you. It's a surprise, but I can tell you that it has very high potential energy values.

......Mana Potions? [sub]http://www.manapotions.com[/sub]

because those things are expensive as hell................

LOL!
No, my present is a little more... sinister. But I guess a mana potion would be nearly as destructive.

 

[richardwatchorn]

Good topic,

However the way I see things is the same as music.

If I really want the game / album I buy it. My preorder list is pretty extensive.

If in a million years I'd never pay for it but it tweaks my interest then I'll download it and then go raving about it (advertising) to friends if its any good of course.

Developers aren't losing money as I would never had bought it but gaining advertising.. meh!

 

[Collymilad08]

i reckon soon pirates will own consoles, and PC will then become the favorite again. Its only a matter of time before consoles see the same level of piracy.

How do you work that one out? First off you have to do hardware mods in most cases, which is going to put someone off through lazines/not wanting to pay/lack of technical know-how.

Secondly, most console gamers are into online in some form, and since the online services of consoles operate as a more closed system, it's always going to be easier to catch people who pirate.

Regarding PC gaming. Is it even dying? If it is I would say it's down to more than just piracy. You see people are lazy and a lot don't want to sit at a desk to play a game. Yes I know you can hook a PC up to an HDTV but you have to understand how the average person thinks. Most people aren't that tech savvy and if you give them the option of using a PC through an HDTV or saying "plug this in here, and here, oh and it's going to cost at least half as much" what do you think they are going to choose?

Personally I play consoles because I think that PC's have no advantage gameplay wise over them in anything other than RTS, menu-heavy RPGs (although some of the best RPG's of the last few years have worked on console) and FPS, but even FPS is acceptable on console. The graphics are still beautiful but what it really comes down to for me is they are "good enough" I don't dispute that PC's are capable of better graphics and control (in a minority of cases) but it doesn't really matter to me to tell you the truth.

 

[Flames66]

That is part of the reason people pirate games. The developers don't provide the support, content or facilities that the players want. Pirated games are often (so I hear) much easier to mod so custom content is much more readily available. That is one of the main advantages of PC gaming, the ability to download custom content or make it yourself. If developers don't allow for that then of course PC gamers will get annoyed.

The only torrent game I have tried to download (that I can think of at the moment) is Saints Row 2. I have bought it through steam but it takes so long to download and the graphics are so poor that i thought a pirated version might be better.

 

[AgentNein]

I only pirate games I would never actually buy. So the developer isn't losing money.

Bullshit. If you didn't have the ability to pirate, you're telling me you wouldn't touch any of these games? Then why touch them now? It's called dollar votes, if you like a game well enough to play it then you like it enough to buy it and support it.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

None of my PC games are pirated. They're either on a legal copy, or Steam.

 

[Hallow'sEve]

No one cares.

 

[Sulu]

I only pirate games I would never actually buy. So the developer isn't losing money.

Bullshit. If you didn't have the ability to pirate, you're telling me you wouldn't touch any of these games? Then why touch them now? It's called dollar votes, if you like a game well enough to play it then you like it enough to buy it and support it.

What I am saying is that I only pirate a few games to see what they are like. These games I wouldn't spend my money on in a store whether pirating was around or not.

 

[TylerC]

For all the PC gaming pirates out there, please send me your mailing address. I have a gift package for you. It's a surprise, but I can tell you that it has very high potential energy values.

......Mana Potions? [sub]http://www.manapotions.com[/sub]

because those things are expensive as hell................

LOL!
No, my present is a little more... sinister. But I guess a mana potion would be nearly as destructive.

You mean like a bomb?

On topic, I know some of you have said you only pirate games for demos, and I guess I can see that. And with borrowing games...that's where the difficult part comes in, it's a two way argument. I mean, making a mix tape for your girlfriend(LOL?) is technically pirating. I don't think there really is a way to stop pirating, it's going to keep happening and happening. DRM was made to prevent it, but it's made things like Spore and The Sims the most pirated games out there, it's like theft-protesting I guess.

 

[Desert Tiger]

Console games can't be pirated without me getting booted off of the online.

I get whatever PC games I want off Steam.

get off ur hi hors plz

 

[TylerC]

get off ur hi hors plz

I'm not saying I haven't pirated a game before, but I'm not the ones complaining so much about the problem. I'm a console gamer for the most part.

But like the others I've pirated older games, that you can't find anywhere, or games of mine that might have stopped working because of a scratched CD. Yay for no-cd cracks?

 

[cyber_andyy]

i reckon soon pirates will own consoles, and PC will then become the favorite again. Its only a matter of time before consoles see the same level of piracy.

Console piracy is just the same as PC piracy, if not easier for pirates, all you need is a blank DVD and you can go online -.-.

Exactly, soon people will tune into this, meaning massive incrase in console piracy, equivalent to PC piracy.