Piracy...can it kill PC gaming?

[Vault101]

Ok we all know that PC is far from dead, and im sure this has been discussed to death

with all this talk of crysis 2 being leaked, some people mentioned that mabye crysis 3 (if there is going to be a crysis 3) wouldnt be released on PC, I find it kind of sad that developers get turned off producing for PC because of stuff like this

It also annoys me that legitimate buyers like me get punished for some self-entitled person who dosnt want to pay (justify piracy or not no one on eather end is going to change their mind)

so do you think less and less are developing for PC? will this trend continue?

 

[Adzma]

I firmly believe that PC development will continue. Who knows? Maybe when the new Commodore 64 is released it might rekindle the flame and more people will flock to it.

Ignoring the piracy factor, it's much more convenient for people to walk into a store and buy a console than it is to build a gaming PC.

 

[UberMore]

It shouldn't do, cos there are still a high enough level of genuine gamers who buy the content to fund the market.
It's sort of like asking "Will the new PS3 hacks kill the console"?

Alot of people are too lazy to pirate, with game sizes being quite large, so most can't be bothered with the D/l times.

And hey, Crysis 1 was the most pirated PC game of all time, and they still made Crysis 2 for the PC, so I doubt with all their government-funded projects and large pay checks that Crytek are going to ignore the PC community.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yes, it can. No, it won't.

Big difference.

 

[Smallfry]

It's unjust to punish all of the legitimate buyers, simply because of a developer fault. Either add some sort of anti-pirate measure(Steam)or just don't care at all.

 

[EHKOS]

It shouldn't do, cos there are still a high enough level of genuine gamers who buy the content to fund the market.
It's sort of like asking "Will the new PS3 hacks kill the console"?

Alot of people are too lazy to pirate, with game sizes being quite large, so most can't be bothered with the D/l times.

Actually ...um OTHER people use Jdownloader, then leave their computers on over night. With a decent internet connection you can DL just about any game in less than a day on Megaupload. JD does it all automatically even some sites captchas.

 

[Fenring]

It can, and if it grows, developers will spend less time on PC ports than before, but I highly doubt it will kill PC gaming. Also we'll see more constantly online DRM, which is just too bad for those without internet, since it seems to be the only thing that works moderately well.

 

[Souplex]

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.

 

[Vault101]

I firmly believe that PC development will continue. Who knows? Maybe when the new Commodore 64 is released it might rekindle the flame and more people will flock to it.

Ignoring the piracy factor, it's much more convenient for people to walk into a store and buy a console than it is to build a gaming PC.

I dont think building a PC is always nessicary

I have a very good laptop...would I trust it to run metro or Crysis 1? no but it runs pretty much everything else

 

[Nova Helix]

If piracy could kill PC gaming it would have happened LONG ago.

 

[Adzma]

I firmly believe that PC development will continue. Who knows? Maybe when the new Commodore 64 is released it might rekindle the flame and more people will flock to it.

Ignoring the piracy factor, it's much more convenient for people to walk into a store and buy a console than it is to build a gaming PC.

I dont think building a PC is always nessicary

I have a very good laptop...would I trust it to run metro or Crysis 1? no but it runs pretty much everything else

That's certainly true, but if you want to be able to run all the newest stuff building is the best option at the moment. That's what I'm hoping the new C64 will change, it'll give people the option of a PC, that in effect has the convenience of a console.

Piracy however is a serious grey area.

 

[loc978]

There will always be enough conscientious PC gamers who buy games from developers they support despite the availability of said games for free through less-than-legal channels. If we can afford a gaming PC, chances are we can afford a few games for it now and then.
So, no.

 

[The Madman]

Kill it? No.

Beat it up and steal its lunch money? Certainly.

 

[Reptiloid]

DRM has done far more damage to the PC gaming industry than piracy ever has. Why? DRM causes piracy, that's why.

 

[Wharrgarble]

As long as they can make more money on it than they will lose, PC gaming will always exist. That's all it really boils down to in the end.

 

[Bad Jim]

Yes, it can. No, it won't.

Big difference.

I second this. There are always people who either have morals or enough money to not care about the price. Also, lots of great games were made on a fraction of the budget that current AAA titles do. There's not even much evidence of a piracy epidemic anyway. Piracy has always been high, but sales have been high as well.

 

[Blood Countess]

DRM has done far more damage to the PC gaming industry than piracy ever has. Why? DRM causes piracy, that's why.

I don't pirate games but DRM's have caused me to never get a pc game now outside of anything WoW related so yeah DRM's do hurt PC gaming overall cause of people like me or just others not dealing with it and stealing the game

 

[The Madman]

DRM has done far more damage to the PC gaming industry than piracy ever has. Why? DRM causes piracy, that's why.

And piracy causes DRM. There would be no need for DRM were there not the threat of piracy.

All the while it's the honest consumer who ends up caught in the middle of this little back & forth conflict.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

It could severely cripple the industry even more than it is now but it won't outright kill the PC.

The real danger to PC gaming is consoles.