You are killing PC gaming. (Updated)

[theunreliablecritic]

well, judging by the post that started all of this, i`ll have to say that i don`t understand what everyone is so pissed off about, i mean seriousely, it doesn`t really matter if there`s "digital pirates" sailing the seven seas of the internet and copying the digital treasures that await them, besides they`ll all enter davy jones` digital locker anyway, and even if they do get out of the locker like good`ol jack sparrow and his mates, then who cares, those game industries make enough money anyway, and even if there`s not enough money goin around, there`s always a job at some fast food restraunt waiting for them to beg for a job, but anyway, there`s no reason to get all loopy over a couple of pirates...(or should i say "digital pirates")

 

[JeanLuc761]

Yes, YOU. If you are one of the vast majority of people who pirate copies of video games, you are causing a huge problem.

Where are you getting "The Vast Majority" from? In May of this year, the piracy rate of ALL software on the PC, not just video games, was at 41%. I'd be willing to bet it's about half to 2/3 of that number that actually pirate games, making the actual percentage between 20%-26% While that is indeed a high number, it's not the "vast majority," and despite that piracy rate, the industry is still growing.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34296/41-of-all-PC-software-is-pirated


But hey, you know what they say. 86% of all statistics are made up on the spot

Hell, let's look at that "60% piracy rate" on Modern Warfare. Modern Warfare sold 14 million copies and if you average the price to $50, you'll get a total revenue of $700,000,000 before costs are taken out. Now then, under the assumption that 14 million comprised 40% of total copies out there, then that means we're looking at roughly 21 million pirated copies. That's an ASTRONOMICALLY high amount, and I am highly skeptical of that actually being the case.

Edit: The above numbers are based upon the assumption that they were referring to ALL online players across all platforms, rather than just PC.

 

[RazerSauber]

Have you, yes you the consumer that's reading this, ever tried to keep a PC maintained for new releases? Have you gone too newegg.com, bought an i7 for $300, a GTX295 for $450, a motherboard for 150, a power supply for 200, a case for 50, and a brand spankin new operating system for an extra 200, and a Hard Drive for 100?? After your done doing that, have you seen the large dent in your wallet?

Sure, your computers gonna last for maybe 2 - 3 years, but when your time to update comes and nothings compatable what then? Go out and buy another motherboard with a PCI Express x16 3.0 PCI slot on it? another GTX4 series card? another octocore processor? A hard drive with atleast a Terabyte on it??? and god forbid, ANOTHER OS?

There's a good reason people don't buy PC games, and its not because they don't love em. It's because PC gamers need to be the rich few who can afford to constantly renew there PC's for upcomming requirements.

Gaming PC's are impractical. They are expensive to maintain and they are expensive to upgrade. Games luckily are priced lower but at a huge expense to the consumer. If your game is well optimized, chances are it'll surpass your ol' and busted gamin rig by a year or two. Most PC gamers will tell you its aggrivating to play a game on an expired PC because everything that's been advertised about that particular game has been dumbed down. Sure, not by much, but that's the plesibo effect for you.

So why pirate? simple. most people don't want to pay for somthing they don't think will work on there machine. Whether its because the game itself isn't optimized for the PC (GTA IV anyone?) or your PC can't run it (Crysis). I think, in order for the PC gaming market to get off its face, we need to make a PC gaming Constitution. By the people, for the people. Somthing that all company's can abide by. somthing that protects the consumer from shitty console ports and somthing that will give leeway to those with older computers.

I mean, Xbox has an approval system, PS3 has an approval system, why can't PC gamers have there own universal approval system? It would vastly improve the quality of our games and decrease piracy.

Why would you buy all that? I7's are useless for gaming, I5's are just as good, half the price. GTX295's are overpowered and you can pick up a 4890 for $200. You don't need to spend $200 on a power supply. Do some research and you can get a PC that plays games better than consoles for about the same price, and it's a PC. I get to use it for the internet, chatting and gaming without using given systems. I choose what I want to run, and I get better looking games. If I'm not sure it will run on my system, I look on the box.

PC's have many approval systems. Microsoft activate every copy of windows, every copy of Games for Windows Live, companies offer CD keys, DRM and other anti piracy measures.

You'll never have PC gaming like console gaming. Nobody has a computer of a specific power, each and every one of them will run faster or slower. It'd mean you have to optimize it for little Timmy's PC world pile of crap as well as the PC's that can run Crysis at resolutions far beyond 1080p. That's too much work and the cost goes up.

 

[CrysisMcGee]

I have to admit that these pirates are damn good at cracking games. And to be honest, this "Limited installation" Shit doesn't do a damn thing to stop them.

 

[thatstheguy]

I don't pirate games, but have considered the option. Games that I've considered pirating, I usually never buy anyway. Let's say I did pirate the game. Seems fair enough that I'd be taking money away from the publishers and developers. BUT! Let's say pirating wasn't an option. Would that really make me more inclined to buy a game. Probably, but I've got other stuff to spend my money on, like food and clothes. I probably wouldn't buy the game even if I couldn't pirate. That my friend, is deadweight loss.

It's important to understand that the loss of a companies revenue is a lot more complex to measure than to just simply say "everyone who pirated the game would buy it if they couldn't pirate it". I don't believe piracy to be a form of stealing, but rather, a form of copying. What I'm saying though is just a regurgitation of what most people have to say on the matter so I won't say much else. Simply put, I don't think piracy will be the death of PC gaming, but it could cause a domino effect that could lead to the industry's demise.

 

[Pilot Bush]

My friends do, but I've never done it, and don't think I will. Is kind of annoying you can't borrow games that need to be registered on Steam, though

 

[Necrofudge]

Have you, yes you the consumer that's reading this, ever tried to keep a PC maintained for new releases? Have you gone too newegg.com, bought an i7 for $300, a GTX295 for $450, a motherboard for 150, a power supply for 200, a case for 50, and a brand spankin new operating system for an extra 200, and a Hard Drive for 100?? After your done doing that, have you seen the large dent in your wallet?

Sure, your computers gonna last for maybe 2 - 3 years, but when your time to update comes and nothings compatable what then? Go out and buy another motherboard with a PCI Express x16 3.0 PCI slot on it? another GTX4 series card? another octocore processor? A hard drive with atleast a Terabyte on it??? and god forbid, ANOTHER OS?

There's a good reason people don't buy PC games, and its not because they don't love em. It's because PC gamers need to be the rich few who can afford to constantly renew there PC's for upcomming requirements.

Gaming PC's are impractical. They are expensive to maintain and they are expensive to upgrade. Games luckily are priced lower but at a huge expense to the consumer. If your game is well optimized, chances are it'll surpass your ol' and busted gamin rig by a year or two. Most PC gamers will tell you its aggrivating to play a game on an expired PC because everything that's been advertised about that particular game has been dumbed down. Sure, not by much, but that's the plesibo effect for you.

So why pirate? simple. most people don't want to pay for somthing they don't think will work on there machine. Whether its because the game itself isn't optimized for the PC (GTA IV anyone?) or your PC can't run it (Crysis). I think, in order for the PC gaming market to get off its face, we need to make a PC gaming Constitution. By the people, for the people. Somthing that all company's can abide by. somthing that protects the consumer from shitty console ports and somthing that will give leeway to those with older computers.

I mean, Xbox has an approval system, PS3 has an approval system, why can't PC gamers have there own universal approval system? It would vastly improve the quality of our games and decrease piracy.

I actually connect with that on a personal level. I recently had to get a lot of parts replaced because it couldn't play anything more advanced than Oblivion on low quality.

 

[Bocaj2000]

I am more than guilty of pirating. However, that's ONLY because I'm in highschool and I don't have a job. When I have a job, I have no need to pirate other than to use as a demo. Once I work up the cash, I do plan on going to game stop weekly, as I've done in the past.

 

[TylerC]

Yes, YOU. If you are one of the vast majority of people who pirate copies of video games, you are causing a huge problem.

Where are you getting "The Vast Majority" from? In May of this year, the piracy rate of ALL software on the PC, not just video games, was at 41%. I'd be willing to bet it's about half to 2/3 of that number that actually pirate games, making the actual percentage between 20%-26% While that is indeed a high number, it's not the "vast majority," and despite that piracy rate, the industry is still growing.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34296/41-of-all-PC-software-is-pirated


But hey, you know what they say. 86% of all statistics are made up on the spot

Yeah, sorry I guess you were right in that fact, and I'll make sure to change it, but just looking at this forum, it does seem to be the vast majority.

 

[TylerC]

snip

This guy speaks the truth, the majority of the innovation is in the indy games, they put alot of effort into them and take many ideas off the community who support them.
Really the only game I am playing at the minute (apart from the odd bout of UT3) is Men of War, most of you probably haven't heard of it, it is criminally under-rated but I can't say this is a bad thing, if it attracted the masses it would end up being dumbed down and it would lose it's appeal to me.

Yeah exactly, but a lot of indie games that may have price tag are pirated, and that is absolutely killing games, like one of my favorites, World of Goo. Damn near one of the best games I've ever played.

 

[initialdelay]

I never pirate games, unless they're really old ones I can't get hold of and are essentially 'abandonware'. Movies on the other hand...

EDIT: Whatever happened to shareware?

 

[Pendragon9]

I only download games I've already bought or games they don't make anymore. I agree we shouldn't pirate, so the people who make the good games get the money they deserve.

 

[Jekken6]

All my PC games are either retail bought or i borrowed them off a friend.

 

[The Bandit]

btw building a computer isn't expensive, you could build a solid machine today for around the same price as a console and it would last you a good three years at the very least.

Shit like this really, really pisses me off. Do you people not go outside? Not everyone knows how to build a computer. Not everyone knows someone who can build a computer. In fact, I'd say a vast majority of people don't know either of these things. Even if it were true, your argument is still shit. A console lasts 5+ years (and the current generation is expected to last longer). You said a good computer can last 3. Why bother?

 

[Shintsu2]

I have never pirated any game, ever. I'm well aware of the existence of illegally free games online but it's not worth it. The sources are commonly full of viruses like trojans (Who you gonna complain to - the illegal pirates for giving you a virus? Or the legal companies for getting a virus trying to steal software...right) and despite many people never getting caught, the price to pay and such is totally not worth it just for a game. Besides - if the game is good the developers deserve every bit of money it costs me to buy the game.

It's basically a moral decision when you get down to it. Can you steal and not feel guilty about it? Pirating is easier than actual theft because unlike the physical effort required to do it, you can sit in your chair and just click and do it. You don't have to feel guilty holding something you didn't pay for under your jacket or stuffing it in your pants and then that realistic risk of being caught by someone when you're walking out and getting in trouble on the spot. Even if you did steal games online, your punishment wouldn't come right away (Unless you got a virus, which is more a just punishment than an actual punishment per the police or whomever). It's easy for lots of people to think they're totally anonymous on the internet and have no inherent risk of being caught for stealing things online. They feel like they can just delete it and then they never stole a thing. But they don't realize their IP is logged and this information can be retrieved simply because they themselves don't know how and assume no one else does or if they did that they just don't care.

You pirating scumbags - you can get away with it for awhile, maybe even a long time. But some of you will get caught and pay a huge price all for such little benefit in comparison to the punishment. Is it really worth it? You hurt the market anyway - if you do it enough then PC's will be dropped in favor of game consoles. Then you won't have any games to pirate or buy legally. Just remember, pirating is stealing even if you aren't physically handling something and taking it out of a store without paying. You're taking software a company spent lots of money to develop and is asking a fractional price of that development cost in return for their effort and not paying them a dime. Imagine if your place of employment decided to lead you on to think you're getting a paycheck for your work and then just decides "Nah, we don't need to pay you" - they benefitted from your work and you got nothing for it. You're doing the same thing to game companies. Games aren't cheap to make and they take a long time. Ultimately you affect the livelyhood of the people who work for the company that make the game too. If no one paid for a game they spent lots to make then they'd have to lay off people and they'd have no money for anything.

EDIT:

btw building a computer isn't expensive, you could build a solid machine today for around the same price as a console and it would last you a good three years at the very least.

Shit like this really, really pisses me off. Do you people not go outside? Not everyone knows how to build a computer. Not everyone knows someone who can build a computer. In fact, I'd say a vast majority of people don't know either of these things. Even if it were true, your argument is still shit. A console lasts 5+ years (and the current generation is expected to last longer). You said a good computer can last 3. Why bother?

Yes, Mr. Moron we aren't cave dwellers because god forbid - we're not clueless saps who hand HP/Dell/Lenovo our wallets when we need a new computer. Computers are so easy to build, you are an idiot if you can't figure it out. Honestly, the parts fit in ONE way. You can't put them in the wrong way. They're not even hard to setup. So for the reduced cost you're expected to essentially be able to put things in the slots they fit in (And won't fit anywhere else) and do a little bit of simple legwork. If that's so much to ask, pay twice the cost for a pre-made computer that's inferior.

Also, a good computer will last 5+ years - my last one did. Every 3 years or more you might need to upgrade something like more memory, bigger hard drive, better video card - but it's never a necessity. Unlike game consoles you can lower settings so you can still play new games even if your stuff isn't top of the line. I built my computer for $800 and it's very high end, I can play any game on high settings at 1920 x 1200 including Crysis - a game far more demanding than any of the silly little games on the 360 or PS3. My next cost to upgrade will probably be in two to three years (I built this machine over a year ago) and will most likely be a video card - and I can sell my old video card and makeup a fair portion of the difference. I spent $215 on my video card but I could sell it for $120 and buy a nicer one for $200 and only be out $80 and have a better video card. You can't do that with consoles unless you consider selling a last generation console to make a difference between a new one - but that will never be such a small number. Selling a used PS2 to pay for a PS3 before it came out would be lucky to save you $100 off the price tag.

But people like you sit on your little high chair of console gamer casualness and think you're better than us PC gamers because you supposedly are smarter for paying more money for a shitty built pre-made computer. Haha, right have fun with that. When your computer breaks because you downloaded something and got a virus don't ask us for help (But you always do anyway).

 

[vede]

snip

This guy speaks the truth, the majority of the innovation is in the indy games, they put alot of effort into them and take many ideas off the community who support them.
Really the only game I am playing at the minute (apart from the odd bout of UT3) is Men of War, most of you probably haven't heard of it, it is criminally under-rated but I can't say this is a bad thing, if it attracted the masses it would end up being dumbed down and it would lose it's appeal to me.

Yeah exactly, but a lot of indie games that may have price tag are pirated, and that is absolutely killing games, like one of my favorites, World of Goo. Damn near one of the best games I've ever played.

I think maybe you didn't read the "snip" part up there. The point I was making was that developers not getting money for making games has practically no effect on whether or not games on the PC will continue to exist, or even continue to be any good. Some of the best, most influential games in the world are free.

People who shout about how game developers can't write games if people don't give them moneys are stupid. I've shown that game developers do write games without reimbursement, and can write good games without reimbursement.

Piracy will never kill gaming, ever.

The only thing piracy will kill is big game corporations, and if I have the opportunity to kill those, I'll take it in a heartbeat.

 

[Romblen]

I am more than guilty of pirating. However, that's ONLY because I'm in highschool and I don't have a job. When I have a job, I have no need to pirate other than to use as a demo. Once I work up the cash, I do plan on going to game stop weekly, as I've done in the past.

Bull. Every person I know who has ever said that, then got money, continued pirating games. Why? Because they were free.

I never pirate games myself. I think it's wrong, if you owned a business, then some one came in and stole your products, would you be mad?