Sadly, the game publisher have some ground in regards to piracy. It's probably impossible to determine an actual number, but with patented guess-timations, I would be surprised if there wasn't at least 1 pirated copy in use for each copy sold.
Most people that I know who pirate games use the same old arguments "I just want to try it out" or "I don't want to pay for this, it's not worth my money". This angers me greatly.
Like everything else in life, PC game pirates exists because there is a demande for them. Modern DRM appeared in response to that.
It's sad really, but your idea is crazy enough that it might be true - game publisher trying to push people towards consoles, where piracy is very low due to the technical knowledge needed to do it.
Either way, people disapoint me. I like my PC and I like my PC games, but I fear we'll be driven underground soon enough by the masses of idiots who don't understand that not paying for something is the very deffinition of stealing.
As a side note, I'm up to about 20 hours in GTA4 on the PC and I haven't had a single crash, hang up, or problem.
But damnit, PC gamers everywhere seem to adopt the school of thought that "If I can download it, why pay for it"
What kind of mentality is that? If anyone seriously believes that computer games can be created and then downloaded -without- paying then they better be ready for a large healthy dose of limited assets and/or gameplay/in-game publicity/buyable add-ons.
Big titles require big money, as much on consoles as on PCs - even more on PCs given the compatibility issues they face.
Yet, so many people that I talk with, who are fellow gamers and yes, do play PC games, always have the same one work on their lips when talking about a new game; "download". The only games they do buy are either MMOs or made by blizzard (or both) and everything else they shamelessly download away.
I try to explain to them that game creators cannot continue making PC games if no one buys them and they don't really care.
Take Crysis. Big pc-only release in a long time and what happened? It got downloaded so much the devs have sworn to never release a pc-only title anymore.
It pains me to admit but these kind of PC gamers are what's killing the PC industry. Measures such as this are, sadly, what's needed. Yes, consoles are moddable and hackable too but it's a lot harder from a commoner's standpoint: you need to find someone who actually solders the thing and then you need to lend him your console and even then you're not sure it'll work properly. With PCs? download and play away.
Sure, having a chip on the motherboard may not be fail-proof but I *hope* it will make it hard enough so that people stop stealing games.
IF you want to play something that you like, buy it. If you want to try it out first, get a demo or try it at someone else's house, read a few reviews (for the pedants out there: no, I don't assume and single one review is objective, but I read enough reviews of different sources concerning the same game that I can get a good idea of what the game is about)
I love my PC games, I love how they generally are more expansive, complex, require more than just quick reflex, are not fraternity games for beered up guys (stereotype maybe and I know there are great games even on consoles but you get the point, I'm talking Simcities, Total War, Civ4 (which may be the best example, if you look at the X360 version they're doing. Cleopatra got upgraded to double-Ds or something?), etc.)
I really wish that hard-wired copy protections were not necessary but I don't see any other solution right now.
Well you did it; you made me create an account so I could post for the first time in 2 years.
Disclaimer: I'm French (Canadian) so please excuse any made-up words I might use.
I feel strongly about gaming and especially on the PC. I love the platform - it's more open, more evolutional. Multiplayer is, IMHO, better implemented (unlike Xbox Live and the like, we don't have to -pay- to play multiplayer, except for most MMOs. The thought of having to pay in order to play something like Supreme Commander in multiplayer just repulses me.)
However, I'm dismayed at the general mind set that people have regarding PC games. For most of the people I know, paying for a game is stupid. I buy a lot of games and I occasionally get the question "Why'd you buy it? I downloaded it, I could have gotten you a copy". I try to explain them the basic of economy: If a product does not make profit, they won't make more of it.
If there's a game you like but you don't buy it, you're basically telling the developer/publisher "Don't make more of it, it's not good enough to spend my money on".
Before you start claiming that modern-day game sucks, that they're not worth 40, 50, 60$, just what would be worth it? If it's not worth it, don't buy it. If you want to play it then, by all means, I would think that means that you feel the game is worth playing but not worth paying for?
Don't get me wrong, if you adhere to the "I wanna try it before I play it" school then its fine. Download it, try it out, however if you do like it then please buy it.
No matter how you look at it, if you use something without paying for it, it's theft.
Steam may not be the future of gaming but with the ever-increasing internet and the tech-savvy "younguns" crowd growing up AND increasing, piracy will only increase. Developers need a way to keep PC games from being pirated, whatever it may be.
If you look at consoles, it's DRM and it works. It's proprietary, yes it's hackable and can be pirated but it's the vast minority that are willing to open up their box and slap a chip in it. Most are content at buying a few games and then selling them back at EBgames/Gamestop for a few new ones.
For PCs, what do we have? MMOs and online verification.
My opinion? We need something similar to consoles but on the PC; maybe a Game-DVD reader (separate from a standard DVD-reader) or something else.
I don't like the idea either but seeing the market get choked by rampant and ever-growing piracy, I can only blame my fellow PC gamers.
Before you replay, ask yourself what's your ratio of bought-VS-pirated games. If it's lower than 1, please don't bother =/
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Sadly, the game publisher have some ground in regards to piracy. It's probably impossible to determine an actual number, but with patented guess-timations, I would be surprised if there wasn't at least 1 pirated copy in use for each copy sold.
Most people that I know who pirate games use the same old arguments "I just want to try it out" or "I don't want to pay for this, it's not worth my money". This angers me greatly.
Like everything else in life, PC game pirates exists because there is a demande for them. Modern DRM appeared in response to that.
It's sad really, but your idea is crazy enough that it might be true - game publisher trying to push people towards consoles, where piracy is very low due to the technical knowledge needed to do it.
Either way, people disapoint me. I like my PC and I like my PC games, but I fear we'll be driven underground soon enough by the masses of idiots who don't understand that not paying for something is the very deffinition of stealing.
As a side note, I'm up to about 20 hours in GTA4 on the PC and I haven't had a single crash, hang up, or problem.
(sorry for the spelling)
But damnit, PC gamers everywhere seem to adopt the school of thought that "If I can download it, why pay for it"
What kind of mentality is that? If anyone seriously believes that computer games can be created and then downloaded -without- paying then they better be ready for a large healthy dose of limited assets and/or gameplay/in-game publicity/buyable add-ons.
Big titles require big money, as much on consoles as on PCs - even more on PCs given the compatibility issues they face.
Yet, so many people that I talk with, who are fellow gamers and yes, do play PC games, always have the same one work on their lips when talking about a new game; "download". The only games they do buy are either MMOs or made by blizzard (or both) and everything else they shamelessly download away.
I try to explain to them that game creators cannot continue making PC games if no one buys them and they don't really care.
Take Crysis. Big pc-only release in a long time and what happened? It got downloaded so much the devs have sworn to never release a pc-only title anymore.
It pains me to admit but these kind of PC gamers are what's killing the PC industry. Measures such as this are, sadly, what's needed. Yes, consoles are moddable and hackable too but it's a lot harder from a commoner's standpoint: you need to find someone who actually solders the thing and then you need to lend him your console and even then you're not sure it'll work properly. With PCs? download and play away.
Sure, having a chip on the motherboard may not be fail-proof but I *hope* it will make it hard enough so that people stop stealing games.
IF you want to play something that you like, buy it. If you want to try it out first, get a demo or try it at someone else's house, read a few reviews (for the pedants out there: no, I don't assume and single one review is objective, but I read enough reviews of different sources concerning the same game that I can get a good idea of what the game is about)
I love my PC games, I love how they generally are more expansive, complex, require more than just quick reflex, are not fraternity games for beered up guys (stereotype maybe and I know there are great games even on consoles but you get the point, I'm talking Simcities, Total War, Civ4 (which may be the best example, if you look at the X360 version they're doing. Cleopatra got upgraded to double-Ds or something?), etc.)
I really wish that hard-wired copy protections were not necessary but I don't see any other solution right now.
Well you did it; you made me create an account so I could post for the first time in 2 years.
Disclaimer: I'm French (Canadian) so please excuse any made-up words I might use.
I feel strongly about gaming and especially on the PC. I love the platform - it's more open, more evolutional. Multiplayer is, IMHO, better implemented (unlike Xbox Live and the like, we don't have to -pay- to play multiplayer, except for most MMOs. The thought of having to pay in order to play something like Supreme Commander in multiplayer just repulses me.)
However, I'm dismayed at the general mind set that people have regarding PC games. For most of the people I know, paying for a game is stupid. I buy a lot of games and I occasionally get the question "Why'd you buy it? I downloaded it, I could have gotten you a copy". I try to explain them the basic of economy: If a product does not make profit, they won't make more of it. If there's a game you like but you don't buy it, you're basically telling the developer/publisher "Don't make more of it, it's not good enough to spend my money on".
Before you start claiming that modern-day game sucks, that they're not worth 40, 50, 60$, just what would be worth it? If it's not worth it, don't buy it. If you want to play it then, by all means, I would think that means that you feel the game is worth playing but not worth paying for?
Don't get me wrong, if you adhere to the "I wanna try it before I play it" school then its fine. Download it, try it out, however if you do like it then please buy it.
No matter how you look at it, if you use something without paying for it, it's theft.
Steam may not be the future of gaming but with the ever-increasing internet and the tech-savvy "younguns" crowd growing up AND increasing, piracy will only increase. Developers need a way to keep PC games from being pirated, whatever it may be.
If you look at consoles, it's DRM and it works. It's proprietary, yes it's hackable and can be pirated but it's the vast minority that are willing to open up their box and slap a chip in it. Most are content at buying a few games and then selling them back at EBgames/Gamestop for a few new ones.
For PCs, what do we have? MMOs and online verification. My opinion? We need something similar to consoles but on the PC; maybe a Game-DVD reader (separate from a standard DVD-reader) or something else.
I don't like the idea either but seeing the market get choked by rampant and ever-growing piracy, I can only blame my fellow PC gamers.
Before you replay, ask yourself what's your ratio of bought-VS-pirated games. If it's lower than 1, please don't bother =/