Piracy versus PC Gaming [Mar 09, 2007, 8:23 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Next Generation recaps a GDC talk titled "The Videogame Piracy Problem:
Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest" by id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead about the
impact of piracy on the game industry. They outline how Mr. Hollenshead says the
estimated $3 billion economic loss caused by piracy in 2004 does not include
piracy that takes place on the Internet. There is also an article about this
talk on
Joystiq that focuses on the statement that piracy is a factor in id's
embrace of consoles, quoting Todd as saying "Piracy has pushed id as being
multiplatform." On a related note,
Can PC
Gaming Survive in a Console World (thanks
Digg) recaps a panel discussion on the topic that brought up a similar
point:
Part of the problem is piracy. Big titles get stolen by cyber thieves, and it hurts revenue. "The market," said Capps, "that would buy a $600 video card knows how Bittorrent works."
Does that mean casual games, which exponentially outsell what PC gaming traditionalists think of as A-list titles, will one day rule? Hilleman made a point: casual is a poor choice of words. The average player on EA's Pogo "casual" game network plays "for 24 hours a week. There's nothing casual about that."
There is some light in the PC gaming world. World of Warcraft, for instance, is a massive hit, and the upcoming Spore looks not only creative and different, but promising. The MMO and other social networking games could become the norm for PC gaming, with big-ticket titles growing rarer with each passing year. Johnson added that MMOs are "successful because you can't pirate WoW. You cannot pirate an MMO. Period." Therefore, he said, "game design on the PC is going to bend toward persistence."
Meh.
Truth be told the PC market has become so dull of late that I can't remember the last game I pirated. I've purchased a few strategy games in the past 8 months, purchased a few FPS games in the past 18, but... that's it. I don't think I've seen anything I was iffy enough to pirate (Like many, I pirate what I wouldn't buy, and occasionally buy what I pirate.)
I'd say in the past three years I've pirated one game and purchased six, maybe. About that.
I don't pirate what I plan to buy. That would just make the situation worse. But there's been so little I've had interest in. FPS games are still better on the PC, as are strategy games, but quality has been hard to find in either genre. There are some big games on the horizon, but they've been there forever.
And I wish I had pirated Doom 3 instead of purchased it. I purchased it full price, $59, first and last game I bought at full price in years and years. And I played it 2 to 4 hours. I get more value at overpriced movie theaters.
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Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
Truth be told the PC market has become so dull of late that I can't remember the last game I pirated. I've purchased a few strategy games in the past 8 months, purchased a few FPS games in the past 18, but... that's it. I don't think I've seen anything I was iffy enough to pirate (Like many, I pirate what I wouldn't buy, and occasionally buy what I pirate.)
I'd say in the past three years I've pirated one game and purchased six, maybe. About that.
I don't pirate what I plan to buy. That would just make the situation worse. But there's been so little I've had interest in. FPS games are still better on the PC, as are strategy games, but quality has been hard to find in either genre. There are some big games on the horizon, but they've been there forever.
And I wish I had pirated Doom 3 instead of purchased it. I purchased it full price, $59, first and last game I bought at full price in years and years. And I played it 2 to 4 hours. I get more value at overpriced movie theaters.
-------------
Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
-------------
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
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