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."
Then why do you generalize and say that the industry would make more "good" games if only "good" games would get bought?
"Good" is always subjective. If the industry makes games I like, which is more likely to happen if I only buy the ones I like, that means they are making "good" games. Whether you like the game is completely irrelevant.
You need to risk that a game is not entirely to your liking.
No, I don't. That's why I pirate games. I eliminate the risk of buying a game I won't enjoy.
There is always a little risk involved in a purchase. Always.
Wrong again. Games, movies, books, music... all can be tested in their entirety before purchase. Legally? Usually not (though, borrowing a book from a library tends to be legal). But then, legality isn't the issue here. Practicality and reason is.
You have absolutely no right to cicumvent that risk by pirating a game.
Here we go again with these "rights." As I said before, using rights as the basis of your argument is pointless because "rights" are abstract notions that are vary wildly from culture to culture. Take away culture and rights cease to exist. Lock yourself in a cage with an angry tiger and see how far your rights get you.
Why do you believe that you are entitled to such a special privilege (risk-free, satisfaction guaranteed money spending) when it comes to games?
Entitled? As with rights, I don't believe I'm entitled to anything. I play through games before I buy them because piracy enables me to do so. It is not a matter of rights or entitlement. This isn't a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of minimizing risk and ensuring that every game I buy is well worth it. Like I said, if it were possible to test all things with this same level of thoroughness, I would. Unfortunately, I can't.
You're just a filthy little thief who is trying to justify his lameness.
Again with the insults. If you want to hurt my feelings, just successfully refute my points with logic (not proclamations of rights and entitlements).
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