Ubisoft: EndWar PC Impacted by Piracy [Oct 08, 2008, 09:31 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Videogaming247 quotes Ubisoft Shanghai creative director Michael de Plater
on how piracy is a reason Tom Clancy's EndWar is appearing on consoles
first, with plans for a PC edition remaining vague (story). He
says this of a PC version of the voice-controlled RTS game: "To be honest, if PC
wasn’t pirated to hell and back, there’d probably be a PC version coming out the
same day as the other two," also saying: "You know, the level of piracy that you
get with the PC just cannibalizes the others, because people just steal that
version." He goes on to agree with dire predictions about the impact of piracy
on PC gaming: "But at the moment, if you release the PC version, essentially
what you’re doing is letting people have a free version that they rip off
instead of a purchased version. Piracy’s basically killing PC."
@ Prez
You're probably right, but there really is no way to tell.
Actually, the only way to tell would depend on public opinion, sales, vs pirated copy. In fact, thinking about it, remember that whole Unreal Tournament and Crysis argument we've all been having? Using that as example, we all agree that Crysis - as a game - is cookie cutter rubbish. So if you took that, the review scores, the game sales and the pirated numbers, we can probably determine that it could have done better were it not pirated.
UT on the other hand had no redeeming qualities that I can think of. So if you compared the sales to the pirated copies, one could then make the argument that it is one example of a crappy game that didn't fail due to piracy.
Anyway, you make a good point. But I don't think it has anything to do with PC gaming vs piracy because the fact is, PC game sales would obviously be better without piracy. And those additional sales - no matter how big or small - do go toward publisher's making the case for DRM, releasing on the console first etc etc.
@Jerykk
If you know anything, you'd know that I didn't pull numbers out of my ass.
What exactly are you saying? You lost me somewhere in the firs part of that. Who is bullying you into buying anything? I fail to see what the price of games on consoles and PCs have to do with PIRACY.
I was alluding to mainstream PC gaming which I thought was the general focus of this topic? Why would you imagine that my comment pertained to the likes of other PC gaming such as web based flash games, MMO games etc? Why else do you think I mentioned the use of online activation based DRM?
Rubbish. Further, what has this got to do with PIRACY
Anyway, at the end of the day, DRM, like piracy, is here to stay. In between the noise, there will be those who buy their games and those who steal them. Thats not going to take away from the fact that publishers and devs will continue to favor console over PC releases in an attempt to reduce the inpact that PC gaming piracy has on their bottom line. It just makes sense.
Nobody clarified nor confirmed that Endwars was coming to the PC.
This comment was edited on Oct 9, 2008, 13:14.
Rest assured, I'm not. The developers deserve to be paid every penny they have coming to them. What I am saying is that piracy alone in my opinion does not cause a game to fail. While it is conceivable that it could, I have never seen any evidence to show that a failed game would have been successful were it not for piracy.
You're probably right, but there really is no way to tell.
Actually, the only way to tell would depend on public opinion, sales, vs pirated copy. In fact, thinking about it, remember that whole Unreal Tournament and Crysis argument we've all been having? Using that as example, we all agree that Crysis - as a game - is cookie cutter rubbish. So if you took that, the review scores, the game sales and the pirated numbers, we can probably determine that it could have done better were it not pirated.
UT on the other hand had no redeeming qualities that I can think of. So if you compared the sales to the pirated copies, one could then make the argument that it is one example of a crappy game that didn't fail due to piracy.
Anyway, you make a good point. But I don't think it has anything to do with PC gaming vs piracy because the fact is, PC game sales would obviously be better without piracy. And those additional sales - no matter how big or small - do go toward publisher's making the case for DRM, releasing on the console first etc etc.
@Jerykk
Uh, didn't you just accuse wallace of pulling numbers out of his ass..? Since there's no possible way to measure losses due to piracy, I'm guessing you pulled that 75% out your ass.
If you know anything, you'd know that I didn't pull numbers out of my ass.
Because that is all I'm seeing. PC game companies expect to bully us into paying too much for games that should only be on consoles. Many gamers do want to play console games on their PC's, but a 50% price cut on the product is needed. It's ridiculous that you'd try and charge $50 for a console game on a pc.
What exactly are you saying? You lost me somewhere in the firs part of that. Who is bullying you into buying anything? I fail to see what the price of games on consoles and PCs have to do with PIRACY.
PC gaming is NOT going to die out. It's a free platform to develop for and there are consumers willing to buy.
I was alluding to mainstream PC gaming which I thought was the general focus of this topic? Why would you imagine that my comment pertained to the likes of other PC gaming such as web based flash games, MMO games etc? Why else do you think I mentioned the use of online activation based DRM?
What we're seeing right now is an attempt by the big game publishers to try and force PC gamers to buy software designed for consoles.
Rubbish. Further, what has this got to do with PIRACY
Anyway, at the end of the day, DRM, like piracy, is here to stay. In between the noise, there will be those who buy their games and those who steal them. Thats not going to take away from the fact that publishers and devs will continue to favor console over PC releases in an attempt to reduce the inpact that PC gaming piracy has on their bottom line. It just makes sense.
Nobody clarified nor confirmed that Endwars was coming to the PC.
This comment was edited on Oct 9, 2008, 13:14.
Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living. If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead
...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them
...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them
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