Are YOU hurting or helping PC gaming?

This is not console wars thread, it's a plea to PC gamers. Also I'm not an English major so you've been warned. I just hope my point gets across.

It really is sad to hear so many PC gamers tell me how there are no more exclusives. Than they show me all their burned games in their backpack. WTF!?

Come on you guys. Farcry 2 is no longer PC exclusive and I bet my life that next year Crysis will be heading to consoles. Considering the poor sales it had for PC.

I think it's obvious that if you love PC gaming as much as I do I support devs who support PC gaming by purchasing their games STRAIGHT OFF THE SHELVES!

I admit I purchased some burned games a couple years back. But with PC games sales falling causing developers to turn away from the system, it just doesn't make sense anymore to do it. Burned PC games are hurting the business just as much as burned music cd's are hurting the music industry. The sad reality for us PC gamers is that unlike the music industry that has no choice but to fight it, game developers have the choice on whether they want to continue to support PC's or not. Because the real money maker now is the consoles. It's pretty much gotten to the point now where we should be grateful to a developing company that supports us exclusively.

Burned games hurt PC gaming. STOP IT! DO NOT PURCHASE PIRATED MATERIAL!

On another note I meant it when I said "STRAIGHT OFF THE SHELVES". We have to purchase our games physically from the store and not online from "steam" or "gamefly", etc. Because the PC games purchased from these sites don't count towards the "NPD Group" . These guys specialize in creating reports on sales in the entertainment industry. Buying games online create a false report of PC games selling poorly. Which therefore sends a message to video game shareholders that there is no money to be made in PC gaming and that all games should be multiplatformed from now on. Therefore developers are forced to make thier PC exclusives no longer exclusive. Crysis and Unreal 3 sales were poor for PC probably because of high specs required, but how much better could those sales looked had everybody purchased physical copies of the games?

Sure purchasing online is more convient but I honestly believe it hurts PC gaming. Unless of course Steam and all the other online retailers start releasing thier numbers to the NPD.

Yeah so PC games look better. But the truth is console players don't care, and consoles games do look good nowadays and thats enough for them.

On another note if someone wants to get into PC gaming but they don't want to have to go through the whole building process, fill them in on boutique PC gaming stores like...

www.maingear.com

www.digitalstormonline.com

www.falcon-nw.com

They'll build you a top of the line PC and install all the software for you (OS, drivers, etc.). Sure it's more expensive than building it yourself but console gamers don't have to build a console so I think most of them would rather not build a PC themselves. It'll last you 4-5 years without upgrading. Which is the same life span of a console. Plus it's no more expensive than buying a 360, PS3, online access, controllers, surround sound system and a decent size HD TV. But these sites also sell some cheaper models that can run current games.

On another note WOW is the lifeblood of PC gaming, but most of these people only play WOW. Introduce them to new (low spec.) games like Warcraft 3 and hopefully they'll be more willing to give PC gaming a chance.

Just trying to do my part in helping PC gaming.

SOURCES

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6449421.stm

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/07/id-piracy-killing-pc-gaming-market/

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/8980.cfm

I admit I purchased some burned games a couple years back. But with PC games sales falling causing developers to turn away from the system, it just doesn't make sense anymore to do it. Burned PC games are hurting the business just as much as burned music cd's are hurting the music industryi_hate_pants

I stopped reading there. Practice what you preach with piracy (IE, don't support it), and stop making up crap. Source your info about sales falling and developers turning away or get off.

/thread.

Here's a source, I remember reading this same story on gmespot a year ago. But from reading your response you'll probably just question my sources even though you asked to see some.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7832

ign's pc year in review discuss dropping sales

http://pc.ign.com/articles/842/842883p1.html

Now, while we're saying that, we have to wonder how much of the sales decline from retail stores is due to people downloading the games online since NPD doesn't track services like Steam and Valve won't release sales numbers. What we're talking about here could be much ado about nothing, but it's concerning, not because we think the PC will die as a gaming platform, but because we may continue to see a decline in PC specific titles. Compared to console sales, these numbers are pretty sad and we have to wonder how much longer bigger companies are going to see the PC as a primary option for making money. I suppose as consoles get more powerful, it becomes a bit easier to make cross-platform titles, but as John Carmack said recently in an interview, the days of PC only titles could very well be winding down. It's not happy news for us PC gamers.

All the games I buy are legit, for the last 3 years this has been true.

I don't even download games to "try them out" because all it does is help seed the torrent for others.

I think I'm supporting the pc games industry more than average.

edit: also I buy many games from steam, I couldn't really care less what NPD tracks, its a well known fact they are pretty useless for PC games tracking, devs, publishers and steam itself will gain from my purchaess.

Sure, steam might not count towards sales figures of the NPD, but the company who makes the game will know how many copies have been downloaded off steam, so i dont think that will change their decision.

And yes, I am helping PC gaming, I like nothing better than having a nice new game in a nice box.

I understand your point.

All the games I have here, they are legit purchases, even one which doesn't work and was purchased...Square Enix are thugs.

However, most peoples who do practice this illegal trades, they are programmers for the company and they leak it. Who knows best how to break the protection features then...a programmer. I couldn't even install the game alone...and most gamers are about as skilled as me. "Piracy" is practiced mostly by programmers. In turn, they make peoples join and learn and all...should programmers buy the games? Or can they exchange illegal copies among themselves? HoMM V was available on the web before it official release!!! Tells me again, who can release that game on the web before the official release without anyone noticing? A programmer.

"Piracy" happens to be free publicity and you discard this aspect completely. Many games have 2 protections, 1 easy to crack, and 1 to lock the "sweetest" parts only. A fan will go buy the official version to play and enjoy everything; as simple as that. I wouldn't support piracy in anyway, even less accept to partake in it in anyway. However, I am in no position to throw a stone or to even say, without a doubt, it is bad...cause I am not sure. I am not sure if the fact that the programmers at company A play the games of company C for free as extremely casual players, is that good or bad? And, it also involves improving their personnal programming skills, which again...I can't say if it is good or bad.

This issue is definitely complex; for anyone based solely on the facts you brought here. I, for myself, wouldn't support it in anyway. But I wouldn't condemn it either, in anyway.

If companies make good games, people buy them. Galactic Civilizations was a VERY succesful game and it had 0 protection. No CD key, no root kits, no limited installs.Swiftstrike5

And I have the box!:D

I choose to go with Stardock for the follow-up (GalCiv II), mostly as a good gesture toward the company...but everything in me was crying for the box...next time it will be the box. :lol:

...bet less good games I just downloadwhoody12

That does not make it right!

Carey

Id rather buy games from a box becasue you can put on multiple computers, and you get a nice and shiny box to display in you shelf

I buy all the games that I play, and it's always nice to have a look a the game collection when I'm trying to find something to play.

But the simple fact of the matter is that we will always have more piracy becuase it is far easier to pirate games on PC then it is on a console. On a console millions are spent on hypervisors and heavy security, as that's were console manufacturers recieve their profits from, royalties from game sales. So if everyone was pirating, then consoles would either have to be expensive enough to recoup costs and make a profit, or they'd just pull out -- becuase it doesn't make business sense.

On PC, the only protection programs have against piracy is built into themselves, via SafeDisk, and SecurROM -- and programs can be reverse engineered, and anti-piracy mechanisms defeated, as they aren't an integral part of the OS, and they are far easier to access then the anti-piracy measures of a console.

You guys are focusing alot on the pircay aspect of my post. But I was trying to figure out how we can make PC gaming bigger.

I also personlly feel the PC gaming isn't as accessible as console gaming. It would be nice if gaming pc's for roughly $700 could be bought off the shelves of big name electronic stores. That way people don't have to build it or order one online. Just take it home and play with it like you would with a console.

Also it would be cool if upgrading PC's was easier. No screws. Design hardware that allows you to just snap it in place into the motherboard. But then there is the wires.

While I agree that people should pay for games, I disagree with your comparison game piracy to music piracy. The music industry isn't hurt that bad by music piracy. They'd like you to believe that they are, but it's just not true. They sell millions of songs regardless (and their bank accounts are nice and plump to show for it). Game developers, on the other hand, lose far more money if even a single person decides to download a game instead of paying for it.

I was reading something about game piracy recently (on Macintosh, but the point still stands) where a game developer tracked more people trying to log onto the game servers with a single banned key than had actually bought the game. If more than half of what little sales you have go down the toilet, you've got a pretty big problem.

That's a problem that the music industry doesn't have.

EDIT: I'm personally glad that PC gaming isn't more accessible; I've yet to meet a single 10 year old screaming expletives into the mic.

You guys are focusing alot on the pircay aspect of my post. But I was trying to figure out how we can make PC gaming bigger.

I also personlly feel the PC gaming isn't accessible as console gaming. It would be nice if gaming pc's for roughly $700 could be bought off the shelves of big name electronic stores. That way people don't have to build it or order one online. Just take it home and play with it like you would with a console.

Also it would be cool if upgrading PC's was easier. No screws. Design hardware that allows you to just snap it in place. But then theres is the wires.

i_hate_pants

But that would practically defeat the purpose of PC gaming, part of PC gaming is being able to upgrade your setup to get the best out of the game you want to play. Personally I love when I need to upgrade my computer because the whole process of upgrading is great. If you could just go into a store and pick up a PC for 700 dollars you might as well get a PS3 or 360.

[QUOTE="i_hate_pants"]

You guys are focusing alot on the pircay aspect of my post. But I was trying to figure out how we can make PC gaming bigger.

I also personlly feel the PC gaming isn't accessible as console gaming. It would be nice if gaming pc's for roughly $700 could be bought off the shelves of big name electronic stores. That way people don't have to build it or order one online. Just take it home and play with it like you would with a console.

Also it would be cool if upgrading PC's was easier. No screws. Design hardware that allows you to just snap it in place. But then theres is the wires.

pwilletts

But that would practically defeat the purpose of PC gaming, part of PC gaming is being able to upgrade your setup to get the best out of the game you want to play. Personally I love when I need to upgrade my computer because the whole process of upgrading is great. If you could just go into a store and pick up a PC for 700 dollars you might as well get a PS3 or 360.

Thats your opinion and your idea of fun (but mine too). Some people I know enjoy pc gaming alot because of the online gameplay, graphics, prefer mouse and keyboard, etc, but they don't want to go through the build process because they're afraid they'll make a mistake or mess up (such as installing a new CPU). So they usually send their PC's to me to fix and upgrade.

$700 was a rough estimate. It would probably cost more, but if they put $3000 dollar PC on the shelf, it wouldn't look good. But you can get a great gaming PC for $1000, and thats the message that everybody needs to know.

All the PS and Xbox games are available to DL as well. Todays consoles rival pc's, before only the PC could handle many of these titles, play in HD, online play, so it was the only choice, but now you have $500+ consoles that allow you to do this. For the average person, the drastically increased difficulty and price for a decent gaming PC isn't worth it. Consoles are going to be the big sellers any way you look at it. Sure piracy doesn't help, but how many of us even bought Wolf3d or Doom? PC gaming is still here.

And if the console can handle these games, why in the hell would a company limit themselves to just one platform, wouldn't it make sense to make it available to as many as possible? When they don't they're getting huge payouts for those exclusive rights. Even if everyone bought their game for a PC exclusive, it still wouldn't make as much money as a console title.

Just for the record,Crysis CAN'T run on ANY console out now,at least notwithout dumbing the game down to where it'll suck hard.

PC still has plenty of exclusives,and PC's can do lots of things consoles can't,thus that justifies the higher price.

wow this is a breath of fresh air. Someone finally talking about piracy and that it IS hurting our beloved platform. I'm going to have to agree with 100% of what you said. We are loosing exclusives left and right, soon we won't have any more big budget ones. This message needs to be spread. Everyone needs to get out of the mindset "well they wouldn't have bought it anyway" well no **** - Because they can easily piratie it instead. I have never pirated nor ever will. I've bought 15 pc games this year. I knew something was up when Far Cry 2 got delayed after Crysis's sales were annouced but I didn't quiet expect they were making it multi-platform. =/Roris0A

No the PC is not losing exclusives.. It just makes more sense as a business point of view to make it multiplatform opening it to the largest community as possible.

pc still has most quality exclusives even though it has no first party. if you see the console most of their good exclusive games are 1st or 2nd party titles.

also nowdays for greater profit many games are becomign multiplatform. just see the hl series and how good its sales are on pc, but it still became a multiplatform.

I personally am against the piracy of games but I do however think that the industry needs to get away from the anti-piracy software. Stardock has shown that people will buy a good quality game and they don't require the protection. Hell I pre-ordered Sins of a Solar Empire back in August just because it was coming from Stardock and they have had a great track run with games. Now, I do pirate movies/music (I am Canadian afterall) but when it comes to games you will never see a file downloaded onto my system.

Now, the main reason why I purchase games is that there is nothing like the feel of walking into the gaming store and picking up the box and seeing your reflection on the back, taking the CD out of the box, installing it, and being able to play the game without the hassle of breaking the security of a illegit copy or not being able to access online play. Also, I like the fact that I can look at my shelf and pick out a game I want to play today.

lol this is a funny thread. The op admits he pirated software lmao. Bad guy very bad.OoSuperMarioO

Fixed.

He said he did pirate software but not that he continues to do it that woulod be very hypocritical telling people to buy games so he can continue to pirate them. He realizes what he did was wrong and now is sending out a message to the pc community that they need to stop pirating games so that we can get back more of our exclusives and better games instead of loosing them because of immense pirating.

To the poster above pirating is hurting the pc gaming community because game developers are realizing that they are loosing a ton of money because half of the people playing the game pirated it instead of buying it which in turn makesthe game developersgo to the consols which are muchhard to get pirated games on.

[QUOTE="Roris0A"]wow this is a breath of fresh air. Someone finally talking about piracy and that it IS hurting our beloved platform. I'm going to have to agree with 100% of what you said. We are loosing exclusives left and right, soon we won't have any more big budget ones. This message needs to be spread. Everyone needs to get out of the mindset "well they wouldn't have bought it anyway" well no **** - Because they can easily piratie it instead. I have never pirated nor ever will. I've bought 15 pc games this year. I knew something was up when Far Cry 2 got delayed after Crysis's sales were annouced but I didn't quiet expect they were making it multi-platform. =/sSubZerOo

No the PC is not losing exclusives.. It just makes more sense as a business point of view to make it multiplatform opening it to the largest community as possible.

and looking at the thread here we go again how piracy just isn't calculable... And the losses perpetrated by it are just "blasphemy". Well even if they somehow are, it still turns devs away from the pc platform period. Devs like ID is multplatform. Funcom is now only making online games and releasing them online via dl services. EA also cut their expectations in half when Crysis got pirated 2 weeks before the release.. etc

I also wanted to add that purchasing PC games from online retailers (steam, etc.) creates poor sale numbers from the NPD making PC gaming look weak to shareholders. Giving them the idea that there is no money to be made in PC gaming and more attention should be directed at consoles.

Plus the recent news of microsoft's 360 sales plus Halo3, and Masseffect nearly selling 10 million games combined, PC gaming suddenly doesn't look so good to the money makers on wall street.

The number 1 seller in PC gaming this year was Burning Crusade which sold just over a million. Not even World of Warcraft can help us!

source

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184291.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

You guys know it's easier to play a pirated console game than a PC one, right? For the PC version, you'll need:

1) Key code... One that's not blacklisted.

2) Cracks for each patches, images...

3) Basically, you need a lot of things

As for consoles, you only need it to be chiped... ONCE! And... That's it!

- PC gaming is already big and PC games sales are fine. NPD means nothing outside America (though it means little anyway) and digital sales do not hurt PC gaming, quite the opposite.

- Upgrading your PC is already increadibly easy and parts do 'snap' in place. Can't get much easier than that.

- Pirating console games is just as easy as pirating a pc game. The fact that a console needs a small mod to play pirated games doesn't stop anyone who intents to do so.

- Far Cry 2 was always going to be a multiplatform game. The PC is however the primary development platform and the console versions will be pc ports, not the other way around. The delay is because Ubisoft wants to release the game in all 3 platforms at the same time.

- Games that are exclusive to just one platform are less profitable and thus a lot of games are going multiplatform. Just as a lot of pc games are ported to consoles, a lot of console games are ported to the PC. Games like GoW, Mass Effect, GTA, are exlusive for a limited amount of time only and are eventually ported.

I think it's obvious that if you love PC gaming as much as I do I support devs who support PC gaming by purchasing their games STRAIGHT OFF THE SHELVES!

Burned games hurt PC gaming. STOP IT! DO NOT PURCHASE PIRATED MATERIAL!

i_hate_pants

When anyone buys a game, normally its through a retailer. The $50 you give to the retailer goes directly into the cash register and thats it. Publishers arent behind the doors counting money made from box sales and get their share. No, what happens is retailers buy inventory from publishers for like $20 for each game. Hopefully they get $50 to make a profit.

If there is so much pirating that is causing retailers to lose money, then the retailers would stop selling pc games. Tho I dont think that would be the end of it. More and more publishers would then turn to Steam or something similiar, so that way if anyone were to buy a retail box from the store, they would have to have an internet connection and play it through steam. That would probably be the result of too much pirating.

I stopped reading there. Practice what you preach with piracy (IE, don't support it), and stop making up crap. Source your info about sales falling and developers turning away or get off.Judza

The fact that he used to pirate and stopped is certainly in no way shape or form evidence he's supporting it.

If a game sells 10,000 copies and 5000 were pirated how does this equal no effect on the developer? Please tell me what formula you are using to get to this conclusion?dmb34

Those 5000 pirated copies only affect the developer if those owning illegal copies would have bought legitimate copies. There is of course no way to prove that.

Its not just piracy that is killing PC gaming, its the cost of the hardware. I have a 7800gt and i'll prefer playing farcry 2 on the xbox 360 then to upgrade the PC for way more money.

Another reaason is the development cost, they need to cover it up. Crysis sold a mere 70k in November where UT3 sold 35k. They can't really generate alot of profits.

Its not just piracy that is killing PC gaming, its the cost of the hardware. I have a 7800gt and i'll prefer playing farcry 2 on the xbox 360 then to upgrade the PC for way more money.

Another reaason is the development cost, they need to cover it up. Crysis sold a mere 70k in November where UT3 sold 35k. They can't really generate alot of profits.

shaheir

Its not just piracy that is killing PC gaming, its the cost of the hardware. I have a 7800gt and i'll prefer playing farcry 2 on the xbox 360 then to upgrade the PC for way more money.

Another reaason is the development cost, they need to cover it up. Crysis sold a mere 70k in November where UT3 sold 35k. They can't really generate alot of profits.

shaheir

First of all, nothing is killing PC gaming and second, those are NPD numbers and mean nothing.

Excuse, for my bad eng.(I live in sweden)

Ok, here´s the thing: Im a musican and the whole thing about "share" my music on inernet make me/my musicmore known, that make my record more popular and they are i the end sold more!

Whoknow if their computer can be playable in Crysis if u dont try it first? (off topic: the "ugly" game suck!)

And some games are bundled whith smallprog/apps/keylock/reglockthat people when they crack remove, good, who asked for sharing u´r personal stuff when bying a game? (starforce ex.)

Whoknow if their computer can be playable in Crysis if u dont try it first?swehunt

They can try the demo. Every game released on the PC should, at the very least, have a sticker attached that specifies if the game does or does not have a released demo. There's no excuse except dishonesty for selling a product people can't try.