I blame StarForce and other draconian DRM schemes. Piracy has been an issue since the earliest days of PC gaming, its still an issue even with audio and movies.
However when publishers sieze control of your computer and assume they can do whatever they want with it, that's when things go too far. Disclaimers in EULA's also prevent them from really getting the s*** sued outta them.
Ironically, last I checked, console gamers have *never* had to accept any EULAs just to play a game. Draconian copy-protection schemes are also all but nonexistant. Its all built into the hardware, and modding consoles locks out online play, discouraging most people from doing it (even if its just a hardware mod to upgrade the hard drive w/o shelling out tons of money to M$).
So that's what is killing PC gaming. Useless and malware-like DRM like StarForce that only hurts legitimate users and can *permanently* cause physical damage to optical drives of PAYING LEGAL CUSTOMERS!!!
I'm even hesitant to download many recent PC game demoes anymore, hearing about how even the demoes are laced with StarForce, supposedly to plug a loophole of using the demo's code to bypass the protection. One thing that company does well is install paranoia, fear, and outright lying and deception to anyone and everyone in the name of profit.
Honestly they need to have some laws made regarding PC games that not only lead to the elimination of EULAs but also places unrevokable criminal and civil liability on any company that causes hardware failure through their software or services.
After being sued a half-dozen times by very angry govts and a bunch of class-action lawsuits, maybe publishers will think twice on whether the 'benefits' of DRM are worth the cost.
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