Will PC Gaming Live On???

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

With all due respect, any government can outlaw anything that they so desire, and there has been talk recently of outlawing torrents, nothing to do with any one version, like Bit Torrent.

Worked so well with prohibition of alcohol didn't it?

Not to mention the piracy that outlawing bittorrent is meant to stop is in itself illegal, and has been since well for that protocol was even dreamed about. Why don't we outlaw http or better yet IP while we're at it? I mean, the root cause of piracy is the internet isn't it? Isn't that what the bulk of internet traffic is? That and porn I mean. And spam e-mails.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
Which is why most Linux distributions and an insignificant game like World of Warcraft use it almost exclusively to distribute their "warez". :roll:

Yeah, you're right, whomever owns WoW couldn't possibly afford to actually pay for their own bandwidth. I mean, it's not like they charge all of those people who play it to be able to play it, or anything. Oh, and I've downloaded many, many Linux distros in my life, yet have never downloaded one through a torrent. Next piece of FUD, please.

They've upped it to five installs and there is a tool to deactivate your install to regain one of the five installs now. Next piece of FUD please.

Sorry, I don't read the Sony.fu website every day. Let me know when they completely remove all SecuROM files from every Bioshock CD/DVD. It wasn't the best demo I ever saw, but I was gonna buy it, before I heard that it had a virus on the disc.

Worked so well with prohibition of alcohol didn't it?

Actually, it worked every bit as well with alcohol as it did with marijuana. What does that have to do with theft through torrents? You are aware that it's theft, are you not? Would it be okay if come over to your house, and take your car, since it's obviously not a loss, because I didn't have the money to buy it anyway?

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Why don't we outlaw http or better yet IP while we're at it? I mean, the root cause of piracy is the internet isn't it?

Actually, using your logic, we should outlaw houses, since there are almost as many businesses with computers as there are households, yet ~98-99% of all theft of software takes place in some kids bedroom.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: Pez D Spencer

Originally posted by: myocardia

With all due respect, any government can outlaw anything that they so desire, and there has been talk recently of outlawing torrents, nothing to do with any one version, like Bit Torrent.

Yeah, but even if torrents or any other P2P is banned in one country then it'll just set up shop in another. Unless the whole concept of P2P is banned worldwide then I don't see P2P going anywhere anytime soon. Hell, The Pirate Bay was talking about buying their own island so they can avoid any kind of Government control.

http://www.thelocal.se/6076/20070112/

Their little micro-nation would last about a day before some much bigger country sent their military to invade it and claim it for their own. With what do they intend on defending their little micro-nation? Imaginary pirate ships?

 

[Molondo]

This is becoming a monthly report.
Interesting read thou OP.

 

[KeithTalent]

I thought only 3.68% of torrents were games? I can't imagine this being the downfall of PC gaming, particularly because, from what I hear, you can't access multi-player from torrented games, which is a significant part of a lot of games these days.

KT

 

[MarcVenice]

PC gaming isn't going to die because of lack of sales. Think for 2 seconds, games are still VERY expensive, why ? Because there is PLENTY of people willing to pay that much for a game. That's it, ill elaborate though. If a publisher thought they could make more money by lowering the price of a game, then they would do it, no second thought. More sales mean higher scale advantages as well, more publicity and what not. But apparently there is, at least not yet, not enough incentive for publishers to lower the prices. Because they apparently know that the people pirating games right now, would still not buy the game, or they would have to lower the price by to much, still not resulting in higher profits.

This could result in all PC games being ports though, because they simple produce something for consoles were not much pirating gets done, then they port if for a few dimes to the PC. But if that's going to be the case, then PC gamers will be more inclined to not purchase games, and reveneus will go down as well. So I doubt we will be seeing exclusive console games that get ported to the PC. Right now the only problem I can think of, is that a gaming rig costs nearly twice the money of a console. With the 8800gt I think hardware is doing a step in the right direction, as well with all the CPU pricewars we've been seeing. Right now you could build a multimedia PC/Gaming Rig for under 1000$. That's pretty nice if you ask me.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Why don't we outlaw http or better yet IP while we're at it? I mean, the root cause of piracy is the internet isn't it?

Actually, using your logic, we should outlaw houses, since there are almost as many businesses with computers as there are households, yet ~98-99% of all theft of software takes place in some kids bedroom.

Uhhh...did we just get trapped in some sort of sarcasm chain reaction?

 

[Skacer]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Uhhh...did we just get trapped in some sort of sarcasm chain reaction?

Well... there's only one way to end this chain reaction.

I suggest we outlaw free will.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Skacer

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Uhhh...did we just get trapped in some sort of sarcasm chain reaction?

Well... there's only one way to end this chain reaction.

I suggest we outlaw free will.

Oh no! It cannot be stopped!

...wait...how is exaggerating my exaggeration of some one's idea suppose to prove me wrong?

/head 'splodes

 

[Pez D Spencer]

Originally posted by: Pez D Spencer
I'm not a rich dude and I don't have 50 bucks to pay for games even if it is the right thing to do.

Originally posted by: Golgatha
You said it. You're not a lost sale of the game, you're simply stealing so you can play more games. Your piracy has no economic impact on the success of a game.

That's a valid point that didn't even occur to me. It's my guess that if most people couldn't get games, apps, music, etc through Bit Torrent, then they probably wouldn't buy them anyway. I suppose there's no real way to find out how may people actually would buy the things they download if they weren't available through P2P, but it'd be interesting to know.

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I thought only 3.68% of torrents were games? I can't imagine this being the downfall of PC gaming, particularly because, from what I hear, you can't access multi-player from torrented games, which is a significant part of a lot of games these days.

I remember posting about that statistic awhile back, but you must also remember that although 3.68% of torrents are games, theres no way to determine how many people are downloading that three percent. Theoretically, 100% of the users on BT could be downloading only that 3.68%.

I quoted that stat from the Torrent Freak site and the more that I read and think about it, it just comes across as pirate propaganda.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Skacer

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Uhhh...did we just get trapped in some sort of sarcasm chain reaction?

Well... there's only one way to end this chain reaction.

I suggest we outlaw free will.

Sandorski Will Inc not only offers Will for $5/each, but for a limited time get 10 Will for just $39.95! That's an unbelievable value unmatched by any competitor!

At Sandorski Will Inc we guarantee that each Will gives you 1 Choice or your money back.

All prices in $CDN, offer not available in Alaska or Hawaii, must be 18 years or over, please use your Will responsibly

 

[coloumb]

Somebody must be bored to drum up another monthly installment of "PC games are dead and dying" post.

PC gaming will continue to thrive as long as hardware industry continues to release newer, faster, and better hardware and the consumer continues to buy/upgrade their systems in order to run the latest games in super-duper-beyond-anything-we've-seen-before-ultra-hi-res settings.

As for encryptions - there will ALWAYS be a way to bypass the security so the game can be easily distributed to the populous through the normal channels - whether it be torrent, newsgroups, etc.

 

[Cellulose]

Torrents, if anything, probably keep people buying the newest hardware and spending money on at least a few games (for example one game which has problems being cracked is Orange Box atm and also games with multiplayer) which in turn boost the PC market in general. Maybe? Maybe not?

As said already, most people download games they dont want to buy in the first place, I know a lot of people who use torrents of games as demos!

 

[Bateluer]

I don't think its been mentioned here yet, but its not piracy that is making the impact on PC gaming. While PC gaming sales are still high, the overall quality of the game has decreased significantly. Most of EA's games are rehashed sequels with a slight graphical facelift and anohter 50 dollar price tag.

If you want to wipe out the bulk of piracy with one action, its a relatively simple procedure. Make the legal way easy and simple and the illegal way complicated and difficult. With the draconian DRM schemes that are becoming more and more, the illegal ways are increasingly attractive.

The second factor is to deliver a polished title at a fair price. The consumers are not beta testers and should not be treated as such, like Atari and Activision do with every title. With the big name publishers cranking out unpolished, buggy, rehashed sequels, loaded with DRM like candy corn, its no wonder why people are getting pissed off and turning to piracy.

I'm a big fan of Steam, online delivery is the future. With Steam, I can purchase my games, burn backups of my games, and install the games on as many systems as I want to without worrying about any DRM scheme. I believe Bioshock is different, however, I'm uncertain.

All independent studios should drop contracts with EA, Atari, Activision, Aspyr, etc and move to total online distribution.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark
Is that true about Bioshock? I was planning to buy it, but hell, those restrictions are so draconian I may pirate it just to screw Sony over.

Yep, check out the forums on the Bioshock homepage.

And torrents have plenty of legitimate and mainstream uses.

Name one, besides downloads of Linux.

game patches, free games, movie trailers, wallpapers, open source software.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark
Is that true about Bioshock? I was planning to buy it, but hell, those restrictions are so draconian I may pirate it just to screw Sony over.

Yep, check out the forums on the Bioshock homepage.

And torrents have plenty of legitimate and mainstream uses.

Name one, besides downloads of Linux.

Distribution of home brew software/movies/music to a wide audience via trackers.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Oh and do remember that North America is NOT the only place in the world people play games. Europe is much more heavily PC oriented than the US market. They buy many timex more PC games than console. In the US it's a good mix but predominately console based over the past couple of years.

 

[styrafoam]

Originally posted by: Pez D Spencer
*snip*
Just my $0.02

Authentication and validation may become more of a factor in the future but so what. When HL1 came out so many pirates were angry beacuse it was the first multiplayer game that authenticated the key every time you played. Now its accepted that you need a legit key, and it keeps the gamers who want to play multiplayer paying for legit copies.

There will always be good computer game developers making games we like to play, and there will always be publishers who put them in the store. Publishers would work the DRM end of it to death rather than let the revenue stream die and give up all together. There is no need to panic, pc gaming will only die when the pc itself dies.

I hate these threads, and i hate that they are always tied to consoles. Halo 3 was on the net well before you could buy it, Madden 08 was basicly unplayable when it was released. PC gaming's problems are now console gaming's problems. PC gaming piracy started as a fringe/power user only type of problem years ago, what does that say for the consoles?