Chris Taylor blames piracy for the decline of PC gaming

It seems to me that Crysis sold pretty well - a million copies is pretty darn good.

Maybe it could have done better, but I suppose it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that only one out of every fifteen million computers can even run the damned thing.... idiots.

nevermind the fact that you need a supercomputer to run crysis. i'm sure that doesn't have anything to do with it's "poor" sales performance.

One game tha may have not lived up to it's hype and still sold a million copies while not being playable on most hardware. hmmm.. and due to this example piracy is running rampant and killing the PC game industry? Get real.

Is Chris serious about not able to pirate console games. Which century or planet is he living in still. Has he heard of something call an console emulator. Sooner or later, there will be an emulator for xbox 360, and also for PlayStation 3. It will be a matter of time before somebody likes the challenge too much to make one for any new consoles out there, and then comes the game being converted to online roms.

Does he even know that a PS2 can have a mod chip put inside so that it can be used to play pirated copies of PS 2 and PS 1 games.

I blame the fact that 8 out of 10 games are almost identical except for a few things. Truly original games with original content are hard to find nowadays. But when they do come up, you can automaticaly tell from the userbase. Just look at GalCiv, onwards to the third expansion. Or if you look at World of Warcraft with over 9 million subscribers. Both games just for the PC.

PC gaming is dying? I don't think so.

People who make a life's work at pointing a finger at others for their troubles should look down and count how many fingers are pointing in what direction .....

The stentorian cry of piracy is getting boring. Of course there is piracy, it'll always happen to one degree or another however repugnant its rightly held up to be. Its not however the great omnipotent Silver Bullett to all evils, such comments lack perspective on the size of the whole games marketplace, and reflect a lack of innovation to make it less worthwhile to pirate.

In short, the excuse has had its day, and the media PR guys need to brief another excuse - this one is naff now.

Regards
Zy

I hope someone didn't pay that guy for the load of bs he just passed as journalism.

First of all, as was mentioned, console games are piratable.

Second of all, piracy is anything but the villian keeping the sales of PC titles down. Cost is number one. You try convincing joe-gameplayer that getting last years top of the line video card and one stick of memory is better then buying a Xbox 360 and the game he wants to play.

Then try to convince him that the time he has to take to understand how to slap all those different components together, and get the rig working properly is worth it.

Then try to convince him to either accept that its not running as fast as it could or to take the time to learn how to tweak his computer.

Then try to convince him he won't mind replacing his video card every 2 - 3 years as opposed to a console lasting a longer period of time.

i'm sure there's much more.

Wal-Mart is dying because of shoplifting.

Maybe Crysis sales were limited because the players able to play it are limited. Ever took a look at the requirements?

As far as I am aware Xbox 360 is the only console so far that it's games can't be pirated, (played on the PC.)

NOTICE: I do not support piracy. So if you're going to read this know it is an explanation of thought, not a reason why people should pirate. People shouldn't pirate.

There are people who do eventually pirate for reasonable reasons. Take Kights of the Old Republic 2. It is still being sold in stores but the securom security crap on it prevents it from running on certain, (mostly new), cd and dvd drives. It will also not run on Vista at all unless you download a crack for the exe file. Securom used to host an alternative exe file for Kights of the Old Republic 2 because of that reason and would give the link to people in emails that kept complaining to them. They stopped hosting it. But since there is a crack for the exe of the game that allows people to play the game who actually bought it legally why should companies like Lucasarts and securom worry about it? Well this crack makes it so you don't need the cd to play. You do need to install the game from the original cd's though. But a person can just copy the entire game directory and subdirectories to another computer and be able to play it like they installed it from the original cd's. It can also be loaded on the web and everyone and their dog can download it. That is a good way to get viruses and spy ware however.

If lucasarts and securom truly cared about the customer they would host the legally edited exe file they created to solve the problem. If they feel it costs too much money or for whatever reason to not do that then perhaps it should not be sold in stores anymore. They are creating the conditions for their customers to want to pirate the game. Pretty soon people, if they actually want to buy it, hear it may not work on their systems but you can download it for free at so and so website. Stores where PC games are sold don't give a customer their money back after they feel the box has been opened.

Logically it makes no sense to buy a game that may not work on your system because of security software intended to prevent people from copying it. But customers who buy it don't start downloading pirated versions until the legally ones don't work. This example of Knights of the old republic 2 is just one type of reason why customers or potentional customers eventually may go with pirated copies. And yes there are people who are totally unethical and just pirate stuff and don't care. But the majority of people, at least those I see and know, buy stuff legally, get fed up and go with what will fix their problem.

From what I've seen and experienced there are some tech supports for pc games that take too long, as far as the customer is concerned, and finally the customer fixes the problem themselves. I bought Sword of the Stars and the expansion for it on Direct 2 Drive when they both came out. The expansion (Born of Blood) wanted a cd key. I entered in the key Direct 2 Drive gave me but a window came up saying that it wasn't a valid cd key and told me to look on my cd case. I contacted Direct 2 Drive and they said they didn't make the problem and I was to contact the people who made the game. I did so. The company emailed me back and said they would work on it. A few weeks went buy and nothing. I had also sent another email between the weeks that had gone by asking for an update. They never responded. So I searched for an online site that had a cd key for Born of Blood, even though it should never had asked for one since it was from Direct 2 Drive. I entered my pirated cd key in and I could play the game. Plus I could download and install the patches from the developers website and not have to update it whenever Direct 2 Drive finally got around to putting the latest update on their site. I then emailed the company that made the game and reminded them of my former request of help from them and how they didn't give it and didn't respond to my request for an update on the situation and I told them since I legally bought the game and they decided not to help that I would help myself. I told them I got a pirated cd key and my problem was fixed, no thanks to them. They didn't respond back to me. I even sent a copy of my Direct 2 Drive receipt to them proving I had bought the game legally in that last email so they wouldn't squish my face in court. Now if anyone buys and downloads SOTS and BoB from Direct 2 Drive it doesn't ask for a cd and actually accepts the key Direct 2 Drive provides. I don't think the problem was fixed because of me but it certainly wasn't fixed at the time I pirated the cd key and emailed them with my receipt telling them I had fixed it myself.

The truth is there are companies who sit down when there is a problem and figure out which solution will cost less. There have been cases in the past where a company took a hit in court because it would cost more to do a recall and fix the stuff they sold. They lost millions of dollars but whoever did their books told them if they went through with the recall it would cost them more than the settlement. They would have to pay workers to fix their equipment and pay for shipping and all the other expenses that would pile up.

Heaven forbid they should care about their customers. A company that does the ethical thing may lose money but gain customers. So in the long run they will make a lot more money. Go figure.

Computer games companies don't have to worry about getting sued. If it costs to much to fix the problem, like copy protection or a badly need patch that will fix any compatibility issues, they can choose not to do it and the customer doesn't have a lot of options with the company. But then someone comes along and hacks or cracks the software and suddenly the problem is fixed. I suppose some "used to be" customers of companies decide that company does stuff so it is a big pain to legally buy the game and they decide to pirate that companies stuff from now on.

It would be a much wiser and better choice, (not to mention ethical) to not buy any more crap from a software company that does stupid things to their software that keeps legally buying customers from playing their games without having to go through major pains to do so. If customers decided to not buy any games whatsoever from any pc game company that uses a certain form of protection then that publisher and/or developer is going to go out of business unless they change the way they do business. It makes sense logically but making that a reality is harder than typing it. But since businesses have this habbit of wanting to make money they tend to keep doing what will get them the most money. There are people who buy stuff legally and don't have a problem. I'm one of those. I don't download cracks unless the crap a software company has done keeps me from using it after I have bought it legally. Customers also want the most for their money just like businesses do. I suppose some may think why should they buy stuff and go through a big hassel when they can skip the hassel and get it for free.

Anyway I'm probably showing how much hot air I have in my brain but sometimes I like to think I know what I'm talking about.

Wal-Mart's selection of PC games suck. "Wal-Mart, always low prices, always crappy PC games.

And i have to admit but it is kinda true, PC gaming is starting to die.
Everyone i know, except you guys, has never heard of Galciv 2 and i get made fun of when i try to tell them about it. My prediction is that the strategy genre will certainly die in the future, in the early days of PC gaming, strategy was very popular, now it's Halo this and Bishock that. The real reason PC game sales are dying is because of consoles, mostly the Wii and Xbox 360 are to blame, PS3 on the other hand sucks big time. I don't know about you guys but i havn't seen any games for MAC, i think we all know why. If a very popular PC game is ported to consoles, a buyer would mostly buy the console version, why because PC game ads are barely seen anywere, with the exception of PC game magazines. I was hoping on getting Lego Batman when it came out but when i found out that it wasn't going to be all consol i was very disipointed, Lego Star Wars The Complete Trilogy is another example of this, it is possible that the Lego corparation thought that the two games would be more popular on consoles, scince most people that play the Lego Star Wars games are kids that own consoles such as, the Wii, Xbox 360, etc. They also knew that PC games are not that popular, as they thought. I love PC gaming and i love Galciv 2 but piracy i wouldn't worry about, it's console porting.

i think what you're really describing is that PC gaming, and video gaming in general, is becoming more popular, not less. strat games were popular in the early days of PC gaming because it was one of the only genres that could be done well. but PC gaming wasn't popular in the early days of PC gaming. i don't think it's ever been all that popular. i can't remember a single PC game advertisement in the days i was jubilated over finally getting an NES, and now most video game adverts i see are for console, not PC games (or sometimes it'll be a double-dooper when the game's available on both).

i think if you look at raw numbers, the strat market is small but stable. but between the graphics available on newer and more affordable consoles, on the one hand, and the massive budgetary focus on first-person shooters, on the other hand, it's not a big stretch to see that "the good old boys" who used to get drunk and shoot tin cans, now they get drunk and shoot mobs.

i am willing to accept that the first-person shooter market is moving away from the PC, and even willing to accept that the 'big bucks' are going with it. but i don't think we'll lose strat games, or PC gaming in general. and more to the point, getting all those trigger-happy types out of the PC gaming market might even be a good thing. maybe i'll shift the focus back to dedicate developers releasing quality products (something that's never been the case in consoles... i definately see a higher raw number of bad console games compared to bad PC games).

Thank goodness Chris Taylor is here to tell me why I didn't buy Crysis!

Here I thought it was because it was a bland game with insane system spec requirements that was widely greeted with apathetic underwhelming 'ehh' Only now do I realize that it was because I wanted to steal the game...I can't beleive Ive been so stupid and lazy...I've got to get on those torrent sites straight away before I remember that I don't care about Crysis at all and am deeply engrossed in GalCiv, Sins, and Team Fortress 2.

Man...thanks Chris for pointing out how thoughtless I had been.

A product will only sell into a subset of a given market.

Therefore, you should make sure your product exists in as large as a market as you can practically support.

In the case of Crysis, they made a game that would only run on a very small % of the PCs out there.

One wonders how well a console game would do if it required users with said console to go out and upgrade some part of it just for that game. 

You can't pirate consoles? Hasn't that guy heard of modchips...? What a retard. Maybe if your game didn't require dual 8800Gts to play the thing at respectable settings it would sell more.

I don't know about Crysis, but I was in a new gamestore the other day and talked to the guy behind the counter. Think hes 30 or so. I asked him which system sells the most games and which sells the least and my fears were confirmed.

PC sells least games because it's so easy to pirate compared to consoles. To prove it, he said that The Sims and its expansions sells really good on PC(!) since the target group (women) generally don't pirate which I have to agree with. he also said that the stronger the protection a game has, the better it sell! I'd have to agree with that since I've heard of people who couldn't wait for Bioshock to be cracked and went out and bought it instead.

PS2 games sells the best and PS3 is catching up and will pass PS2 not long from now....

I myself is a computer enthusiast and as such am no stranger to various piracy channels such as torrents, DC++ and everything else. And from what I've seen from the mainchat of the DC++ hubs to the forum of the torrent site, pirating PC games is the standard way of obtaining them. If a game has a too strong protection or are for a uncracked console like the Playstation 3 then people buy them since they can't wait.

This is truly sad....it convinces me that a DRM controlled internet or extremely powerful protections are the way to go if software are to be paid for in the future.

Exactly right. In some circles this is referred to as the "installed base" for your product. They make a game with a small base, and then see poor sales result. Why do you need to bring up pirate bogey-men to explain this obvious result?

~ Wyndstar

i don't think you can rely on 1 store rep for an accurate representation. you didn't say one way or the other, but--did you get the indication this guy even was a gamer? i also think it's a rather sexist stereotype that women are less likely to pirate software than men. all the women i know are just as likely to pirate data as men, be it media or software.

i also don't think you're likely to get an unbiased perspective by going to a torrent site to ask if people are pirating data.

personally i'd be interested to hear a perspective on this issue from someone in europe. part of me thinks this perception is more common in the U.S. because our economy has been slumping, and people want a good excuse for declinging sales across the board (and the gaming industry just happens to have piracy as the wonderful catch-all).

The Sims sells the best not because women don't pirate (kind of insulting to say btw) but because the Sims will run on pretty much any PC.

Piracy is a factor. But the installed base issue is a much bigger factor.

If I buy a console, I know a given game will work on it if it is made for it.  On the PC, I have game developers trying to tell me that my 2 year old system (i.e. about the age of the Xbox 360) isn't fast enough to run a given game adequately and that's a turn off.

I didn't buy Crysis. I didn't pirate it. I simply wasn't willing to update my home machine to play it adequately.

 

It's kind of depressing to see this come from Chris Taylor, since I really admire his approach to game design. He isn't really offering anything but anecdotal evidence for his claims.

While I'm personally troubled that some people see outright theft as okay (so long as they aren't caught, of course), more DRM is not the answer. Once you start inconveniencing me by forcing me to have the CD in the drive, or jump through hoops to authenticate the product I legally purchased, or (god forbid) you install crap on my machine without my consent, you are punishing ME for someone else's lack of integrity, and I won't stand for it. I refused to buy the PC version of Bioshock because of the reported DRM problems (since I wasn't sure if steam was also affected). Coincidentally, I later got it for the 360 and loved every second of it, because the game played smoothly and there wasn't any worry of screwing up my programming laptop!

Is piracy a problem? Quite possibly, though I'd need to see some solid evidence. However, when you treat your paying customers like thieves, you'll either drive them off or drive them to piracy. I believe that Starforce themselves did a poll about how many people wouldn't buy a game because of DRM... apparently, "only" 20% wouldn't buy such a game.

Do the math. Is putting a few minor hurdles in front of a very dedicated pirating community worth scaring off a fifth of your audience? I'm betting it's not.

Here's a thought: most of the pirates are very, very lazy people, and piracy is therefore a matter of convenience. Make it more convenient to do things legally. Steam is great for this, and so is Stardock's general scheme. Don't make them have their CD in the drive, swapping out disks is a hassle. Don't make them jump through hoops to install my PAID copy of the game. Hell, take it a step further and do what Stardock does: reward purchasers with excellent post-release support!

And guess what? You'll be able to advertise all that on the box, and people will love it. I know that it was a significant factor in my purchase of Galactic Civilisations.

I think my bullshit detector just blew up!

i think i saw the explosion from across the pacific!

Well I have talked to a few of the Dev team on irc. (very loose not accurate quote) and they have said that if stardock ever goes under or if galciv stopped being supported/sold that they would release a binary that had no protection.


I honestly don't like the idea of using a crack... you don't KNOW what was put in it... and that SCARES THE $#&%# outta me!


I know one positive move that was made in the last update.. was with Blizzard and Starcraft...

They removed the need to have a CD present... the games over 10 years old and the copy protection stunk...

I had made copies of the disks and have been using Daemon to host virtual copies for years..

Now i don't need it cept for diablo 2...

I wonder why they changed it?

Maybe it didn't sell because the creator has such a low opinion of the people in his target market. I know I don't like doing business with anyone who automatically considers me a thief. I guess he thinks only thieves are stupid enough to fall for buying his crap.