pirating games.

Bleszinki told the website that there are no plans for a PC version. "Here's the problem right now," he said, "the person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know bit torrent to know all the elements so they can pirate software."


this is from cliffy b, the maker of gears of war.

you see, in response to pirating, developers won't make better security software, they will just stop making games for the pc.

sure it's just one now, but with consoles as popular as they are now developers could just as easily make money by publishing for consoles only.

 

Man, this is some serious stuff. And to think this is just the beginning. And people still say PC gaming is doing great .

 

Hmm seems they've not heard of mod chips...

And surely the same people who are "savvy enough" to pirate PC games are just as likely to be able to do the same, or be doing the same with console games.

Moving to consoles is like putting a plaster on a gaping wound, it stops the blood flow for a short time but in the end the blood finds a way around it...

 

Yeah i was gonna say.. you can pirate games for consoles too. I've never done it personally but i know people who have, and i think it would be easier because im pretty sure security for console games is a lot lower then it is for pc games. Im not sure about that but pretty sure =]

 

Since I don't buy games any more (just no new games really peak my interest), this doesn't affect me.
I don't know, I'm very neutral on this subject, I just don't care. With EA and the Spore fiasco, I think the practice of using DRM/copy protection not only hurts sales because nobody wants anything to do with it, but the pirates can avoid it anyway since they can use a cracked version that disables such protection.
Maybe creating games for consoles only is more lucrative than pc's, I don't know. It's far easier to download a crack than it is to buy and install a modchip, is it not?
Either way, I just don't care. I have no sympathies for companies such as EA, and I think they are better of not making games at all. Their use of DRM only hurts the customers, not the pirates.
(Ok sorry, that last bit of my rant got a little offtopic).

 

DOS games FTW.

 

This Cliffy B fellow sounds like a dope. Equating knowing how to swap out a video card and wanting to get a system that lets you do it with being a pirate? Please.

 

Plus there are ways of getting console games to run on the PC.

Where there is will, there is a way

 

If the game is worth playing, I'm buying!

 

Funny you should say that, I was coming back to add some additional thoughts and I was thinking of that very thing.

The absolute newest game I have is Battlefield 2, simply because newer games just don't spark my interest. It seems most games these days put their focus on flashy graphics far more than a good story. Maybe I'm old skool, but to me, a good story is worth far more than good graphics.
With DRM, what's to happen if someone wants to play their game 10 years from now, but the DRM servers have long since been shut down? Look at microsoft and now walmart with their closing of their DRM servers, and basically saying to all that purchased music from them, they are SOL.
One game I have, from 1995, is seriously lacking in the graphics department, but honestly has the best story I've seen of any game. Even 13 years later, I still love to play it now and then (dosbox FTW!!), but if it had any sort of DRM, I most likely would not be able to today.
If game companies wish to stop making games for pc's, because of rampant piracy, I say good riddance!!. There have been a couple of games in recent years I've wanted to buy, but once I found out they had copy protection or DRM (requiring activation, and limited the number of activations), I refused. No, I didn't download them, I BUY all my software, always have. I just passed, and installed one of my own games to pass the time.
I'm sure I'm not alone in that I refuse to buy any DRM infected software. Sins of the Solar Empire looks good, and it's reported it uses no DRM whatsoever, I may just pick it up soon.
Oh and by the way, that old game I talked about is Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity. If you could somehow find it (ebay maybe?), I highly recommend it if you want a good story! But make sure to download dosbox.

 

"Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity"

I have this game...it is a very fun game, if you like Star Trek.

 

Maybe this is a good thing....

PC gaming has fallen into a rut and since there will be a demand, someone will rise to fill it.

Let the old and tired retire from PC gaming and let the new age begin.

Let's be honest... Gears of War is a console game... any version on PC is a "port" no matter how good it gets.

As for pirating... as console sales rise, so will the amount of people willing to pirate.

Game makers don't get it... the older the target audience, the less temptation to pirate.

Starving college students have more time and less money... thus crackng a game is a good use of time when they charge $50/game.
When you are older, you game to get away... and just buying the game at $50 is a LOT cheaper than spending the time cracking it. (the adult's time is worth a great deal more)

A game like spore was quite obviously aimed a lot lower-age audiences with ripples into the older group. Aim for the older group and let the ripples move into the younger audience. More legit buyers, less pirates, no need for DRM that cripples the legit product.

Start with NO DRM... that's right a single buyers key opens the product and allows only one of such product key to interact with each other. (if its a network game) Easy to hack? Yep... let em have it if they want it that bad.

Finish off with support and mods only attainable from the owner's club.
This would be a support forum which locks your purchase ID with a username. Sure, you could give this info out... but most hacks are loathe to let someone have logins they cherish. Make the service of this forum and community the heart and soul of the product.

-The legit buyer gets a community and support that will win them over.
-The legit buyer gets a product without DRM hassles other than a simple code key
-The crackers will get into it fine, but will lose the community aspect and support.
-Mods make the PC so much better... allowing the users to form a community and foster the idea of a game made better by a paying community also fosters brand loyalty.

Time to accept that DRM is not actually stopping pirating...
Make the GAME worth buying... and peope like me WILL buy it.

 

True, you must like star trek to like this game.

The problem with that is, there's nothing to prevent someone from hosting those files on a server somewhere.

 

Descent (via good old DOSBox) gets my adrenalin going. I don't need the new stuff. I do have a copy of Doom95 though ... newer than most of my games. Oh, and Moonbase Commander, but it hasn't deemed fit to work on Vista yet.

 

Freespace series FTW!!
Ok, I'm overposting in this thread. I need to take a break.

 

Or the one with Bruce Campbell's voice...
I forget the title... Tachyon I think...which was a great game because of his voice!

 

sheesh another doomsday thread, wasnt last year enough proof that gaming is still strong on the PC

Bio shock
Crysis
GRID
my fav, Call of Duty 4.

are just a few from last years games

this year i cant wait for Command and Conquer red alert 3 this october..

pirating or not they do still make millions, and if they make the multiplayer fun they can flush out who are the pirating people and who arent, like in CoD4

really now, gaming will last forever on the PC. its been like that before and it will be like that till the end of time.

 

This thread is making me glad I still have my 7 year old Pavilion!
I just installed Win98SE....old games will be reborn!

 

Clifford made a comment like that before, to which Mark Rein, the CEO of Epic, said:

He also jokingly said, "Cliffy's an idiot", but I couldn't find the full quote.

 

I really hope that PC gaming will never die and hopefully can grow stronger. It certainly has its benefits over console gaming such as higher resolutions and modding and I am thinking of selling my 360 and getting a gaming PC to hook up to my HDTV for gaming and productivity purposes.

Its strange to see that Epic was the same guys that made Jazz Jackrabbit I played as a child and now are churning out these dark and gritty games like UT3 and GOW. I'd love a Jazz sequel.

 

LOL...reminds me of Cheers.

 

Significantly less, and harder to upgrade said security.

And what's with the crappy OP? I have no idea what it's referring to until 10 posts in - no source, incomplete post/info, etc.

 

I am SO jealous. That's exactly what I need to do!

 

i will admit i am a former pc game pirate, maybe only a couple games, which i owned the hard copy of YEARS ago. i realized that its wrong because

1. keep doing it and you wont ever see a new pc game again
2. you get no box to display
3. you miss out on extra features
4. its time consuming
5. etc

 

Agreed with the love for old games like Descent, Fallout, X-COM, and Crusader. These games are still great fun because they were very well made. The first two are purchasable from GOG without DRM of any kind and the last one is abandonware available free. X-COM is available all over, including on Steam for I think five bucks, if you want to do the Steam type thing. DRM free, except you have to deal with Steam.

 

The system requirements say XP-only, so If I download X-Com from Steam, will it just not run at all?

 

I've never pirated a game before, I love the genre of entertainment too much to hurt it in that way. Way back I did music (no more, iTunes + Amazon + eMusic solve my problems), then TV shows (hulu.com, iTunes, Amazon solved my problems), but never games. With the rise of Steam, I don't even have to deal with the obnoxious installers anymore. Download and go.

By making PC gaming more streamlined, you decrease the level of entry and increase sales. Consoles are built around this ideal, services like Steam, Impulse, and even the WildTangent Console will get PC gaming there.

 

I cant stay hooked on console games for long. I buy them and after I beat them its usually condemned to sit on my bookshelf and collect dust for the rest of eternity. I also hate how your consoles are always outdated and your forced to move on to something else.

Also those special cords and accessories you bought for your Nintendo wont do anything for your snes, then you gotta move again to n64, then you move again to playstaion & saturn, then you move again and again.

Now at my age half my closet is filled with old consoles with all there gear and accessories and games half of it lost or missplaced and I dont have the time/space/drive to dig into it just hoping to find everything I need to play a game I used to have, plus old console games online die out faster, so I know if I dig up my gamecube and play phantasy star online blue burst I probably wont find anybody there, but SU for PC is going strong.

If I run into an old computer game I wanted to play tho, what do you know it works on my new computer, and I can use the same keyboard/mouse/controller I use with all my new computer games.

So while there is a cost in having to upgrade your PC now and then to keep up with the newest games if you want high settings, atleast I feel it holds its value better, and many of those console games just sitting there collecting dust, the very same game on PC may have over 500 user mods out for it to make it into 500 more games that can keep you entertained forever. I mean look at games like Warcraft 3!

If they stop releasing games for PC due to pirating they wont get my money for a game and thats all there is too it, and honestly that would make me more prone to pirate a game for a console because if I have to go shell out $$ for a console just to play a game that should be on my PC, I would like to recoup my cost of the console.

They are trying to solve a problem with a problem and the one they will create in its stead is probably worse. So whatever they do its up to them.

 

i totally agree with you.

however i have a solution to make them stop making games for pc because of pirating.
learn how to pirate xbox360/ps3 games (wii sucks dont bother)
teach your freinds how to pirate xbox360/ps3 games (again...wii sucks)
make your freinds teach thier freinds

pirate thousands of games and shock game developers

edit: 200 posts!

 

IMO, good games deserve to be bought. How poor are we? For real.

 

i work a part time janitor job! lol. but seriously

 

Like most people I used to pirate games. This was even back in the 80's when my friends and I would pass around sneaker boxes full of Commodore games on floppy disks.

I stopped really pirating games a while back. Games have gotten too big and too glitchy. It's dumb downloading a game which is inherently broken and requires a patch that there's no crack for and can't go online and whatever.

I do think the DRM stuff (like Spore) is stupid. I think the Steam approach, for the most part, is the right way to go. There's no copy protection, no DRM nonsense, no "secret drivers" installing on my box, and a lenient backup/restore policy. I have yet to have any problems with Steam tho I'm sure people have some issues with authentication or the need for an internet connection may be a problem.

I don't believe pirating games based solely on a dislike of DRM is a valid thing to do. I think avoiding such games entirely (with a clear reason as to why) is the better course of action.

 

me too.
it's not true that only pc games gets pirated.
I have lived in china for a long time, and I know alot of consoles sold in china are modded to run pirate games. some japanese people actually come to china just to get a modded console.

 

well people this is some serious ****,
i am new to PC gaming and i just love it, i have a PS3 and i din't touch it since like 4 months.
i can't even imagine playing games like COD4 or CRYSIS using my PS3 controler(now that would SUCK),
and about pirated games for consoles, here in UAE we get pirated games for PS2, XBOX 360, PSP, Wii, XBOX, (not sure about PS3 right now).
this ain't going to solve any problem...

 

Contrasting the OP's quote of that particular game developer, I'm hoping the PC industry will turn out more developers like CDProjektRED and games like the Witcher. Although that game uses copy-protection it still sold well and the customer support from the developer is one of the best I've ever experienced.

So long as people use PCs to work and play, there will be always be game developers willing to work on the platform. It doesn't necessarily mean generic FPS games or games aimed towards the LCD of gamers (e.g. Spore) are going to be the future of PC games.

 

I would!

 

If they just put it on Steam I think that would solve a lot of problems =/

 

Promoting pirating is against the rules

Anyways, tbh I have started to game more on my laptop and havn't played on my xbox for over 2 weeks now, Im really starting to get back into RTS games.
But because pirating for consoles requires you to buy a modchip or do anything internally then a lesser percentage will bother because it will void the warranty and means you actually have to do something.
I always believed to pirate a game all you had to do was download it and crack it or w/e which seems simple in comparison.

Honestly how many people do you think pirate PC games and how many pirate console games?

 

While no one will deny that, it's not something the average person has the faintest idea is even possible. Those numbers will be much lower than the PC side because fewer individuals don't want to risk ruining their consoles or getting kicked off of Xbox Live or Sony's service.

I'm aware of bit torrents but have no interest in ruining my consoles just to play pirated games. I've come up with a better way to save money on console games. I wait for the price to drop before I buy.

I just bought Ninja Gaiden II for $19.99 brand new from Circuit City. This way everyone wins. The developer still makes some money and I buy games real cheap. Unless the game is a blockbuster/gotta buy right now. I usually wait for price drops.

 

What!!!! they were the creators of Jazz!!!!! I played it too!!!

As for Piracy...

it will never disappear as long as there are poor people or as long as they keep releasing games with $50 dollar price tags.

Here in the Philippines piracy is rampant, I can buy 4 games for $6. ANd the games can be either for PC,PS2, wii, xbox and 360.

as for warranty of the pirated game

We get a instant replacement of the game.
OR
if you did not liked it you can switch it with another one free of charge.

The only people i know who buy original copies are rich people.

As for me I would like to own a original copy of a GREAT game. sadly as of now i do not have the money to buy one since i am still studying and my allowance can be used for something better than just a game.

Good thing that i will be graduating by next year if things go according to plan. So once I am start working I can now earn money to buy original games.

GREAT games for me are Starcraft 2 and some good RPGs!!! Definitely worth an original copy.

 

In my hometown finding original copies of a game was almost impossible in 1 or more years ago (when I was still there), I love PC games and I want to own some games' original copies badly (really) but I can't. Piracy is the only answer to my love for PC games.

In my town it's less than $3 for 4 games

 

I live in beijing, well, for 2 more days before I depart to london for uni.
Many games that I really want doesn't get released here because of censorship and other bureaucratic sh*t.
games like cod4 and the witcher, even the orange box, you just can't find them in beijing. So I have to wait to get to london and order the boxed versions (I love boxes).
oh, the most ridic thing is, you get aftermarket support from pirated games, if you keep the reciept. they actually garrantee you a replacement if the game doesn't work.

 

I still play it! At least the Shareware version.

 

I played Jazz Jackrabbit all the way back in 1996. I first got to use the internet at my dad's work in late 1997 and when I read there was a Jazz Jackrabbit 2 coming out, I almost crapped my pants.

They were working on a third sequel but it was canned. There's also a cruddy Jazz game on the Gameboy Advance.

I didn't know Cliff B worked on it, seems strange now that he's worked on something so dark and gritty like Gears 2.

 

He who does not believe there is pirating going on with console games has never heard of China.

 

Pirating console games is not effective enough yet for game makers to start saying they wont develop console games anymore, unlike this whole torrent thing.

 

I'm newish to the world of PC gaming. I didn't have consoles as a kid so in my early days I'd play things like Duke Nukem, Tomb Raider and Monkey Island. But then I fell into console gaming during my early teens. I used to think console gaming > pc gaming but I see the 'way' now lol

I hope to see a bright future for PC gaming. Like people have said hopefully they will use more things like Steam for dealing with piracy.

Once you play a few PC games with online capabilities, console games don't really compare any more. And even though console games have some online capabilities it just isn't the same, the games feel 'empty' and there's no sense of community, hard to explain but it's true.

It is a difficult situation in countries where piracy rules. If original games were sold much cheaper there to give people a chance to buy originals for easier installs, people elsewhere will complain that they have to pay more. And if piracy was ever almost stopped in those countries, people wouldn't be able to play the latest games that developers get high amounts for anyway and it would just give them more of a reason to fight piracy harder.

 

I totally agree. There are even hundreds (if not thousands) of net cafes with pirated games installed, even if owners already know raids going on around. This is mostly because of poverty I guess.

Also, in the Philippines, it's not only for games. You can also see thousands of vendors selling pirated music/movies, and like complete TV series seasons for $1.

 

People buy games for the multiplayer aspect. It's usually impossible to pirate a game and play online. If people pirate games, it's for the offline, single player action. Yes, I know there are private/custom servers for MMOs, etc., but look at World of Warcraft for example. There are thousands of people who play on private servers, and millions who play on normal, retail servers. So the cash is still coming. Anyway, MMOs were a bad example. Games like Counter-strike are still played which requires people to buy Half-Life. This example can be used for many games.

Concerning consoles... You can pirate those too. Not as easily, but it can be done. I remember having a modchip in my Playstation a longggg time ago. I had sooo many games. Then they caught on and started adding extra protection to the games which made them no longer work in modded Playstations. Then I bought a Playstation 2 and a USB modchip :x

Whatever, they should stop complaining.


Free games for all!

And if people are pirating the games, atleast you know they are playing them. I rather someone play my game then have it turn out being a game that doesn't even deserve to pirated, haha.

 

Guaranteed replacement of a pirated game? Haha, that's awesome.