Comments on: The PC is the top gaming platform #2

By: Dudley

Dudley — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:13:51 +0000

@ Dudley: The average console life span is what? 5-7 years, right? If your assumption then is that Steam will only last a decade, how is that any different? I’ve had a steam account since HL2 shipped back in 2004… so I’ve already had it for four years, with no problems. If I can use it 4 more years without issue, it will have outlived the Xbox’s lifecycle.

Except, if MS abandons the Xbox, the games still work. I can still put a cartridge in my Sega Master System and play the game. My right to play anything I “buy” (rent) on steam is at the whim of Value, or whomever buys Valve.

By: woodins

woodins — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:45:00 +0000

Is related to he subject matter at hand, would love you to hear your opinions on this matter in hand Bruce:

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/30488/What-we-can-learn-from-the-crumbling-music-biz

By: BC

BC — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:39:48 +0000

It’s not the copyright protection that Mass Effect wants that’s the problem. The concept is sound in my option …it’s the inevitability that it will screw up that bugs me. There are too many games over the years I have bought, and then downloaded the crack for, to count.

By: rckt42

rckt42 — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:21:04 +0000

Come on, don’t make me laugh.

Michael Fitch, who broke his own game by using a DRM that would hinder performance and crash the game with no explanation, says

“I didn’t believe [the data] at first. It seemed way too high. Then I saw that Bioshock was selling 5 to 1 on console vs. PC. And Call of Duty 4 was selling 10 to 1. These are hardcore games, shooters, classic PC audience stuff. Given the difference in install base, I can’t believe that there’s that big of a difference in who played these games, but I guess there can be in who actually payed for them”

and automatically piracy rates in the US are 75-80%?. Come on, that is completely bogus.

CoD4 sells 10 times more in consoles than in PC because consoles are more mainstream, plus you are comparing ALL the consoles versus the PC.

If you want to speak about piracy rates, use a serious study, not the word from a burned man from a bankrupt development studio.

BTW, stupidities like EA’s with the new DRM for Mass Effect and Spore are the kind of thing that don’t do anything against piracy and make paying customers get fed up and start pirating.

The industry needs to stop crying foul and start taking a real hard look at itself and at valid business models. Like making really interesting games. Like not treating your customers as thieves.

Exactly what Stardock is doing.

By: Sinclair1k

Sinclair1k — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:14:47 +0000

PC games are cheaper, but for every good game that comes out, you not only buy the game, you often buy the hardware needed to play it (Crysis), is like buying a new console for each new game.

On the other hand, you can get pirated copies of nearly all WII and X360 games as in PC, thus the problem is not as simple as just prevent piracy.

By: Axe

Axe — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:05:38 +0000

The statement that the PC is where all the innovation happens is a bit of a stretch! (Not to mention the social gaming call – how about consoles and a couch, which was happening before online in any form outside of universities or a lab even existed!) I recently played HL2 on the PS3, which was touted heavily for it’s innovation and story when it was released on PC, and was dissappointed as it’s storytelling was at the standard of the original Playstation (granted, a good playstation game), and while it’s physics puzzles were good, for 2004 they wouldn’t have turned heads on the PS2 the way they did on PC. If you move beyond PC-centric genres such as the FPS, then the innovation is even clearer – motion controls (Wii), vision-based games (Eyetoy), Puzzlers (echochrome), Platformers (Super Mario Galaxy) and RPGs (Fable 2) are all being pushed forward at least as much (and in most cases more) by consoles than the PC. The only genre the PC still dominates in is strategy, and even this is under threat. This is the second article of yours I’ve read that’s been pretty average Bruce – playing one perspective is all well and good, but pushing it this far is just plain make-believe.

By: BC

BC — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:23:51 +0000

PC games are generally a lot cheaper because they don’t have to pay the licence for having it on a console. £25-£30 is pretty reasonable when you could be paying £45-£50 on a next gen machine. These prices drop too so you could even be patient.

What would be a reasonable price? I’d say several pounds for a DVD film is a reasonable price (£12 if you want it as soon as it’s out) and you can even rent too, but they get massively pirated.

By: Sinclair1k

Sinclair1k — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:10:12 +0000

If games were cheaper it would not have so much piracy and I am sure it would be more profitable for developers. There are many people who would prefer to have the original game, but not at the current price.

By: Snipehunter

Snipehunter — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:30:51 +0000

By way of comparison, I’ve had an Xbox 360 for 2 years and already had to replace it once. Steam certainly offers the superior experience from a reliability standpoint.

*sigh* I just wish there were better games available. The PC may be where the innovation happens, but sadly, it’s not where the blockbusters appear, now a days. Don’t get me wrong, I love gaming on my PC, but it’s stuff from Steam or MMOs that I play because there’s nothing else out there that suits my tastes. Consoles > PC in that regard. Maybe that’s due to piracy and maybe not, but either way, you can’t deny it.

By: Dudley

Dudley — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:02:48 +0000

Right up until 1 of two things happens.

1- You move house and don’t have the internet straight away.

2 – Steam eventually shuts down and you lose the games you’ve paid for over the last decade.