Is PC gaming Being Done Away With?

I just don't get it, you are all pretty much against piracy, or so you say but, nobody says anything about the shoddy business practices from Companies like Ubisoft and others and how they are getting our money... why is that I wonder?

What do I mean? OK, again, take Ghost Recon Future Soldier... the majority of people who have purchased the game are having problems even installing the game so, 3 months later and 60 dollars shy, they have paid for a product they can not use... why is this not consider Illegal or even a form of Piracy?

Here is an article from techpowerup -

Report: PC Gaming On The Rise

This may not be a surprise to the PC enthusiast community but, the PC gaming market has never been healthier, according to a report from the not-for-profit consortium PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA). The report claims that in 2011, the industry reached a global record $18.6 billion, a growth of 15 percent over the prior year. The report cites burgeoning foreign markets and social games as large factors in the findings. The results of the PCGA's third annual "Horizons" research report found that China is growing at almost twice the rate of the global market, bringing in $6 billion for a total growth of 27 percent. The US, UK, Korea, Japan, and Germany saw increased revenue of 11%, by comparison. Asian companies, in general, are noted for spurring on sales in their markets.

The report also cites Zynga and Nexon (of MapleStory fame) as frontrunners in the PC space. Zynga in particular doubled its revenue to roughly $1.1 billion, putting it on-par with Nexon. Zynga and the German company Bigpoint were noted for pushing the free-to-play model, already popular in Asian territories, into North America and Europe. The report also notes the movers and shakers of big-budget PC games from the western market, like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Rift, along with multiplatform titles like Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Looking forward, the report speculates that the industry will grow to $25.5 billion (37 percent increase) by 2015, thanks to increased broadband penetration and digital delivery. The report is from a PC gaming coalition with a vested interest in trumpeting the industry's health, but even so, the rumors of PC's death have greatly exaggerated.

PC gaming will never die!!!!!

on the other hand
the smart phone game industry is increasing lots lately tho..

AstaLaVista said:

I just don't get it, you are all pretty much against piracy, or so you say but, nobody says anything about the shoddy business practices from Companies like Ubisoft and others and how they are getting our money... why is that I wonder?

What do I mean? OK, again, take Ghost Recon Future Soldier... the majority of people who have purchased the game are having problems even installing the game so, 3 months later and 60 dollars shy, they have paid for a product they can not use... why is this not consider Illegal or even a form of Piracy?

While all of this may be true, none of it gives you the right to pirate their intellectual property. Of course some companies (or more often their publisher) has a terrible way of treating their customers, and the only way to protest is to NOT buy.
If you go into a restaurant and don't like the food you also don't get the right to smash in their windows - you can complain.

dejavecue said:

AstaLaVista said:

I just don't get it, you are all pretty much against piracy, or so you say but, nobody says anything about the shoddy business practices from Companies like Ubisoft and others and how they are getting our money... why is that I wonder?

What do I mean? OK, again, take Ghost Recon Future Soldier... the majority of people who have purchased the game are having problems even installing the game so, 3 months later and 60 dollars shy, they have paid for a product they can not use... why is this not consider Illegal or even a form of Piracy?

While all of this may be true, none of it gives you the right to pirate their intellectual property. Of course some companies (or more often their publisher) has a terrible way of treating their customers, and the only way to protest is to NOT buy.
If you go into a restaurant and don't like the food you also don't get the right to smash in their windows - you can complain.

Do not misconstrue... I didn't say it was OK to pirate, I only stated that everyone seems to be OK with the opposite of it (which, to me is also Illegal and also a form of pirating). Must of you see this as normal behavior or how a money transaction must take place.

And NO, if I go to a restaurant and the food sucks (with a good reason), I am not going to smash their windows but, I have also options, I have the right to complain and request a refund (if I didn't finish all my food, lick the plate and finish all the bread of course!). If the Restaurant does not want to comply (again, if I tasted the food and did not like it because it was not cooked well, or cooked yesterday and microwaved today), I will have a discussion with my Credit Card Company and refuse the charges and let them deal with the Restaurant.

Now, lets see how we purchase a game now a days, it seems you pay for something (expecting that you will not only like it but that, it will be able to be installed in your computer!), go back home, almost crashing a few times because you're so anxious, can't play it, can't even install it and you are all OK... perhaps you whine or complain a little bit or just go back to the place you bought it and purchase something else w/o even bothering to ask yourself What the F just happened, WHY are you not caring (if this is your money of course! or even if it isn't)... how many times can you lie to yourself and say (Meh, its only 60 dollars, I spend more than that at the movies!).

All I am saying is... why can they call it Legal (when we all know that it is not) and able to get away with it? Aside from knowing, you all seem to be ok with their behavior?

bobafetthotmail said:

All I am saying is... why can they call it Legal (when we all know that it is not) and able to get away with it?

Because they have the money to win in court against any poor customer that tries to sue them.

Therein lies the Million Dollar Question I think... and the reason why there is an exponential increase in Pirating now a days.

In one hand... people will pirate the game because they can't buy it and never had any intention of buying it (no lost sales here)

In the other hand... people will pirate because they feel entitle to it since they lost money on a previous purchase (insert your worst publisher here!) (lost sales? perhaps but its more like making it even).

And other hands... people will pirate to Demo the Game, if they like it and see a potential game with minimal bugs, they will go ahead and purchase it. If the game is riddle with bugs and bad coding, they will toss it away (no lost sales in my eyes).

I don't consider fair that these publisher want us to be their beta testers and pay for it while we are at it ... something has to give and until such time that they finish a product and sell it to me in a working state, I will continue to boycott them see it as fighting back or hitting them where it hurts.

You will always find Moms and Pops buying everything for their kids because they feel is how they are showing how much they love them, and that is a HUGE part of the problem and perhaps why we are seeing Console ports instead of the other way around... still, it does not makes it legal or right!

bobafetthotmail said:

Most of the whining about piracy and lost revenue is to cover that their products suck and as such they sell less. Keep not buying their stuff, and let Indie games take their place.

I can not agree with you more!!!!

Last game I bought was GRAW... others I have gotten with Video Card Purchases, a couple for about 5 to 7 bucks and most of them on trades.

I do play most of the latest Shooters because a friend buys them and I go to his house to help install it and demo it.

I hardly play any games other than shooters and strategy games, and they are great to play with keyboard and mouse.