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[subversus]

Next generation, a game like CoD will be subscription, persistent with yearly/quarterly major revision, and the 'campaign' will still ship on discs or be offered to subscribers. They'll kill piracy AND rentals. The industry's dream since day one.

if this will really solve piracy problem then I don't mind. I doubt it though, because single-player campaigns will be pirated again. But if subscribers would value them, SP will be produced.

 

[thehillissilent]

Onlive isn't the future of anything. Decent bandwibth to allow for comparable experiences will be slower to penetrate than local rendering technology being much better.

However, the subscription is the future. That's the real reason every publisher wants you to connect to friends and connect your experience to twitter and facebook, to make gaming a social experience that can't be pirated.

Next generation, a game like CoD will be subscription, persistent with yearly/quarterly major revision, and the 'campaign' will still ship on discs or be offered to subscribers. They'll kill piracy AND rentals. The industry's dream since day one.

I believe people want Onlive to fail because it is the ultimate DRM. You can't pirate a game if they are only sending you interactive video. Will it eliminate consoles? Heck no! It's still not viable yet for hardcore players of one-on-one fighting games, but FPS work well on the system. Their subscription model for their playpack (initially 40 games) was a very smart move. Also, the conveience of not having a disk and not having to wait to download files just real-time interactive video is a major plus because I'm lazy. I'm currently using Verison FIOS (35mbps down/35 up) so I don't have to worry (for the time being about bandwidth caps) , and I live close to DC where one of their centres is located. I see it as the Netflix of games and hopefully, it will learn from Gametap and surpass them.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

I believe people want Onlive to fail because it is the ultimate DRM. You can't pirate a game if they are only sending you interactive video. Will it eliminate consoles? Heck no! It's still not viable yet for hardcore players of one-on-one fighting games, but FPS work well on the system. Their subscription model for their playpack (initially 40 games) was a very smart move. Also, the conveience of not having a disk and not having to wait to download files just real-time interactive video is a major plus because I'm lazy. I'm currently using Verison FIOS (35mbps down/35 up) so I don't have to worry (for the time being about bandwidth caps) , and I live close to DC where one of their centres is located. I see it as the Netflix of games and hopefully, it will learn from Gametap and surpass them.

So you're in favor of the strongest type of DRM possible as the future. Good to know.

 

[LyR]

You can never tell if a scene release is truly clean due to tools like crypters being in use, especially when it comes to cracked programs. As far as movies, I haven't seen binders (use to combine virus/trojans with .exe/jpg/mp3 files) out that that work with .mkv files yet, so they might still be clean (for the time being). However, can you really trust these uploaders? To me, piracy is really profit-driven but in a different way due to the use of trojans and rootkits.

I agree when it comes to using streaming services such as Onlive, which I actually love using. That is the future whether people like it or not.

to be fair, most official retail games aren't any different anymore, and I'm not talking about DRM. For instance EA games are full of statistic tracking tools. And they aren't as anonym as EA makes it out to be...

an extreme example would be The Sime 3 + sims store (unfortunately, I don't have the link revealing all the shocking things EA tracks)

 

[thehillissilent]

So you're in favor of the strongest type of DRM possible as the future. Good to know.

Not really. I just like the convienience of it and with Onlive, I can use mutiple devices if I want to and I'm not tied down (unless due to bandwidth restrictions). Onlive is planning to be included in tv and cable boxes so it will be everywhere in the future. Don't get me wrong, I still like playing games locally and I love sites such as gog.com. However, my desire to mod pc games has declined and I don't feel like keeping up with the lastest graphics card and hardware anymore. Also, the system is easier to use than my consoles. I also like the Playpack subscription model.

to be fair, most official retail games aren't any different anymore, and I'm not talking about DRM. For instance EA games are full of statistic tracking tools. And they aren't as anonym as EA makes it out to be...

an extreme example would be The Sime 3 + sims store (unfortunately, I don't have the link revealing all the shocking things EA tracks)

I can believe it. I've read something similar too.

 

[dorkimoe]

Bullshit. No hackers gonna pirate wii party.

I wouldn't call wii modders hackers

I would call them people who dont want to spend $40 on mini games

 

[Kabouter]

an extreme example would be The Sime 3 + sims store (unfortunately, I don't have the link revealing all the shocking things EA tracks)

I'd really appreciate a link here, but if you really can't find it, what are some of the things EA tracks you can recall from memory?

 

[Boney]

You are an awful awful game.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Not really. I just like the convienience of it and with Onlive, I can use mutiple devices if I want to and I'm not tied down (unless due to bandwidth restrictions). Onlive is planning to be included in tv and cable boxes so it will be everywhere in the future. Don't get me wrong, I still like playing games locally and I love sites such as gog.com. However, my desire to mod pc games has declined and I don't feel like keeping up with the lastest graphics card and hardware anymore. Also, the system is easier to use than my consoles. I also like the Playpack subscription model.



I can believe it. I've read something similar too.

I do think that OnLive will have a nice niche community but I don't see it taking over the industry, both for console and PC users. What I CAN see is that future iterations of Microsoft and Sony machines having a capability to both stream and use discs. That is a surefire way to reach both audiences. But for the PC crowd, I don't think it is really going to do that much damage.

 

[CecilRousso]

Oh how I would love a Bobby Kotick comment about these numbers.

 

[Kabouter]

ohh I almost forgot, Steam account (and no, most of them aren't from the holiday sale... unfortunately =[ .... )

Best way to feel better about it is probably to play some of them for longer than an hour or two :lol

 

[Darklord]

PC
1) Call of Duty: Black Ops (4,270,000)
2) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (3,960,000)
3) Mafia 2 (3,240,000)
4) Mass Effect 2 (3,240,000)
5) Starcraft II (3,120,000)

Xbox 360
1) Dante’s Inferno (1,280,000)
2) Alan Wake (1,141,000)
3) Red Dead Redemption (1,060,000)
4) Halo Reach (990,000)
5) Call of Duty: Black Ops (930,000)

Wii
1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1,470,000)
2) Wii Party (1,220,000)
3) Donkey Kong Country Returns (920,000)
4) Kirby’s Epic Yarn (880,000)
5) Red Steel 2 (850,000)

TorrentFreak article.

Discuss.

I did a survey on piracy. I'm not allowed to post it here but the results were that most of then wouldn't buy a game if they couldn't pirate it. Only 20% said they'd buy all the games they'd pirate while 80% said they'd cut right back or stop completely. Companies will look at this list and say those games lost millions of sales but from what I found out the lost sales are MUCH lower than what those lists say. Still a high numbers but not 3 million+.

 

[old manatee]

Next generation, a game like CoD will be subscription, persistent with yearly/quarterly major revision, and the 'campaign' will still ship on discs or be offered to subscribers. They'll kill piracy AND rentals. The industry's dream since day one.

Call of Duty might as well go subscription. Between the yearly $60 games and the $15 map packs it wouldn't be much of a price difference.

 

[LyR]

I'd really appreciate a link here, but if you really can't find it, what are some of the things EA tracks you can recall from memory?

I found something similar, a video from the german magazine "Gamestar"

Video

since you're dutch I think you might understand it, but it collects everything ... even your insurance policy number ... no joke

the software, hardware you use (besides the Sims), your name, gender, birth date, credit card informations, 1000 statistics I don't bother to mention like playtime, other online activities, other media you consume(wtf) in combination with your previous mentioned personal data... the list is endless

Best way to feel better about it is probably to play some of them for longer than an hour or two :lol

most of the time I play in offline mode so it doesn't track the statistics, achievements etc. ... and that's only steam, I also have tons of non steam games.

but sorry ... I guess, I don't have the time & passion to play videogames all day anymore

 

[chixdiggit]

I did a survey on piracy. I'm not allowed to post it here but the results were that most of then wouldn't buy a game if they couldn't pirate it.

Because they will just play a game they did pirate. If they could not pirate any games at all it's pretty safe to say that they would shell out the money for at least some games.

 

[mikespit1200]

I did a survey on piracy. I'm not allowed to post it here but the results were that most of then wouldn't buy a game if they couldn't pirate it. Only 20% said they'd buy all the games they'd pirate while 80% said they'd cut right back or stop completely. Companies will look at this list and say those games lost millions of sales but from what I found out the lost sales are MUCH lower than what those lists say. Still a high numbers but not 3 million+.

Out of curiosity, was this a school project or was it commissioned by an employer?

 

[Mr. Mister]

I did a survey on piracy. I'm not allowed to post it here but the results were that most of then wouldn't buy a game if they couldn't pirate it. Only 20% said they'd buy all the games they'd pirate while 80% said they'd cut right back or stop completely. Companies will look at this list and say those games lost millions of sales but from what I found out the lost sales are MUCH lower than what those lists say. Still a high numbers but not 3 million+.

20% seems high but IMHO if it is anything close to even 5% that is a huge number. You are talking hundreds of millions of dollars across the industry per year.

 

[Darklord]

Because they will just play a game they did pirate. If they could not pirate any games at all it's pretty safe to say that they would shell out the money for at least some games.

The question was along the lines of if piracy vanished, including past games would they buy as many games as they'd pirate. Just shy of 60% said they'd buy some games not not all of them.

Out of curiosity, was this a school project or was it commissioned by an employer?

Personal. It started as a little thing and ended up being a 2200 write up with all graphs and stats.

20% seems high but IMHO if it is anything close to even 5% that is a huge number. You are talking hundreds of millions of dollars across the industry per year.

I know it's still high but when companies come out and claim 5 million sales were lost or 95% pirated a game that's just wrong.You can't look at a number on a pirate site and say every single one is a sale lost.

 

[Kabouter]

I found something similar, a video from the german magazine "Gamestar"

Video

since you're dutch I think you might understand it, but it collects everything ... even your insurance policy number ... no joke

the software, hardware you use (besides the Sims), your name, gender, birth date, credit card informations, 1000 statistics I don't bother to mention like playtime, other online activities, other media you consume(wtf) in combination with your previous mentioned personal data... the list is endless

That is really messed up, how is that legal?

most of the time I play in offline mode so it doesn't track the statistics, achievements etc. ... and that's only steam, I also have tons of non steam games.

but sorry ... I guess, I don't have the time & passion to play videogames all day anymore

Haha, it's fine, it's not an attack or anything. Certainly no shame in not playing videogames all day. Just thought it curious that all your games showed like half an hour of playtime.

 

[heringer]

C'mon, Red Steel 2 is sweeet.

 

[procrastinator]

Do these statistics take into account the multiple different pirate releases of the games? Or does it just choose the single release with the highest number of hits?

 

[Cruceh]

Eh, a bunch of people will pirate a game they have no interest in just to try it out. If they couldn't get it for free, they wouldn't even bother.

 

[Version 3.0]

So basically, the games which were commercially successful got pirated.

That is generally the case. The most popular games get stolen the most, or to put it another way, the same games are popular amongst buyers and thieves. The same generally holds true for rentals and used game sales, of course.

It's a shame when a game that sells poorly has a disproportionate amount of piracy, but I don't for one second feel bad for Black Ops (not that the people who stole it aren't dicks). And even for a small publisher that may actually be financially threatened by piracy, I don't condone consumer-punishing tactics.

 

[BishopLamont]

piracy + statistics = double fail.

 

[Boney]

C'mon, Red Steel 2 is sweeet.

I don't know, rented it, played one stage and just stopped. Awful stage design. So bland and boring, that not even sword fighitng could save it.

 

[Version 3.0]

Eh, a bunch of people will pirate a game they have no interest in just to try it out. If they couldn't get it for free, they wouldn't even bother.

Some of them don't even do that. I worked with a guy who claimed to have hundreds of pirated Xbox games, with more coming all the time. How many had he played? Two. GTA3 and one of the 3D Castlevanias. I don't know why he bothered. Maybe he just liked to brag about it...