Hard times: PC game piracy in US estimated at 75-80%

[wraggster]

Woe be the PC game developer these days, as various reports put piracy rates in the U.S. at approximately 70-85%.

Pirates?! I'm supposed to be fighting a hydra!
It's no wonder that Epic Games is dumping PC games for the greener pastures of console gaming: piracy rates for the U.S. market alone are hovering around 80%!

And beyond the U.S., the piracy picture becomes even larger and more menacing -- especially if you're an independent developer without "Madden-sized advertising budget," said THQ Director of Creative Management Michael Fitch, who laid out his case against piracy and hardware manufactures in an epic rant at the Quarter to Three forums.

In the post, Fitch attacked pirates, the PC software security model and everything in between. In Europe, he said, piracy rates approach 90%. In Asia, those figures are "off the charts."

"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," Fitch said.

These are hard numbers for any PC developer to ignore, and from the tone of Fitch's message board rant the other day, things are likely to get much worse before they get better. Or should that be "if" they get better?

http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=165488

[Veskgar]

Piracy sucks but the video game industry keeps setting record breaking years with earnings. Even despite a slowing economy here in the US.

So maybe the reports on the gaming industry don't include PC games. Anyway, no matter how much I have tried, I was never able to get into PC gaming. Gaming on a console has been where its at for me since the NES. And modern day consoles such as the PS3 are more and more like a computer so I see why some developers might want to shift over to console development.

[NoQuarter]

Business models need to change,period!
There will be no way for a company to survive unless it embraces to alternatives to copyrighting intellectual property.I am not expressly supporting piracy(I really don't like it,if I like a game I certainly can afford to buy it) but it is changing the face of business.
Switch to open source and figure out another way to make money,It's definitely feasible.

Intellectual property right really do hinder us as a society,think about it...

[MicroNut]

The PS3 is the secure distribution platform of choice.
Folks keep saying its going to be hacked.
Thats just stating the obvious.
It is going to rain but not for a long time.

360 is going strong.
With virtually no homebrew, the only hacks make it purely a pirates dream... right up there with the PC.

[NoQuarter]

That's a pretty good assesment MicroNut,I have to agree with you.I know I spent some money at the playstation store

[MicroNut]

I have spent a lot of money at the playstation store too.
Cant wait for Wipeout HD...

[JKKDARK]

Really terrible number. I hope it can do better in the future.

[LazerTag]

I find those numbers hard to swallow.

I WAS a hardcore PC gamer and gave it up for the greener pastures of the consoles. Wii, PS2, and XBox currently. I hope to add either Xbox 360 or PS3 soon.

No longer will I have to upgrade on a monthly basis.

No more will I have to install all sorts of obnoxious drivers and add ons.

My computer now is used for browsing the web, e-mail, work, homework, and simply keeping my PC knowledge up to date (the field I work in).

I play some simple games now and then and dabble in those I already own. Occasionally delving into emulation still as I do love that as always.

I just do not see the drop in PC games is simply caused by some major spike in piracy. I want to see see some hard numbers of arrests where the end user actually is caught with the goods, not just a guesstimate on the basis of the difference in sales of each platform.

In fact I actually have bought only one PC title in the past year, Orange box, and had in mind that I would play online with my gaming group. After getting done with Portal (great fun if you don't know) I dropped it like it was hot. Just boring compared to the ease of playing any of the console games I have.

Plus I think gamers, like myself, are getting to an older stage in life. It's not like when I was in my twenties and would stay up to all hours playing games. I'm in my mid thirties now with 12 and 9 year old boys. They need guidance in life and help on their homework. I've become a father whom isn't glued to his bs games constantly. I tend to play stuff that can be quickly set down or simply turned off, consoles offer me that.

My kids do play on their computers, but even the games they mainly play on the PC are not store bought games, but Java or Shockwave based from various game sites. Other then that they as well still play the oldies, but new PC games is practically unheard of in my home. And we are a 6 or 7 PC house now.

My point on age is the younger gamers who are playing and buying games now would seem to me to have teethed on consoles. That's what they use (my kids and my nephews/cousins are of this crowd, 10 to 25 roughly). They've never bothered with PC games for the most part as the consoles have always had the fix they needed.

Anyway, now I find that same fix in the same place and thus have helped lessen the number of PC game sales.

On a final note the only thing I think WILL come to pass is that investing in PC games or systems like Steam may be a bad investment in the next few years to come. Now if they could figure out a method to take Steam over to one of the next gen consoles, that could be a money maker.

[jamotto]

These things make me laugh, they invest big bucks into the latest anti-piracy measures to the point where they conflict with themselves. One games DRM stops another game from starting.

Take Bioshock just as an example, installing it for the first time was a pain. I put the cd in to start the install, ten seconds into the install you see that wonderful BSOD. OK, reboot and get on the Internet to see whats wrong, drat cd-rom firmware is incompatible with the DRM I need to update the firmware. Fine, install the firmware and reboot again, start the install once more. It says it needs to download an update. I click OK, and oops can't connect to the site. Back on the Internet, find out this is a known problem, I need to set IE to use a ....proxy server? wtf
sigh, fine fine change IE's settings as shown. Go back and start the install yet again. It makes it all the way to downloading the "update" that I end up having to restart the download four times as it kept timing out on a proxy server that has a 65ms ping time.

I am, however lucky I didn't have any trouble with the CD-Key Issue where the game would reject valid CD-Keys.

With more PC games having to make you jump through hoops like this I can see why fewer people are buying new PC games. If I was asked I would suggest the console version.

[juiceface]

"Intellectual property right really do hinder us as a society,think about it..."

I stronlgy disagree with this, as copyright is what keeps everything in line for people who make these games (for a living, you know familes and stuff) for your pleasure. trust me, If you personally created a unique game for 3 years as your lifeblood and living you would like copyright and IP to protect the investment you made in your work.

What incentive do game programmers have to make games for people? Money. What incentive to artists have to make music? Money. Just because people want to make money for their work does'nt mean copyrighting their work is a hinderance.

The only hinderance is on you the consumer, because you can't afford to purchase every game.

Now here is where I think the fair line should be drawn. Computer games, console games, games period should not be $50.00.
A new game should be around $15.00, that way NO ONE can complain about being priced out. A new CD? $5.00 each, no matter what. If corporations were'nt so greedy in their practices consumers would have a much better view of the IP laws as they would deem the prices they are paying as "fair and deserving", not $17.99 for a cd that came out 10 years ago.