Dragon Age must sell 2 million copies

[Ausir]

I don't understand. How would the C&C people continue to work on the game after this? I mean, people might give it a token minimum effort, but wouldn't the employer have to acknowledge that the game is probably doomed? Every developer will be focused on getting his or her résumé out the door. Nobody will feel loyalty to the company or project.

If you can't understand this, think of Chris Taylor still working on Fallout Online.

 

[bhlaab]

Damn they must really be going to the shitter. Is this still because of the financial crisis?

The game industry is slowly dying, and while the recession isn't helping it isn't the cause either.

Games is probably the strongest arm of the entertainment industry. This layoff would not have happened without the recession.

 

[circ]

Recession my ass. Recession hasn't stopped the CEO's and their asskissers from blowing the money on cars and coke. And with FIFA and other sports titles + same old shit from Maxis, EA is doing fine. This is an excuse to mold every remaining studio into casual gamer garbage.

 

[hal900x]

Recession my ass. Recession hasn't stopped the CEO's and their asskissers from blowing the money on cars and coke. And with FIFA and other sports titles + same old shit from Maxis, EA is doing fine. This is an excuse to mold every remaining studio into casual gamer garbage.

I know I've heard "The Economy" (dun dun dunnnn) as an excuse, from just about every corporate entity I've had the displeasure of dealing with lately, for all kinds of shitty behavior. From fucking over employees to burning customers. In several instances, it's turned out the company hasn't been impacted in the slightest and were just tickled to have another bullshit reason for raping and pillaging. Entertainment companies are often the most protected during hard times. Game companies are doing fucking great compared to most sectors.

 

[CrimsonAngel]

Really. If you want to pirate stuff, fine, but don't try to make excuses like "nothing is being removed from an inventory" or "it's shit anyway and I wouldn't buy it". Tht's beside the point, which is "you play if you pay".

Otherwise you're just a filthy thief. We romantic pirates sail the seven seas with pride.

Yeah i agree.
The hole notion you are some kind of internet rebel that is sticking it to the man is FUCKING STUPID!

I download games all the time, but i also buy when something is good.
I reward good games and bad games get deleted quick becaus they SUCK.

Saved a lot of money not getting Fallout 3, Oblivion and so on.

Dragon Age is the latest game i bought after Torrent it and when Dragon Age 2 comes out i will buy it day one with out torrent it becaus the first game was good (in my opinion)

Mass Effect 2 i will download first to try and see if it is worth using my money on becaus that is how i like to do things. Now the Kicker is of course that i don't try and pretend that i am some noble prince out the save gaming from the evils of the corporations.

I Download becaus i want to. There is no other reason.

 

[Grunker]

Y'know, if you have a problem with the game industry, you could always....not play games. I mean, it's not like you're missing out on anything if the industry is as bad as you depict it.

Also, when you protest a company (or industry), it's not called civil disobedience. It's called boycott.

Nah. A boycott is a temporary deselection of a brand or company because of dissatisfaction with a specific thing, and it's entirely lawful. Civil disobedience is the act of unlawful protest against the system.

And fuck me, we're seeing some stupidity in this thread. Most of you just say: "I think piracy has nothing to do with rebellion, thus it must be so."

To you I say one of two things: Present an argument, or fuck you.

The numbers are on my side. Piracy is currently the only thing giving cause to pause in the industry. Boycotters and non-buyers: You can stick your political consumption right up your ass. It has no documented effect whatsoever.

 

[Lingwe]

Dear Doomsayers:

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/10846-pc-gaming-revenue-up-18-for-2008-/

The PC Gaming Alliance, a sort of pro-PC gaming lobby consisting of hardware manufactures and few game companies, released what they call the Horizon Report today, for 2008. In the report, the state of PC gaming is investigated, and sales are measured.

The major conclusion drawn in the report is that PC gaming is in great shape, and growing at a very healthy rate. They peg gaming software revenue as gaining 18% in 2008 over 2007. In 2008, this revenue was worth about $13 billion dollars. On the hardware side of things, the situation is even better -- at least in 2008 anyways, before the whole global economic collapse thing happened. In 2008, there was an estimated 228 million game-ready PCs in the world, with this number expected to surge to over 600 million by 2013.

Get it? For those of you who have problems with maths 18% means that there was positive growth in the computer games industry between 2007 and 2008. Which means that PC gaming isn't 'dying' or whatever other analogies you want to come up with.

Dear Pirates

I pirate as a 'fuck you' to the industry

You know not playing any games would be just as effective as pirating them?

If rentals were a possibility for PC games, I would gladly shell out the $8 to try out a game that I'm not sure of. I doubt I'd pirate a single game.

My local video shop rents out computer and console games. Is it the computer game producers fault that you are either 1) too lazy to extend your search further to find a store that rents video games or 2) unlucky enough to not have any stores in your town/city that rent video games?

So now I pirate a ton of games, but I just play them for a few hours and delete.

If somehow pirating disappeared, I wouldn't exactly miss that three hours I spent on "Sacred" finding out that yes, I am still incredibly bored of diablo clones.

I'd probably spend a little more without piracy, but the only thing that could get me shelling out like I used to is if they fucking made games I liked.

So you need to be able to play a game to confirm that you don't think you'll like it? Huh. If you don't think you will like a game then read some reviews...er ask someone who has played it and actually has a clue. Isn't that the whole point of posting on a site like the Codex? So you can ask people with similar views on gaming about how they found a particular game to be.

There is no way for the industry to prevent it, and honestly, if developers released demos, there would be fewer instances of piracy from the "try before you buy" crowd

As Volourn said, the 'try before you buy' crowd aren't enough to make a difference. The vast majority of people who pirate just want stuff for free. It's a nature in all of us. If we can get something for free rather than paying for it then we will. But as Volourn said as well making up shit to explain away the fact that you are doing so just makes you a bullshitter as well as a pirate. I download episodes of my favourite anime because I don't want to have to pay for them. At least I admit it and don't come up with cheap excuses like "I want to see what it is like before I try it", "I don't think I'll like it so I'll watch it once and then delete it", and "I'm downloading to make a stand man. I'm like some kind of rebel man".

You're acquiring somethig for free that others pay for. Whether it is rival or non-rival the fact is that you are consuming a good and not paying anything for it. Thieves.

Dear People Posting:

This

At least have the decency to post something like "I agree" or some other banal comment. Copying a comment (particularly a large one) and then just sticking the word This on the end makes you look like a flaming drongo.

 

[Grunker]

You know not playing any games would be just as effective as pirating them?

Nope. Didn't know that. But that's probably because it's a load of horseshit. No playing them/boycott is political consumption. It has all the documented effect of healing by crystals.

Piracy has a well-documented effect for pushing new buisnessmodels.

Now, while it has not been proven why this is, it might be logical to assume it's because the first option, political consumption, is almost non-existent in statistics, and extremely difficult to get support for.

People simply want to play games. And who can blame them? It's their fucking hobby, and it's quite understandable they don't want to cling to the slim hope of a boycott working after 5 years of game-celibacy.

Piracy has none of those two problems. It has all the 'fuck you' value of a boycott, while being extremely easy to view in statistics. AND, you get to continue your hobby anyway.

All in all, the conclusion is that piracy is a pretty damned solid statement, and either you give up you "codex cool hat" ("I'm a thief and I know but fuck you") or you fail to convince me of anything else.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Piracy has a well-documented effect for pushing new buisnessmodels.

Like digital distribution and online activation.

 

[Grunker]

Piracy has a well-documented effect for pushing new buisnessmodels.

Like digital distribution and online activation.

Sure thing. Which makes me smile. I won't object when the industry takes steps to further anger their buyers and send them our way.

Not sure I see what digital distribution has to do with anything though. It's not inherently bad (like online activation), and there's nothing barring me from pirate games that are digitally distributed.

 

[Elzair]

I pirate as a 'fuck you' to the industry. It's called civil disobedience. The true fucking atrocity isn't me, it's you. You mindless fucks, throwing around money like it's the industry's birthday, sucking the milk in from their lactating titty of shit. And you're happy about it.

Because of this, they keep their asshole wide open, from which an endless stream of diarrhea pours onto the streets of the Earth.

We are some who fight it.

And then, you have the nerve to call us thieves? To claim we're doing something wrong?

You, the slaves to the tit-goddesses of Activision, EA, and the rest of the populace of the nine hells, you are the one responsible for the world of shit. Me? I'm just a guy with some fucking sense who holds to the belief that we could do a lot better than lactated feces - if we demanded it to be so.

Wow, this so reminds me of the Konscience of a Kourier.

Another one kaught today, itz all over the paperz. "Teenager
arrested in software piracy skandal", "kourier arrested after distributing
warez"...
Damn Kidz. They're all alike.

But did u, in u're 3-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take
a look behind the eyez of a kourier? Did u ever wonder what made him tick,
what forcez shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a kourier, enter my world...
Mine iz a world that beginz with skool... I'm not the smartezt kid in
the class, I don't quite get this education thing...
Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in cosmetology skool or kommunity college. I've listened to
teacherz explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction, and I still
don't understand it. "No Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I don't get how
u type with these pencil things. Give me a joystick or something."
Damn kid. Must be a druggie. They're all alike.

I make a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is
cool. I can play commander keen all i want. If i loose a game, it's because
i didn't get the 0-day eleet game c0dez. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feelz i'm a worthless inbred skumbag...
Or thinkz i'm an idiot...
Or doesn't like teaching and is threatened by my good looks...
Damn kid. All he duz is play doom. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a new world... rushing thru
the fone line like heroin thru an addict's veinz, the latest version of DOS is
sent out at a bazillion baud, a refuge from intelligence is sought... a 0-day
warez board is found!
"This is it... this is where i belong!"
I know everyone here... even if i've never met them, never talked to
them, never traded apogee with them, may never hear from them again... i know
u all...
Damn kid. Tying up the fone line again. They're all alike...

U bet u're ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at
skool when we hungered for ANSI and codez... the bitz of meat u did let slip
thru were a little on the well done side and i had a little trouble digesting
them. We've been dominated by intellectualz, or ignored by dum skolar dudez.
The few that had something to teach talked in some fancee shmancee english
language or something, and i wouldn't know what they were talking about anyway.

This is our world now... the world of the kode and the console copier,
the beauty of the file point. We make use of some telefone thing or something
for free with codez so we don't have to pay to trade -15 day gamez and the
latest ANSI releases, and u kall us kriminals. We trade credit cards... and
U call us kriminals. We distribute copyrighted software... and u call us
criminals. We steal games from radio shack... and u call us criminals. We
exist without skin color, (cuz we're always inside downloading and uploading)
without religious bias, (cuz we have know idea that the hell religios bias is)
without intelligence... and u kall us criminals. U start wars and stuff, yet
we're the kriminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of stupidity. My crime is that
of judging people by how much they upload and how k-rad they're typing is, not
what they look like or if they can spell they're name right the first time
without messing up. My crime is that of stealing u're work and putting my name
On it, and u get all huffy puffy about it.

I am a kourier, and this is my manifesto. U may stop one moron, but
U can't stop us all! After all, we're all alike.

 

[Grunker]

My, my, that was stupid. Writing a whole piece based on prejudice has no place in a serious discussion, Elzair. You want to bring text to the table, it better be in the form of an argument or actually well-written stuff. That crap was predictable and boring as fuck.

Are you people fucking done yet posting irrelevant stuff instead of arguments?

 

[Elzair]

Alright, here's an argument: your civil disobedience piracy is just as irrelevant as boycotts.

The vast majority of pirates pirate something because they CAN or because they just don't like paying for things. Your little civil disobedience is a blip on the radar if that.

 

[Grunker]

Alright, here's an argument: your civil disobedience piracy is just as irrelevant as boycotts.

The vast majority of pirates pirate something because they CAN or because they just don't like paying for things. Your little civil disobedience is a blip on the radar if that.

Thanks :D

It's just sad that it's a bad argument. A) Because I still get to play some games, unlike the boycotters, and B) Since the industry is losing more money to piracy than any boycott has ever achieved.

I would find the numbers for you, but I'm too fucking lazy. I can mail you some studies of the area, however.

As a bonus note, the swedish Piratbyrän has a seat in the European Parliament.

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Okay, so you'll say that piracy doesn't have a major impact on the industry one way or another. That's a point I am more than willing to concede.

Therefore, there is no harm done by piracy.

Therefore, if there is no harm done, is there any wrongness done?

 

[Elzair]

Oh that's rich! The game companies are losing even more to people who just don't care to buy their games (a.k.a. the boycott). If pirates who play games they would have bought anyway teach the industry anything, it is that it needs stronger DRM or needs to abandon the PC platform altogether.

 

[Xor]

Alright, here's an argument: your civil disobedience piracy is just as irrelevant as boycotts.

The vast majority of pirates pirate something because they CAN or because they just don't like paying for things. Your little civil disobedience is a blip on the radar if that.

Thanks :D

It's just sad that it's a bad argument. A) Because I still get to play some games, unlike the boycotters, and B) Since the industry is losing more money to piracy than any boycott has ever achieved.

I would find the numbers for you, but I'm too fucking lazy. I can mail you some studies of the area, however.

As a bonus note, the swedish Piratbyrän has a seat in the European Parliament.

A) I deserve free games.
B) Piracy represents a lost sale.

I think you're the one with weak arguments. I'd elaborate but I have class in like 10 minutes.

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Oh that's rich! The game companies are losing even more to people who just don't care to buy their games (a.k.a. the boycott). If pirates who play games they would have bought anyway teach the industry anything, it is that it needs stronger DRM or needs to abandon the PC platform altogether.

That's avoiding the question.

A simple statement was made. People who pirate wouldn't buy the games anyway, therefore nothing is really lost by the industry when people pirate their games.

Therefore, if no harm is done to the industry, why is piracy wrong? Who is the victim? Who is wronged?

 

[Trash]

The Amiga died a slow death because of piracy.

 

[Tails]

The Amiga died a slow death because of piracy.

No it was PC itself, since any company could make it and sell for whatever price, that could be even lower then typical price for Amiga.

Anyway, Amiga isn't dead, to this day there is new software for it, OSes and stuff. Amiga will live forever

 

[BlitzKitchen]

b00bioes

??????????

 

[Trash]

Anyway, Amiga isn't dead, to this day there is new software for it, OSes and stuff. Amiga will live forever

So does the MSX and the Spectrum and C64. Hooah!

 

[Grunker]

Oh that's rich! The game companies are losing even more to people who just don't care to buy their games (a.k.a. the boycott). If pirates who play games they would have bought anyway teach the industry anything, it is that it needs stronger DRM or needs to abandon the PC platform altogether.

Eh? You have a very weak argument there buddy ol' boy. Even EA has forfeited the most rigid forms of DRM, mainly because of lessons from Spore. A DRM was planned for DA:O, but later scrapped. The numbers are in this case hidden, since companies don't make their market shares public. So we don't know whether it hurt the industry. But we do know they're moving away from rigid DRM, and we also know that tech support has gotten more complaints over DRM than any other problem in 07/08.

A) I deserve free games.
B) Piracy represents a lost sale.

If you don't have the time, don't waste mine. A) No, I don't deserve free games, and B) No, I've never said that. That's idiotic. Part of piracy represents lost sale, but not by a long shot all of it.

 

[made]

The Amiga died a slow death because of piracy.

No, son. CBM killed the Amiga through mismanagement. You might want to read up on the company's history before throwing around blanket catchphrases.

 

[Elzair]

That's avoiding the question.

There was a question? I thought there was just a rant about pirates being hardcore rebels overthrowing the system, man! You do realize I was replying to Grunker, right?

A simple statement was made. People who pirate wouldn't buy the games anyway, therefore nothing is really lost by the industry when people pirate their games.

Therefore, if no harm is done to the industry, why is piracy wrong? Who is the victim? Who is wronged?

Alright, I think there has been a misunderstanding, but I will answer the question anyway. Downloading a game for free (without permission from the owners) is not stealing because no one has been deprived of anything. Pirating a game is like sneaking into a movie theater, art gallery or strip club. You are not taking anything from the owners, but in these cases, someone has created something that you obviously want to see, and you decide to gain access to it against their wishes. You may not be stealing it, but you are still ripping someone off. If you do not think ripping people off is wrong, then I can't help you.

Furthermore, if people download and play a 30 hour game, they are saying it was not worth their money, but it was worth their time. That does not compute.