This story was being discussed on "Canada AM" on CTV up here in Canada this morning and it was pretty funny. I don't have a link to the video, but to paraphrase what happened, some pundit started in on how texting/twitter/facebook was causing drop in grammar scores. Then they went to the other person who said, "well actually, that's not what our data shows. There is a slight drop in grammar proficiency, but we don't know why."
There was an extremely pregnant pause, at which point the host did a "let's cut to a commercial and fire the producer" bit.
How is this any different than normal? Almost all DoD computers are mandated to have Windows installed, which has dozens of known vulnerabilities and untold more.
Not to mention Adobe reader or flash player which again are almost mandated everywhere.
First off, I will definitely try and find a way to remove this DRM when I buy my copy of either game, simply because of the annoyance factor. Only 3 installs? Please. I have blown thru way more than that trying to troubleshoot why a game keeps crashing or didn't patch right.
However, we cannot ignore the rampant piracy that exists within the PC game world. Take a read at this forum posting by a former producer of Titan Quest for another POV on the issue:
"Two, the numbers on piracy are really astonishing. The research I've seen pegs the piracy rate at between 70-85% on PC in the US, 90%+ in Europe, off the charts in Asia. I didn't believe it 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."
"So, before the game even comes out, we've got people bad-mouthing it because their pirated copies crash, even though a legitimate copy won't. We took a lot of shit on this, completely undeserved mind you. How many people decided to pick up the pirated version because it had this reputation and they didn't want to risk buying something that didn't work? Talk about your self-fulfilling prophecy."
This is why developers are starting to release games on the consoles first and then (maybe) on the PC. And also why more and more are considering models like Steam.
This was on CTV this morning (as Brian W)
This story was being discussed on "Canada AM" on CTV up here in Canada this morning and it was pretty funny. I don't have a link to the video, but to paraphrase what happened, some pundit started in on how texting/twitter/facebook was causing drop in grammar scores. Then they went to the other person who said, "well actually, that's not what our data shows. There is a slight drop in grammar proficiency, but we don't know why."
There was an extremely pregnant pause, at which point the host did a "let's cut to a commercial and fire the producer" bit.
This isn't news
How is this any different than normal? Almost all DoD computers are mandated to have Windows installed, which has dozens of known vulnerabilities and untold more.
Not to mention Adobe reader or flash player which again are almost mandated everywhere.
DRM is bad, but piracy IS a huge problem in PC gaming (as Brian W)
First off, I will definitely try and find a way to remove this DRM when I buy my copy of either game, simply because of the annoyance factor. Only 3 installs? Please. I have blown thru way more than that trying to troubleshoot why a game keeps crashing or didn't patch right.
However, we cannot ignore the rampant piracy that exists within the PC game world. Take a read at this forum posting by a former producer of Titan Quest for another POV on the issue:
http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4031
Quote:
"Two, the numbers on piracy are really astonishing. The research I've seen pegs the piracy rate at between 70-85% on PC in the US, 90%+ in Europe, off the charts in Asia. I didn't believe it 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."
"So, before the game even comes out, we've got people bad-mouthing it because their pirated copies crash, even though a legitimate copy won't. We took a lot of shit on this, completely undeserved mind you. How many people decided to pick up the pirated version because it had this reputation and they didn't want to risk buying something that didn't work? Talk about your self-fulfilling prophecy."
This is why developers are starting to release games on the consoles first and then (maybe) on the PC. And also why more and more are considering models like Steam.