This is basically a repeat of last year's "PC Piracy" lecture. We've already established that piracy is not exclusive to PC and that any arguments against the PC as a viable platform are null because they're essentially baseless.
We also previously pointed out that the sales of console games are significantly higher because of common sense: all game consoles are made for games (only), not all PC's are made for games. PC gamers will buy PC games and often develop strong product loyalty. PC gamers spend more on their hardware and are therefore more discerning with their purchases. Also, my personal favourite, PC players are very unlikely to spend any money on a subpar two-year-old console port or on a non-mouse/KB game that's been ported to PC with extremely limited configuration options.
I don't know when these things were established.
PC piracy is easily 10x more than console. Just search for torrents. PC piracy is easier and without consequence for the person stealing. XBL accounts are permanently banned all the time, and console piracy requires hardware modification.
Just ask the PSP how well it is doing after it was pirated up to its rear.
We also previously pointed out that the sales of console games are significantly higher because of common sense: all game consoles are made for games (only), not all PC's are made for games.
I think you missed the part where we compared it to video card sales. Video cards have only one purpose. Those stats were of video cards bought separately, and not of video cards bundled. Your logic is sound that PCs are general purpose. But we have stats on video card sales. By by your logic, something is most definitely wrong, when discreet gaming cards are outselling consoles, yet games are not.
Also, you are just simply ignoring the fact that PC games are pirated 10 times more.
Modern Warfare for example sold 14 million vs 2 million on the PC, yet on the PC the torrents were 10 times as many.
No offense to anyone, but I think the problem is that we all have pirated games at some point, and we'd all like to believe that our downloading doesn't adversely affect the industry, because it will mean feeling less guilty.
Let's be honest with ourselves. How many of us have pirated PC games and how many of us have pirated PS3 or Xbox games?
Also, my personal favourite, PC players are very unlikely to spend any money on a subpar two-year-old console port or on a non-mouse/KB game that's been ported to PC with extremely limited configuration options.
* How are games like Crysis, Call of Duty etc sub par ports?
* Why is it that high end video cards bought separately match consoles, yet the game sales do not? These video cards, like consoles, only come with one purpose. I am talking high end video cards here, not low end media focused cards.
* If PC gamers are simply not interested in games like Unreal Tournament, Crysis, and Modern Warfare, then why it is that while these games lag of the bottom of the sales lists, they make the top 5 torrent lists all over?
* Games which require permanent online connections to be enjoyed fully, like MMOs, all easily break the million sales marks. Even the shittiest MMOs sell a million copies (which is why they keep being made).
I am
not saying this is damning evidence. There is absolutely no way to measure the actual effect piracy has on gaming. But there are a lot of indications at hand here. And I agree with your logic that we can't compare PC sales to console sales because PCs are general purpose. Also, PCs in general outsell consoles by 40x.
No I don't think that every pirated game equates a loss in sale. I do agree that a lot of people pirate just for the sake of it, and wouldn't have bought the game otherwise.
But high end ($200+) discrete video card sales are higher than consoles. And by your logic, they have no other purpose. Even more so now, with on board video solutions good enough to watch full HD movies. I the end, it is simple economics to me. Two pieces of similar hardware, one outselling the other, yet its software isn't.
