Will it be steam based?

[MatrixTheKitty]

no more steam please!!! if you off your conection you are dead... please steam no!!!

Uh no. You can play your steam games offline.

 

[DPyro]

Consoles are killing PC gaming because they're slightly easier to prevent people pirating console games.

Nope.

 

[azzaman333]

Consoles having been beating PC gaming numerous reasons: complexity to use(now gone), hardware requirements(gave way a litte), limited space given to them in stores due to box size(increase to no longer even existing video game stores), and AC2 level drm(big reason for piracy). But pirating isn't bane of PC gaming that companies like to make you believe.

Nope.

If the companies are saying that piracy is the reason they're focusing on console gaming, I think that's a pretty damn good reason to say piracy is a major reason why consoles are killing PC games.

Valve is one of the exceptions, being almost solely focused on PC games.

 

[BigBirdZ28]

I want the box in my hand with the attractive box art and the ability to hold the CD in my hand. I won't accept anything else.

I agree.

I never have & never will buy ANY game with DRM. Had to cancel plans for several titles because of DRM & I will continue doing it.

 

[negZero]

I agree.

I never have & never will buy ANY game with DRM. Had to cancel plans for several titles because of DRM & I will continue doing it.

So I guess you play no games then? All games including those made by Stardock have a form of DRM.

 

[civ_king]

I'm pretty sure he means intrusive DRM

 

[-FC-Commando]

Im using Steam since 2002 and wish all my games could be on them. But back on topic, I recently bought Battlefied : Bad Company 2 and it has the best DRM available. You can choose two install options : offline & online. Offline you install the game and have to have the cd in youre drive to start the game. Or online which gives you 10 installs and you get a online refund if you uninstall the game while being online. I chose the offline method. Great work EA, giving me a choice really helped me get over my Spore DRM phobia.

 

[DPyro]

If the companies are saying that piracy is the reason they're focusing on console gaming, I think that's a pretty damn good reason to say piracy is a major reason why consoles are killing PC games.

Valve is one of the exceptions, being almost solely focused on PC games.

Which companies? If you're referring to Ubisoft, EA, Activision, etc then nothing of value was lost. The vast majority of PC sales are through online downloads, which aren't usually taken into account in sales compared to console games. PC video game revenue is still increasing.

 

[azzaman333]

Which companies? If you're referring to Ubisoft, EA, Activision, etc then nothing of value was lost. The vast majority of PC sales are through online downloads, which aren't usually taken into account in sales compared to console games. PC video game revenue is still increasing.

You're wrong.

 

[DPyro]

You're wrong.

Despite fears about the languishing PC game industry, revenue seems to have grown a bit in 2009. According to PC Gaming Alliance's Horizons Report, revenue hit $13.1 billion in 2009, versus $11 billion in 2008.
...
As expected, given the rise in digital distribution, packaged game sales have dropped for a second year, now accounting for just 20 percent of PC game revenue.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/pc-gaming-revenue-grew-in-2009-as-retail-pc-game-sales-shrank/

 

[azzaman333]

I should've been more specific. If EA/Ubisoft/Activision pull out completely from PC games, it will die.

Also, I'd be interested to see how PC game sales compares to console games.

 

[DPyro]

I should've been more specific. If EA/Ubisoft/Activision pull out completely from PC games, it will die.

Also, I'd be interested to see how PC game sales compares to console games.

I'm sure EA, Ubisoft, and Activision make much more money from consoles than PC's. If they pull out, with the advent of Steam, D2D, and other direct publishing methods, other publishers will take over their market share easily. COD: Modern Warfare 2 is a pivotal turning point in which a game franchise that was originally designed for PC was not only rebuilt for consoles, it was rebuilt primarily for consoles and released on the PC market as a direct port lacking standard PC gaming features (dedicated servers, for one). I can't see Activision turning out PC-orientated franchises in the future. EA will always follow the money, which'll be consoles since they are losing their supply chain publishing advantage to digital downloading services. And Ubisoft...with the worst DRM scheme in history, or at least of all the ones I know, can go DIAF.

 

[History_Buff]

I should've been more specific. If EA/Ubisoft/Activision pull out completely from PC games, it will die.

Why would PC gaming die with those guys exactly? PC gaming existed long before any of them, and the games I play and await (Civ V excepted I think) are produced and published by groups other than these guys.

 

[azzaman333]

Why would PC gaming die with those guys exactly? PC gaming existed long before any of them, and the games I play and await (Civ V excepted I think) are produced and published by groups other than these guys.

You lose three of the major PC devs, you lose a lot of PC gamers.

The less PC gamers, the smaller the market, other devs will prefer to focus on console games or casual games.

 

[PieceOfMind]

You lose three of the major PC devs, you lose a lot of PC gamers.

The less PC gamers, the smaller the market, other devs will prefer to focus on console games or casual games.

I don't agree. It's easy to turn this argument completely around:
If the biggest three PC devs drop out, all of a sudden the remaining PC devs have a much larger chunk of the market share. The market might even become more competitive.

Secondly, it's not as if PC gamers up and sell their machines when there aren't any games to buy, unless they don't actually already own any games, but how then can they be called gamers?

PC is the most universal platform for playing games and there is IMO no need to fear that PC gaming will ever disappear. There will always be someone to fill the gaps if there is money to be made.

 

[azzaman333]

The major problem is that, apart from a handful of developers, PC games are either MMOs, or casual games due to the much greater costs of creating a big game.

 

[oldbear38]

There are a great many of us who have little or no access to Steam or other internet based systems due to our locations or extremely slow phone based systems. I've already passed on several games I would have normally bought because of that requirement. The PC gaming industry is killing itself due to its various regulations and requirements for "anti-piracy" protocols. If the Ninentendo set ever come up with good replayable or save able strategy games the PC is dead.

 

[negZero]

There are a great many of us who have little or no access to Steam or other internet based systems due to our locations or extremely slow phone based systems. I've already passed on several games I would have normally bought because of that requirement. The PC gaming industry is killing itself due to its various regulations and requirements for "anti-piracy" protocols. If the Ninentendo set ever come up with good replayable or save able strategy games the PC is dead.

Okay am getting a little tired over having to say this Steam only needs you to connect to the internet once a month. ONCE A MONTH. ONCE A MONTH. So you the guy that goes off buys the disc version will only need to connect to the internet to let Steam servers say hello and cya in a month.

 

[ori]

Okay am getting a little tired over having to say this Steam only needs you to connect to the internet once a month. ONCE A MONTH. ONCE A MONTH. So you the guy that goes off buys the disc version will only need to connect to the internet to let Steam servers say hello and cya in a month.

There are quite a few people in this world who pay a lot for their bandwidth - as well as people who play on machines that are not connected to the internet at all - for any such people an online registration/activation would be an additional expense - but any regular type of forced connection would mean regular expenses and/or hassle for playing a game that does not require internet connection for functionality purposes. As such I'd be strongly against it.

 

[mjs0]

I have seen several previews now where Firaxis are quoted as recognizing that a significant number of their customers like to play civ when on the road (at airports/on planes was specifically mentioned I believe). This seems like pretty good evidence that

1. a constant connection is extremely unlikely no matter how pessimistic one likes to be!
2. (off topic) support for laptops with their often poor graphics options is important to them

It doesn't say anything about steam one way or the other but should reduce the worry level about how intrusive DRM is likely to be to defcon2 at least.