Here are some reasons PC gaming is doomed to failure UNLESS we stand up and do something about it.
Just a brief history on me. I've been a gamer the vast majority of my life. Ever since I first played Super Mario Bros. 3 at a friend's house, I've been a lifetime gamer. I LOVE VIDEO GAMES. I specifically like PC gaming, as it is much more personal, generally higher quality, and it's just nice to see a hobby give me so much enjoyment.
I know and understand that everyone's seen those "pc gaming is dead" threads around the internet. Everyone's argued about consoles vs. PC's, it's all been done before and that's NOT why I'm posting this. I'm posting this as a general rally for assistance and guidance to the PC gaming market.
So, without further delay, here is why I believe PC gaming is destined to fail...
1) Dee......wait for it...... aRe........ just one more........ eM! DRM, aka Digital Rights Management. This is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to keep good people, well, GOOD. Any form of copy protection, anything that hinders you from doing whatever you want with your product, legal or otherwise, is grouped into this category. Everything from proprietary media (Microsoft's infamous 2mb floppy disks) to the currently debated and hated SECURom. If you have to "insert the correct CD/DVD" to play, that goes here, too. Essentially, this is what WILL KILL PC GAMING.
Now, this is tricky. If we all STOP BUYING the games with DRM (nearly all of the current titles, with a handful of exceptions), then the companies will most likely STOP MAKING the games for the PC out of lack of demand. If we hack and bypass their DRM (inevitable), then they'll try to make it better/stronger. If we ignore the problem, they'll keep doing what their eventual goal is: total control over their product. So, what do we do? THREATEN to stop buying? Only buy every other title? Only buy titles WITHOUT DRM? Only download on STEAM (or similar) to bypass the SECURom and "Insert DVD/CD" copy protection schemes? Only but certain types of DRM? Only buy games AFTER official "no DRM" patches are released?
Seriously, a LOT of people are saying "I won't buy your game if you have DRM on it." That's peachy and all, but that just means the companies are going to focus more of their money where their games are in demand, ie: Consoles. If you don't think this is true, then kindly explain why the majority of titles are released for consoles first, then the PC many months/years later (Resident Evil 4, anyone?). Since the HARDWARE is the copy protection, there's no need to restrict usage of their software. That is, in turn, a win-win scenario. Most people would rather play a non-DRM'ed, sharable, copyable, pirate-able copy of their software, even if is specific to a single platform. The company knows that the majority of console users have NO IDEA how to install a mod-chip or even copy software, thus making piracy a virtual non-issue.
The game makers insist that PIRACY kills PC gaming. They just don't understand how to release a product and make people WANT TO BUY their product. Like Photoshop. Was it any wonder that people were pirating a $600+ piece of software with the functionality and features of a free product (the GIMP)? Or Microsoft's Windows. Who really wanted to pay $200+ for BAD SOFTWARE that you are essentially FORCED to run if you want to do anything FUN with your PC (hey, I use and LOVE Linux, but lets be honest here). Piracy is a market, just like any other, and the game companies will have to accept this. It's a part of the cycle.
But what they're doing is going about it the WRONG WAY. It's like if you bought a gun and you could only chamber a round if you called the police first and had them electronically activate your weapon. After the criminal shoots you 10 times as you try to call and you die, MAYBE you should have gotten that "illegally hacked" firearm, huh?
My solution to the DRM problem: FORCE THEM TO REMOVE IT. It's plain, simple, and effective. Keep nagging, bitching, complaining, calling, bugging and forcing the companies to abide by the MARKET'S RULES. Don't let some money-hungry pig at the top of a corporation tell you what you can and can't do with something you paid for; YOU TELL THEM WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO! We make them exist, as consumers! So what if they're bigger/richer/stronger/smarter than you? There's HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF US! If we can just band together and let them know what they're doing is WRONG, they will have NO CHOICE but to give us what we want, which is DRM-free, "please insert CD/DVD" free, unrestricted and non-intrusive usage of a product we legally own a right to after purchase.
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The number 2 reason PC Gaming is going to die....
Difficulty in programming. It's odd, but the faster/more complicated the hardware becomes, the fewer games come out for the PC. Now, I'm certain that AMD and Intel didn't plan for things to go this way, and they're trying like hell to combat it with better developer tools. But, seriously, programming for 2+ CPU's, DirectX, varying system resources, a VERY buggy Operating System, and different hardware/driver bugs is REALLY FREAKING HARD! We need to press for something new. Something different and easy to program for.
In the console world, it's not hard to spot the most developer-friendly hardware. It's the one with the MOST games at any given time. All this boils down to a learning curve in the industry. The more a company has to fork out for "experienced" programmers who are specific to a special platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox, Playstation, etc...), the less they can focus on their product.
Yes, our CPU's are fast, our video cards are super computers, and we've got more ram than all the consoles throughout history COMBINED would have, but where's the software? Like it or not, PC software is extremely difficult to program correctly. You have to accommodate certain bugs for every platform, certain features, capabilities, and specifications. Then, you've got to take into account bugs in hardware/drivers. Then Customer support for Joe "My PC doesn't play this game because I'm using a 486." What's the solution to all of this?
The hardware solutions are consoles. We need a software solution. Software that either runs on top of our current OS (MacOS, Linux, Windows, etc...) and provides a FAST (very important!), efficient (no, not LUA, but just NOT buggy), FAMILIAR and simple interface for programmers and users. Think of it as a "virtual console." Not the VMWare type, but the real, direct-to-hardware via a sandbox type.
Most people would like Windows driver compatibility, Windows or MacOS feel/look, and functionality. So, we're still left with those OS'es, minus some junk we don't use. Instead of that, why don't we program a direct-to-hardware "piggyback OS" that uses our current OS as an interface? That's what DirectX attempts (and fails) to do, but we need to go a few steps farther. Like, every time I want to play a game, I have to open up a program that runs my games. No copy protection, since every user of this software is automatically registered, it has a simple and friendly copy protection scheme IN HARDWARE, and no reason for DRM. I wouldn't mind; I already use STEAM to launch all of my nearly DRM-Stripped versions of my software, so why would another "launcher" make a difference?
The main problem with this is SUPPORT. What incentive does a programmer have to learn to program for another platform? Are there plentiful, easy, smart, and powerful tools (compilers, debuggers, documentation, etc...) for him/her to use? Do enough people use this platform? Are there any negatives to using this platform performance or compatibility-wise? I'm not a programmer, so I don't know what else you guys need, but if you band together, make an open-source, platform-independent "console," I guarantee there will be adopters if it's good and worth while.
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The final reason I can think of why PC gaming is going to die is simply put: the "problematic software" mentality.
Who here hasn't experienced massive problems with a simple game, application or even just turning the damn computer on? Seriously, if you've been serious about computers for any decent time, you've most likely encountered these caveats. There usually is no explanation, no reason, to answer as to why these problems occur, aside from user error or a failed component. But what about "ease of use?" Computers are VERY general purpose. If you make them friendly and easy to use, you TAKE AWAY their functionality. Take Windows and Linux.
Windows is limited. I can't do certain things in Windows. It has gaping security holes that I can't fix myself, I can't disable certain parts of the OS I don't use, and if something terrible goes wrong (always freezes at boot due to a corrupt/broken/bad IDE driver for RAID), I can't fix it short of reinstalling the OS. But with Linux, I can fix all of this. Easily, too! But I can't play too many games in Linux, and honestly, nothing is more difficult to stare at than 80x25 text (yeah, I know, a few Framebuffer writes and I can make it transparent, pictured, VESA at 1600x1200 or higher, and all, but who really knows how to do that aside from a handful of elites?). The point: Function over form. Linux can do EVERYTHING Windows does and a thousand-times more. But it's horribly unfriendly (sorry Ubuntu), difficult to use, and just not compatible enough with certain hardware. Windows is form over function. It can do a lot, but nowhere NEAR what Linux allows you to do, but it's a lot more friendly (when it works), easy to look at, and easy to use. The more extreme applies to MacOS, but it is based on unix, so terminals and such are possible.
Anyhow, what do you people think?
Thank you for reading my thoughts,
CHayNZ
Just a brief history on me. I've been a gamer the vast majority of my life. Ever since I first played Super Mario Bros. 3 at a friend's house, I've been a lifetime gamer. I LOVE VIDEO GAMES. I specifically like PC gaming, as it is much more personal, generally higher quality, and it's just nice to see a hobby give me so much enjoyment.
I know and understand that everyone's seen those "pc gaming is dead" threads around the internet. Everyone's argued about consoles vs. PC's, it's all been done before and that's NOT why I'm posting this. I'm posting this as a general rally for assistance and guidance to the PC gaming market.
So, without further delay, here is why I believe PC gaming is destined to fail...
1) Dee......wait for it...... aRe........ just one more........ eM! DRM, aka Digital Rights Management. This is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to keep good people, well, GOOD. Any form of copy protection, anything that hinders you from doing whatever you want with your product, legal or otherwise, is grouped into this category. Everything from proprietary media (Microsoft's infamous 2mb floppy disks) to the currently debated and hated SECURom. If you have to "insert the correct CD/DVD" to play, that goes here, too. Essentially, this is what WILL KILL PC GAMING.
Now, this is tricky. If we all STOP BUYING the games with DRM (nearly all of the current titles, with a handful of exceptions), then the companies will most likely STOP MAKING the games for the PC out of lack of demand. If we hack and bypass their DRM (inevitable), then they'll try to make it better/stronger. If we ignore the problem, they'll keep doing what their eventual goal is: total control over their product. So, what do we do? THREATEN to stop buying? Only buy every other title? Only buy titles WITHOUT DRM? Only download on STEAM (or similar) to bypass the SECURom and "Insert DVD/CD" copy protection schemes? Only but certain types of DRM? Only buy games AFTER official "no DRM" patches are released?
Seriously, a LOT of people are saying "I won't buy your game if you have DRM on it." That's peachy and all, but that just means the companies are going to focus more of their money where their games are in demand, ie: Consoles. If you don't think this is true, then kindly explain why the majority of titles are released for consoles first, then the PC many months/years later (Resident Evil 4, anyone?). Since the HARDWARE is the copy protection, there's no need to restrict usage of their software. That is, in turn, a win-win scenario. Most people would rather play a non-DRM'ed, sharable, copyable, pirate-able copy of their software, even if is specific to a single platform. The company knows that the majority of console users have NO IDEA how to install a mod-chip or even copy software, thus making piracy a virtual non-issue.
The game makers insist that PIRACY kills PC gaming. They just don't understand how to release a product and make people WANT TO BUY their product. Like Photoshop. Was it any wonder that people were pirating a $600+ piece of software with the functionality and features of a free product (the GIMP)? Or Microsoft's Windows. Who really wanted to pay $200+ for BAD SOFTWARE that you are essentially FORCED to run if you want to do anything FUN with your PC (hey, I use and LOVE Linux, but lets be honest here). Piracy is a market, just like any other, and the game companies will have to accept this. It's a part of the cycle.
But what they're doing is going about it the WRONG WAY. It's like if you bought a gun and you could only chamber a round if you called the police first and had them electronically activate your weapon. After the criminal shoots you 10 times as you try to call and you die, MAYBE you should have gotten that "illegally hacked" firearm, huh?
My solution to the DRM problem: FORCE THEM TO REMOVE IT. It's plain, simple, and effective. Keep nagging, bitching, complaining, calling, bugging and forcing the companies to abide by the MARKET'S RULES. Don't let some money-hungry pig at the top of a corporation tell you what you can and can't do with something you paid for; YOU TELL THEM WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO! We make them exist, as consumers! So what if they're bigger/richer/stronger/smarter than you? There's HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF US! If we can just band together and let them know what they're doing is WRONG, they will have NO CHOICE but to give us what we want, which is DRM-free, "please insert CD/DVD" free, unrestricted and non-intrusive usage of a product we legally own a right to after purchase.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The number 2 reason PC Gaming is going to die....
Difficulty in programming. It's odd, but the faster/more complicated the hardware becomes, the fewer games come out for the PC. Now, I'm certain that AMD and Intel didn't plan for things to go this way, and they're trying like hell to combat it with better developer tools. But, seriously, programming for 2+ CPU's, DirectX, varying system resources, a VERY buggy Operating System, and different hardware/driver bugs is REALLY FREAKING HARD! We need to press for something new. Something different and easy to program for.
In the console world, it's not hard to spot the most developer-friendly hardware. It's the one with the MOST games at any given time. All this boils down to a learning curve in the industry. The more a company has to fork out for "experienced" programmers who are specific to a special platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox, Playstation, etc...), the less they can focus on their product.
Yes, our CPU's are fast, our video cards are super computers, and we've got more ram than all the consoles throughout history COMBINED would have, but where's the software? Like it or not, PC software is extremely difficult to program correctly. You have to accommodate certain bugs for every platform, certain features, capabilities, and specifications. Then, you've got to take into account bugs in hardware/drivers. Then Customer support for Joe "My PC doesn't play this game because I'm using a 486." What's the solution to all of this?
The hardware solutions are consoles. We need a software solution. Software that either runs on top of our current OS (MacOS, Linux, Windows, etc...) and provides a FAST (very important!), efficient (no, not LUA, but just NOT buggy), FAMILIAR and simple interface for programmers and users. Think of it as a "virtual console." Not the VMWare type, but the real, direct-to-hardware via a sandbox type.
Most people would like Windows driver compatibility, Windows or MacOS feel/look, and functionality. So, we're still left with those OS'es, minus some junk we don't use. Instead of that, why don't we program a direct-to-hardware "piggyback OS" that uses our current OS as an interface? That's what DirectX attempts (and fails) to do, but we need to go a few steps farther. Like, every time I want to play a game, I have to open up a program that runs my games. No copy protection, since every user of this software is automatically registered, it has a simple and friendly copy protection scheme IN HARDWARE, and no reason for DRM. I wouldn't mind; I already use STEAM to launch all of my nearly DRM-Stripped versions of my software, so why would another "launcher" make a difference?
The main problem with this is SUPPORT. What incentive does a programmer have to learn to program for another platform? Are there plentiful, easy, smart, and powerful tools (compilers, debuggers, documentation, etc...) for him/her to use? Do enough people use this platform? Are there any negatives to using this platform performance or compatibility-wise? I'm not a programmer, so I don't know what else you guys need, but if you band together, make an open-source, platform-independent "console," I guarantee there will be adopters if it's good and worth while.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The final reason I can think of why PC gaming is going to die is simply put: the "problematic software" mentality.
Who here hasn't experienced massive problems with a simple game, application or even just turning the damn computer on? Seriously, if you've been serious about computers for any decent time, you've most likely encountered these caveats. There usually is no explanation, no reason, to answer as to why these problems occur, aside from user error or a failed component. But what about "ease of use?" Computers are VERY general purpose. If you make them friendly and easy to use, you TAKE AWAY their functionality. Take Windows and Linux.
Windows is limited. I can't do certain things in Windows. It has gaping security holes that I can't fix myself, I can't disable certain parts of the OS I don't use, and if something terrible goes wrong (always freezes at boot due to a corrupt/broken/bad IDE driver for RAID), I can't fix it short of reinstalling the OS. But with Linux, I can fix all of this. Easily, too! But I can't play too many games in Linux, and honestly, nothing is more difficult to stare at than 80x25 text (yeah, I know, a few Framebuffer writes and I can make it transparent, pictured, VESA at 1600x1200 or higher, and all, but who really knows how to do that aside from a handful of elites?). The point: Function over form. Linux can do EVERYTHING Windows does and a thousand-times more. But it's horribly unfriendly (sorry Ubuntu), difficult to use, and just not compatible enough with certain hardware. Windows is form over function. It can do a lot, but nowhere NEAR what Linux allows you to do, but it's a lot more friendly (when it works), easy to look at, and easy to use. The more extreme applies to MacOS, but it is based on unix, so terminals and such are possible.
Anyhow, what do you people think?
Thank you for reading my thoughts,
CHayNZ
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