PC Games need to deliver the goods to compete!

Don't blame pirates for PC game sales decline

Published on July 20, 2004 By Draginol In PC Gaming

This article from "Elf-Inside" about his experiences with games and with Stardock really underscores where the PC game industry needs to go. He has a really good analogy:

When I buy a pizza, I expect to get a pizza. I expect it with the toppings I order, and I expect it to be delivered promptly. By calling Domino's or Papa John's, I've contractually agreed to pay for a pizza when it arrives. But if the deliverman shows up 2 hours late, with cold pizza, with Anchovies instead of Peperoni, then, no, I'm not going to pay for that. The problem with typical game publishers, is they expect you to eat that pizza, and be happy for it. You paid for hot pepperoni, and got cold anchovies, but you have no recourse.

Which is so true. It is also one of the reasons why I think the console market is really starting to eat the PC's lunch. I've been outright hostile to consoles for years but even I find myself starting to buy console games. Why? Because they work out of the box. I don't have to "Wait for the first patch" to play the games.

And PC games have a perfect storm of bad habits:

First, I am expected to devote hundreds of megabytes to them. Okay, I can live with that.
But then they expect me to keep the CD in the drive.
And then I usually have to keep track of a little tiny paper serial number (usually taped to the back of the CD jacket).
And all that so that I can play a game that needs a couple of patches to play.

And when the PC sales go down, what's the reported reason? Piracy of course. Yea, it's piracy. Sure. In my experience of writing games, it's not pirates ripping us off of our hard earned money, it's been publishers. The tale of Galactic Civilizations is very similar to the tale of Swamp Castle from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The other developers told me I was daft to write a space based strategy game for OS/2! So I wrote Galactic Civilizations for OS/2. I was a college student back then so I couldn't afford to get it into the stores. So a publisher called Advanced Idea Machines "published" it. They never paid us royalties and disappeared soon after. Since I had no money, I couldn't afford a lawyer at the time.

So I got smart. Stardock would publish the OS/2 sequel Galactic Civilizations II. So we made the game, manufactured the boxes, took care of all the marketing and getting it into the stores. And just to be safe, we had two distributors. One called Micro Central and the other one called Blue Orchards. Both went went out of business owing us hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That particular incident nearly wiped out Stardock.

But no matter, we recovered. We clawed our way back up and made it into the Windows market. We decided to make a Windows version and we decided to work with a well known publisher on it (Strategy First). This time everything would go perfectly...

Well, that was a year and a half ago and we're still waiting for royalty payments on most of their sales. But this time, we had an out -- direct electronic sales. People were able to buy the game directly from us and download the game.

So don't talk to me about piracy. It's not the pirates that have ripped us off of hundreds of thousands in lost royalties. It's been "Real businesses" doing that thank you very much. The position of royalty eating parasite has already been taken.

It's the demographic of people who allegedly do all this pirating that's been paying our bills. People with Internet connections who download games. They pay my salary. They are my overlord now. So I hope you can excuse me if I don't lose sleep at night that some 15 year old might have downloaded my game while some executive at a company (or former company) is sailing on their boat paid for by my hard work. The software pirate can go to jail on a felony, the business executive who doesn't pay royalties gets off the hook.

So yea, tell me again how I need to put some dongle or whatever on my game to keep 15 year olds from pirating? When our contract with publishers forces them to wear a shock collar that I can press a button to shock them if royalties aren't paid on time then we'll talk about forcing customers to deal with massive copy protection. But it's not the pirates I worry about.

I'm sure that Galactic Civilizations is pirated somewhere. But I highly doubt it's pirated in significant quantities. I know it sold over 100,000 copies out there. But people didn't pirate it much. Why? Because we didn't force them to pirate it. We didn't make someone have to create a CD crack so that they could play it on their laptop on the plane where the CD drive is replaced with an extra battery. We didn't make them have to download "patches" to get the game working. The version of Galactic Civilizations that won Editor's Choice Awards from most of the major PC game publications was the 1.0 version out of the box. And we encouraged people to pay their hard earned dollars for the game by giving them value by putting out updates after release. We put out a bunch of free updates that added tons of features. A BonusPak, a free expansion pack. Heck, GalCiv 1.21 is due out this week! You want to fight piracy, don't give people a reason to pirate.

In fairness, the retail version of The Political Machine will have a CD check. However, the electronic version from TotalGaming.net will not and users of the boxed version will be able to forgo the CD check after January 1, 2005 as part of our compromise with our publisher. A win-win since the main problem with CD checks is losing the CD or damaging it in the long term and it satisfies the publisher's concern over "0 day warez" sites (though it'll still get pirated I'm sure).

I think that's a major reason consoles are starting to really crush the PC game market. People are getting fed up. They're getting a cold pizza and being told to lump it. It doesn't have to bet that way.

For example, The Political Machine comes out in August. We plan to have a free update available for it on the first week that adds some new features and extra goodies. There will be "bug" fixes but they'll likely be bugs no one would run into. And we'll put out updates as regularly as Ubi Soft will let us (unlike with GalCiv, The Political Machine updates have to go through Ubi Soft's outstanding QA department).

We don't do this because we're nice. We do it because it is good business. If the competing technology (consoles) can't be updated with new stuff after release, then you should exploit that advantage. And that means add new features, not use the Internet to supply updates that finish the game!

I'm not against copy protection schemes on the PC because I'm some sort of flower child developer. I'm against them because they're bad business. They discourage people from buying PC games in the first place. Once you make someone have to hunt down a CD crack, you've set them on the path of pirating the whole game and future games.

That's what I hope to see TotalGaming.net prevent. Make it a no-brainer for someone to purchase games electronically by keeping costs reasonable and make using the games they've purchased easy and convenient. After all, it's their pizza, deliver it to them as they want and they'll support you with future orders.

Comments (Page 7)

Spectre-63

on Jul 23, 2004

unfortunate, Draginol, that you were another one of the developers drawn in by Strat First....their botched handling of Strike Fighters: Project 1 (not to mention some poor management on the part of the dev, imo) virtually sunk the title right out of the gate (Strat First actually released the preview code as if it were a full-fledged title to WalMart).

As an article in PCGamer I read years ago stated: we as consumers need to show the publishers that we're smart consumers - don't buy titles when they first come out on the shelf (at least not until we've returned to the days when you COULD buy a new game and be reasonably certain that it would work if you followed the directions), if it doesn't work - RETURN IT. Only when releasing an unfinished title starts COSTING the publisher more than they make by doing so will we start seeing them begin to allow the devs the time they need to complete their testing. It'd be nice to return to the days where 1.0 MEANT 1.0 and not .910.

While the titles you're currently offering aren't ones I'd be interested in, I'll keep watching TotalGaming.net in hopes of seeing some that do...I'd rather support (worthy) developers directly than continue to grease the palms that have been so happily ripping me off over the last 6 or so years....

My two cents worth...

Draginol

on Jul 23, 2004

While we don't always agree in our politics, I must say that you have really enlightened me about the gaming industry, and I was especially interested by your experience with Strategy First, as it puts some of the other stories that I've read/heard about them in the past 2 years into perspective.

One quick comment on politics, I'm actually not that political, I just magnify my views and post on them to help keep discussion on them going. I'd much prefer to talk about the latest video card tech or OS techs.

Regarding Strategy First. I should say that I *like* Strategy First but the problem with financially struggling companies is that they can take down good developers with them. Not too many game developers could afford to absorb 6 digits in missing royalties.

rikkie

on Jul 24, 2004

Also : these days it seems Games are produced for the sole reason of pushing sales up ( classy graphics don't make a good game ) . BAck in the "old " days - talking about CBM 64, Spectrum , Amiga days - developers had very little memory and CPU ( and other hardware ) to work with so they had to be very creative indeed . These days - with the advent of incredibly sophisticated hardware - they can opt to produce very attractive graphics with little or no gameplay . I can name a number of games I bought last couple of months which suffered from this ( prime example being Tomb Raider : Angel of Darkness ) .In the old days developers had to make for the lack of sophisticated graphics by superior gameplay . Because the sales-argument is the prime concern for most major companies these days , it's not uncommon for them to push a game - by means of marketing and advertising - very hard and then release it before it's even finished . This is ONE of the reasons why piracy is so common ( the other reason being very obvious : the unwillingness to pay for anything ) .

In this respect an ineternet-games release makes more sense : you can offer a game in its beta-stage and then add all kinds of improvements free of charge for the people who bough a license ( including bug-fixes ) . That way there's no need to "rush " the developers into releasing an unfinished product and the gamers get what they want in the end : a very good game .

Let's face it : most of the games being released today are simply below-par in terms of gameplay ( and are only boasting incredible graphics ) and have no staying power whatsoever . Until this marketing-driven policy is being addressed nothing much will change I'm afraid .

Rik Wessels

noPANTS

on Jul 24, 2004

Nice. Plus the games you were making then are 50 times funner than the drivel that we have now. Last few monts ive been playing X-com and system shock 2. games i bought, actually two copies of SS2 for multiplayer. Publishers are losing money cause they are making crap.

Grayson

on Jul 24, 2004

Amen. A great example of this is Neverwinter Nights. A fantastic game made by a great company, but produced by Atari, who have slapped a POS CD-check on the game. I cannot play the game (and the two sequels I bought) without a no-CD crack. The stupid GD anti-piracy check times out 95% of the time. So I "pirate" a game I frigging own, just so I can play it. How's that for bitter irony?

George Dorn

on Jul 24, 2004

The Political Machine updates have to go through Ubi Soft's outstanding QA department).

Well, you had me up to here. Are we talking about the same Ubi Soft's outstanding QA department that also aproved the outstanding Far Cry patches that did wonderfully outstanding things like cause the game to completely stop working?

Jurenic

on Jul 25, 2004

Excellent article! Publishing companies are continually gobbling up these small developers and forming some sort of a uber-PC-monopolization all across the globe? This is going to kill the game industry.

Why, I remember back in the day when I could by an old 8-bit nintendo games on sale for $10. They want me to pay $60 for some of the new titles? Give me a break!? Where do they get off? And, now this subscription craze... where does it end?

On top of that (like mentioned in the article) the games aren't fully completed because of some publishers deadline, and they are just hard to play (always putting in the CD).

I think with the evolution of getting game development tools into the hands of gamers... we are going to see a revolution thats going to buck this coorperate view of gamming. Case in point:

http://www.wildfiregames.com/0ad/

I've been watching these guys for over a year, and I think they have a chance to put out a game that will rival some of the 'big' developers... and its going to be free?!

Look for the future of affordable PC gamming in garage games.

Jurenic

Toes Up

on Jul 28, 2004

Excellent article. As George Dorn said, you had me up until you said Ubi's QA department was excellent. While they've made some of my favorite, and IMO some of the most innovative games in recent times, and Michel Ancel is my favorite game dev hands down....Their QA and Marketing departments are comprised of the most incompetent fools I've ever laid eyes on.

Beyond Good & Evil, my favorite game of all time, passed of by many as kiddy, developed by my favorite game dev Michel Ancel, had the potential to be a complete blockbuster, sell millions of copies. But Ubi's idiot marketing advisors, decided to make it an 'experiment' to test gaming community strength; the NA Vice Pres for Ubi admitted this. The idea was to release a game with lots of potential, that would get rave reviews, and practically anyone who played would fall in love with.....but give it next to none marketing (2 ads in gaming mags, one mythological TV ad); thus testing gaming community strength, i.e. word of mouth. As anyone with a brain could have told them, with no marketing, released at the same time as PoP: Sands of Time, and XIII, which got lots of marketing, it totally bombed. Because it bombed, they released one official patch for it that makes it compatible with older AMD CPUs, that also seems to trigger bugs, the community managed to make an unofficial patch, and some tools that sort of fixed that shit. So now we're left with an innovative game, a story that was meant in it's creation to continue on into a trilogy of games, unofficial patches (console people are fucked over, no patches for them), and Michel Ancel's masterpiece is left with no plans to be finished.

My advice to you Brad, after this game, avoid Ubisoft like the plague.

A bitter fan

delaron

on Jul 29, 2004

I used to purchase at least one game a month back in my high school days. I loved playing the newest real time strategy games, and some others like dungeon keeper. I liked EB and Software ETC's policy of return. I didn't mind when they went to store credit on returns because I usually wanted a game, if I returned it, I got another. Its just that, some games SUCKED, and/or they didn't work with my PC. I do not like buying suck. Some say demo's work, but alot of games do not have demo's, or they are hard to find, or you find out about them too late. or your connection was dial-up in the days of 100M demos, now they are going up to 400M a demo sometimes. Even on a broadband connection that is nothing to sneeze at.

What I am getting at is Things have conspired to make me not buy games anymore unless absofreakinglutely sure that I am going to play this game and like it. And I can't be sure unless I play the game, but if I have to buy it and can't return it, and have no demo, I must read the tips on the box, and/or read other peoples comments, but even then, its not going to tell me if I am going to like the game. I can see why people would pirate the game with my above reasoning, but I do not pirate, mainly cuz im too lazy, and like the network play on most games to fuss with a companies religious efforts to ban pirates from thier networks.

I like only a few publishers anymore, Gas Powered Games with Chris Taylor has my support, Total Anihilation ruled, and Dungeon siege was good while I played it. Philosophy was that people could mod to thier hearts content, and he even put out the expansion pack with the full version of DS with it at a lower price than it originally came out for when the expansion was released. Now That I respect.

used to be that a game was 50bucks on release, EB usually had it 5bucks cheaper than normal retail, so I got it thier, then during the boom years EB was selling them for 39.99 for MOST new releases, which was cool, made me go into the stores to actually look for the games I might want to read the box on. Then come the Bust years in the last 2 or 3, something was altered, the smaller boxes were spose to herald in a new age of cost, lower mainly due to storage space, production costs, etc...but its funny, the price of new games has rebounded back up, to 49-50bucks for MOST new games, some even get rediculous at 55bucks (silly microsoft games)...What affect does this have on me? some people don't think 10bucks is that big a deal, but the marketers have it right, when they go 49.99 instead of 50, its all about perception, I can't afford 50bucks, but 40bucks? sure (shhh dont tell em its 49.99) Now, I don't even bother going into the stores anymore cuz of the return policies AND the raised prices, for what amounts to expansion sets to games that you pay a service fee on (MMORPS/ORFS/ORGS whatever) Shouldn't they give you the expansion for FREE, you are afterall financing thier world with your anual aren't you?

All this rant has one affect on me, one of apathy after awhile, yes I have been playing games for over 15 years now, 20 if you really want to get technical, but I still enjoy, want to enjoy, would LIKE to enjoy a good game every now and then, without having to break the bank, take a roll of the dice to see if it will be good, and not be crapped on by the publishers/producers who think I might be a pirate, so make it quite annoying to even play the game with CD keys, needing CD's to play being just a few...

Sorry for the long winded exposition, but, the finality of it is, I saw a link to this intriguing site (I hate being one of the followers, but I was) from the afformentioned Penny-arcade.com. I said to myself, with just the games listed, I could get my value out of them, even if I played only 1 or 2 of them. Heck I had even purchased one of them awhile back (O.R.

as I loved Homeworld, and it was sposedly simular (actually quite simular after playing it). Even more value to me was the promise of new games added to the subscription over the coming year. And, the way I figure, if the $50 re-up fee is still kept when I go to renew and the service has maintained what it said it would, then I figure the money would be worth it to stay on for another term to support it.

If there is only one thing that does turn me off a little but, it is the fact that some of these games are a bit dated, if not quite dated. which does not mean that they are any less decent, but, it won't always attract the number of people who want the newest, biggest, best graphics, or other game play etc...

100

delaron

on Jul 29, 2004

Now, I have had an idea in the last while of time. I have thought of in the past, that there are many sites out there who like housing out of production games, because well, you can't get them anymore in any retail channel. Software companies do not like this, bad bad piraters they say. These people hosting the software say 'good good, we save these games from doom and gloom, otherwise, where would they be, in your vaults collecting dust making you nothing ANYWAY'.

Idea expands into the older software arena, and maybe the principles behind this operation are thinking this way too, but to approach (I trademark, patent, and copyright this idea unless prior art exists

, so pay me due proceeds) publishers to create an archive of older software coupled with software such as stardock (which seems perfect delivery medium) to be put into the system on specific sunset dates set by the publisher. Publishers should not expect to make a ton of money on such archive, but if setup like the new totalgaming subs, it could be a nice anciliary source of income from games that normally wouldn't be produced and made any money off of. Course sunset dates would be a tricky thing, and some publishers would get greedy of course, but games 3-4 years out of print (except those pesky blizzard titles) generally have no shelf life, heck, even ones 1 or 2 years are generally forgotten by marketters...

I assume of course the company like stardock would need to employ some coders to keep the games up to date (to a point) on the new graphics and audio, or at least tweak things so they dont crash. But I think most people could still install a good game of dungeon keeper, or Total Anihilation right?

Price the system right for an Annual membership, or split it up into monthlies that are a little more over the long haul...

Such a repository of old games depending on the library size, and number of publishers could get my 20bucks a month, or 99bucks a year sub for games the publishers dont even make anymore...

101

Rab

on Aug 02, 2004

Well said Brad and many others. I too get annoyed that I have to go learn how to crack security so I can play a game I have paid money for, eg trying to run DK2 on XP, no-cd hacks etc. On the last point, on mag cover I got a full version of Alcohol 52% which stores CD images and mounts them on virtual drives. Worked for Diablo 2 (definitely) and Call of Duty(I think). However every few weeks I had to re-install it. Still made life easier though and it didn't destroy the images just lost track of them somehow.
The thing is, obviously there are a lot of smart experienced geeks out there who get annoyed at the security software interrupting their game play. And what do people like that like to do when they encounter a tech problem? Correct. So they're almost recruiting for the enemy.

102

psychx

on Aug 02, 2004

Great article Brad it gives you give us a different perspective of the pc gamin industry and pirating from a developers view point

You want to fight piracy, don't give people a reason to pirate.

Exactly, the U.S. Congress is currently debating a broad bill that is designed to fight piracy, although it's all encompassing and threatens more than just pirating. This bill could outlaw anything that induces anyone to commit pirating. That basically threatens anything that can hold pirated software, music etc to anything that burns it. Things like the IPod could be threatened by this bill. I wrote an article about it if anyone's interested. Here is the Link

103

Rasterman

on Aug 03, 2004

Did you ever think the reason the consols are growing so much more is that MS and Sony are dumping BILLIONS into marketing them when a few years ago Nintendo and Sega spent nothing on marketing (compared to today)?

More reasons: consols taylor to specific game types that are more mainstream, they're cheaper, and software for them is cheaper. Don't blame piracy, pc game quality, or people for a shinking or crappy pc market. The PC market has actually been growing, just not as fast as the consol market for the simple fact that MS shifted its gaming focus to the consol for a while.

Yes you've been burned by publishers it sounds like, stop crying and go indie, I agree they totally suck which is why I went indie with all my games. Maybe if you had done the same like Apogee back then who knows where you would be? Building an X-Prize plane and sailing on your own fleet of boats? hehe...

104

historyishere

on Aug 07, 2004

In talking about the new total-gaming.net site, the Wargamer mentions this article.

http://www.wargamer.com/articles/behind_the_lines_20/page2.asp

105

Madman

on Aug 24, 2004

See, thats why people stick to emulation

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