Jess
http://www.web-privacy.pro.tc

Here is one link I found by googling for “pc market compared to consoles”: http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/11/study-pc-gaming.html

PS. The article linked says there have been sold 196M Gaming PCs and 75M consoles. There are no numbers for computers being sold not specifically as a gaming pc but still are used to play computer games. The 10/1 figure I saw was an article I read a long time ago so I can’t confirm the validity of that.

I don’t agree pirating is good practice, but the level of abuse and the way some publishers are there are encouraging people to steal their game just as much as the incentive of only able to play a game offline for free.

The harsh restrictions, DRM etc. are a last effort to keep the platform afloat. If the piracy on the PC/Mac continues as is, all major publishers will cease releasing new titles for the PC/Mac.

Not buying these games, although you would love to play them, only furthers the idea that publishing PC/Mac games is not worth it anymore. You’re only accelerating the process. It seems that the demise of PC/Mac as a gaming platform is inevitable…

I recently purchased Spore for my daughter, but after the support issues around the DRM and the extra crud that gets installed I can’t see buying any more games from EA, its more headaches than its worth.

Most frustrating is the repeated statements made by EA executives and other public representatives of EA that illustrate their hubris, lack of understanding of the matter, and simply not getting the gaming community.

I have never pirated a game, or any other software, nor do I intend to do so.

EA, you may think that you are losing money to piracy, but you haven’t seen anything yet–destroying your own customer base will be far more devastating.

Yeah, that’s a demand

My view on overly invasive/secrete DRM hasn’t softened – but I’ve heard that EA is looking to use steam to digitally distribute their games *without* SecuROM. That may edge me towards trying something like Mirrors Edge. I’m just not sure yet. I’m still very wary about giving EA any of my money right now.

“To do this, simply enter your existing code, and then for the last character, try the letters A-Z, and then the numbers 0-9. You should eventually get the right combination, and be able to play the game. If this does not work, you can follow the instructions below.”

All these words and phrases like ‘basically’, ’simply’, ‘bypass the problem’…they get to me.

The whole thing is like being in a restauraunt, having your meal arrive but missing the cutlery, and then the waiter suggesting you use your fingers whilst he goes and gets some for you. SOME restaurants you can get away with this. I do not expect the EA restaraunt to be like.

Maybe it is something to do with feeling that big obnoxious corporations should bend over backwards to make you happy when communicating with you, to make up for everything else.

“To do this, simply enter your existing code, and then for the last character, try the letters A-Z, and then the numbers 0-9. You should eventually get the right combination, and be able to play the game. If this does not work, you can follow the instructions below.”

All these words and phrases like ‘basically’, ’simply’, ‘bypass the problem’…they get to me.

The whole thing is like being in a restauraunt, having your meal arrive but missing the cutlery, and then the waiter suggesting you use your fingers whilst he goes and gets some for you. SOME restaurants you can get away with this. I do not expect the EA restaraunt to be like.

Maybe it is something to do with feeling that big obnoxious corporations should bend over backwards to make you happy when communicating with you, to make up for everything else.

When Red Alert 3 was released, many copies were missing the last digit of the serial code. The official solution at the time was to try every letter until you find the right one, but I felt the wording was somewhat patronising. It could be that it’s just me who thought this, so judge for yourself:

“If you are trying to install Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 and the code is only 19 characters long, then it is missing the last letter or number. This was due to a misprint on a small number of manuals and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused,”

“There is currently a work around that may allow you to bypass this issue. Since you have the first 19 characters of the code already, you can basically try ‘guessing’ the last character,”

It then offered a link to follow if people wanted an alternate method (probably mail ordering another manual).

If it were me writing that, I would have offered to send a new manual FIRST, and THEN offered the must easier but unorthadox solution, and would have done it in a much less wishy-washy way and certainly without suggesting that people GUESS the missing digit, like its some sort of fun game.

To be fair, this was probably written by just one person whose job is not customer relations, but it does feel pretty unprofessional and just another jab in the side from an already obnoxious corporate entity.

The best public relations management in the world can not spin abuse of a playerbase into anything positive for a game company. It’s sad that people put up with abuse from governments, utility providers, and bosses, but those are things essential to life. Video games are by no means a necessity.

This means that, EA, you’ll continue to make money and those who don’t care how they’re treated will keep you afloat. However, I would not define the mere ability of the average EA coder to put food on the table as success when proper relations with your customers would put that coder in a nice new BMW.

Gamers, recognize that being treated poorly by companies like EA is a growing thrend and that you’ll need to start talking with your wallet if you don’t like it. And you don’t. But you won’t. This has all been done before.

I’m not going to hang around their corner any more to see how many more kicks in the balls they’re going to deal out.

That’s only one point in my post. DRM, and the EULAs still stink in my book so no more EA for me.

Also, when requesting that someone do something, make it a request, not a demand. Okay? Thanks.