Share this article: Digg.comFacebookGoogle BookmarksN4GGamerblipsdel.icio.usRedditSlashdot.orgStumbleUpon NOW WITH DRM!!!! Does this title come with DRM and if so how heavy handed is the setup? Fallout 3's DRM SecuROM was fairly light handed as these things go although it still makes me unhappy and if it happens again I'm not sure I'll buy their products. Which publisher is responsible for Mirror's Edge release? EA, so good heavy handed comercially offputting only install me thrice DRM.
And people are wondering why the PC market is dieing on its feet? Thanks for the "Heads-up". The PC gaming market isn't dying; it may however end up turning away from the chumps running companies like EA and instead favour companies like Starforge with their approach as seen in Sins Of A Solar Empire. There is also the daily password gimmick as seen in certain MMOs which might also make the transition to non-MMOs though I can see that facing some severe criticism as well. please please dont limit the installs. I dont want to have to buy this on ps 3 I stopped gaming on PC when i went to uni about 3 years ago because i couldn't afford the constant upgrading anymore. The gap is for the best part closed between PC and console now and the increasingly maniacle efforts of big companies to impose thier will upon consumers is only driving more people away.
why pay £30 for a game that will become an attractive coaster if your PC breaks or you upgrade.
The PC market can't afford to turn away from EA and the other big sofware houses. They did that and it would well and truely be sunk.
However the only thing DRM has shown us is that people will always find a work around. I'm not convinced. If EA disappeared there are other medium and large publishers. If history is any indicator usually when a vacuum appears someone or something fills it eventually. It is also possible as you indicated that the PC gaming market dies but I perceive too many vested interests in it from other factions than EA that they would simply skulk away should a prime opportunity to seize new market share appear.
Like you I didn't upgrade my PC at all once I bought a new PC upon enrolling in postgraduate level university. That machine lasted me five years and I bought a new one this summer. I very much disagree with you that consoles at present can match even medium hardware of modern PCs. There's no contest: The PC is superior tech wise. The consoles have two main drawing points: Ease of play and limited functionality meaning that it doesn't need as many resources to have a game that looks quite good visually.
The PC market will not die if for no other reason than the vast majority of PC sales being for non-gaming purposes. Whether the PC gaming market will continue is a different matter. I predict there will continue to be strong line-ups of hardware though should the games market falter some of the specialist gaming products might well decrease or disappear altogether as well. Yet should such a stark possibility come to fruition you might see a rebirth of the PC gaming scene eventually, or maybe not. *shrugs* That said, if there's money to be made there are good odds someone will try and get a piece of the action - especially in such a recognisable and well-known segment of the entertainment market.
Regardless, should the day dawn where I purchase a console for the first time since the early 90's I still won't buy products from the companies that are on my blacklist at present time. The much more expensive console games do not hold much appeal for me neither. I have found that the PC versions of games that are on consoles are on the whole cheaper. Take COD4. £25 on the PC from GAME. I was looking for a second hand version for my son as he has a 360. From GAME also it cost £30. No way in hell I am paying £30 for a second hand game.
Dead Space from Amazon, £26.99 for the PC version. £39.99 for the 360 version. Assuming you have a machine that runs these games of course, but I still have a single core processor that is a few years old now. EA has a good relationship with valve. it might only be a matter of time until they join the Steam crowd... or until they get their own true equivalent... which would probably die on its feet. |