BlueDev

Join Date 12/2003

+16

Is gaming a privilege?

-or- a right?

On numerous occasions (when I used to frequent game forums) I often saw it said that gaming is a privilege, not a right.

This was often pulled out when some infantile poster was whining about the price of games, that they couldn't afford the appropriate hardware, or when they talked about piracy.

In those cases, sure, I agree. Gaming isn't a right that we all should have. I don't think we should just be able to download (for free) any game we want. And people whining about not being able to afford the latest and greatest vid card etc. bug me just as much as the next person.

Unfortunately I have also seen some myopic and idiotic people on those game forums try to apply that notion of gaming being a privilege far too liberally. In particular, one of the top industry buffoons and I once engaged in a discussion on this very subject. Well, okay, we didn't really engage in a discussion. I attempted to engage the person in a discussion, and he fell back to his standard tactic of name calling, cursing, and waggling his member about trying to shut up others. But I digress.

I do believe that there comes a time when gaming is a right. And that time is when you walk out of the store, new game and receipt in hand, having compared your system specs to the printed requirements on the case. Once that transaction has occurred then, yes, I think you should consider it a right to play that game.

Some developers and publishers don't seem to agree.

They think that I should only have certain programs running on my computer. They don't think I should be allowed to have virtual drives running. They think that, even though I just used 4-5 gigabytes of my hard drive space to do what they told me was a complete install ('All game files will be installed to and run from the hard drive'), I should still have to break out the CD and insert it into my drive to play. Some of them think I should have to have an active internet connection running every time I want to start up the game, even when playing offline.

They also think that even though my system meets (and exceeds) the system requirements, I should intuitively know they really were kidding when they wrote them. They arrogantly seem to think that, even though I have legally obtained the game, actually having it work properly should only happen with the correct alignment of the stars and the planets.

Because gaming is a privilege.

Never mind the fact that those who choose to pirate the game don't have to worry about invasive copy protection. They just crack it (or get it already cracked). They don't have to keep the CD handy just to start the game up (and, yes, I know I can get a No CD crack too, I just don't think I should have to). Somehow, penalizing those who obtain the game legally seems to be the best idea. Anyone with the slightest clue knows that copy protection only deters the most lazy, ignorant, and hopeless 'pirates'.

Yet they still tread that path. And then they wonder why PC gaming is losing ground. Might this be part of the reason? Gasp!

So thanks to the developers who fight for their customers. You know, the ones who actually treat us like customers and not pirates. There aren't too many, but these days they are the ones who are going to get my business.

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I have really given up on PC gaming, and the new comp I have has no ability to play the latest games. You are right, there are too many conditions to getting a game to play properly, and it might not even, because it needs patches *rolls eyes*. You gotta shut down everything in the background, you can't have this graphics card, you have to turn this on and that off -- so much work just to sit down and play one game!

System requirements stated on the box is a joke. Don't even know why they bother about stating minimum - the minimum hardly ever runs the game properly. As for recommended, you often have to go beyond that, unless you have nothing else on your computer except that which is needed to get the game running.

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Don't even know why they bother about stating minimum - the minimum hardly ever runs the game properly

So true! I haven't bought a new PC game in a looooong time. In fact, I think that Unreal Tournament 2004 was the last 'new' PC game I bought. I have picked up some since them, but they are all older, as I know that any important patches will have been addressed by that time. Most of the time these days, picking a new game up right at release is an exercise in futility, one I no longer have patience for.

It is sad, because I truly believe the PC offers the most flexibility when it comes to gaming. To see it running downhill because of shortsighted publishers and developers makes me sad.

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As bad as the RIAA is about their product, the PC gaming industry seems ten times worse. If we were under the same obligations to listen to music as we are to playing PC games:

We would have to buy a seperate CD for each player we own.
We would have to agree to TOS everytime we tuned in a new radio station.
Every other week we would have to load new patches into our players and radios to keep them current.
There would be coding on radio broadcasts which would keep you from clearly hearing any other radio station.
The FCC would be moved to India.

Great Article!!!

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+367

It's a good article and I have to agree with it. That legal purchasers are forced to jump through hoops and treated as criminals by default is not only outrageous, but insulting. I know it's cliche, but vote with your dollars: Support those who treat you right and punish those who don't.

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Ted: Your comparison to the RIAA was hilarious and insightful. It is so true, and it just needs to change. I don't think PC gaming will survive and thrive if it doesn't change.

Yarlen: I also agree. Not to sound like a fanboy (considering what site I am at), but that is one of the biggest reasons I support Stardock. Even though I purchased Galactic Civilizations at the store (so they probably didn't see a cent from it), they still graciously give me the option of installing the game through SDC. I don't need to use a CD, they don't give it funky system requirements and restrictions. They even added on tons of great bonus content. Companies like that I support (hence purchasing Altarian Prophecy direct from them, not from the store this time). Other companies need to learn that customers are just that: customers. We are not thieves and shouldn't be treated as such.

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*claps*
Its like that old saying, laws are made for the law-abiding citizens to follow...

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Zoomba

Join Date 11/2002

+114

PC game companies don't seem to understand that they are the single biggest reason consoles are winning now. It's not that consoles are technologically superior, or that the games are so much better, it's that I can go to the store, pick up Jade Empire off the shelf (as I did last week), pay for it, take it home and be playing it within a few minutes. No hoops to jump through, no painful install processes etc. It's a no-hassle deal.

When I buy a PC game, I have to make sure I have compatable hardware... then I have to make sure I have the latest drivers (but not always THE latest since some games break on new drivers... SWG was an example where I had to stay one version behind the curve), proper version of DirectX, right version of Windows. Then I have to install, which can take a few minutes to an hour (Sims 2, WoW) and have a single game suck up huge amounts of space on my computer. Once that's done, I then have to apply any patches there may be because the developer/publisher wanted to put the game out before it was done. Only after ALL of that can I play the game.

Oh, but wait... the protection tech they used on game X doesn't work with my CD Drive (which isn't documented ANYWHERE on the box, in the manual, on the game website etc... I have to guess/pray that their particular tech doesn't break the game) so the game can't properly recognize that I have the CD inserted, so after all of that... no game for me!

Now, lets say the game works, I can play it, it's a glorious day indeed! But like most games nowadays it comes on multiple CDs and will often require different ones at different stages of the game. I try and be organized, but I literally have hundreds of game CDs now, so after a time it's all too likely that I'll misplace CD 2 of 5 or something like that and be up a creek without a paddle. This happened to me with Neverwinter Nights, I had to go buy a used copy to round out my CD set again... that sucked.

When it comes to multi CD games, what I'll often do is, in addition to buying them, I'll download a CD image set from the net with the protections stripped so if I lose a CD, I can reburn it and keep going, or use the NO-CD crack to allow me to not have to juggle CDs around since it's in doing that, that I lose most of my CDs.

ATTENTION GAME COMPANIES: I payed $40-$60 for your game. That is roughly the equivalent I pay per month for my cell phone, or my broadband connection. I also invest a fair bit of money in equipment so I can hope to run your newer games. It costs me a LOT of money every year to keep this hobby up. And after I go through all of that and then help keep you and your family fed by buying your product, you have the audacity to tell me I'm wrong in expecting my game to work how I want it to!? Why? Because you think all of the crap you do prevents piracy? Every single game I've ever seen released in stores gets cracked within hours regardless of the protection scheme. The only thing that protection does is to protect me from PLAYING the game. You are the ones driving yourselves out of business. You make the hobby painful. I'm not even getting into the declining quality of video games... that's another rant. I'm just talking about how it seems you work the hardest at preventing your own customers from using your product.

*huff* *puff* *grumble*

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I don't have a lot of experience with PC games. I was a big Starcraft fan and now play a TON of World or Warcraft. I really enjoy the game. It's a lot of fun. There a definite problems with the game, but I still enjoy it. Or else, I wouldn't renew my subscription, right?

My problem isn't the hardware part. I got a brand new computer right about the same time I got the game (it's how I wanted to break in the new computer - with a game I'd never have been able to play on my old one). My computer occasionally freezes during play, but I chalk that up to windows more than anything else. Even if it's not microsofts fault in this case, I've become so numb to system crashes that I put up with it automatically.

But I do have issues with the customer service and forums on their site. In particular, one of the character classes I play has a moderator that is also the liaison with the developers for that class. He also serves in the same role for another class. Funny thing is - his main character when he plays the game is the other class (In fact, he's posted that he plays all classes, but his main is the other class he mods). There is a world of difference in how the updates and communication is between the class forums. We had weeks with no interaction at all. In fact, we had one of the other mods come to the forums and tell us to behave and stop bashing our rep. Every patch weakens the class and then the players are told it's being looked in to. It is a minor frustration for me, really, more so because I believe customer service should really be better with any product. In this case, it's actually very funny for me, but that's because I think I don't have a hardcore gamer mindset like many of the WoW players do. I enjoy the game, weaknesses/nerfs and all. And if my character dies repeatedly in a certain situation, due to a weakness/nerf, well, I can always reroll, attack it in a different way, avoid that situation, or learn to play my class, n00b. HAHA!

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Yarlen

Join Date 01/2005

+367

Based on what you said, I'd guess you have some driver wackiness taking place on your PC. Brand-name PCs come with a ton of pre-loaded software, which I find usually mucks stuff up nicely.

I wasn't aware of that there are class mods, but I rarely visit the WoW site...

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I have to agree with Yarlen chip. Sounds like there is something funny going on with your computer. If it doesn't bother you though. . .

Iteresting to read some of your experiences with WoW. I just don't have the time to try an MMO game, but the idea has long intrigued me.

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