i hope no one take this as bashing pc gaming. i absolutely love pc gaming, even if it's my least played platform, i appreciate it whenever i get the chance to play pc games.

so, what would you do to improve the image of pc gaming among publishers, developers, gamers, etc?

i would eliminate middlemen (retailers), then introduce subscription based system, where you play the game for free for 7 days, then publishers start charging you. it can help reduce piracy , might be more profitable (pc gamers tend to stick to a game for a long time, provided it's really good), easier on the pc gamers (free 7 days to try out, can pay bit-by-bit), publishers can view profit figures directly without any need for other parties to provide sales details, tamper/spin-off sales figures to make pc game sales look bad (some only record retail sales, which doesn't represent the bulk of pc games sold, making pc game sales look weak), etc.

"i would eliminate middlemen (retailers), then introduce subscription based system,"

FAIL

I have been a pc enthusiast for a long time and i point blank refuse to use any subscription based service. Are you telling me you think having every single pc game as a subscription based game, where at the end of a given year  having payed hundreds of dollars to companies, and own nothing...is a good thing?. Yeah bring on the monopoly, bring on cloud computing so not only do we rent the games but we rent the hardware...FAIL FAIL FAIL. That is straight up, the stupidest thing i've heard in a long time.

Single player gaming and freedom of choice is what keeps pc gaming alive for me, you want to make it all mandatory online and make people bow down to whatever ridiculously restrictive EULA they come up with in order to play games?


"making pc game sales look weak"

It only seems that way in the bias media and in the eyes of immature fanboys, pc gaming made 12.7 billion dollars in 2008, far more than any console. VG charts statistics ( lulz) do not affect the performance of game sales, people don't buy things because the are selling well (see: sheep), they buy them because the product is good. Neilson and other RETAIL sale recording methods are flawed in that they don't include digital distibution etc, you are also acting like companies actually report their sales to the media, they do not. They get their info from the above mentioned places and report them regardless of accuracy...and then there's companies that report 'units shipped' not units sold ;). But only the console makers play the 'in the media sales game'...even if they have lost 4.7 billion in the last 2 years. PC gaming is doing more than fine.

Any informed consumer knows that consumer choice is what keeps any industry alive. The fact that people own the games, and can mod them as they please is one of the major factors in making pc different from the other platforms. If games were subscription based like on-live etc there wold be no graphics push at all, it would come down to the owners of the services choosing less bandwidth ( lower cost for them) at the expense of lesser textures etc, we would slowly see games plateu and there would be no push for quality.

Round the hangin' tree
Swaying in the breeze
In the summer sun
As we two are one
Swaying

dchalfont


"i would eliminate middlemen (retailers), then introduce subscription based system,"

FAIL

I have been a pc enthusiast for a long time and i point blank refuse to use any subscription based service. Are you telling me you think having every single pc game as a subscription based game, where at the end of a given year  having payed hundreds of dollars to companies, and own nothing...is a good thing?. Yeah bring on the monopoly, bring on cloud computing so not only do we rent the games but we rent the hardware...FAIL FAIL FAIL. That is straight up, the stupidest thing i've heard in a long time.

Single player gaming and freedom of choice is what keeps pc gaming alive for me, you want to make it all mandatory online and make people bow down to whatever ridiculously restrictive EULA they come up with in order to play games?

first of all it seems like you have mistaken me as proposing cloud-based gaming when it's not the same as subscription. you still have the game files in the hard drive, and if retailers were to still exist, which i hope not, because it adds to the price of pc gaming, you still have the game disc with you. difference is, you start of having the game free for 7 days, then if you like it, you start paying for it based on the duration you plan to play. it's like you're playing a time-limited demo, but you get full contents. also, i would like to add, you don't ever own the software, the creators do; when you pay for it, you're licensing it, not owning it, i learn this in copyright law in i.t. if you feel the EULA in any way restrictive/abusive/etc, then don't subscribe to the game, just like how pc gamers decide to boycott cod mw2 because of this. you still have control in the end.

dchalfont


"making pc game sales look weak"

It only seems that way in the bias media and in the eyes of immature fanboys, pc gaming made 12.7 billion dollars in 2008, far more than any console. VG charts statistics ( lulz) do not affect the performance of game sales, people don't buy things because the are selling well (see: sheep), they buy them because the product is good.

Any informed consumer knows that consumer choice is what keeps any industry alive. The fact that people own the games, and can mod them as they please is one of the major factors in making pc different from the other platforms. If games were subscription based like on-live etc there wold be no graphics push at all, it would come down to the owners of the services choosing less bandwidth ( lower cost for them) at the expensive of lesser textures etc, we would slowly see games plateu and there would be no push for quality.

yes, yes, i know, the media is biased against the pc gaming, what i propose is a method to avoid all this bias, where the sales figures will go to the publisher, so they will be the ones who know the truth of pc gaming being profitable, rather than other parties manipulating the figures. i'm not blind, i can see the truth, but i'm sad that not all people like me and you acknowledge this fact. that where we can improve the image of pc gaming, through changing public perception. as much as i agree with you that gamers buy a game for it's quality, not because it's the coolest thing on earth for no reason, business is business, and with the recession, they will surely want to make money. if they view pc gaming as unprofitable, of course they would avoid our favourite gaming platform.

yes, i agree, consumer choice is important, that's why i propose something that tries to improve the image of pc gaming without taking away consumer choice, unlike on consoles. since the contents are on your hard drive, you can still mod it, so there's nothing wrong there, only that to be able to play the game, you must pay to subscribe to it, that's all.

i acknowledge that you are a veteran pc gamer, i noticed you being involved a lot on the pc gaming forums here on n4g, and i respect you, because i'm a noob compared to you, but please give me a chance and hear my thoughts. tq.

I realise that according to the EULA you do not own the game, but for me, if you have the disk, and it does not have a limited install DRM or online requirement, then you most certainly do own it. You can install it as many times you like from now until forever, if having unlimited use of something you buy isn't ownership...I don't know what is. A 7 day trials would be great...too bad most single player games are 10 hours length.  People would simply not buy games if this were the case. I think if more demo's were available it would be good, but the only demo's i've ever played....have always convinced me not to buy the game. ( last remnant, necrovision are a few recent ones). This is good for the consumer....not good for the companies.

The true answer for how PC gaming's image could be improved ( which as I said is irrelevant), is microsoft....the sad sorry truth of it. Microsoft has no hold over the pc platform, and almost no involvement in PC gaming. I personally have taken a stand that any games that require GFWL will simply be skipped by me, i find the 'service' to be obtrusive and restrictive. But the microsoft hype machine is what i mean, if microsoft actually bothered to advertise and fund the development of DX11 games for developers, PC gaming would see huge reward. But as microsoft's only interest in the 360, PC gaming will have to fend for itself. Steam, and Impluse are doing great things for pc gaming, and neither are subscription based. Even with my retail games, I just make steam/impulse backups which can be re-installed quicker than from disk and even with all the updates attached.

EDIT: i didn't intend to be condescending, but your post read like spam when I first read it....as happens so often on here, i thought it was a not so subtle cloud based/subscription based/on-live propaganda post

Round the hangin' tree
Swaying in the breeze
In the summer sun
As we two are one
Swaying

i'm guessing the drm existed to only put the investors in the comfort zone. the publishers put it there just to make it look like they're putting in efforts to curb piracy, even when you and I know it won't work. lets put it this way, just because you can use something for an unlimited amount of time, unnecessarily that you own it, for example, while we can stay on earth and use it's resources for as long as we live, we still don't have ownership of the earth. you make a good point about that 7 day trial. for that, i think it will be up to the publishers creativity to think of a way to demo the game to the pc gamers while making money, whether it locks out certain functions (doesn't seem to exciting), or extra contents (weapons, etc.) when you subscribe, free goodies for another game (like the blood dragon armor for me2 if you buy da origins), etc.

if microsoft doesn't bother about us, then we take actions ourselves. i believe that pc gaming is tightly based around a community. instead of constantly asking microsoft to give a damn about us, why don't we form some kind of group that consists of modders, veteran gamers like you, etc. to help with improving the pc gaming's image. we can do things, like creating movements to fail the gfwl service by, lets say, have a centralized propaganda or something like that to turn off publishers from placing it into their products in the first place, create a centralized open-source program that is run and managed by modders and pc games, etc. we know microsoft wont make a move, so we either do things on our own, and maybe in time, when they realise how they can profit a lot from pc gaming, they would return to it, if the pc gaming community wants to accept them then.

at least you read my post. tq. i appreciate it.

open source is also a tough one, even openGL is falling behind. By the time anything decent open source wise in the graphics department or O.S department, windows and DX will have come so far that catch up will be impossible, they simply have the manpower and money to get it done. There are a lot of things that are wrong with pc gaming, such as the disturbing new trend of taking LAN, dedicated servers, and even game modes away ( l4d had no offline modes other than the single player campaign), all these things indicate a push towards online based, aka controlled gaming environments, (see: extortion). DRM and mandatory online are killing the freedoms that make pc gaming unique, i don't even know if starcraft 2 will have offline skirmish ( with a.i enemies), if it doesn't I will even give it a miss. All we can do is vote with our wallets and talk about the B.S that the industry goes on with...but in the end, the ones who care/are aware are a minority, so there may come a time where I give up on pc gaming, but I hope it isn't soon.

My worst nightmare: single player games with a constant internet connection requirement. If that ever happens, that will be my last 'game over'

Round the hangin' tree
Swaying in the breeze
In the summer sun
As we two are one
Swaying

I think it would help a lot if so many PC gamers didn't act like total douchebags, but I guess that could be said of most console gamers too.
 
We're all screwed.

Polluted


I think it would help a lot if so many PC gamers didn't act like total douchebags, but I guess that could be said of most console gamers too.
 
We're all screwed.

of all the ridiculous posts on the main page....there are very few stupid comments made from pc gamers....

Every open zone post or even gamer zone post = "play beyond", if that isn't gay I don't know what is

Round the hangin' tree
Swaying in the breeze
In the summer sun
As we two are one
Swaying

spot on, the exact things that makes consoles inferior to pc gaming, too much control. i guess that's why microsoft loves the xbox, it can charge astronomical prices for it's accessories and the uninformed will just gobble it up. you're right on that we can only speak with our wallets, but can it requires both hands to clap. if consoles gamers keep eating up anything thats thrown to them, then of course the shift will be towards the console gamers, while pc gamers who fight hard for consumers rights get shafted for doing what is necessary. maybe we cannot do much on the open-source side, but we can still have a banner with an appropriate propraganda to inform the uninformed, even the console gamers, of what these greedy publishers are actually doing to them without them realising it. if pc gamers can gain the console gamer's support, then we can start pressuring these publishers to treat us better. they cannot continue to treat us consumers like this, were feeding them, so we should get something good in return.

Polluted


I think it would help a lot if so many PC gamers didn't act like total douchebags, but I guess that could be said of most console gamers too.
 
We're all screwed.

i know sometimes they look like douchebags; they appear to be too demanding like asking more for less (more features, lower price), resort to more extreme measures if they don't get their way, etc., but i believe in the heart they're just exercising their consumer rights.

Syaz1


i hope no one take this as bashing pc gaming. i absolutely love pc gaming, even if it's my least played platform, i appreciate it whenever i get the chance to play pc games.

so, what would you do to improve the image of pc gaming among publishers, developers, gamers, etc?

i would eliminate middlemen (retailers), then introduce subscription based system, where you play the game for free for 7 days, then publishers start charging you. it can help reduce piracy , might be more profitable (pc gamers tend to stick to a game for a long time, provided it's really good), easier on the pc gamers (free 7 days to try out, can pay bit-by-bit), publishers can view profit figures directly without any need for other parties to provide sales details, tamper/spin-off sales figures to make pc game sales look bad (some only record retail sales, which doesn't represent the bulk of pc games sold, making pc game sales look weak), etc.

Subscription based system? Unless it's a really good MMO, I'd rather hand over my money to the pirates cracking the game.

Syaz1


i hope no one take this as bashing pc gaming. i absolutely love pc gaming, even if it's my least played platform, i appreciate it whenever i get the chance to play pc games.

so, what would you do to improve the image of pc gaming among publishers, developers, gamers, etc?

i would eliminate middlemen (retailers), then introduce subscription based system, where you play the game for free for 7 days, then publishers start charging you. it can help reduce piracy , might be more profitable (pc gamers tend to stick to a game for a long time, provided it's really good), easier on the pc gamers (free 7 days to try out, can pay bit-by-bit), publishers can view profit figures directly without any need for other parties to provide sales details, tamper/spin-off sales figures to make pc game sales look bad (some only record retail sales, which doesn't represent the bulk of pc games sold, making pc game sales look weak), etc.

Id think the answer to improving the image of PC gaming needs afew steps and this is all related to the consumer, publishers will regardless release all games now on all platforms since that is most profitable for them. Even if games on pc outsold xbox and ps3 from a business perspective publishers will want to release games on all platforms. Anyways for the pc gaming image following are my points:
 
1. Most ppl are are under the delusion that it costs $2000 to make a gaming pc, more over it needs constant upgrades. These impressions lead ppl to fall for the console trap.
 
Most notably the Xbox 360 console id prefer to call it milkbox. Considering its costs of going online, super expensive accessories is probably the most expensive gaming machine out there.
 
2. Pc gaming doesnt have the marketing muscle to create hype. Companies like microsoft & sony hype their consoles to no end. they will have the user belive both the boxes are supercomputers from the future. There is no such company hyping the PC as a gaming platform, so the unaware just dont know about it. what makes situation worse is when companies like intel offer their IGP on most of the PC's sold. Those parts are terrible for gaming and enough to make the latest I7 system choke to a halt when it comes to games. Giving the unaware user a perspective that pcs arent good at gaming, which just isnt true. A 2 yr pc with a proper gpu will easily beat the I7 with an IGP.
 
Companies like dell etc need to get better gpus on their pcs, it wont cost a whole lot more but surely will go a long way into improving the pcs image, most ppl havent a clue what a graphics card is let alone research to find a good one.
 
3. Pc gaming needs to become more easy to use. Platforms like steam are helping the pc alot. before if any update or patch was out for a game we needed to manually look for patches download then update. Now steam does that for us.
 
Pc has always been supported by its community. thats what keeps it going, the bigger the community grows the better. with all the years of propaganda from console companies about pcgaming dieing, PC keeps trucking along no matter what the console companies throw its way.
 
Id say pc gaming is fine where its at. asides few console exclusives which pc gamers dont really care about, pc gets all the games . PC out does consoles pretty much in any multiplat game, while we do have our share of exclusives. PC gaming for life ;-)

champ21


Id think the answer to improving the image of PC gaming needs afew steps and this is all related to the consumer, publishers will regardless release all games now on all platforms since that is most profitable for them. Even if games on pc outsold xbox and ps3 from a business perspective publishers will want to release games on all platforms. Anyways for the pc gaming image following are my points:
 
1. Most ppl are are under the delusion that it costs $2000 to make a gaming pc, more over it needs constant upgrades. These impressions lead ppl to fall for the console trap.
 
Most notably the Xbox 360 console id prefer to call it milkbox. Considering its costs of going online, super expensive accessories is probably the most expensive gaming machine out there.
 
2. Pc gaming doesnt have the marketing muscle to create hype. Companies like microsoft & sony hype their consoles to no end. they will have the user belive both the boxes are supercomputers from the future. There is no such company hyping the PC as a gaming platform, so the unaware just dont know about it. what makes situation worse is when companies like intel offer their IGP on most of the PC's sold. Those parts are terrible for gaming and enough to make the latest I7 system choke to a halt when it comes to games. Giving the unaware user a perspective that pcs arent good at gaming, which just isnt true. A 2 yr pc with a proper gpu will easily beat the I7 with an IGP.
 
Companies like dell etc need to get better gpus on their pcs, it wont cost a whole lot more but surely will go a long way into improving the pcs image, most ppl havent a clue what a graphics card is let alone research to find a good one.
 
3. Pc gaming needs to become more easy to use. Platforms like steam are helping the pc alot. before if any update or patch was out for a game we needed to manually look for patches download then update. Now steam does that for us.
 
Pc has always been supported by its community. thats what keeps it going, the bigger the community grows the better. with all the years of propaganda from console companies about pcgaming dieing, PC keeps trucking along no matter what the console companies throw its way.
 
Id say pc gaming is fine where its at. asides few console exclusives which pc gamers dont really care about, pc gets all the games . PC out does consoles pretty much in any multiplat game, while we do have our share of exclusives. PC gaming for life ;-)

Amen, i've got no complaints or issues about pc gaming at all, so many games and hardware coming out it's crazy, the only problem about knowing about the hardware is that we'll never be 100% truly happy with our hardware...but the moment we are content we may as well pack it in and get a console

Round the hangin' tree
Swaying in the breeze
In the summer sun
As we two are one
Swaying