Game leaks hurt, Crysis 3 might go console-only
We just saw two big game leaks which allowed pirates to download and play illegally and unlawfully. Well, those were really big releases for their respective publishers and gamers may have to face consequences.
Just before the Valentine’s Day, reports started coming of Crysis 2 being leaked and available on torrent sites. If the leak of Crytek’s highly-rated and anticipated title wasn’t enough, the gaming industry got another hit, this time it was a PS3 exclusive, Killzone 3.
The gaming industry, worldwide is surely not happy about it and gamers may be at the receiving end. Even though, Crytek has confirmed a PC release for Crysis 2, you may not be able to burden your PC configuration to run Crysis 3 if speculations by Gamers Voice prove to be true.
Gamers’ Voice is a UK gamer pressure group, which has said that due to piracy concerns, Crysis 3 may go a console-only way. With new benchmarks being set up on a daily basis, by ‘pirates’, this possibility may become a reality. On an interview with Eurogamer, GV chairman, Paul Gibson raised concerns about the effects, piracy can have on the gaming industry. Excerpts from the interview continue.
“It’s hard to understand the reasoning behind video game piracy or the justification by those that do so. They might get a game for free, or early, but ultimately they are damaging the industry and hurting all the legitimate gamers who purchase copies. Consumers don’t like DRM as it seems to only cause problems but publishers will continue to include it if pirates continue to steal their games. By doing this piracy hurts the gamer as much as any developer or publisher”
We recently experienced how annoying a DRM can become due to companies taking hard measures to tackle illegal distribution and downloads. In the end, the customers who actually bought their copies, suffered.
“The industry only makes money from game sales; losing these sales to piracy ultimately means no more games for us. We can already see this in the PC market and it would not be surprising to see Crysis 3 released for consoles only after this latest leak. We condemn all forms of video games piracy; there is no excuse for it. But we hope that publishers look for ways to fight piracy without harming those who legitimately purchase a game.
Looking at today’s situation, every other game that releases, is now not for both the platforms- PC and consoles, but mostly, for consoles. PC gamers have been missing out on a large number of good games, Red Dead Redemption can be a real-good example. And noone can argue that a prominent reason behind this policy of the gaming companies is piracy.
“The differences between a successful game and an unsuccessful game can be small and interactive entertainment businesses can go out of business off the back of poor sales of just one product,” director general Michael Rawlinson told Eurogamer. “If these sales are affected by piracy it could mean job losses and fewer new games for consumers to enjoy.”
World economy is still under the effects of the aftermath of recession and production costs have touched a new high. This applies on all the corporations and a lot depends on a single title, but if its revenue is cut down because even people who would have bought the game aren’t interested anymore because of a free torrent, available on the net, we can expect some serious consequences for the makers.
Companies are working very hard to bring out amazing graphics and engaging gameplay on our screens but they should be respected and repaid.
PS: Piracy Sucks [PERIOD]
