ARTICLE: Is Piracy Killing Gaming?

UKIE Suggest Piracy Is Taking It's Toll On The Gaming Industry. What Do You Think?

The UKIE (Association of UK Interactive Entertainment) today released a statement saying that the illegal gaming industry has cost at least £1.45 billion in lost sales. They are saying this is costing people their jobs and have stated that it ‘takes away jobs from young developers and graphic designers’ – obviously trying to make pirate gamers, who are usually regarded as young, feel guilty that they are somehow screwing themselves over.



There’s a lot wrong with this and it’s all a bunch of scaremongering. Firstly, they are basing this on the assumption that if people download a game, they are not buying it. However, some people will download the game and never would have thought of buying it anyway and if it’s good, they will tell their mates. Am I wrong?

Even though there is a vast worldwide community of hacked consoles and illegal games floating about, it’s not so common in the UK. Microsoft for example banned between 600,000 to a million Xbox Live users in a ‘wave’ at the end of 2009 that had modded consoles (remembering it costs £39.99 a year to be on Xbox Live). Of course, I understand this would be just Xbox (the most modded console available at the moment) and that they would have to be online, but still the figures are quite huge and I have no idea where they got them from. It’s also worldwide, so in the grand scheme of things, it’s not exactly huge and definitely not a threat. In April 2010 Microsoft reported it had sold over 40 million units and that third quarter profits were up 35% to $4.01 billion – that’s pure profit, $14.5 billion in revenue to be exact. That’s Microsoft’s figures. That’s just in the third quarter of one year. However, UKIE state that UK gaming took in £1.53 billion in 2010. Is it seriously suggesting that piracy has lost almost as much as has been made? That the totals would have doubled had piracy not been an issue? What do you think? I can’t believe these numbers make sense.

A lot of pirates believe the bans aren’t to stop piracy, but to make those pirates go out and buy new consoles because they can’t use their old ones online, as well as getting new Xbox Live subscriptions. Remember Microsoft have about a thousand different versions of Xbox now (well, not quite) and the pirates also argue that after you’ve bought a product you should be free to modify it how you wish and use ‘homebrew’ software, which is a fair argument but the majority of people probably do it to play pirated games, but that’s just an assumption.


People forget that the original Playstation was easily modified and was the best selling games console ever, they were rather lax on piracy because they knew people would go out and buy the consoles and, like music or film, if they were really bothered they’d make sure they go out and buy it before waiting for release. Everyone knows gamers are impatient.


It’s also worth noting that the highest selling game of 2010 was Call Of Duty: Black Ops raking in well over a billion pounds and still going but it was also the most pirated game of 2010. See a correlation? If piracy had such an effect, it certainly didn’t show here.


PS3 have recently taken hackers to court for hacking the PS3, but again they argue they should be able to do with it what they want. Other devices like the DS, PSP and Wii can all be modified but they still have no problems selling (well PSP might do), so it could be argued then that it’s the games.

However, like films, by having pirates get and play the games, it means it streamlines the shit. Word of mouth, especially with games, is key and so if games are scared no-one is going to buy them but pirate them instead then they should make better quality games instead of asking people to shell out £45 for something that’s crap. One insider was quoted as saying you get 20-50 hours out of these games and it’s value for money. I definitely wouldn’t say I have got 20-50 hours out of each game I’ve got.

People forget that the gaming industry is bigger than Hollywood and gamers are a lot more dedicated. Also pirates won’t just download any old game, well I imagine some do, but remember a game is a good 7-8GB and you have to dedicate a lot of time to it once you start playing. Also charging £5 a disc, (a compatible dual layer disc to record on costs £1-£2 each anyway) isn’t exactly making lots of money and the reason why you don’t see people selling them on the streets like DVD’s, is because it’s an expensive and lengthy process – definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme, neither are all consoles modded, so if you’re a criminal there are definitely more profitable crimes out there.


Also the idea that money from this is going to terrorists and other ridiculous bollocks like this to stop piracy is constantly promoted, makes it seem like a joke. There is definitely a small community of people who download games for free, but it’s all about give and take. People forget that, like people recording onto tape off the radio, it’s not going to destroy the industry and with the gaming industry being so successful, it definitely won’t hamper it. If people are playing and people are getting paid, that’s all that matters. If Bill Gates can’t afford an extra swimming pool he’s just going to have to deal with it. Don’t listen to the lies about it affecting the jobs of young developers because it’s stupid – games make money. A lot of money. Pirates will never be able to stop that – and they are definitely not costing the industry £1.45 billion.

Singularity

This FPS from Raven flew under the radar a couple of months ago but has been bubbling under the surface of anonymity and gaining an almost cult status. Should it be your next purchase?

I hadn't heard much of Singularity and when games like this aren't marketed enough (or in this case it seemed not at all), it's a dangerous game. Mainly because the market is full of FPS (first person shooters) and it's hard for the average gamer to know if a game is any good without seeing either some footage, a demo, or a preview article. None of which was easily available or advertised for this game.

This is another aspect where films and games differ. With a film you know who is going to be in it, what it's about, who is making it and the budget with trailers and posters everywhere. It's enough material to make a judgement before you go in, but with a game there's only a few recognisable names in the industry and you're also forking out a lot more money than a cinema ticket. All you have sometimes is the artwork and the back of the box. That's unless it's a franchise or a big game with a massive company behind it like Rockstar with Red Dead Redemption.

So what of this latest offering from Raven/Activision? Well the story is that you are sent to check out some strange activity coming from a hidden island, but once you get there all hell breaks loose. It starts as a horror story where horrible creatures walk around these abandoned schools but as soon as you pick up your TMD device it goes full-pelt into action. The TMD is a hand device that allows you to control time where you can fizzle away enemies into dust, open up time portals, rejuvenate ammo crates and by the end you can pretty much do anything. Along the way you pick up items that allow you to upgrade your TMD and the various weapons so you can personalise the gameplay to your style to a degree. As you progress in the plot, you see messages scrawled on walls and then time starts to go a bit ... well ... funny.

The first thing people will notice once they start playing for a while is that this is very similar to Bioshock. Just like your plasmids, you acquire different 'powers' as you progress that work alongside your weapons, but just like Bioshock these powers are fucking cool. Whether it's using the TMD to pick up oil barrels and throw them at your enemies, turn them into monsters, create a time 'shield' around you or more, the TMD has been well thought out and structured. The weapons are somewhat okay, once I had found an 'Autogunner' it was basically game over - I upgraded the hell out of it and nothing could stop me. This was an issue because after a while the game does get easy.

At first, the monsters are difficult to kill and the horror element is amazing, but where Bioshock kept this atmosphere going, Singularity settles for more explosions and such. They know the TMD makes you powerful, so perhaps they realised it was worthless creating tension when you're so badass - and you really are badass. The gameplay has a decent variety to an FPS, whether it's swimming underwater, trying to solve puzzles while you're in a gas mask running out of air, moving quietly amongst the blind monsters or just trying to pull boxes through time so you can stand on them to reach places, it does enough.

Picking up E99 tech and upgrading worked, but often they're everywhere and I had almost completely tech'd myself out. The tape players (similar to the diaries in Bioshock) fill in gaps of narrative as well as notes left around the place but I quickly got bored of just standing there and hearing them rattle on and unfortunately, if you move away from them, you can't hear them. Yawn.

The monsters were okay, a boss on top of a train was a good laugh but by the end you're killing more soldiers than anything. It's as if the monsters just gave up and the soldiers are far easier. The graphics looked great and the dialogue was okay. The actual island (with some references to Lost) had a geography that I just didn't understand, I never knew where I was or what exactly I was doing. The common problem with most FPS's, they tend to have a fleshy story but have trouble communicating it to you efficiently and unfortunately the same applies.

The plot is a good one, lots of twists and turns with multiple endings (and an ending after the credits if you hold out), but essentially you're getting from A to B, doing something like flicking a switch or using your TMD then moving on - which I guess is the same as any FPS perhaps. Strangely it doesn't feel repetitive though and the set pieces are fun but there just feels like there is something missing...

Overall, this game was a pleasant surprise. The TMD element was new, fun, adventurous and a great idea but the weapon element was not utilised enough and the monsters became more and more scarce and less and less fierce.The story was good and had much more depth than a lot of other FPS' and was a unique, well-devised plan - you can never really go wrong with time travel stories. The graphics and gameplay were good so why isn't it perfect? Firstly, it was too easy, secondly you become frustrated that there isn't something more solid here in terms of stand-out moments and real drama or tension, it just lacks huge set pieces that can sometimes make or break a game, you also can't help but stand it up next to Bioshock where it pales only slightly in comparison. It feels like something that's a bit too little too late. It was a great time but it's something I'm not going to come back to but definitely glad I played it. If you loved Bioshock and are on the lookout for something similar, or to keep you quenched for Infinite, then this will do nicely. It's just a shame it couldn't be so much more.

Rating: 7/10