I figure you will like this...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... arful.html

I don't know what this Kudos game is and I'm pretty sure that I've never enjoyed any simulation type games, but I think I'm going to have to buy it just to help prove a point.

I'm pretty happy to see more and more developers wake up from their illusions about piracy and why it happens. Gaming is one of the biggest entertainment industries out there today, despite all the piracy. Want to know why? Because regardless of piracy those that buy the game would have bought the game in any case, and those that don't buy the game wouldn't have bought it to begin with. Countless of independent reports say so.

I have stopped buying games unless I tested them out first (via a demo or if I have seen it running well on a comparable rig). I believe this has saved me € 150,- ($ 210) in the last 2 months. Especially considering that once you've bought (and installed) software you are not allowed to return it here in Holland.

Now when a game runs good (and doesn't have incessant crashes like Bioshock had) and I intend to play it till the end, I buy myself a legal copy. As soon as customer rights improve and a warranty system is in place that actually guarantees that a certain game will play on my rig I'll be happy to stop my 'screening process' as I call it.

On a similar note, when it comes to buying games, the two biggest factors for me are, 1. how good the game is, and 2. how intrusive the DRM (if any) is. For instance, it's hard to see myself passing up GTA IV, Doom 4, or Duke Nukem Forever when/if they are released, unless they come bundled with lots of DRM.

I got a legal copy of HL2 for Christmas a while ago, played it for a bit, lost interest. If it didn't require Steam, I'd have tried out the various mods HL2 fans have released, and probably have bought both of the expansions by now, as it is, I'm uninterested in getting either.

It's the same with music CDs, e.g. I bought the official soundtracks for all the Star Wars films except for Attack of the Clones- the one that has DRM that prevents it from playing on a PC.

I figure you will like this...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... arful.html

I don't know what this Kudos game is and I'm pretty sure that I've never enjoyed any simulation type games, but I think I'm going to have to buy it just to help prove a point.

I'm pretty happy to see more and more developers wake up from their illusions about piracy and why it happens. Gaming is one of the biggest entertainment industries out there today, despite all the piracy. Want to know why? Because regardless of piracy those that buy the game would have bought the game in any case, and those that don't buy the game wouldn't have bought it to begin with. Countless of independent reports say so.

I have stopped buying games unless I tested them out first (via a demo or if I have seen it running well on a comparable rig). I believe this has saved me € 150,- ($ 210) in the last 2 months. Especially considering that once you've bought (and installed) software you are not allowed to return it here in Holland.

Now when a game runs good (and doesn't have incessant crashes like Bioshock had) and I intend to play it till the end, I buy myself a legal copy. As soon as customer rights improve and a warranty system is in place that actually guarantees that a certain game will play on my rig I'll be happy to stop my 'screening process' as I call it.

On a similar note, when it comes to buying games, the two biggest factors for me are, 1. how good the game is, and 2. how intrusive the DRM (if any) is. For instance, it's hard to see myself passing up GTA IV, Doom 4, or Duke Nukem Forever when/if they are released, unless they come bundled with lots of DRM.

I got a legal copy of HL2 for Christmas a while ago, played it for a bit, lost interest. If it didn't require Steam, I'd have tried out the various mods HL2 fans have released, and probably have bought both of the expansions by now, as it is, I'm uninterested in getting either.

It's the same with music CDs, e.g. I bought the official soundtracks for all the Star Wars films except for Attack of the Clones- the one that has DRM that prevents it from playing on a PC.

I figure you will like this...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... arful.html

I don't know what this Kudos game is and I'm pretty sure that I've never enjoyed any simulation type games, but I think I'm going to have to buy it just to help prove a point.

I'm pretty happy to see more and more developers wake up from their illusions about piracy and why it happens. Gaming is one of the biggest entertainment industries out there today, despite all the piracy. Want to know why? Because regardless of piracy those that buy the game would have bought the game in any case, and those that don't buy the game wouldn't have bought it to begin with. Countless of independent reports say so.

I have stopped buying games unless I tested them out first (via a demo or if I have seen it running well on a comparable rig). I believe this has saved me € 150,- ($ 210) in the last 2 months. Especially considering that once you've bought (and installed) software you are not allowed to return it here in Holland.

Now when a game runs good (and doesn't have incessant crashes like Bioshock had) and I intend to play it till the end, I buy myself a legal copy. As soon as customer rights improve and a warranty system is in place that actually guarantees that a certain game will play on my rig I'll be happy to stop my 'screening process' as I call it.

On a similar note, when it comes to buying games, the two biggest factors for me are, 1. how good the game is, and 2. how intrusive the DRM (if any) is. For instance, it's hard to see myself passing up GTA IV, Doom 4, or Duke Nukem Forever when/if they are released, unless they come bundled with lots of DRM.

I got a legal copy of HL2 for Christmas a while ago, played it for a bit, lost interest. If it didn't require Steam, I'd have tried out the various mods HL2 fans have released, and probably have bought both of the expansions by now, as it is, I'm uninterested in getting either.

It's the same with music CDs, e.g. I bought the official soundtracks for all the Star Wars films except for Attack of the Clones- the one that has DRM that prevents it from playing on a PC.