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$8.00 hotdog?
Ok, so I said I would never be back. I kept lurking and just couldn't stay quiet any more. I guess that makes me a hypocrite. Oh well. HOWDY Y'ALL!!!
Anyways, here's what this whole UBI DRM thing got me thinking about. What with requirements of a constant internet connection and the move towards online saves, I wonder if video game companies' ideal end state is to move the entire game to their servers, thus leaving nothing on their users computers for them to copy. Software engineering and bandwidth problems aside, this model of interactive computer entertainment delivery seems to meet the big software companies' interests perfectly, namely making money and controlling who gets access to the code. You can already play Flash games online. What with the massive amounts of RAM computers are coming with these days, and the increases in bandwidth coming in the next decade, I'm willing to bet that copying a major hit on to you hard drive so you can play at your leisure will become a thing of the past. Instead either you'll have to rent access to a title or pay a per-use fee in order to play the game. Call it a virtual theme park if you will, where each game represents a different ride in the company's theme park server. When the user logs off the game simply gets wiped from RAM to prevent copying. At least they won't be able to charge you $8.00 for a hot dog. |
Hypocrite? No, just an addict. Addicted to a forum. Well, there are worse ones you could be stuck with. Either way, welcome back!:DL
I don't know about the future of video games, since the only ones I play consistently are related to aviation or naval history, and they are few and far between. I don't have to be online or pay-to-play to play miniatures games with my friends, and that's my real hobby. So I don't have an answer, just ever more questions. |
The world of video games (just like everything in life) is dynamic, so 20 years from now it doesn't mean we'll have to pay for each level/mission we play. Video game styles and concepts will change just as times change. Today we're facing with piracy so everyone is testing various protection methods (DRM and many more to come). Then there's also the mmorpgs that you buy or pay to play on a monthly basis. One thing is for sure, nowadays, the quality in games is decreasing rapidly. You spend much less time on a game, but better graphics and/or character immersion etc. Everything is a lot more commercial and pointed towards casual players that bring in the big bucks for the companies.
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Frankly, I have little doubt the future of video games will be pay as you go. There may be boutique publishers who eschew this model and release stand alone, single player games. There is always someone willing to buck the trend, thank goodness. But they will be on the fringe.
I think the large developers and publishers will eventually move toward the "pay as you go" direction. I don't like it, mind you. But I think it's going to happen. |
Even if games go in this direction there will always be ways around it. Just ask the people who don't play WoW online.
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I remember well the, "dark days" when we all had to pay by the minute or hour for internet access of any type.
I suspect in the future, we'll see only run-of-the-mill games for the PC and more advertisement and subscription-supported sites like, "Pogo" (in the US - don't know if they're international) - one can either play, "Trivial Pursuit" or, "Scrabble" --- and little else. The major efforts and popular stuff'll be sent to the consoles where, "they" can more easily maintain profit margins and more easily control piracy. |
So how is this different from putting money in the arcades? That was 'pay as you go' so it's hardly something we haven't seen before. GEtting older now and so I could care less if gaming dies(it won't of course), as I've still a backlog of many titles I haven't finished, and many mods to play, not to mention revisiting old favourites!
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While it's something that has probably been considered, I cannot see it working for anything other than MMOs. If you are making people pay a subscription, then you have to provide something which makes that subscription worth paying, and that means content. Clearly this is something which most single-player games either cannot or will not do, and thus it's unlikely that many people would be willing to pay for them.
Regardless, such a system would probably spell the end of PC gaming as we know it today. I for one would steer well clear of games utilizing pay-to-play, and I'm sure I would not be alone in that conviction. Though this is really a moot point, since few companies are going to be foolish enough to implement it. |
Well, the future is called OnLive and it starts in June 17 this year in USA. OnLive has a HUGE potential to be the future of gaming and I cannot wait to be available in Europe too.
I played WoW for 5 years and I really have no issues being online for a game if there is a benefit from it. This DRM thing it's plain stupid as is no gain for the consumers and is not at all an anti piracy solution. But OnLive its is and will kill forever the piracy, also will give the opportunity for everybody to play the latest games without being forced to have the ultimate pc nor gamming stations at home. For those who don't know what OnLive means, here is the basics: onlive Wiki official site |
Makes perfect sense... they seem to certainly make them as you go.
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Time will tell, but if this project will be succesful.. this will be the future of video games. Pay as you go, play how much and what you want, huge multiplayer options, no more piracy. The future looks good, I'm really excited about this project :) |
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And after having spend a ton of money, loosing everything if you forget/couldn't pay your fee for 1 month? :-?
At least ten years from now I can still grab a box and install from disk, or from HD for digital downloads, and just play it, no costs. Seriously, I don't get. I hope OnLive dies as fast as it appeared. :nope: Ah, and super-uber-rig argument; this thing is 2 years old and still runs most new games maxed out without too much difficulty. Granted, they are typically games released on console as well, but even SH5 runs fine, without shadows of course (nvidia). :D |
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OnLive might sound like a good idea on paper, but as we all know, the reality is often very different. Personally, I do not like the sound of such a system at all. If it should become the norm for future games, it's back to the classics for me, never to return. |
Never! lol It would never work... Vedio games are not Cellphones, chargeing as you go should only be for online games.
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They're already designing the next generation of on line games: Pay-to-pay-to-go! :) And then pay a bit more! :DL.
The arcade slot machine analogy is not a good one. You paid per play on a platform you did not own. If you bought the machine your cost per play would be zero. Add in "cloud computing" in the mix, no local storage requirement, your computer essentially becoming an "user interface" rather than a personal computing and storage facility and you can find youself in a very purplexed "conspiracy theory" maze.... On special offer today! e-mails under 250 words for 1$ ONLY! :hmmm: . |
Pay as you go? It could be a good idea. Try the first month for $5. If you don't like it, that's it, you're only out $5. Think how much money you would have saved on crud games this way.
Think many companies will shovel out their garbage under this model? Or will they demand $50 upfront PLUS the monthly fee? Which model did DOOM use? |
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Also, no more patching, downloading, installing and all that jazz.. just connect and play. Not to mention that if you don't like game, you don't have to pay for it. So no more unfinished products and robbery from Ubi :P If they want to have a profit with their games, that game will need to be a really good game. The only problem here is.. no more moding. So I supose the game producers have to be really interested in the community oppinion and implement all major wishes in their game before release. Related to the connection speed, I'm sure this will be no problem, even with a 1Mbs connection the thing will work fine. When I started to play WoW about 5 year ago, I got a very low speed connection, still I was able to join 45 man content raids without any major problems. I repeat, my only skepticism is related only to the hardware part. If they customers base will grow to few millions, I really don't see how they hardware will be able to support this. Millions of gamers playing at the same time thousand of different games and all using their rigs.. for me this sound pretty SciFi. Time will tell. This can be only a major success or a mega fail, nothing else. Another thing I'm not sure about, is the payment. At the beginning they charge $14.95/month just to be member and have access to demos and some other crap, but is no mention how much they will charge us to be able to play a full game. For a month subscription of 14.95 euro I can play WoW or some other MMO, but only to have access to play demos .. 15 euro is too much. Bottom line, the main idea is good. For example, I play SH5 for few hours and if I don't like it I don't have to pay for it anymore. I will not be robbed by game developers, I will not be forced to invest in pc upgrades every time a new game is released, I will not spend hours and hours with installing a game then patching it and so on. Connect, play and have fun, simple as that. |
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