The last couple of weeks I've noticed a recurring theme on the slashdot posts. Namely people/companies get really agro where copyright is concerned. It has gotten so bad that a Japanese performer was recently arrested for playing popular songs in a bar on his harmica. But I do get the whole issue of copyrighting your property and having people pay for the privilige of having access to what you've created. But what if what you've created is crap?
I'm talking specifically about games (PC, PS2, XBOX360, etc.). These days a PC game will set you back around R300 and a PS2 game will go for as much as R600. Having recently joined the 'income earning community', I do have disposable income to spend on entertainment of the electronic kind, but I do NOT have the kind of money to spend on every PC game title that looks promising. So how does one choose where to spend that hard earned cash? One option is to read the reviews, previews and what not listed on the various gaming sites. But in the end the only way to really evaluate a game to see if it fits with your prefrences, is to actually buy it and play it. Sure, you can download the demo from the official site. But here in SA we have to pay through the nose for internet access and in the end it is almost cheaper just to buy the game. From personal experience I can tell you that it is the most frustrating feeling to buy a game, play it, and 20 hours later going: "What? Is that it?" The only thing worse is if said game has a replay-ability of zero.
So, the question remains, how does one choose? Well, I'm sad to say but the only way to go is to say: "Arrr me matey, it's a pirate's life for me." This way, if you play a game and it is not quite living up to your expectations, all you need do is select the burned image and press "shift+del". Problem solved and person happy to go one with rest of life. On the other hand, you could be playing the game and after 48 hours of straight gameplay (and peeing in a bottle) realise that the game you are playing is one of the most awesome titles you have ever experienced. So, after getting some sleep, you go out and buy the game, happy in the knowledge that you are spending money on something worthy.
To the developers out there. If you publish crap games, people are going to rip your stuff, play it, laugh at you and forget about you.
But if you create true works of art, people will gladly shell out their dosh and support your creative efforts. Survival of the fittest baby, survival of the fittest.
For me personally, there has only been a couple of titles/series worthy of being bought. These are the types of games where I don't even bother reading reviews or looking at the pretty screenshots. I know the quality that the developers produce, nuff said. These titles include the NWN series, BF 2142, Sidmeier's Civilization series, the Total War series, Diablo I&II, Ground Control, Homeworld and the Elder Scroll series.
