[quote name='Strell']No. I got them through other channels.
FoA is proving a little difficult for me to get into. I wasn't ever much of an Indy fan, but I'll keep playing definitely. I got my hands on The Dig (again), so I'm going to start that back up. Other series (Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion) are either aimed for humor
or prove to have somewhat more interesting concepts (The Dig), so I'm not discounting FoA at all. I think I am stuck already in it though.
I tried to play the third Indy game (Last Crusade), but it just feels too archaic.
So far this summer I've played DoTT, Sam 'n Max, Loom, and Monkey Island 1 and 2. Trying to finish FoA, The Dig, Monkey Islands 3/4, and basically all of Sierra's library (LSL, Space Quest, Quest for Glory, etc) in the next few months.
God I wish Lucasarts would port these to the DS...[/QUOTE]
Man, the memories of Indy and the Last Crusade on my Packard Bell 386.. I kept getting stuck after rescuing Indy's dad, and would get pummeled in a fistfight with some gigantor Nazi guard. It was a great game though
I don't really think it's piracy; I think it has to do with accessibility, full cost of the hobby, and large growth of competing markets over the past 15 years (between console games and PC games). The interface of mouse and keyboard, for example, used primarily in RTS and FPS is much less accessible than a controller in a living room. Plus, the costs of getting the most out of a PC game can be astronomical. Back in the day, PC games didn't require large graphics cards and investments in system performance as often as they do now. Developers for PC games don't seem to be maximizing hardware potential; yet instead seem to be depending on the user investing in larger GPU's. Console developers don't have that option, as they're given a uniform piece of hardware for the most part in a time window of 4-5 years.
As console gaming has greatly increased in popularity, PC game sales have declined. The development costs can't be met unless sales are excellent, such as with guaranteed hits like Quake, Doom, practically any Blizzard game, or Half Life. Thus, the number of games released has declined due to business decisions (will this game generate profit?). Taking risks on new properties means more costs in marketing, as you will have fewer early adopters and must go on a publicity crusade (which doesn't help if the title is mediocre).
Consumers are also quickly losing faith in PC gaming. Games are rushed, and it's getting to be a very common practice of releasing an incomplete product with intentions of patching it later on. Look at a case such as Deus Ex: Invisible Wars, where the game was seemingly designed around console hardware and the PC release was very buggy prior to patching.
Finally, consumers are catching on to living room entertainment more and more than ever before. I'm not just talking about gaming on a home theatre.. box office sales with movies have forced many cinema franchises to file for bankruptcy due to slumping sales. It's as if people are catching on to relaxing in a home theatre environment more and more rather than going to a theatre to see movies or slumping over a computer desk to frag someone. I guess you could call it a "comfort factor."
Therefore, I think piracy is just a small percentage of the overall problem. Many great PC games that perform well in terms of performance and advertising will still sell, but that takes the financial backing of a profitable company. On the downside, that means that innovation will be seen as a bit risky (there aren't too many truly innovative titles coming around nowadays). With a high retail markup, a mediocre title that received little marketing support will only get cracked and have keygens sitting around as it isn't a pricepoint that the consumer will bite at. However, most PC game sales are made during the early adopter period within the first month or two of release. By the time piracy has made an impact on sales, the distributor should have made adjustments to the MSRP by then anyways. A game that didn't sell for 6 months and ends up cracked and distributed illegally has already hurt the developer that made it from the poor retail performance. The damage has already been done.
I'd hate to say it, but with the rise of console gaming, the PC is no longer a dominate platform as it was 15 years ago... with the exception of the big buzz titles like Warcraft and Half Life, it's moved toward the direction of being a niche market.
Oh yeah.. one more thing. Many people that grew up playing PC games are faced with something in adult life.. having to stare at a monitor all day at work (and post long posts on CAG instead of working, such as what I am doing but shouldn't be right now
). Doing it 4 more hours a day at home can feel more like a chore instead of cranking up God of War while sitting on the couch.
).
er interviewed with Gamespot about a month ago talking about how he'd love to do it.
Yep, it's those pesky developers intentionally doing things to cause people to buy fewer PC games.
( Thanks for reading... if you did. If you didn't read all of this paragraph, but read this second-to-last sentence, then wtf you should go up a couple of sentences to get the jist. If you just skipped this paragraph, then I will have you know that I recently slept with various female members of your family that you care about, and degrade them sexually... just kidding! 
