The PC Centric Extravaganza 10.14.08

Posted by Chris Evans on 10.14.2008

A lot of news regarding Piracy/DRM and Steam/Valve related stuff. Very interesting this week.

The PC Centric Extravaganza 14th October 2008

Welcome to yet another action packed edition of The PC Centric Extravaganza! Be pre-warned, this is a Steam and Piracy/DRM heavy edition, if you can't handle that shit then read on regardless. If you can handle that shit then read on and enjoy.

Ubisoft on Piracy – Part 1000000

This time though they are talking about EndWar. Ubisoft Shanghai creative director Michael de Plater told Videogaming 247 that they aren't releasing the PC version of the game at the same time as the console version due to rampant PC piracy.

"To be honest, if PC wasn't pirated to hell and back, there'd probably be a PC version coming out the same day as the other two."

"But at the moment, if you release the PC version, essentially what you're doing is letting people have a free version that they rip off instead of a purchased version. Piracy's basically killing PC."

I don't want to take the same line that I did when tackling Cliffy B's piracy comments so I will simply link to what John Walker wrote over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

John takes the view that unless we get hard evidence regarding the impact of piracy on sales of PC games then these comments are just rumour-mongering and doing untold damage to the reputation of the PC. Damn right, tell us the truth devs and stop tarnishing the image of the PC.

World of Goo – No DRM = WIN!

Those 2D Boys behind World of Goo have posted an update regarding their no DRM experiment with their game.

so far, the experiment is going well. we've sent the full unprotected game out to the few thousand people who pre-ordered it before this past monday and we haven't yet found the game on any torrent sites.

They do request that you get in touch with them if see any illegal copies on the internet.

The crucial thing is though that currently the game has only gone out to people who pre-ordered the game. (The game has now been released, that statement is now out of date but still relevant contextually) These are people who were willing to pay the money for the game, and as such are less likely to go out spreading the game illegally. It must also be noted that the game hasn't been released properly yet and hasn't been covered madly in every magazine out there. No, it has just been me and a few other sites that have been doing that. Read later for more info on Goo releases.

The true test will be what happens when the popularity of Goo explodes into a big world-wide thing. If piracy remains a small issue then, well 2D Boy will have proved in some small way that by creating a great game with no-DRM that piracy can be fought.

Here is to 2D Boy for having created a master-piece of a game.

Football Manager Coming to Steam

The next iteration of the Football Manager series from SI Games is going to be released on Steam on 14th November for $49.99. For the first time ever Football Manager will be utilising Steamworks, the publisher and developer tools that allow games to plug into the Steam service. Steamworks will be present in both the retail and Steam versions of the game, and more importantly those with the retail version will be able to register their copy of the game on Steam to fully utilise the Steam experience.

Miles Jacobson, the studio director at Sports Interactive had this to say regarding the announcement:

"Many of us at Sports Interactive have been big fans of Steam since it's inception, so to be working with them properly this year across releases of Football Manager on the PC is fantastic. It gives us the opportunity for all of our games players to get any patches or updates that we make available quickly and easily, as well as a place for us to host any other downloads, such as demos and promotional videos, with super fast broadband speeds for download, and no issues with bandwidth, which we are hit with each time we release a demo".

The demo for Football Manager 2009 will be made available via Steam a few weeks before the release of the game. You can pre-order the game on Steam now which will allow you to pre-load the game 48 hours before the game is unlocked at 9.00 GMT on the 14th November. Further information regarding pre-orders can be found here.

If I am not mistaken, this will be one of the first non-Valve games which will let you register your retail version on Steam. I believe this happened with Prey, but I don't think this has happened since. This means that if you want to get the retail game and not use Steam you can, however if you want a boxed copy and the chance to use Steam that is also possible. This is one of the best ways to release Football Manager and it puts the game in front of a massive target audience and represents a great way to further boos sales of what is destined to be a great game.

Press Release:

FOOTBALL MANAGER TEAMS UP WITH STEAM

Football ManagerT 2009 Leverage Suite of Steamworks Services for Retail and Electronic Versions

LONDON (9th October, 2008) - Sports Interactive & SEGA Europe Ltd. today announce that the PC versions of Football ManagerT 2009 will incorporate Steamworks, a complete suite of publishing and development tools that offers PC game developers and publishers access to the game features and services available through Steam.
Steamworks will support both the retail and electronic versions of the Football Manager 2009 games giving players game updates, downloadable content, and patches. Also, players will be able to play from any PC in the world without needing their DVD copy of the game. STEAM will also host and distribute the Football Manager 2009 game demo which will be available when it is released a couple of weeks before the release of the full game.
Football Manager 2009 is now available for pre-purchase as a PC digital download from STEAM, and will be available for players to play at 09:00 GMT on the 14th November 2008. For details on availability and pricing, please visit www.footballmanager.com/buynow.
"Many of us at Sports Interactive have been big fans of Steam since it's inception, so to be working with them properly this year across releases of Football Manager on the PC is fantastic" said Miles Jacobson, studio director at Sports Interactive. "It gives us the opportunity for all of our games players to get any patches or updates that we make available quickly and easily, as well as a place for us to host any other downloads, such as demos and promotional videos, with super fast broadband speeds for download, and no issues with bandwidth, which we are hit with each time we release a demo".
"The Football Manager 2009 team has an incredible plan to extend the product beyond launch and achieve a level of connectivity with FM 2009 players that surpasses any prior release in the category," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "We're delighted to have Steamworks selected as the vehicle to help take this legendary franchise to the next level and look forward to offering the game to the millions logging onto Steam each week."
Football Manager 2009 features a vast array of all new features including, for the first time ever, a full 3D view of the world famous Football Manager match engine.

Steamed Goo

World of Goo is out NOW on Steam, that is right now on Steam. For $20. That is a bargain! Moving on, Mr. I Decide What Games We Get On Steam Justin Holtman said that World of Goo was one of the most asked for games to come onto Steam.

"More people have told us to get World of Goo on Steam than any other title coming this year. It has captured the imagination of the press and other members of the industry during its incredible pre-launch campaign, and we're delighted to debut the PC version with Steamworks Achievements."

He is damn right that World of Goo has captured the imagination of almost everyone. Check out the praise the game has received from Rock, Paper, Shotgun, The Poisoned Sponge and even from yours truly.

There is another bit of great news for those who pre-ordered World of Goo, you won't be missing out on the Steamworks perks. You will be able to use your Magic Key from your pre-order email to activate the game on Steam. Brilliance!

If you don't wish to get it from 2D Boy themselves you can get it from a variety of other places including amazon.com and Direct2Drive. Goo will also be purchasable from Indie friendly Greenhouse and from 2D Boy's North American retail publisher Beanstalk Games.

Seriously there is now no reason why you shouldn't be buying your daily allowance of Goo.

Left 4 Dead Pre-Orders are good

According to this Edge Online report pre-orders of Valve's upcoming survival-horror-co-operative-shooter-extravaganza are 60% higher than those for the Orange Box.

Valve managing director Gabe Newell has this to say regarding the pre-orders:

"People had really strong reactions to Left 4 Dead when we started showing it. Our pre-orders are running 60 percent ahead of Orange Box. This in combination with the fact that it is a new IP made us think that an extensive marketing program made a lot of sense."

Valve have launched a massive promotional campaign for the game costing $10 million and covering television, online, print and outdoor advertising. The promotional posters for the game (as seen below) feature the logo of the game, the disfigured hand that is now synonymous with the game.



These advertisements will run hand in hand with a massive television campaign with 30-second adverts appearing on a wide variety of US TV networks from November 9th to the 28th. The ads will be mixing humour and horror, and I assume with bear classic Valve stylings.

The Xbox 360 and PC demo of the game is slated to be released in early November and will feature 1-4 player gameplay from the game's "No Mercy" campaign. Newell is also positive regarding the future success of the game.

"Well, Left 4 Dead has a long way to go to beat Half-Life and Counter-Strike, but our fans' excitement when they play the game has certainly infected us. It will be a top five title for the year, but beyond that we'll have to see how big it gets."

Pre-orders up 60% on the Orange Box, a $10 million advertising campaign? I am sure that Left 4 Dead will be a hugely successful game.

Champions Online Closed Beta Sign Ups

Champions Online is a new Massively Multiplayer Online super-hero type game from Cryptic Studios that is slated for a Spring 2009 release. However if you wish to get in on the action a bit earlier than most then you can sign up for a chance to be part of the PC closed beta here.

Jack Emmert, chief creative officer for Cryptic Studios had this to say regarding the announcement.

"This closed beta is an exciting step in the evolution of Champions Online. All of us here in the Cryptic offices have been playing the game for a while now, and we're excited to invite others in to have as much fun with Champions Online as we've been having internally."

More details.

Tally Ho!

And with that I am outta there! Same place, same time, next week.