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DMC4 PC "Getting Pirated to Hell and Back"
Devil May Cry 4 for PC is underperforming at U.S. retail, and one factor is piracy, suspects Capcom.
"I'm not sure about how Capcom in general feels, but [Devil May Cry 4 for PC is] not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail," wrote Capcom business development VP Christian Svensson in a recent post on Capcom's community message boards.
"It's such a good version and it really deserves better sales. I know it's getting pirated to hell and back (it was up on torrents literally the day it shipped)," he added.
Digital distribution could help curb piracy on a game like DMC4. But Svensson, who's responsible for all digital distribution deals at Capcom, said he has "pushed for digital distribution on the title ... but Capcom Japan so far has not allowed it."
As a whole, Capcom is not a company that is against digital distribution, he said. "For the record all CEI-developed titles will be distributed extremely widely via digital channels (not just Steam or Direct2Drive, but more than a dozen partners across more than 100 sites/portals for everything we do)."
Responding to one commenter who questioned whether or not piracy was to blame for DMC4's poor performance on PC, Svensson said, "Piracy's not the ultimate cause... but it's a factor."
I don't care what platform anyone is talking about here. Piracy is an issue on all of them. Some (like the PC and the PSP) are a little more prevalent than others, but the point remains that everyone is affected by piracy. The only way it seems to resolve this issue, is to issue consequence where it's due. If you know someone who has pirated software, punch them in the face. Hard. If you have pirated software, punch yourself in the face and do us all a favor. The thieves who try to re-distribute pirated software need to be dragged out into the streets and shot in front of everyone - to get what they deserve and to make an example of them.
The only way anyone will stop stealing is if there is identifiable and direct consequence to their actions. It saddens me greatly to hear that amazing devs like Crytek and Epic are shying away from the PC just because of piracy. All those annoying DRM and anti-piracy methods? We all brought them upon ourselves. If the games industry takes a beating and all we wind up getting is crap shovelware and "casual" games from now on, it's our own damn fault. We asked for it. It's no wonder that companies are scared to invest in new IP's. They will never turn a profit at the rate we're going. Thanks everyone for stealing. You killed the party, you jackasses.
The ultimate cause is that it was a wrong business decision to release this console game on PCs in the first place. I do not believe they would not have foreseen this "factor" as in this day and age, you get the feeling that anything and everything ends up on some server illegally somewhere. It would be slightly naive to think this would not happen in this particular case. One of the other factors, this delayed release, also could have been anticipated. No one likes to wait.
It was dumb to release it on the PC anyway. Companies should quit making PC games for a year or two and then maybe PC gamers will realise what'll happen if they continue to never pay for their games.
Pirates don't have the money to buy originals? Where'd they get the computer, the internet, and everything else that goes with playing pirated games or watching pirated movies or listening to pirated music?
But Capcom choosing to release DMC4 on PC is foolish. This isn't a PC game. Were the other DMC games ported to PC? I don't even know. Not a wise choice.
A lot of people spend $1800 on a gaming rig yet claim they coudn't spend $50 more on a game, or worst - also buy 2 consoles and claim that they coudn't spend money buying the original instead of buying an extra gaming console.
So yeah, just dumb excuses to try to justify their choice on not paying for the game, or to have dozens of dozens of pirated games on their PC they barely even touched. At least some are truthful and say they don't care for copyright laws straight out.
For your question, DMC3 also came for the PC. I'm willing to guess it didn't sell too well either
Piracy aside, just like on consoles, if games don't all come out at a relatively close time frame, sales usually suffer on the lagging platform. Look at Quake Wars on PS3 and 360, sales are terrible, and it's a PC franchise that came to console, the opposite of DMC4. Not a perfect analogy, but you get my point. I don't want to see anyone download and not support developers, it's all of our favorite entertainment medium. The way I look at, pirates will be pirates no matter what. It's the majority of honest people that if they do download the game, and they like it, they need to buy the thing to show support. But this really isn't the issue. DMC4 just isn't a PC title that's ever going to sell well, especially compared to consoles.
I don't see a problem in trying a game out beyond the demo, so long they support the game if they planned on buying it in the first place.There is the possibility that some people will download this, like it, and end up buying this game, or becoming a Capcom fan that they otherwise wouldn't have, much like how music attracts people through sharing and ends up making fans in the long run. Publishers do need to realize though, there is a big segment of people that will never buy software, period, and a lot of them are PC Gamers, but they've never taken part in the economy. There are plenty of PC gamers out there, millions and millions of them that will buy PC games, it's those that need to be targeted, not the freeloaders.
With a game like DMC4, it's not like Lost Planet, it's much more of a console game with a fixed camera and that really does need a gamepad to enjoy. This type of game, while good, is really targeting PC Gamers, let alone PC gamers that take part in the economy. If Capcom released this around the same time it might have done better, but I think anyone could have predicted poor PC sales for a title like this.
Aren't there X360 pirates available yet they sold DMC4 well on it?
Next time Capcom releases something they should think if it's worth it to release a beat-em-up game for an audience who is used to playing mostly FPSes, RPGs RTS and some racing games.
Pirates can be at fault but people that go pirate will never buy the original anyway, it's true, just see the main target of piracy and you will see that those guys/gals don't have the money to buy originals and would never buy them. Piracy can't have always the fault.
Most gamers and fans buy stuff but you can't "milk" them forever, if the game doesn't have enough hype it will not reach the public. It doesn't matter if its DMC4 if people don't talk about it it will not sell so many copies. See the case of fable2 and Street Fighter 4 those will sell, they will get pirated as hell but will also sell a lot. My 2cents.
Exactly Alfie, we released a game (which I played and it was ok, not great) on the PC a year after it was released on both consoles, meaning virtually anyone interested in playing it has already played it. But why isn't it selling better????
I know Pirates, thats why crappy music doesn't sell and why people don't pay to go to the theater for terrible films. Always the pirates fault.
I'd have thought that piracy and Capcoms's decision to belatedly release what is very much a console game on PC during the summer months evenly share the blame for so-called disappointing sales.