Connectivity - At Your Service

So why is piracy so prevalent and why do players flock to the less-than-legitimate means to acquire a game rather than buy it outright? Simple. Players will always go for the option that is more accommodating and user-friendly. In this loop of circular logic publishers are stuck in, they have alienated players through their futile war against the pirates. From one hindrance to another, being gouged for every cent they can spare to other things such as the lack of playable trial versions or deceptive marketing one wouldn't be surprised they would download the game just to see what it's like. Some even try to justify their actions by claiming the demos would hurt game sales, despite the obvious implications that the player may just not like the game after trying it.

This is where the idea of service comes in: between a publisher that chastises you for playing their game to a pirated copy with no restrictions whatsoever, which would the average player really go for? The choice is easy enough, which is why the digital distribution service Steam by Valve has flourished since its conception in 2003. Steam is lauded as what the game industry should have been doing all along, from offering games at cheaper prices, allow smaller development teams to release their games on it as a distribution platform, store your games in a personal library you can install anywhere, the ability to chat with your friends during games and more functions. This has garnered a lot of goodwill from its user base and proves the tired "companies are in it to make money" line is not a good justification to spit on your customers for the sake of profits. Case in point Origin is a similar digital distribution service attempted by Electronic Arts to emulate Valve's success but the results were more than questionable, often selling games at their real retail price and exclusivity of certain titles regardless if you want to use the service or not. The less there is to say about Games for Windows Live the better, which forced itself into games when people never even wanted it. For games on Steam which have GFWL latched on the player is required to sign on the latter to even get in the game; how is that good service?

As with any successful business there needs to be a good connection between the distributor and the consumer. It is imperative for the publisher to remember at all times that without their customers they have no power, thus need to establish better relations with their players in order for loyalty to blossom. Take a look at Valve and their Steam service, making lots of money by making their customers happy. After all, isn't the relationship what it's all about, with each party getting what they want and being all the more content for it? Hopefully this kind of idea only gets better in the future, have the medium prosper and grow out of stagnation.