The first and most logical consequence is the increasing use of draconian copy protection. This is the most direct and foreseeable response by developers and publishers. While its effectiveness is endlessly debatable, the fact remains that it is a contentious subject. It has prevented many legitimate purchasers from enjoying their game, and in some rare instances may cause additional difficulties. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know anyone who has ever had a real problem (not one-sided whining by ignorant folks) caused by DRM. But anything that potentially stops someone enjoying a game they have paid for is a bad thing. And for every genuine issue brought about by DRM, there are hundreds caused by malicious code in embedded in cracks that accompany illegal downloads.
Another effect is the increasing prevalence of captive income business models – e.g. MMOs, both of the subscription and free-to-play variety. They don’t care if you pirate the game. Heck, some positively encourage it because that means you’re playing it. And that means repeated, non-stealable income. Take World of Warcraft for example, at around R135 a month. Play for 3 months and that’s the cost of a PC game. Any longer, and it’s all additional income for the developer. The free-to-play MMOs (which are getting huge in the Far East) make their money by selling premium items to players for real-world currency. The games are okay without these higher-powered goodies, but if you want to get anywhere you’re going to cough the cash.
The last consequence (and perhaps most alarming) is the move away from true PC gaming altogether. Already, there are strong reasons why the major development studios are shifting their focus to the various consoles – the market is larger with better sales, and they are easier to develop for thanks to fixed hardware configurations. Add to this the potential for hundreds of thousands of sales lost to piracy, and PC exclusive opuses are a thing of the past. A telling example is Crytek – they have openly stated that the money lost on stolen downloads of Crysis has precluded any future PC exclusives. Crysis sold 86 633 units in its first month. In that same period, it was illegally downloaded over half a million times. The logical conclusion is this: over time, more and more PC games will be console ports. This is a terrible fate, as these ports seldom make the transition gracefully.
Aspects of game design that make a title suitable for a console are less than desirable on PC. This includes limiting technical aspects (controls, video configuration etc) as well as gameplay style (linearity, game length , complexity etc) The graphics capability of consoles is also a good deal lower, so few ports will take advantage of the additional horsepower a good PC can bring to the party. As console programming evolves and developers try to squeeze out every ounce of performance from limited hardware, games make greater use of the CPU as opposed to GPU. This will subsequently affect how the game runs on a PC too – as CPUs begin to shoulder more work, we won’t see the eternal graphics card FPS arms-race at the level is has been. Another subsequent result is the delay to PC release. Since piracy on consoles is so much lower, studios will release there first. Games will be sold, and only once they drop off will the PC version be released to get what sales are available (those who do not have consoles, want to save some cash or are simply waiting to pirate it).
While this does not mean PC gaming is doomed, the future landscape will be rather different than what we have become accustomed to. So do your part. Help yourself and your fellow PC gamers – if you like a game, buy it!