Do you have a citation for [4b]? Piracy is certainly an issue, but it's not as much of an issue as you think, particularly in the console space.
Plus, with internet-based authentication schemes (eg. Starcraft 2) plus online games (eg. MMOs), it appears that even on PC, piracy is not as damaging as it once was.
Personally, as someone who works in the Games Industry, I disagree both with piracy as a cause, but also even with the fact that 'traditional games are dying'. Traditional games - from First Person Shooters, to Real Time Strategy, to Third Person Action games are all doing very well.
I think what you are noticing is that the game market as a whole is swelling, propelled by the newer, larger markets - social games, mobile games etc. - and thus traditional games are a much smaller part of it than before. But to say that they are dying? That is a mistaken position.
Comments
Do you have a citation for [4b]? Piracy is certainly an issue, but it's not as much of an issue as you think, particularly in the console space.
Plus, with internet-based authentication schemes (eg. Starcraft 2) plus online games (eg. MMOs), it appears that even on PC, piracy is not as damaging as it once was.
Personally, as someone who works in the Games Industry, I disagree both with piracy as a cause, but also even with the fact that 'traditional games are dying'. Traditional games - from First Person Shooters, to Real Time Strategy, to Third Person Action games are all doing very well.
I think what you are noticing is that the game market as a whole is swelling, propelled by the newer, larger markets - social games, mobile games etc. - and thus traditional games are a much smaller part of it than before. But to say that they are dying? That is a mistaken position.