Arrrr-stralians. Are We Now Hooked On Piracy?

Cheap, legal options wouldn’t stop Australians pirating - Delimiter

A new survey by Essential Research has been conducted on Australians and our filthy downloading habits.  The results, which I am surprised haven't been grabbed by the anti-piracy lobby and waved from the nearest mountain top, show that if given cheap and equal access to content 20% of respondents who currently pirate would still continue to download copyright infringing content.

Just think about that for a moment.  Look past the attention grabbing headline of the source story and consider that from the sample group 80% would consider using cheaper paid services if they were available.  That is impressive and certainly shows quite a shift from what has long been assumed as the norm.

There is no way to guarantee 0% piracy.  Even in the USA, home of Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go and a plethora of inexpensive cable TV channels and streaming services there still exists a contingent of dedicated downloaders who will NEVER pay for content.  And if they were never going to pay then there is no lost sale because of them.

Another interesting little snippet in the survey is one sentence stating "Downloading from the internet has dropped somewhat since it was last measured in May 2012".  A sizeable chunk of this would be because music and games now have the sort of services that can compete with piracy with convenience.  iTunes started it all when the music industry was bemoaning lost sales due to services like Napster and Kazaa.  Services like Rdio and Spotify now offer millions of songs on demand through free, advertising supported, models.  Steam has revolutionised how PC games are sold and helped push acceptance of purchasing of digital content through other services such as Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.

All this has evolved after someone stood up and decided to change the status quo, who decided to provide something to the consumer that offers convenience.  If the movie and TV rights holders expect people to stop downloading illicitly then they need someone to step up and provide the services, and then support it!

If you build it, they will come.  Just don't expect everyone.

Steam Is Out Gaming Xbox Live

Steam Surpasses Xbox Live With 65 Million Users - The Escapist

A major milestone for PC gaming has just been achieved.  Steam, the premier digital games store for PC (and making inroads into Linux and Mac territory) now has more subscribers than Xbox Live. With over 65 million subscribers (up 30% from last year) to scream for mercy when the Steam sales come around.

Xbox live is currently tracking at the 48 million mark, while Sony's free Playstation Network is still the leader of the pack at 110 million (probably helped by people like me who have accounts based in Australia, US and the UK just to make sure I can access all the contents!).

With the impending launch of SteamOS and Valve's plan to have its digital store and game launcher invade your living room with dedicated hardware to go along with the new console beasts from Microsoft and Sony it looks like 2014 is going to be quite the competitive year for your gaming dollar.

And The Winner Is...

I'm sure some of you remember the Telltale Games bundle competition I ran to celebrate this blog breaking through the walls of Facebook and Twitter.  I apologise for the delay (partially caused by my Breaking Bad obsession), but now it is time for this competition to be wrapped up.

Drumroll please....

Our winner is Simm (c'mon I'm not putting their full name here).

Congratulations and I will be sending your download code very, very soon.

I have a few more Steam keys up my sleeve and am looking at putting together an Indie game pack, so stay tuned for your chance to win.

COMPETITION TIME - Win A TellTale Games Collection

Telltale Games is the studio that has bought adventure games back.  They started out be re-booting classics like Sam and Max and Monkey Island and moves on to games based on franchises like Back to the Future and Wallace and Gromit.  Last year they received massive acclaim and several Game of the Year awards for their excellent take on The Walking Dead.

Here is your chance to experience some of their classic games on PC (via Steam activation) with this simple competition.

Yep that's right, I am giving away a collection of the following excellent games:

Back To The Future

Hector: Badge of Carnage

Poker Night At The Inventory 

Puzzle Agent 1 and 2

Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse

Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures

Just so you know, I have no affiliation with Telltale Games or Steam.  I received the Steam Key as part of a package and already owned the above titles.

So what do you need to do?

Simply share this post or my blog through your preferred social media outlet.  Drop a quick comment letting me know and your name will be in the draw. Make sure you do it by the 30th of September and the winner will be notified during the first week of October.

Good luck, and get sharing!

Game Review - Mark Of The Ninja

Ah the Steam Summer Sale (check out here for a better description than I could ever come up with) what a hotbed you are for helping me to checkout games I have held off buying. Thanks to a flash sale I picked up Mark Of The Ninja (MOTJ) at a ridiculously low price.

MOTJ sees you play as a Ninja (obviously) who has been chosen to receive a mysterious tattoo that increases his sneaking and silent killing abilities with the only downside being he is expected to commit ritual suicide before the ink drives him completely crazy. The timing is good as his clan is attacked by a mysterious band of mercenaries and it's up to you to track them down and protect the clan.

MOTJ is a stealth platformer that gives you multiple approaches to each level. You can try to sneak through without being noticed, break lights to distract guards or kill those you come across in a myriad of sneaky violent ways. Sneaking is very important part of the game since if you do get spotted you only have a brief chance to escape as you are seriously outgunned.

The tension in this game is incredible. Each new section is a puzzle as you plan your approach. There are level specific bonus options to add extra challenge to taking out the bad guys or you can try for the big bonus points that come from reaching your target without being seen or killing anyone.

Adding to the tension is a line of sight mechanic where to see exactly what is going on you need to peek over edges or glance through doors. Use of light and shadow is week balanced and adds a lot of options when planning your progress.

The story is told via anime style cut scenes that are engaging while being short enough that they don't get on your nerves and you are accompanied by a mysterious companion who drops hints and mission objectives without interrupting the flow of the game.

All up MOTJ is a very enjoyable and compelling with a fresh approach to stealth and platforming. The game itself is quite short but it gives you plenty of reasons to revisit it. I am on my second play through attempting the full stealth/no killing approach which makes it a very different experience. It's available on PC our Xbox 360 and is definitely worth your time and money.

In two words - spike mine.