It is no secret that console gaming is where a majority of the money is for the industry. What does surprise me is the contempt developers have for the PC platform to start with. Instead of communicating with gamers and looking to offer quality products to appeal to potential consumers, companies release half-assed products or very poor ports. When sales are low due to these actions, they blame piracy and refuse to take a look at their own actions.
SEGA is the latest publisher in the anti-PC gamer club. The company is bringing Sonic: All Stars Racing to the PC, but without one major feature, online support. Instead, the company is releasing local splitscreen multiplayer only. As fans became upset and the company was questioned about this, SEGA had some very interesting comments to add.
“Truth is we did look at online support, be it GFW or some other method,” Lycett said. “When we looked into the cost vs the projected sales, the two didn’t add up. So as a result the feature wasn’t added to the game. One of the main reasons is that on PC people will steal it rather than buy it.”
So clearly, SEGA has generalized the entire PC market and dubbed us as thieves. I am not ignorant to the fact a great deal of piracy does exist, but so do a great deal of legitimate consumers if you provide a quality product. Had I actually been interested in this title, I would have no incentive to buy it now. Why buy a substandard port with features missing? While I do not condone such acts, I imagine their ignorance will lead to a higher rate of piracy for their products.