Crytek: Crysis Patches Prove Abundant Piracy, Consoles Are 'Very Good DRM Technologies'

While some argue that piracy can increase game sales by letting players take a "try before you buy" approach, Crytek business manager Harald Seeley isn't one of them.

Based on downloads of the last Crysis patch, he argues, there were "a lot more active [Crysis] players than there were unit sales."

And since those pirates are still playing the game months after release, Seeley reasons that "then they were a sale that didn't happen but probably would have had it not been possible to obtain the game illegally."

Crytek, the studio that created the hardware intensive Far Cry and Crysis games exclusively for PC, has repeatedly stated that the upcoming Crysis Warhead will be its last PC-only game due to the abundant piracy of PC games.

But just because Crytek is no longer developing PC exclusives, that doesn't mean the company will abandon the platform. "We want to continue to provide our fans in the PC world a rich and engaging experience," Seeley explained to EDGE Online.

"But that doesn't mean we can't also release the same title on consoles. It takes nothing away from the PC gamer if the game is also available on another platform."

"Console technology has advanced a great deal since we released Far Cry," he continued. "Our teams have since found it very exciting to push the boundaries of what most people today consider possible to do on those platforms, both technically and artistically."

In addition, Seeley expressed his belief that things will be better on consoles as "consoles themselves are, in one sense, simply very good DRM technologies."

"Consumers welcome and pay for [consoles], in order to receive the benefits that come with them, such as the healthy variety of games which are able to prosper in such a protected environment, and the greater ease of installation, use and reliability."