SecuROM Maker, GameStop Join PC Gaming Alliance as Activision Blizzard and Acer Leave

You know something is fishy when a PC gaming alliance loses the biggest PC gaming developer in the world, yet they manage to report a "net gain for 2009".

It just doesn't add up.

PCGA is officially a joke now.

Fuck off Sony. Go put your rootkits somewhere else, like up your ass.

GFW and the PC gaming alliance are about making multiplatform development easier and more profitable, not about helping the PC as a distinct platform. Fuck them and their console ports.

PC Gaming Alliance is now officially the antithesis of what PC gaming actually needs.

- Microsoft is splintering the online community with GFWL, a trojan horse to divert money into their XBOX program and eventually end PC gaming, long desired by them as they derive no real income from it other than operating system sales.

- Epic has all but abandoned the PC platform, begrudgingly updating the shit out of UT3 to wring last gasp sales from a poorly designed product and blaming the end users for all their ills.

- Capcom, who refuse to release most of their titles through digital distribution because they feel they cant control non-physical media, and rely on SecuROM etc to hobble legitimate purchases.

- Sony is now on board, the enemy of 99% of legitimate purchase gamers and dont care if their 'product' its bad for them.

- GameStop, a company that understandably hates the future of PC gaming (digital distribution) and will fight tooth and nail to slow its progress while it continues to be a member. From comments on here, their selection of PC titles on shelf is sparse at best, pathetic at worst. No doubt deals will be done to get XBOX titles on GameStop shelves with timed exclusivity, with a side deal to have Microsoft PC titles (GFWL, of course) given a prominent display at the detriment of all other remaining PC games.

Notable entities NOT members:
Valve: Digital distribution pioneers, make games most obviously comfortable on the PC.
Popcap: They make squillions from casual PC gaming and the majority of their income is sourced online.
Stardock: Once makers CrApps (crap apps), but now digital distributors (Impulse) of excellent PC gaming fare.
Good Old Games/Greenhouse/etc: Digital distributors that make a point of difference with Steam in that they don't actively enforce the use of master applications to run digital software. This is an added freedom for those who don't wish to use Steams excellent services such as community/matchmaking etc and gives the consumer further buying choices.

Notice a pattern yet? The majority of members are in it to control PC gaming, the absentees are there to empower it.

Fuck the alliance.

This PC Gaming Alliance has been a joke from the start, i'm a PC Gamer [only pretty much] and never been "yeah! pc gamer alliance .. whoo!".. specially since when they announced it first it was microsoft, intel, epic..

-Microsoft: do litle as nothing for PC gaming [Games For Windows needs fixing and/or remaking soon]
-Intel: just want more people to buy their cpu's so it's only cause of money they're there.
-Epic: not done much for pc gaming since Gears of War.. sure UT3 came out, but did anyone actually really like it? (not tried the 'titan pack') & UT (1) ftw:P.
-GameStop: I don't live in the us but all i've heard about them on comments on gaming sites (such as this one mainly & Kotaku) is that they have a very small space for PC games somewhere in the back or corner of the store and don't sell games that requires steam or something like that.


Not to mention what the hell do they do anyway?!.. they've made like 2 announcements since they formed this thing, for someone that makes this and is trying to 'save' pc gaming they should actually do something.. Valve is doing lot of things to help pc gaming and they're not in this, and now not Blizzard.. this whole thing is a fail specially since guys that made SecuROM DRM are in there now.

So are they gonna start doing stuff now?

This is actually a little funny, if you think about it. And really sad if you think about it longer.

Letting Sony DADC into the PCGA is a really bad idea if they were hoping to increase awareness, support and community interaction for PC games through their organization. They might as well have let StarForce in.

Oh no, does that mean PCGA members will have to pay for their WOW accounts now?

I'd like to know what the hell the PCGA does anyway.

Yet gamestop's selection of PC titles its minimal/embarrassing. Its sad when Wal Mart has a better selection for PC games than an exclusive game retailer.

Looks like PCGA is now carrying the vested interests of brick-and-mortar providers.

All the flexible, forward-facing devs have no need of this. They're already doing fine without the PCGA, thankyoumuch to Impulse, Steam, Greenhouse, Direct2Drive et al.

Welp. So much for that.

hahahaha

I'm pretty sure that Blizzard has more money than God.. so i dont think it has much to do with cost of membership

Haha, is this a joke? There has to be something else at play here.

Heh, heh. It's like a joke.