> Speaking from experience, piracy has a very strong influence on how much money video game companies are willing to spend on development.
The PC gaming market is very healthy, probably healthier than ever, so I honestly do not know what you are talking about here.
Triple-A games aren't targeted to consoles because of pirates, they are targeted to consoles because consumer demand is higher for console games. Only a few genres are more popular on PC, like RTS, MOAB, and MMORPG.
> Triple-A games aren't targeted to consoles because of pirates, they are targeted to consoles because consumer demand is higher for console games.
The estimated PC install base for one of the console-led titles I've worked on is in the same ballpark as each of the consoles.* The actual sales on PC, however, were far, far less than the consoles.
* We know this due to, e.g. number of people pinging the multiplayer servers, checking for updates etc.
The PC gaming market is almost entirely multiplayer games, console ports, republished older releases, flash games, and independent games sold through Steam. Almost no one is investing significant budgets in easily pirated, single-player PC games. I'm not saying the PC gaming market is unhealthy or dying, but you should realize that every decision PC game developers make is driven by the need to make money in spite of rampant piracy. The OP asked for evidence that piracy has an effect on business decisions - it definitely does for PC games. In fact, I think it's probably the most important factor.
The PC gaming market is very healthy, probably healthier than ever, so I honestly do not know what you are talking about here.
Triple-A games aren't targeted to consoles because of pirates, they are targeted to consoles because consumer demand is higher for console games. Only a few genres are more popular on PC, like RTS, MOAB, and MMORPG.