Quote:
The only place where making games is still like making records today...


I hope this discussion is merely an extension of my loose equivlance of the RIAA to game publishers. I wasn't trying to say that the game industry is the same as the music industry. On the contrary, I was trying to point out that many of the RIAA players are very similar in their business model and practices as game publishers.

There are some hugely popular games that have been made by a small group of people, in some cases even one. Counter Strike is a perfect example. It was originally put together by a couple of guys at home. Yes, it's a mod, but you could argue that fact about many games that use licensed technology (especially full-engine packages like LithTech, Unreal, Quake and now Source). Sure, Valve threw people at the mod to port it to Source, but for the past five years it's remained largely unchanged during its reign as the "most played online game".

The game industry is probably more similar to the movie industry than the music industry. Piracy is rampant, a few big companies make most of the industry decisions regarding "creativity" and which projects get the green-light and distribution channels are almost monopolized. Unfortunately, the game industry is still struggling for legitimacy despite US$7B in sales mostly because of its inherent appeal to a younger audience. Other problems continue to plague the industry as well, such as the "don't hire anyone over 30" attitude and associated low pay scale which combine to cause a decidely less mature and less respectable environment (at least as seen from the outside world).

All of this aside, the bottom line for me is this: If I can get the same game online, especially if it's a few bucks cheaper, all the better for me.