In the future, there may not be video games

No, the title of this article is not a typo. Anyone following the news surrounding the video game industry knows that the industry is currently at a crucial moment: one that will define whether or not the gaming industry will survive. In case there are people out there who are still unaware of what is happening, the industry's sales in June went down a total of fifteen percent, which is a major drop.

So why is this happening? Some experts lay the blame on companies like Zynga. There are few people out there that have not played one of the many free games that Zynga has released. Some of the titles include "Farmville," "Mafia Wars," and many other versions of "something-ville" games. Why are companies such as Zynga hurting the industry? Much of the decrease in sales come from a shift in the type of games played. Why would someone who wanted to play a game spend 60 dollars on something that they would manage to beat in only a few sittings? Instead, people tend to play games, such as Farmville, which technically have an unlimited about of gameplay that a player can access for free.

"A lot of the established players [including] retailers and publishers are worried," says Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning, "[and] they have good reason to be. People are finding experiences and products elsewhere, and different businesses are emerging that large infrastructure companies aren't used to adapting to, and a lot of them won't be able to adapt to."

But free social games are not the only thing hurting the industry. Perhaps the biggest factor currently hurting the industry would be gamers themselves. A popular trend among gamers currently is to pirate games before buying the games, or to simply pirate the game. This works basically the same way people pirate music, and it only hurts the game's developers.

For all of those out there that think pirating a game before buying it is okay, I am here to say that it is one of the worst things a gamer can do. It is simply unacceptable no matter what. Even if someone intends to buy the game afterward, pirating it in the first place is not something that should be tolerated. It is not cool, it is not okay, and by doing it a person only hurts the industry they love.

Due in part to rampant pirating, some companies, such as Electronic Arts (E.A.), have begun to issue special codes with each game they release. These codes have to be used to both activate the game and access online features of the game, but they can only be used one time. In essence, this not only kills the ability to share games, but also kills the used game market. Though many predict this may hurt sales, E.A. is willing to go to such lengths in order to prevent losing money via piracy. Again, this ends up only hurting the gaming industry.

To try and predict what lies ahead for the video game industry is foolish. Though the industry currently is in the middle of a slump, don't count it out just yet. Though gaming, as people know it today, may not exist in the future, it is my guess that it will be around somehow. If piracy hurts the industry anymore than it already has I only have four words for all the would-be pirates out there: "I hope you're happy."