There are plenty of sites that will allow you to play free computer games in your browser window using Flash, or download Java games to your machine. This is fine if you are looking for something quick and simple, but most of them will be quite old or primitive in their graphics and gameplay.



Interest in downloading free computer games has probably been around the longest, and unlike other media such as music and movies which have had to wait for the Internet to grow big enough to accommodate them, games and the Internet have developed at a comparable pace.

Cracks

Many of the free computer games available through file sharing methods have been cracked. This means that the copy protection has been removed to enable you to burn it to disk or install it directly from your hard drive. It is also usual for a downloaded game to be supplied with a copied serial number, should one be required for installation, and a No-CD/No-DVD crack.

The No-CD/No-DVD crack enables the game to be played without having the CD or DVD placed in the drive. This can be achieved by modifying the game's 'executable file', or by using a customised program called a 'byte patcher'. Both of these approaches act in a similar way, disabling the game's built-in 'disk check' mechanisms.

Also usually included will be a text or .nfo file (readme file) which contains the, installation instructions and other pertinent information.

Studios will benefit

Most games these days consist of a single-player, and an online multi-player mode. If you're using a cracked version, you should be able to play the single-player aspect of the game unhindered, but if you intend to play online then you'll probably encounter difficulty logging on.

This is due to the provided serial number already being registered on the game server by someone else. So even if you regularly download free computer games, the developers still hope to tempt you into buying a legitimate copy to gain full online access.

It has always been the case that the major publicity of any game has always been through word of mouth, and success has only ever come when people have been positively talking about it. The bottom line is, studios will still benefit from free distribution, as long as the products they develop are genuinely good.