Id follows Crytek, Lucas Arts

[WaitingForNehalem]

What a shame: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6...atestheadlines;title;1

As usual he blames piracy and says the Xbox 360 is their number 1 priority.

 

[Andrew1990]

In 5-10 years, they will be crying because the consoles will have merged into PCs and the PC gamers wont forget what they have done. Muhahahaha

Anyways, I guess we get more ports...

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
In 5-10 years, they will be crying because the consoles will have merged into PCs and the PC gamers wont forget what they have done. Muhahahaha

Anyways, I guess we get more crappy ports...

Fixed.

Sign of the times I guess

 

[DaveSimmons]

Maybe. It sounds like they aren't just starting with the 360 then re-using the blurry textures and low-polygon models, instead he talks about generating 100+ GB of data, then condensing it down to 50 GB for the PS3 and less for 360/PC.

Given the slow blu-ray streaming it's probably more like 25GB with repeated data on PS3, and 15+ GB for PCs and 360 on 2 DVDs -- maybe 3 DVDs on PC if we're lucky. But they're working on all 3 platforms from the beginning, the PC isn't a follow-up port handed off to a second-rate team.

 

[Glitchny]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
In 5-10 years, they will be crying because the consoles will have merged into PCs and the PC gamers wont forget what they have done. Muhahahaha

Anyways, I guess we get more ports...

Lol, actually i doubt many people will remember or care that they switched to consoles.

It makes business sense. Less piracy (although this may or may not be a real issue) easier platform to develop for (known hardware, less configuration/drivers to support), and a user base that has lower expectations and is easier to please.

I do however love that PC gamers always say how they have been "betrayed" by companies that start making console games.

 

[Andrew1990]

I dont really feel betrayed as long as they continue to at least port games. The only company I really like on PC anyways is Valve so all is fine by me.


It also helps weed out all the bad games.

 

[Zenoth]

If they can deliver good games then who could possible care? My only concern is the potentially crippling DRM schemes they might implement, but lately EA has allowed revoking tools to alleviate a lot of DRM-related issues. I have my hopes, but to be honest I am far, very far from being even slightly interested in Rage. The only one I want is DOOM 4, but in the interview he mentions that the team for it isn't even complete and that they started only last year on development, so it may not even be released next year, more like in 2011 or something similar to that. In the meantime there's nothing id Software wants to do that is interesting to me.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: Glitchny

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
In 5-10 years, they will be crying because the consoles will have merged into PCs and the PC gamers wont forget what they have done. Muhahahaha

Anyways, I guess we get more ports...

Lol, actually i doubt many people will remember or care that they switched to consoles.

It makes business sense. Less piracy (although this may or may not be a real issue) easier platform to develop for (known hardware, less configuration/drivers to support), and a user base that has lower expectations and is easier to please.

I do however love that PC gamers always say how they have been "betrayed" by companies that start making console games.

It isn't when a company goes multiplatform that's betrayal, it's when they put off the system that they started with just because that is where all the sheeps are. I understand they'll make more money, but accusing the PC because of piracy and predicting an unknown/dim future is rediculous. I don't understand how the artists are staisfied with consoles. Looking at the special features DVD of Crysis, the guy wanted to implement so many features and realism and that is only possible on the PC. Playing COD 4, I can't help but notice how everything seems tuned for a console. You basically have a picture wrapped the level you are on to avoid consuming resources on view distance , most of the textures are very low-res, levels are extremely linear, foliage is 2D and doesn't even move, and the environment doesn't react whatsoever.

Maybe. It sounds like they aren't just starting with the 360 then re-using the blurry textures and low-polygon models, instead he talks about generating 100+ GB of data, then condensing it down to 50 GB for the PS3 and less for 360/PC.

Given the slow blu-ray streaming it's probably more like 25GB with repeated data on PS3, and 15+ GB for PCs and 360 on 2 DVDs -- maybe 3 DVDs on PC if we're lucky. But they're working on all 3 platforms from the beginning, the PC isn't a follow-up port handed off to a second-rate team.

No, they can put as many DVD's as they want since they don't have to pay royalites on the PC.

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
What a shame: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6...atestheadlines;title;1

As usual he blames piracy and says the Xbox 360 is their number 1 priority.

Fuck em.. They get out of the PC market they'll get pirated on the Xbox. They move somewhere else they'll get pirated there too.

They are only hurting themselves in the process, because I sure as hell will not buy a console to play their games just because they wont make em on the PC. Somehow, I don't think I'm the only one out there that feels this way.

Luckily, there is no shortage of game developers and companies comping up like mushrooms after the rain. The companies in question are no longer the best. They haven't been the best for a long time now. Their time has passed. There are better companies out there now, making much better games. I think the Russian devs have a lot of potential. After STALKER and Men of War, I cant wait to see what else they will come up with next.

 

[racolvin]

I'm too old to play games on a console I pay my money, I wanna see the content but most of the time I have to use cheat codes to get past certain things because I just don't have the hand/eye coordination to do it otherwise. PC games generally allow me to do that, consoles not so much.

 

[Maximilian]

Who cares, i have a 360 and a PC anyways it dosent bother me. You get amazing RTS games like CoH and eventually starcraft II and amazing FPS games on the 360 that would otherwise take a lot of PC horsepower to run, best of both worlds. I look forward to doom 4, hopefully they will give us a goddamn flashlight this time round...

 

[Zenoth]

Originally posted by: ibex333

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
What a shame: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6...atestheadlines;title;1

As usual he blames piracy and says the Xbox 360 is their number 1 priority.

Fuck em.. They get out of the PC market they'll get pirated on the Xbox. They move somewhere else they'll get pirated there too.

They are only hurting themselves in the process, because I sure as hell will not buy a console to play their games just because they wont make em on the PC. Somehow, I don't think I'm the only one out there that feels this way.

Luckily, there is no shortage of game developers and companies comping up like mushrooms after the rain. The companies in question are no longer the best. They haven't been the best for a long time now. Their time has passed. There are better companies out there now, making much better games. I think the Russian devs have a lot of potential. After STALKER and Men of War, I cant wait to see what else they will come up with next.

I agree on that, but it's also true outside of Russia and in Europe in general. I myself am enjoying Sacred 2 (by Ascaron, in Germany) at the moment, and I really liked Arx Fatalis a few years ago (by Arkane Studios, in France), and also more recently Dark Messiah (by Arkane Studios again), that one was a real sleeper hit in my book. And many others I know I'm not thinking of at the moment.

id Software definitely had their glory days, and it's behind them now, but at least they haven't abandoned DOOM, and I'm happy that it's been developed internally, but I have that strange feeling that some of the big names at id Software don't hold a special place for DOOM anymore, I think that originally they never expected such popularity and they in fact never really looked much into it after DOOM II was released, and the somewhat mixed reception for DOOM 3, perhaps more of a negative one generally speaking than a positive one kind of gave a bad taste for it. I don't know why but if DOOM 4 fails I think they'll just drop the balls on that franchise altogether. I definitely hope I'm totally wrong about all of my speculation though, it's just a feeling I have, time will tell, DOOM 4 isn't coming anytime soon anyway.

 

[ja1484]

Gee, with every developer ever saying piracy on the PC is a problem, perhaps there's some truth to it?

I've met a ton of people in casual public games of Left 4 Dead discussing over the mic which games they've torrented lately. I love PC gaming as much as the next guy, and I buy every single game I play (even the ones I end up disliking and not finishing), but when pretty much every major studio out there jumps ship to multi-platform it's head-in-the-sand if you don't believe something's going on.

 

[coloumb]

Didn't bungie use to develop only for the Mac? Look at where they are now...

I really am not surprised - whenever I walk into Fred Meyer electronics department - it's a glaring reminder of where the profits are coming from - consoles and console games.

Consoles/games get an entire wall of shelf space in clear view while the pc games are stacked on a small shelf in the back corner of the department - it's kind of like they are selling them because it still generates just enough money to break even.

The local Game store also proves this - A majority of the shelf space is filled with new/used console games while PC games are once again tucked way back in the corner.

I suspect in 5/10 years - PC gaming platform will find a new home with the Commodore 64's and dot matrix printers... while next generation of consoles will be the centerpiece of the home entertainment and gaming system.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Look people, PC gaming isn't going anywhere. Too many companies make too much money off of it to let that happen. No one would buy high end CPU's, Nvidia/ATI GPU's, RAM, HDD's, PSU's, Cases, Motherboards, RAZER & Logitech peripherals, high end LCD's, etc... PC gamers drive the market and innovate. If PC gaming dies everyone shuts down. I and I'm sure many others would then stop using Windows and move to Linux. AGAIN, this will never happen.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Gee, with every developer ever saying piracy on the PC is a problem, perhaps there's some truth to it?

I've met a ton of people in casual public games of Left 4 Dead discussing over the mic which games they've torrented lately. I love PC gaming as much as the next guy, and I buy every single game I play (even the ones I end up disliking and not finishing), but when pretty much every major studio out there jumps ship to multi-platform it's head-in-the-sand if you don't believe something's going on.

yet they all had to buy Left 4 Dead

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: ja1484

Gee, with every developer ever saying piracy on the PC is a problem, perhaps there's some truth to it?

I've met a ton of people in casual public games of Left 4 Dead discussing over the mic which games they've torrented lately. I love PC gaming as much as the next guy, and I buy every single game I play (even the ones I end up disliking and not finishing), but when pretty much every major studio out there jumps ship to multi-platform it's head-in-the-sand if you don't believe something's going on.

yet they all had to buy Left 4 Dead

Hey, I just report what I see. You all can draw your own conclusions.

The point is, while arguing about the *extent* may be a fun activity for internet curmudgeons and elitists, it's obviously enough of an issue that game developers are changing their habits.

 

[Glitchny]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: ja1484

Gee, with every developer ever saying piracy on the PC is a problem, perhaps there's some truth to it?

I've met a ton of people in casual public games of Left 4 Dead discussing over the mic which games they've torrented lately. I love PC gaming as much as the next guy, and I buy every single game I play (even the ones I end up disliking and not finishing), but when pretty much every major studio out there jumps ship to multi-platform it's head-in-the-sand if you don't believe something's going on.

yet they all had to buy Left 4 Dead

Hey, I just report what I see. You all can draw your own conclusions.

The point is, while arguing about the *extent* may be a fun activity for internet curmudgeons and elitists, it's obviously enough of an issue that game developers are changing their habits.

yea piracy certainly isn't helping the market at all. Thousands of people pirate games, and no those people do not then go buy the game, they play it and then uninstall and download the next game. Sure there are some people who download to "demo" the game and then actually buy it but they are not the majority. The fact that World of Goo had like an 85% piracy rate is ridiculous, but somehow its a non-issue to the PC gaming crowd.

And even if somehow these people pirating games don't affect sales(doubtful) the perception that it hurts sales is enough to make developers worried. When some studios stay open based on the success of the one game the put out every two years, its not worth the risk in many of their minds, and I can't blame them.

However I don't see PC gaming going anywhere. As was said earlier in the thread PC games are the ones pushing graphical boundaries, coming up with new tech and generally innovating a lot of game technology. And as long as MMO's, RTS, and FPS are better on PC's I don't see the platform going anywhere.

 

[TidusZ]

Originally posted by: Maximilian
Who cares, i have a 360 and a PC anyways it dosent bother me. You get amazing RTS games like CoH and eventually starcraft II and amazing FPS games on the 360 that would otherwise take a lot of PC horsepower to run, best of both worlds. I look forward to doom 4, hopefully they will give us a goddamn flashlight this time round...

I can't play fps on a console. It just doesn't work for me. It doesn't happen.

As for pc gaming going under, I mean isn't that a no brainer? Look at Blizzard Entertainment for example, they're probably gonna declare bankruptcy anytime now. They've managed to keep afloat this long with console games they've made lately like rock'n'racing and vikings 1 and 2. They need to stop work on Diablo 3 and WoW and focus more on starcraft ghost if they wanna keep up in this economy and p2p era.

 

[MTDEW]

If Microshaft would let me plug in a keyboard and mouse into my 360 for FPS gaming, i wouldnt care.
It would actually save me a lot of $$$ not upgrading my graphics card all the time anyway.

But i personally can't hit the broad side of a barn with a controller in a FPS.

I just finally finished Gears Of War 2 , and if i had a dollar for every stray bullet that missed its target due to using and analog stick to aim, i'd never have to work again.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: Glitchny
However I don't see PC gaming going anywhere. As was said earlier in the thread PC games are the ones pushing graphical boundaries, coming up with new tech and generally innovating a lot of game technology. And as long as MMO's, RTS, and FPS are better on PC's I don't see the platform going anywhere.

Oh PC gaming isn't going to go anywhere - that was never an issue. Just expect to see more and more companies mitigating their risk by developing multi-platform titles. Shit, pretty much all of them already have. The only major player I can think of that still develops specific titles for specific platforms is Blizzard. Wonder how long that'll last now that they're cuddled up to Activision.

 

[shiranai]

I'm intrigued by those of you that don't consider piracy to be a legitimate argument for exiting the PC gaming industry. Smart companies go for highest ROI, and piracy has a significant (perceived or real) impact on that figure. While piracy exists on consoles, the barriers (hardware modding, firmware flashing, online banning risk, voiding warranties, etc.) are substantially higher than just downloading a torrent.

The ultimate result of rampant piracy is fewer developers in the market, lower development budgets, etc. The industry is, in essence, funded by donations - nobody actually needs to buy games when torrents are readily available and legal consequences are all but non-existent.

 

[TehMac]

This isn't news, tbh. ID has been saying this garbage since 2006, maybe even before.

Companies will say things to further their own interests, developers will say stuff, publishers will say stuff, but the defacto clause is that where there's a chance to squeeze in some bucks, it'll happen.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Where do you think the pirates will go anyways if there aren't any games for the PC anymore? The consoles. Besides, North America has one of the lowest pirating rate of all continents. Developing countries have been pirating for years. Have you ever seen counterfeit Nintendo's? They even sell pirated copies of console games in stores.

 

[magomago]

Yeah IMO I can totally see his point. We are in denial if we say PC gaming isn't being hurt by piracy. Lots of gamers are savvy enough to crack PC games. I've even see absolute idiots about pcs know which sites to go to. On top of it, even if they are total idiots, there is a good chance they have friends who like games and they know how to do it.

This is why everything is moving to online distribution like steam ~ cracking isn't a matter of running a CD key gen and going LOLOLOLOL