Why keep making console games for PC?
Just played the Conan demo and it seems like it'd be a decent game if I broke down and got a gamepad for my PC. I felt the same way about Beyond Good and Evil and a bunch of other games lately.
What I can't figure out is, given the massive array of hardware configurations to deal with, plus all the configurability PC gamers expect, why even make the PC a target platform? I mean, after the extra development and test time, are the margins really that much? What else they gaining that I'm not seeing?
Not that I'm advocating less games on PC, but better games. If there is less platform coverage, could we get more focus on games that fit PC gaming better? (I think the case for PC games not going console was made quite clear by DX2.)
Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit. - Oscar Wilde
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. (Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) - Roedy Green
Because consoles make heaps more money than PC games, so why not appeal to both?
The PC is no longer a target platform for big developers. Its cheaper to develop for the PC though, i believe, since you don''t need the development kits and all that other crap and its just cheaper to test and debug.
Now it seems like a lot of games are targeted towards consoles and then brought to PC (DX2, Halo, KOTOR, GTA, etc).
Black Isle has been scrapped now since interplay wants to focus on console games instead of the niche CRPG market.
Also, one of the goals of xbox was to make xbox <-> pc porting a lot easier. It doesn''t seem to have accomplished this, though that might just be because of the developers or MS wanting the game to soak into its target console before being ported.
Theres still a lot of great PC games out there and a lot of good ones are coming.
I''m really looking forward to Operation Flashpoint 2. Homeworld 2 was awesome, and Thief 3 should be really good (assuming they dont pull a DX2 on us PC gamers).
I own an xbox as well, and i find that there are enough good, original titles on both platforms to keep me satisfied.
Good topic. Today I called my local game shop to ask them how much store credit I could get for various titles (putting the credit towards UT 2004 and BF Vietnam) and they told me they no longer take PC games, just console games for credit. Times keep changing....
Xbox Live: Kooter06
PC gaming will still get the blockbuster titles...and of course the majority of MMOG''s (for now)
As consoles get more powerful and HDTV becomes widespread this could begin to change..
But PC development will always have one thing going for it... low cost to develop and lower barrier of entry.
Theres little stopping anyone and his/her friends from becoming the next Id or Blizzard.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
http://www.myspace.com/armyofthepharaohs
Look what happened to Dues Ex 2 - multi platform (i.e., XBOX''s limited memory) severely hampered it. Will there be any more games developed for PC only, without any thought of porting? If so, they will be few and far between.
SNES to PC adapters,
Strange NES reviews,
and a free, original, turn-based old school RPG in the spirit of Fallout and Phantasy Star.
http://www.deepdarksea.com
I love my PC and my consoles. Of course, I play different types of games on each.
For the most part I use my PC for FPS''s, CRPG''s, and RTS''s.
Consoles are used for stupid party games (exp. Mario Kart), sports, and platformers.
With the exception of Metroid Prime and Halo, you really couldn''t get me to play and FPS on a console. Whereas, I can play and enjoy almost and FPS on the PC.
Ohh, don''t get me started on this subject... I''d be a much happier person if most of the titles that were ported to PC have remained console-exclusive. They made me feel like a fool for upgrading my PC instead of simply buying all consoles...
In most ports you can almost visualise and see a wonderful experience that those games could have been, but they got crippled to be able to run on consoles, and even worse, they were ported without being ""fixed"" so they can finaly unleash their potential on PC. Look what happened to Halo and Deus Ex 2, just to name a couple of major disasters... Shame, shame, shame...
Panem et circenses
"You really need to smoke a tree first to appreciate that one." - Sanjuro
I don''t see how Deus Ex 2 or Halo are valid examples for this? Halo was a great game. What exactly were your problems with it? Just the bitterness that this came to the XBox first? Halo couldn''t be further away from what I would call a disaster.
And the small levels for example in Deus Ex 2 are a result of not trying to implement a proper streaming engine to be able to build bigger levels, like other console games do. I also had the impression that the changes to the interface were not done to make life on consoles easier (I think Morrowind shows that you can even do a more complex interface and still make it accessible with just a controller), but from what was said in the interviews it seemed the developers thought this way it would distract you less from the story and the open ended game itself.
I''d even bet that the game would not have looked much different if it had been PC only, except that some levels would have been joined to bigger ones in the first place.
I also don''t see where this ''consoles games are the reason PC games are dumbed down'' talk is taking us? A good game is a good game, no matter what platform(s) it is released on. And if you do not like how a game is done, you can always tell the dev by not buying it at all
. And getting used to a controller even for FPS is not tough. It takes you even less than it took you to adopt to the mouse keyboard setting for games. It took me long enogh to switch from keyboard only, to keyboard mouse during the quake 1 days and I was very skeptical when I first had the XBox controller in my hands. But now I can safely say I have no problem playing an FPS with a controller. No doubt that controllers don''t beat mouse/keyboard for PC multiplayer FPS, but there is more than just that genre around.
No hay banda!
Good game is a good game, that is a fact.
My sole point is that whenever there is a port from console to PC specificaly, PC version usualy suffers both in time-frame and, more importantly, features.
Call it whatever you want (stubbornes, bitternes, different taste etc etc), I just do not consider Halo to be a great game. It could have been wonderful. As it is it''s average (ok, I shouldn''t have called it disaster, I give you that), but great? Nope... Too little, too late. Deus Ex is not too late, but it''s way too little for a potential that was made by the first game.
Type of controller is the least of the problems.
No intention to start 55 posts discussion, I''m sure you had it few times already. I just declare myself as one of opponents of developing games for PC and consoles at the same time, because somebody has to suffer no matter how it turns out when devs do that. I''ll gladly agree to disagree with anyone on this subject.
Panem et circenses
"You really need to smoke a tree first to appreciate that one." - Sanjuro
I just hope they bring that new x-box game that looks like the heir-apparent to Archon over to the PC. Heck, I can''t even remember it''s name right now... but I have ached for it for a decade plus.
That''s all I want. Microsoft to make all software accessable from X-Box to PC. I paid over 3k for my current system, I should be able to have access to the $200 console''s library...
Is that too simplistic a thought?
TileGrout
@chrisg: I''m totally with el_dino on this one. DX2 definitely underdelivered on gameplay by developing primarily for console. Forget the interface, they cut out a lot of the depth.
@TileGrout: Wrath Unleashed. I played the demo on Xbox and it''s pretty much a button-masher when you get down to the fighting aspect, but the strategy is interesting. It won''t go well on Xbox because it doesn''t support Live, so bringing it to PC would be worthwhile, provided they remake it instead of just porting it and adding internet support. But don''t hold your breath.
Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit. - Oscar Wilde
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. (Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) - Roedy Green
I''m really dissapointed by the lack of split screen system link games for xbox. I have xbox LIVE and it is awesome, but i like to have friends over to play some LAN. Other than Halo, xbox has really underdelivered on this front. I think CS and Rainbow 6 have system link, but no split screen. I understand seeing your enemies screen doesn''t work well in those games, but its great when u have your teammates on one screen and your enemies in the neighboring room.