PC game companies going console

[CR6]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/46079

id and Epic: Multiplatform because of piracy [11:17 am]

Across two separate lectures at this week's Game Developers Conference, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead and Epic Games president Michael Capps both admitted that piracy of PC games caused their companies to pursue developing beyond the PC platform. "Piracy has pushed id as being multiplatform," stated Hollenshead, whose company contracted Z-Axis to handle the PlayStation 3 version and Nerve Software the Xbox 360 edition of Splash Damage's forthcoming Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC).

Comments made by Epic's Capps carried a similar tone. "PC gaming is really falling apart," he revealed. "It killed us to make Unreal Tournament 3 cross-platform, but Epic had to do it," adding "the market that would buy a $600 video card knows how Bittorrent works." Epic is currently developing Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in-house.

Meanwhile, Firaxis designer and programmer Soren Johnson remained confident in PC development. He suggested that "game design on the PC is going to bend toward persistence," noting Blizzard's World of Warcraft is "successful because you can't pirate WoW. You cannot pirate an MMO. Period."

So I wonder how many of those people who are complaining about the demise of PC games are actually contributing to said demise because they download pirated games?

[rookie]

Nothing new there, but for me I can only say, if a game is worth it's money, I buy it. If there is not a demo or enough info to get an opinion in the first place, I'm not buying it. And with this attitude by publishers/developers showing doubt in their own release because of piracy..I don't know. It would be more convincing if they say because of the system requirements that more and more PC-gamers can not live up to. Piracy also exists on consoles and it won't be long before it is as big there as it is on PC.

Edited March 11, 2007 by rookie

[Colin]

Good Article and one of many pointing to same conclusion.

Mind you Companies Like EA not too detered it seems.

[krise madsen]

I can follow them as far as piracy being a problem and piracy perhaps being more common on the PC than on consoles at the moment. The rest, however, is quite frankly BS.

I've never had a Playstation myself, but you'd have to be blind, deaf and mentally retarded not to notice the torrent (pun intended) of pirated PS games. If console games have been less plagued piracy until now, they've just been lucky. It won't last.

It's like when that Apple boss said that he'd like to see iTunes that could be listened to on other players than the iPod, but they were forced to use DRM by the music studios. Pure BS. Apple earns the big bucks on selling iPods, not on selling music. He was just covering his bases.

So were these guys. Perhaps they were trying to get the "you are screwing the PC community!" critics off their backs. I don't know, but whatever the issue it has very little to do with piracy.

Respectfully

krise madsen

[Rocky]

"the market that would buy a $600 video card knows how Bittorrent works."

Uhu, and it's only PC games we see on BT is it? </sarcasm>

[Foxtrot360]

Exactly.

..

Edited March 11, 2007 by Foxtrot360

[Sup]

Yeah, but you aren't the console market. Along with it being more cumbersome and difficult to mod a console/run a pirated console game, it's not common knowledge among the 3 million who bought Gears of War.

Edit - woah, post moderation wore off; back to causing trouble, cool.

[pz3]

would it surprise you if I said i know more people who pirate games on xbox then PC?

well its true

I call BS as well... They didn't do it because of piracy but because they didn't want to invest in 2 versions. I cant blame them really cross platform is what microsoft is pushing for allowing PCs and X360s to play via online.

Not that I don't like the idea of it but it really is going to destroy a large part of the console scene eventually with hacking, mouse vs keyboard and various other things.

IMHO Crytek is still best game developer at the moment and its not just because I have special connection with them either... It is just how they operate their company that really sets them apart.

Edited March 11, 2007 by pz3

[krise madsen]

IMHO Crytek is still best game developer at the moment and its not just because I have special connection with them either... It is just how they operate their company that really sets them apart.

Crytek are pretty good yeah.

However, there is a certain new developer...

Respectfully

krise madsen

[Sup]

Crytek has made one game. I see them as too early to judge, really.

Pro, if you're allowed to share, what's different about how they run their company? Pretty much everyone I know works just about the same overall.

[pz3]

Well the support we get from them is a start. Its not just us but another mod as well (havent seen much news from them though). Giving the community modders a Pre SDK is something I wish more devs did. It lets you really point out issues before it gets released to anyone else. Not to mention will help new modders get started modding.

What I enjoy most... the way they design their games while sometimes linear there is usually million ways you can approach an arena and execute the take down of the enemy. The AI is top notch, graphics etc....

Their engine. Its great.

Did you know crysis will have upto 60km view distance? They let that out of the bag in a video of sandbox 2 which is down right the sickest editor any game has had yet.

Just overall on how they handel their name and games.

Simple to use and very powerfull.

oh and that other certain developer... they will probably create something worth buying =P

Edited March 13, 2007 by pz3

[CrowmanUK]

Its all a bit fluffly is that article as anything can and is being copied, even WoW, you can play on pirate servers, go to a car boot sale and there are way more console games for sale than pc games, why? I'll tell you why, because console games cost more money and its easier to get your console chipped and pop down the car boot sale, the average net savvy pc gamer might download a few games here and there but from what I've seen the big piracy is all on the consoles.

[=warcloud=]

Crytek has made one game. I see them as too early to judge, really.

Pro, if you're allowed to share, what's different about how they run their company? Pretty much everyone I know works just about the same overall.

That's correct ..Crytek has made only one pc fps game ..as we all know it was farcry & a great game too [ although the trigens or whatever they were called were a bit naff ..lol]. Cryteks next project for the pc gamers is looking to be one awesome masterpiece, i think Crytek are one of if not the best pc game developer/s in the world, look for yourself ..the videos, screenshots of Crysis are simply stunning, there is not one pc game or console game for that matter that i personaly know of or have seen in development that will match this superb shooter in single player game play in the near future. And lets not forget about the OE2 mod in the works that indeed uses the Cryengine2 so not only will there be awesome single game play but also from what i can tell the pc gamers are getting some superb multiplayer gameplay ..so bring it on

[Colin]

Just to add to to this good topic, Microsoft are trying to assimilate us this is really getting serious.

US, March 14, 2007 - Microsoft is kicking its Games for Windows initiative into high gear with the release of Halo 2 for Windows Vista on May 8. The shipping of the best-selling Xbox title coincides with the launch of Games for Windows - Live, a new PC service that mirrors Xbox Live. With Games for Windows - Live, PC gamers can finally mingle with Xbox 360 gamers, play on Microsoft's dedicated servers and earn Achievement Points to prove their worthiness.

rest here.

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/772/772641p1.html

Edited March 14, 2007 by Colin

[calius]

Food for "thought" / just another angle :

Maybe PC gamers wouldnt think about Pirating a game if it wasnt such bland, linear, console based trash in the first place and not worth its asking price. Then again, that might be the way to drag it though the dirt to justify pushing to console / use it as a scape goat.

I dont suggest a pirate fest, I just think that quality of games for the price vs nabbing it for free to try out and then get it has a part to play with many gamers I would imagine. Maybe they should release more quality for the money, then Im guessing many would pay for it off the bat.

I'll tell you why, because console games cost more money and its easier to get your console chipped and pop down the car boot sale, the average net savvy pc gamer might download a few games here and there but from what I've seen the big piracy is all on the consoles.

LOL .. I completely agree with this mate. Christ, I used to work in a call center and one of the staff was selling modded chips left right and center within the company to gamers and console types, and copies of games, its the same or worse on thats side for sure. Infact there were PC types who were building PC's for people and selling blank CDr's at low prices ... that was it for PC! Not a sniff of anyone having any PC stuff at all, was no demand like consoles ... just one example. Everyone I know, knows someone who mods consoles and all that type of thing, I dont think any of its a great thing but for this argument it makes it all pretty stupid.

Then again the real argument is $$$ ... so in that case, if its cheaper to make a game for a console, thats the way it will be regardless of spin and justification via piracy.

Maybe even though Piracy happens on consoles, for the game creators the dollars are saved for console regardless of piracy loss? IE: man hours and body's used to create it?

[Sup]

Life is hilarious.

Edit: Warcloud, the engine is cool but average (compared to Ue3 and other competitors) in every regard except foliage and view distance; it's awesome at that, but still, save for big islands there's no reason to favor it over anything else. Game isn't out yet, it's foolish to talk about the gameplay (which looke da bit bland to me, but, again, not going to pass judgment yet.)

Colin, they're adding features that used to sell them consoles to the PC; giving people less reason to switch to the 360 and rewarding you elitists. Vile, really. How could they do this to you?

Calius, people don't pirate because of 'console trash'. Frankly, outside of a few thousand trolls and other internet lowlifes, nobody even uses those terms.

[=warcloud=]

We all have different tastes, opinions over games, game engines, i just personaly like the looks of Crysis-Cryengine2, i think it'll be an awesome game to play in sp & mp. I'm optimistic for the UE3 engine, it would be great to see how this engine does in a true pc fps game.

[Sup]

it would be great to see how this engine does in a true pc fps game.

Epic makes all of their games the same way, so, take a look at Gears and imagine slightly larger texture sizes.

As for crysis, I'm definitely not saying it looks bad, the engine is definitely cool. It's just not really that much more impressive than it's competition, save a few features of isolated use (what games have had huge, lush islands except Farcry and Crysis, recently? Joint Ops is the only one that comes to mind.) And, as a pure matter of personal preference, the photosource everything look on the environments doesn't appeal to me much.

And I definitely hope it'll be fun, and think it probably will be, but I wasn't that happy with farcry, personally. I found Farcry's shooting to be a bit awkward (dunno, but semi seemed weird to me,) it's movement to be floaty, it's level design to be horribly inconsistent and, while they showed some awesome team tactics, I don't really like the way the AI fought as individuals (or the way they reacted to fire.) It all came together to make a really impressive but not always all that fun game, and I'm cautious about Crysis with it only being their second game.

[calius]

Calius, people don't pirate because of 'console trash'. Frankly, outside of a few thousand trolls and other internet lowlifes, nobody even uses those terms.

Seeing as I used the term, are you suggesting Im one of those few thousand? That quote sounds a bit "elitist" to me, a description you use too.

I did also use : "Food for "thought" / just another angle :" & "Maybe".

Moving on though, I just dont see that piracy justification to be the be all and end all to shift to console only, theres plenty of good things for PC coming out or just released that are worthy of the asking price.

[Sup]

That quote sounds a bit "elitist" to me, a description you use too.

More childish/rebellious than elitist, I thought, but I get the point.

Anyway, I certainly agree with you on the last bit. I don't see piracy as the only justification for what movement there has been, and I definitely don't believe the PC is going anywhere any time soon.

[WhiteKnight77]

I find this laughable as there is a big market for pirated console games, especially in Asia. The black market is rife with pirated disks. Switching to console development due to piracy is laughable.

It is just like the game that was released without copyright protection last year, it sold more copies that is thought to be pirated. Pretty telling if ya ask me. 2 things that can help keep piracy down, sell games at a lower price than what is currently asked for and do not use copyright protection. There is a 3rd way to help help keep piracy in check, release games that are worthwhile and not garbage.

[Sup]

There is a 3rd way to help help keep piracy in check, release games that are worthwhile and not garbage.

All of the pirates I know only download good games. It'd be stupid to hamstring your internet for two days to download 'garbage'.

[Ick]

I find this laughable as there is a big market for pirated console games, especially in Asia. The black market is rife with pirated disks. Switching to console development due to piracy is laughable.

I could be wrong, but in the grand scheme of things....ASIA piracy doesn't determine platform of choice selections.

What is more important is:

1. increasing revenues in USA and Europe

2. keeping piracy to tolerable levels

No matter which system you choose to develop for...Asian piracy is out of control.

[pz3]

Demo... or full version demo is how I go.

If games are garbage I just delete them and care no more. only buy like a game or 2 a year now because im tired of getting ripped off.

Sup read more... or watch... "Isolated features" is laughable man. The engine just puts most to shame in some key areas

60km view distances. Even my flight sims haven't been that good.

All the shaders and procedural shaders you could ever dream about.

Procedural animations

physics that should be similar to PhysX PPU without any hardware.

No more portals as well.

It doesn't just cater to jungle islands. If you have noticed it does urban environment really well too

Edited March 20, 2007 by pz3

[WhiteKnight77]

I find this laughable as there is a big market for pirated console games, especially in Asia. The black market is rife with pirated disks. Switching to console development due to piracy is laughable.

I could be wrong, but in the grand scheme of things....ASIA piracy doesn't determine platform of choice selections.

What is more important is:

1. increasing revenues in USA and Europe

2. keeping piracy to tolerable levels

No matter which system you choose to develop for...Asian piracy is out of control.

If anyone is gonna talk about piracy, Asia should be factored in as it is a really large part of the equation. If devs and publishers "turn the other cheek" at it, it just shows they are full of BS for the very reasons why they are switching or expanding types of development.