PC gaming dealt huge blow....?

[Rocky]

link

Industry titan Electronic Arts has confirmed that there will be no PC version for the upcoming Madden 2009.

That in itself may not be a huge blow, but the precedent it is setting, or at least confirming, arguably is.

there's no question that a definitive statement has been made by EA

Let's take a look at how many PC titles Ubisoft currently have with release dates....

TWO

One of those is Vegas 2. Funnily enough, if you happen to catch the Vegas 2 advert that's running on telly right now - there isn't even a PC logo nestled alongside the X360 and PS3 logos. It's almost like they grudge the PC sector the game, and then don't even advertise it. What chance?

The writing is on the wall. Soon we will all be at the mercy of over priced, rushed out the door mainstream 30fps console games, game lobbys filled with smart mouths looking for the quickest way to rank up.

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

[WhiteKnight77]

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

Madden sucks on all platforms from what I hear, but what do I know?

[Rocky]

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

Madden sucks on all platforms from what I hear, but what do I know?

Madden is/was a best seller.

[Brettzies]

I saw this the other day and I'm not sure what to make of it. Generally sports games translate better on console because of the control system. You really need a gamepad if you want to play it on PC. However, the x360 controller is available for PC, so that's not the problem.

I can see where they are coming from a business perspective, it's just not worth it for them, the get enough revenue from the consoles, but it's still sad. It will only lead to other games. I think NFS will be next. TigerWoods? Who knows. Once you do something like this you set a precedent.

Whether Madden sucks or not it is one of the top seller's year in and year out. Funny because the game of football is pretty much the same year in and year out, Madden just has up to date rosters and maybe some better graphics. Some other games could learn from that...I'm talking to you Ghost Recon.

If I was going to buy this type of game I'd get it for console, but I wonder how big the PC Madden audience is. I wonder what their reaction is.

Edited April 4, 2008 by Brettzies

[doubletap]

I won't go off on too much of a rant but I saw this coming 3 or 4 years ago when microsoft bought massive inc, and immediately thereafter xbox live was overhauled to make it a more efficient facility for dynamic advertizing.

Advertizers (and micro$oft) are absolutely crazy over this trend, and you can bet they are the reason for the focus on xb360 game developement vs pc games. The dynamic ad system is very "clunky" (and can be disabled) on pc compared to the system perfectly incorporated into xblive.

Make no mistake, decisions like this are ALL about investors and advertisers.

It's not quite as simple as "console is where most gamers play", although that is of course what fuels their strategy. Game consoles will soon be an even more efficient advertizing platform than television, because of the invasive nature which allows "them" to actually get feedback from you without even asking. Do not underestimate what that tactic is worth to advertisers. They've only dreamed of this ability in the past.

And as I warned years ago, we are going to start seeing it's ugly influence on game developement itself, everything from level design to what types of games they feel will facilitate ads better than others.

Youuuuuuuuuul seeeeeeeeeeeee.

Funny because the game of football is pretty much the same year in and year out, Madden just has up to date rosters and maybe some better graphics. Some other games could learn from that...I'm talking to you Ghost Recon.

I agree totally.Sad thing is that most game reviewers actually complain about no new "revolutionary" changes to the game.

Idiots.

Edited April 4, 2008 by doubletap

[dporter]

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

Madden sucks on all platforms from what I hear, but what do I know?

Are you kidding me. Madden is one of the best selling games on either console. I even really really like it on the wii. I can throw the ball just like I would in real life with the wii mote. Have you ever heard of or seen Madden Nation on ESPN?

Madden was a game designed for consoles and extremely difficult to play on the PC. This news shouldn't shock anyone who actually plays the series. It's also a big stretch to relate this decision by EA to any sort of "huge blow to PC gaming". Trust me, Madden won't be missed on PC.

[WhiteKnight77]

For the record, I never played any of the Madden games and view them just like EA's NASCAR games (I have played these) on the console, filler. I am not even a football fan (or what they call football these days). If you like them, that's cool, I don't.

[KRP 56]

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

Madden sucks on all platforms from what I hear, but what do I know?

Don't know about the other platforms but I must admit that after playing a friend of mines PC copy it almost made me swear off football forever.

[REDMONSTER]

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

Madden sucks on all platforms from what I hear, but what do I know?

Don't know about the other platforms but I must admit that after playing a friend of mines PC copy it almost made me swear off football forever.

it must have just been me then O_o but every verson iv epalyed on teh pc was fun once i got sued to the controls on the keybord (yes the game pad was eaiser loL) hate this news

[Lightspeed]

there will always be PC games - there's a market for it so some Dev will take care of it.

EA takes care of sports which are better on console so that's fine.

Ground Branch will be on PC - that's perfect.

[Sup]

Or perhaps Madden on the PC just plain sucked.

Madden sucks on all platforms from what I hear, but what do I know?

Madden is/was a best seller.

Aye, it is. There's a whole market of madden buyers that aren't even really considered videogamers -- they'll buy a new console, yearly madden games, and maybe Halo or something else sold to them by word of mouth. It's kindof startling how much of culture popular, at least here in america, Madden is -- next to WoW it's probably the biggest videogame played by people who aren't really classified as 'gamers'.

That said, it kinda sucks, yeah. EA made an awesome football game years ago, and then just quit caring. Every madden game for the last ten years has played almost exactly the same, and the age shows. Madden is produced and released cheap for a huge profit every year. It makes sense why they went console only.

WK's exactly right, they're filler.

Brettzies, i'm pretty sure you're wrong about Need for Speed. That franchise doesn't follow they yearly update format of EA's main sports games. I'd say Nascar and tiger woods will leave the pc eventually for sure, though.

[Cpl Ledanek]

couldn't catch a real football in real life; couldn't in the virtual world either...no big loss here

[Brettzies]

Brettzies, i'm pretty sure you're wrong about Need for Speed. That franchise doesn't follow they yearly update format of EA's main sports games. I'd say Nascar and tiger woods will leave the pc eventually for sure, though.

I only mentioned NFS becasue it comes out on almost every platform at the same time. Much like the other sports games. I have no idea if it's as popular on the PC as consoles(even those it may not be so be). I can see them cutting the PC out of that franchise as well. It's not about being right or wrong...it's just speculation. I'd say I'm wrong most of the time in my speculations anyway.

They pretty much do have a new NFS game every year though, not like traditional sports, but they seem to be on a yearly release schedule. Wouldn't be too surprised to see something at E3.

NFS 1995 - 2007 No game in 1996.

[firefly2442]

As long as there are people willing to buy PC games I don't see it going away. I think PC gaming in general has decreased because of console saturation but when you look at gaming as a whole, it's increasing rapidly. Isn't gaming more popular than going out to the movies right now?

Edited April 11, 2008 by firefly2442

[Tinker]

A couple of observations:

Went down the town last week for some bits. There has been 3 small PC shops here for years.

1 is now something completely different, 1 is a consoles only shop now, and the last was still in business.

Local Asda supermarket used to have a whole stack of shelves just for PC games, now they are stuffed in a corner and hard to even find.

[CrowmanUK]

Wonder how the PC hardware manufacturers are looking at this, when Nvidia say theyre no longer making video cards for pc's will be the time to worry.

[krise madsen]

A couple of observations:

Went down the town last week for some bits. There has been 3 small PC shops here for years.

1 is now something completely different, 1 is a consoles only shop now, and the last was still in business.

Local Asda supermarket used to have a whole stack of shelves just for PC games, now they are stuffed in a corner and hard to even find.

How about this: You download all your PC games and you can run them off the hard drive without any need for a CD. If your PC goes bad, you can just re-download the games, as often as you like, forever, as long as you have your game key. You can even have one copy on your desktop and another on your laptop. This is not a pipedream. It's happening now.

The big, bloated action games will probably get rare on the PC (but flourish on consoles), at least for the next couple of years (the future of consoles as we know them today may not be all that bright). PC games will increasingly be "niche" titles made by indie developers. That's quite fine with me as I perfer that type of game anyway. Oh, and they will continuously support their games with updates, new features and new content for years, because they can get paid to do so.

The future of PC games look bright to me

Respectfully

krise madsen

Edited April 11, 2008 by krise madsen

[Ruin]

From a business perspective, it makes sense.

We get a new console, what, every three years or so? I mean the big ones. XBox, PS, Nintendo. Maybe longer.

That's it, that's the standard. Game developers now have to work off that standard. Look at PCs. I just bought mine a month ago, I spent $1700+ on the tower, I bought a nice relatively future-proof tower. Now, I'm already out of date, and Intel has announced price cuts on its current CPUs to make way for the new generation. How often to OSs update themselves? How often do we get new video cards? Every 6 months or so? It's a much more challenging standard to keep up with.

Now, be the consumer:

I can pay $400 for an X360, hook it up to that HDTV I already have, and play the same games as my counter-part, Ruin, only on a larger screen, better graphics, and I don't need to update my hardware frequently. Pay upfront for the system, the games might be, what, about $10 more expensive than PC. But that's it. You're done. No need to upgrade, keep things up to date etc. I spent more on my video card than I did my X360.

It's money. Plain and simple. And really, consoles are the best way to go financially - for users and developers. Sorry guys, it's just the cold harsh truth. Our beloved PC games that will by far be more sophisticated, more tactical, more in depth than any console game can ever be (thanks to the keyboard), just cost too much in the long run, for everyone.

I will continue to play PC games, because I always feel like a 13 year old child on my X360 (I bought it mainly for Halo and Assassin's Creed). Some games are meant to be played on the console in my opinion. FPS not being one of them. Games like Splinter Cell and AC, yes. Anyway, I prefer the complexity of a game with a keyboard, lots more buttons to push, means lots more things you can do at once.

Still, the PC gaming industry will outlive me, and by that, I mean, it will last longer than I will (you know, kids, family, job, etc.). I know, some of you do all that already, but you've got practice, haha.

Anyway, that got long. Just my two, well, maybe three, cents.

[Parabellum]

I think that the pendulum will swing back the other way in time. As can be read from one or more threads here on GR.net, folks are growing tired of the antics of publishers when it comes to console games. I think it's only a matter of time before people begin looking back to the PC.

[krise madsen]

From a business perspective, it makes sense.

e.c.t.

It's not quite that simple. Making consoles is not a very profitable business, so for every console game sold, a big chunk of the money goes to MS, Sony or Nintendo as a fee for using their platform. That in turn means that profit margins for console games aren't that great for the publishers. Which again means that they need to sell large quantities to make a profit, which again means that development budgets are inflated (and risky new game types are avoided) to ensure it will be a hit.

Much of the growth has been based on the market as a whole growing, which probably won't last forever. For one thing, teenagers actually don't play as much games as they used to, what with Facebook, Myspace and mobile phones (which have games too) taking up much of their time.

I very much doubt that consoles are going away, but it is far from certain that we will ever see a PS4, XBOX720 or Nintendo Wroom (or whatever they may call them).

The PC game on the other hand already has a huge install base. People buy PC's whether there are games for them or not, so why not use that and make games for them? Development budgets can be smaller and you don't have the console propriators taking a big chunk of your profits, meaning that even a game sold in comparatively modest numbers can turn a nice profit. Which again means that you can you can make a profit by catering to a niche rather than go for the mass market only, especially if you are an independent developer with a close connection to your customers. And with online distribution and subscription/micropayment models, at least some games may move away from "big chunk of gameplay and content and maybe an expansion pack after 6 months" to a continuous influx of new features and content.

Sure, for now, the big budget action games that appeal the most to the mass market are shifting towards consoles and that will probably go on for quite some time. Hence, I suspect, the notion that PC gaming is "dying". But there will still be plenty of money to be made on PC games, so they aren't going away any time soon.

The games I happen to like are made for the PC platform, and very often niche games. So for me personally, the gaming future looks very bright indeed.

Respectfully

krise madsen

[cajun47]

"but it is far from certain that we will ever see a PS4, XBOX720 or Nintendo Wroom (or whatever they may call them)."

i got a serious LOL out of that one.

[Sgt. Atoa]

A couple of observations:

Went down the town last week for some bits. There has been 3 small PC shops here for years.

1 is now something completely different, 1 is a consoles only shop now, and the last was still in business.

Local Asda supermarket used to have a whole stack of shelves just for PC games, now they are stuffed in a corner and hard to even find.

If you go to Gamestop/EBgames they just carry a few titles nowdays but back in the day (5 years ago) was a different story so I saw this coming 2 years ago

[Hockeystick]

No worries here.

Swedish sales figures 2007:

Platform/Numbers/Share

Nintendo DS / 435 672 / 5,7%

Gameboy Advance / 56 916 / 0,7%

PSP / 218 085 / 2,8%

Gamecube / 9 695 / 0,1%

Wii / 360 371 / 4,7%

Playstation 2 / 1 726 103 / 22,5%

Playstation 3 / 395 022 / 5,1%

Xbox / 83 474 / 1,1%

Xbox 360 / 728 757 / 9,5%

PC / 3 660 734 / 47,7%

As you can see, almost 50% of all games sold in Swedin 2007 where PC games. Surprisingly, the Xbox360 sold less than 10%.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure Sweden isn't the only PC gaming country left.