Jump to content

Do Gaming companies hate PCs?


pwnage

Recommended Posts

i agree that's is mainly because of $$$ but i doubt that's the only problem.

sure companys have enormous research departments which probably tell them that the console market is more valuable / has more customers so the natural thing is too produce for consoles first.

But if i were a game designer my main focus would be to produce a product which works fluently and looks exactly the way i want it to look. both of those things are somewhat guaranteed when you publish it on a console because you know exactly what hardware is in there. when it comes to pc the the hardware varies a LOT and also you have to make sure it works on all those different systems with different graphic cards and different processors and whatnot.

it's easier and cheaper to say: "ok we have system a) let's just see that our product runs perfect on it and looks decent" instead of "ok just try to get it right for system a), B), c) and maybe d)"

oh and for some game developers even the controls could be a factor. for example i could never imagine playing dark souls with a keyboard and mouse and there are games like "brothers: a tale of two sons" where it actually wouldn't make any sense to play it without a controller because .. well play the game and you'll know exactly what i mean

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really hope Arkham Knight changes this negligence of the PC platform. The Steam refund option has allowed us consumers more of a hold over these ports. No company wants to go through what Warner Bros. just did so I think PC gaming has a brighter future. Also, is it just me or do the new consoles seem incredibly underpowered? These 'next gen' games look like what I've been playing for years on PC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd imagine that a lot of games don't come to PC because gaming companies will jealously guard their contracts with developers, and their IP if they've created the actual game themselves. If you want to play a game that's exclusive to a certain system then you need to buy the system. Since most people have PCs already in addition to gaming consoles, companies like Sony and Microsoft would stand to lose a lot of revenue if their exclusive titles went to PC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

It just might be that they make less money off the PC platform as oppose to consoles. Also with next gen consoles being almost the same as eachother, it is very easy to port between the 2, while it a bit more tricky to get it onto the PC (lot easier than in the ps3/ xbox 360 days)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think they hate pc only because people will find away to mod/abuse/crack/circumvent the games intended "way its ment to be played" bs. It still can be done ofc on consoles, but it is slightly harder to do and "unlocking" a console could cause it to brick if you don't know what you are doing. With what Xbone did to prevent playing backed up game copy's (logging to send to /\/\$ and banning your system), gives these game devs some satisfaction that there games will not be tampered with. I know that if there is a will, there is a way around everything, but the average consumer may not wish to spend 200+$ more ontop of a "next gen" 600+$ system to play backups/use it for other unintended things. I look at games like DoA5 on pc vs console... I know all the "clothing mods" for console come from the pc and is extremely easy to do on pc and port to console. Same with games like Titan fall/cod/bf, all the cheats/autoaims/enemylocation mods are ported from pc. The cheat prevention for some games could be why they really hate pc, but the "clothing mods" are a huge factor. Another thing I can think of why they hate making games for pc is something as simple as Tunngle. Why spend all the that time and money making a game so it could be cracked then modded for lan emulation over a free network that has support for TONS of games, even if there not "officially" lan enabled. I love pc gaming even though my current working system is junk, but I do feel the sting of hatred from game devs towards the pc peeps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Developers having hate towards PC gaming maybe is a bit far fetched, but I would say consoles are definitely getting more attention and hard work, because that is where all the money is. There are very few companies left, that make big AAA games exclusively for PC, or make it with more features, etc. Which isn't exactly great for gaming as a whole, especially visually-wise, but you gotta deal with what you gotta deal...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do I think video games companies hate PC gamers? No. Do I think they'd rather develop console games? Yes. There's lots of reasons for this but money is the primary one. Simply put there's more console gamers out there which is why developers aim to release console versions first and generally put more effort into them as well.

It's been this way for the last 10 years now I'd say so its certainly not a new thing. To be honest I think it's better now than it has been the last 10 years. Most games have a PC version these days whereas that wasn't the case even 5 years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say. Like many have posted before, big companies see console gamer's as easy target for DLC's and DRM, mostly of DLC's (Money!!) I think it also had to do with the culture of computer gamers vs console games. We computer games tend to hold on to games we enjoy longer.. We go avobe and beyond to keep game keep going even if the developers have stopped supporting. We mod, we develop, and we survive. Where as console gamers, they will always chase for the new toy and new toy = money to these companies. .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Ultimately, I think you guys are getting too idealistic. Games cost money to make, graphics cost money to make, people cost money to employ; as a consequence it makes sense to build the game for the lowest common denominator, hype the crap out of it at marketing displays, secure a huge load of preorders, then deliver a half finished mess and deal with the fallout.

This trend is going to continue as long as the profit margins remain high. Most of AAA game budgets go entirely into marketing because hype sells games, these companies do not care for the longevity of the game as they have next years game to cover development costs. If we keep buying poorly ported or made games, we will continue to face the consequences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course PC gamers are the master race, we have known it for a long time now.

In all seriousness though, I have a huge problem with some of the policies of gaming companies. I completely understand that these games need to make money to return the investment put into them, especially the AAA titles, and for that reason I have no problem with consoles being their main priority but when a developer/publisher completely blanks the PC market I really cannot understand the logic. The PC is where the games really take off, we have a modding scene like no other, and a pro gaming scene unlike that on the console. These practices drastically increase the longevity of the game and further add validity to premium content.

The most confusing thing of all time. Why, oh why was 'The Last of Us' a Playstation exclusive? Did they not want the majority of the gaming community to play their game? For me, I refuse to buy Sony products because of dick moves like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I don't necessarily know if they HATE us, but they sure disregard PC gamers the most. Look at the AAA titles of this year for example. So many gaming companies are catering to consoles and as a result, PC gaming suffers. Look, I don't want to start a debate between consoles vs. PCs but the simple fact of the matter is consoles will ALWAYS lag behind in hardware compared to PCs. Instead of focusing on titles that appeal heavily to PC gamers, gaming companies downgrade their AAA titles so consoles can handle it. Look at Watch Dogs or even The Witcher 3. Both had amazing trailers that truly showcased what the engine was capable of. Come release day, everything has been downgraded graphically so that consoles would be able to handle it. I do agree that CD Projekt Red is an amazing company who does truly care about their PC gamers but still, many others (Ubisoft, Bethesda, EA) clearly don't. Take for example Fallout 4. Every game has its flaws, true. But Bethesda releases games (Skyrim, Fallout 4) in a state that is neither really polished nor complete. Dat facial animation do! Instead, they rely on the modding community to do their "dirty work". Say what you will, but Fallout 4 is a MASSIVE downgrade from Fallout: NV (by Obsidian). Everything about it has been simplified (aka the console effect). Dialogue is a massive step backwards (Mass Effect style dialogue, really?) and perks and leveling in general have been turned from an RPG to more like an FPS. I think as time goes on, PC gamers have to show gaming companies that they should care about their PC market as they represent a hug portion of their market, or else they'll lose revenue and business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do feel we've gotten some poor console ports lately with rushed releases leading to a lot of AAA titles having huge day 1 bugs.

This is hurting the PC market more than they think as the smart people are waiting on every title now just to see reviews of how bugged it is. I myself think "I'll buy this in a year or so when the bugs are patched"

No matter how good a game looks on a trailer, or the concept of the game appeals to me I can no longer get excited for a game release due to how buggy releases are now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been said a number of times in this thread, and I agree. PC application development (Including games) is more difficult/expensive than console development. A developer knows a targeted console has processor X, nGB of RAM, a DVD/Blueray, graphics chip model, how much video memory, etc. Basically, every targeted console is going to be the same (More or less). PC's are all over the map. AMD a10 processor? Intel i7? 500GB 5400RPM HDD? 512GB nvme ssd? integrated Intel 3300? Nvidia GTX 980M?

That's one reason we see crappy console ports. The development house has a deadline, so they write it for the easier platform and port it over when they get time. It gets a product to market quicker. Not a great solution for those of use who don't use consoles, but does help the developer company's bottom line.

As far as bugs in initial releases...Back in 'The Day' (Pre internet, yes, there was such a thing) games were SO much smaller and less complex. They had to be. This made it easier to make and test games so they had fewer errors at release. Also there was almost no method for patching, so when you released a game...that was it. Developers get pressure from their publisher to be done by a certain date. It has been this way for as long as games have been made for personal computers. In the current age, it's just so easy to deploy a 1.0 game with the knowledge that it will get patched in a future release. Steam, Origin, etc, they allow the games to be automatically updated with the latest release. *shrug* I do kind of miss the days where I bought a game and could play it end to end without major gameplay issues.

B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.