http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/853/853261p2.html
Well one of the key things that is really affecting the economics and the success of gaming in general is piracy on the PC. So one of the reasons we'll see RTSs on the console is because people can't pirate it. That's why we're going to see a lot more of everything on the console. When you look at the sales of really hardcore games like Crysis and you think, "Wow, those games should have sold a lot more," you realize that's probably due in large part to piracy. And you realize that a game like Crysis would have done its true numbers if it had launched on console first.
Crysis was the best shooter since Half-life 2, that probably lost a lot of sales to piracy, but that doesn?t mean it didn?t sell well. In Europe the game is still in the top 3.
But piracy isn?t the only issue with the game. How many people were able to run Crysis at the visuals that were showed off at the preceding E3? I personally feel Crysis?s release date should have been pushed by a year, till the hardware caught up.
IGN: There are a lot of people that want to just plug a keyboard and mouse into their consoles. What side of the fence do you fall in on that idea?
Chris Taylor: Once upon a time, maybe ten years ago, I might have said keyboard and mouse, too. That doesn't even come up in the darkest corners of my mind anymore. I could see a little touch screen like an iPhone on the middle of your joypad, but definitely not a keyboard and mouse. It's all about the beauty of having the traditional console type experience with a slight augmentation of an advanced control. It's gotta be robust. It's gotta be able to be kicked around on the floor. You can't have a tricky, complex gadget in the living room. It's gotta be able to take abuse. It's gotta be cheap, otherwise it won't catch on. We don't want to bring all of the baggage of the PC to the console.
That doesn?t sound like Chris the developer talking, rather Chris the businessman.
Well, yeah, because if there's success on the console, people are going to stop making them on the PC because of my earlier point, what's happened on the PC with piracy The economics are ugly right now on the PC. You're not going to see these gigantic, epic investments of dollars on the PC when it just doesn't work. The economics have to work. You're going to see those investments made on the console side and it's going to become a more console-centric investment. And then you're going to see them ported back over to the PC and that creates a different experience on the PC.
That sounds unfortunate, but is a realistic possibility. In fact it has already happened with many games. Right now, us PC gamers are lucky to even be getting ports.
But I have to say, Taylor wouldn?t be throwing a fit if his game had sold well. Honestly, when was the last time he really made a truly great game? Total Annihilation was his best, but since then he seems like the sort of developer who is better at developing engines than actual games. Take into account games like Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander, which were good, but are relics in terms of narrative.
And the reason I am not surprised is that this guy has been looking at the bottom line for a long while. In a column for PC GAMER, he wrote about wanting to simplify games so that they appeal to the non-gamers. It seemed like he wanted to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I think he is more interested in being part of the next "Wii" than something that appeals to the more demanding gamers.
While SupCom had good RTS mechanics, it wasn?t a complete game by today?s standards. Its storyline, production values, and even unit interaction felt like cheap after thoughts. You can?t just make a 3D engine, polish the game mechanics, and then think the job is done expecting to sell a gazillion copies. Outside of a genre?s niche, buyers expect production values, a well woven storyline, and transition content. SupCom didn?t do that effectively. The days of selling skeletons of gameplay are over, unless you are happy with sales figures that compete with indie titles like Galactic Civilization or Sins of a Solar Empire.
Yes piracy
is a problem, but there is a reason why StarCraft II is going to sell 15 million copies while Supreme Commander struggles to sell even a million.
I very much doubt that SupCom would have sold better had it debuted on the 360 first, like Taylor implies. It seems as if Taylor isn?t looking at his game objectively. Company of Heroes has set high standards on what a game needs to do, to compete. Indie titles like Galactic Civ, and Sins of a Solar Empire do see success, but they are happier with a million units sold. If Taylor wants his games to sell like StarCraft, then he?s got to make them complete experiences like StarCraft.
Also, there are reasons aside from piracy why Unreal Tournament III tanked in sales. The singleplayer was an absolute joke! It was basically offline multiplayer missions, with stupid cut scenes in between put together as an afterthought, and it was a totally stupid attempt at applying gameplay logic to the story. They would have been better off putting together a proper campaign ala Gears of War, and boasting the more traditional multiplayer on the side. And while the multiplayer was fun, it still felt like UT2004 in a new coat.
Again, this isn?t the year 2000; rehashes and simplistic attempts do not sell anymore.
You know what I am going to do? I am going to make a flash based game which lasts five minutes, and involves gamers hitting Chris Taylor and Cliffy B with a stick. Then I?ll charge consumers $50 for it, and blame piracy if it doesn?t sell well. Then, I?ll release the same game next year with slightly better animation and a new game mode that allows users to wield two sticks, except I?ll continue to charge $50 and again blame piracy when it doesn?t sell.
Look, piracy is obviously a big issue. But it isn?t the
only issue. This is like the Al-Qaeda syndrome, where everything is blamed on the popular target. It isn?t that the popular target isn?t at fault, but it is too automatic a reaction.
Here is one final tidbit, regarding USA RTS sales:
http://www.thesimexchange.com/...ng=command+and+conquer
Not counting online sales, command & Conquer 3 sold 1.17 million on the PC, while the 360 version is expected to cap at 470,00. That says something.
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