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DICE Assures Fans Casual Games Aren't Their Focus

mindcycle

Golden Member
Addressing fans' concerns over recent game decisions, DICE producer Patrick Liu has assured its core audience that the developer isn't switching to casual game development, in an interview with VideoGamer.com. The recent announcement of Battlefield 1943, which is said to be an entry-level shooter, along with the cartoon-inspired Battlefield Heroes, has made some fans think that DICE might be straying from their hardcore PC roots. "We are definitely still making PC games, we've not forgotten about that," he said. He cited several games that are coming to PC as well as consoles, and said the developer "will continue to do what we are best at. We are not going casual, just because that is the trend. We're not good at that. It's not our core focus for the studio."

A mystery still remains for the fifth Battlefield title that was teased last year, but Liu may have dropped a small teaser of what to expect. "Of course we keep track of what the forums are saying. I can't say anything really, but we have plans. Definitely big plans. The fans don't need to worry." Those of you keeping a close eye on the Battlefield community might have a good idea of what to expect from the next game.

Here's a link to the article on 1up: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172734
 
Yeah.. It should read.. "We are definitely still making PC games, we've not forgotten about that, but console games and casual cartoon based shooters sell better so EA is pushing us to focus on those."
 
Originally posted by: Boobs McGee
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
So when's their next PC exclusive coming out?

And when was their last? BF2142 right? Basically a mod to BF2 with a different ranking system.

Yep so the last all new game they made for PC was BF2 which came out in 2005. I hope they get on the ball real soon. I want another 64 player game that people will actually play.
 
Accept it, our form of gaming is dead (not PC gaming, but "hardcore" (BF2 is not really that hardcore, but it is more hardcore than stuff out there now) gaming). The companies pander to "casual" gamers now in the hopes of attracting "non-traditional" people to the multi-billion dollar industry. They know that "normal" gamers will buy the games anyway, especially when they have no alternatives. I would say that modders creating total-conversion mods for "casual" games are our only hope, but most companies do not release SDKs for their game since they compete with their non-free first party mods aka DLC that came about when they discovered people were willing to pay $10 for gimmicks or an hour extra of gameplay.

At least the console gamers are going down with us, I have little doubt their next generation consoles (and their titles) will be much more than Wii clones.
 
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Accept it, our form of gaming is dead (not PC gaming, but "hardcore" (BF2 is not really that hardcore, but it is more hardcore than stuff out there now) gaming). The companies pander to "casual" gamers now in the hopes of attracting "non-traditional" people to the multi-billion dollar industry. They know that "normal" gamers will buy the games anyway, especially when they have no alternatives. I would say that modders creating total-conversion mods for "casual" games are our only hope, but most companies do not release SDKs for their game since they compete with their non-free first party mods aka DLC that came about when they discovered people were willing to pay $10 for gimmicks or an hour extra of gameplay.

At least the console gamers are going down with us, I have little doubt their next generation consoles (and their titles) will be much more than Wii clones.

WOW, couldn't have said it better myself! :thumbsup:
 
I hope they combine Mirror's Edge and BF2142 🙂

Imagine being able to run up to a walker, scale it, and then drop a nade in or sommat, or being able to grab onto a lowflying dropship and commandeer it... would be awesome!
 
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Accept it, our form of gaming is dead (not PC gaming, but "hardcore" (BF2 is not really that hardcore, but it is more hardcore than stuff out there now) gaming). The companies pander to "casual" gamers now in the hopes of attracting "non-traditional" people to the multi-billion dollar industry. They know that "normal" gamers will buy the games anyway, especially when they have no alternatives. I would say that modders creating total-conversion mods for "casual" games are our only hope, but most companies do not release SDKs for their game since they compete with their non-free first party mods aka DLC that came about when they discovered people were willing to pay $10 for gimmicks or an hour extra of gameplay.

At least the console gamers are going down with us, I have little doubt their next generation consoles (and their titles) will be much more than Wii clones.

What you said here is exactly why I think "hardcore" PC games are dropping off. Console/casual games just sell better and have a wider audience. The industry loves to use the scapegoat of piracy, and that probably contributes to the problem no doubt, but I believe money is their main motivation here.

We still get console ports on the PC, so it's making them money no doubt, just not nearly as much as consoles so it's obvious what their first priority is. It's like padding your wallet full of hundreds with a twenty.. why not. At least that's the mentality. To bad that it's usually at the expense of a non-buggy / well optimized port.
 
What a massive load of BS. They have been saying they have not forgotten their core audience for almost 3 years now. Look at their games that have been in development since BF2142. We've been waiting for a BF2 sequel since 2005.

BF Bad Company. BF Heroes. BF 1943. BF Bad company 2. Then they have the audacity to tell us they still give a crap about PC gaming. The so called hard core game that they are talking about is BF Bad Company 2, which supports 24 players and is a straight console port. Yes, they sure do care about their core audience.

Seriously, don't piss in my ear and tell me it's raining.
 
I think BF:BC2 IS the new BF3 everyone was talking about. I don't think it will be 24 player on the PC, the only one that was said to be limited possibly is BF43, as far as I'm aware.
 
Originally posted by: mindcycle
What you said here is exactly why I think "hardcore" PC games are dropping off. Console/casual games just sell better and have a wider audience.

The funny thing is that Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 both outsold any of their console games.
 
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: mindcycle
What you said here is exactly why I think "hardcore" PC games are dropping off. Console/casual games just sell better and have a wider audience.

The funny thing is that Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 both outsold any of their console games.

Source? I have seen this mentioned several times, and would like a reference if I use this argument myself. Thanks!
 
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: mindcycle
What you said here is exactly why I think "hardcore" PC games are dropping off. Console/casual games just sell better and have a wider audience.

The funny thing is that Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 both outsold any of their console games.

True, but I wonder if they could pull it off nowadays. I'm all for them trying, don't get me wrong, but the quick buck is in consoles now, don't you agree? Less patches, less support needed, less beta testing, etc..
 
Originally posted by: mindcycle
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: mindcycle
What you said here is exactly why I think "hardcore" PC games are dropping off. Console/casual games just sell better and have a wider audience.

The funny thing is that Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 both outsold any of their console games.

True, but I wonder if they could pull it off nowadays. I'm all for them trying, don't get me wrong, but the quick buck is in consoles now, don't you agree? Less patches, less support needed, less beta testing, etc..

That would only cost EA extra money if they did any of that stuff in the first place.
 
The gaming state got itself where it is at by catering to one audience and shunning the other. This time around, the audience happens to be the dedicated gamer; the "hardcore" if you will.

I for one don't think the quality of titles is going to be affected of the games we want to play. Indie games have lately caught my attention more and more lately as being overall just plain funner.

The industry needs a reset button, and much like "reality tv" did for television, this "everyone can be a gamer" trend will eventually pass-over. I think down the scope of things, it might be actually GOOD that everyone is exposed to gaming, since then the once casual gamers of today will be the jaded hardcore majority in the future.

tl;dr It's not as bad as it seems.
 
Originally posted by: DanDeighan
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Originally posted by: mindcycle
What you said here is exactly why I think "hardcore" PC games are dropping off. Console/casual games just sell better and have a wider audience.

The funny thing is that Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 both outsold any of their console games.

Source? I have seen this mentioned several times, and would like a reference if I use this argument myself. Thanks!

DICE 2006 interim report

By spring 2006, Battlefield 1942 sold 2,440,000 stand alone copies, plus another 830,000 copies in collections. That was right after BF 1942 Complete Collection came out which can still be found on store shelves three years later. So BF1942 had sold well over 3 million by 2006, maybe in 4 million range by now.
 
Originally posted by: mindcycle
Yeah.. It should read.. "We are definitely still making PC games, we've not forgotten about that, but console games and casual cartoon based shooters sell better so EA is pushing us to focus on those."

Hey - blame the consoles for matching and/or exceeding PC gaming platform.

Ease of use is a huge factor - when is the last time you heard a console game had to be patched as soon as you installed it? Or suffering from mysterious crashes due to driver issues?
 
DICE has said their fifth game is a Battlefield series game, so I don't think we should throw in the towel just yet.

And no, Bad Company 2 is not battlefield 3. I wish people would read around before saying the same damn thing.
 
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