Epic: Intel ruins PC gaming

[StrangerGuy]

Epic Games CEO: Intel Ruins PC Gaming

"PC gaming is in a weird position right now", said Tim Sweeney. "Now, 60% of PCs on the market don't have a workable graphics processor at all. All the Intel integrated graphics are still incapable of running any modern games. So you really have to buy a PC knowing that you're going to play games in order to avoid being stuck with integrated graphics. This is unfortunate, and this is one of main reasons behind the decline of the PC as a gaming platform. That really has endangered high-end PC game sales. In the past, if you bought a game, it would at least work. It might not have been a great experience, but it would always work."

"Intel's integrated graphics just don't work. I don't think they will ever work."

"They always say 'Oh, we know it has never worked before, but the next generation ...' It has always been the next generation. They go from one generation to the next one and to the next one. They're not faster now than they have been at any time in the past."


Well, I'm pretty sure that 60% doesn't give a sh!t to Epic's games either.

 

[Maximilian]

Blah blah epic sucks.

Sins of a solar empire runs fine on crap pc's so does half life 2. What the heck is this guy on!

 

[RandomFool]

I think the point is that PC games either have to code for the lowest common denominator or ignore a large portion of thier userbase. I pretty much stopped playing PC games because I didn't have money to upgrade and my PC couldn't run the newer stuff very well. Consoles don't have that problem. I'd love to see Intel release a competent IGP.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Intel must be in league with the pirates and the other FPShooters!




On a serious note, any guess as to how long it will be before someone else from Epic speaks out to "clarify" Sweeney's statement like what happened with the UT4 focus on next gen consoles statement? We will probably be hearing about how much Intel has done to advance the computer gaming industry in a few weeks (with their CPUs).

 

[nakedfrog]

The i740 really wasn't too bad.

 

[vhx]

He is somewhat right.

Intel puts out a lot of garbage motherboards and garbage onboard video. These are usually backed by major PC builders who mass market these. They always put barely minimum specifications on their machines, too. Working for vid card tech support I can say that I get many PCI cards still being bought for machines only 3 years old. These cards can barely even START CoD4. People who buy a new video card and realize, Oops my new 2007 machine only has a 250W power supply and then they get upset they might have to drop another $50 for a new power supply. So in a way he is right, Intel and many budget systems shaft a potential consumer base they could of had.

That being said, I agree this is just a copout. You can make a successful game without it having to be Crysis or UT3 details.

 

[ja1484]

1) Repost

2) Is hating Epic the latest cool thing on the internet? I wonder what it will be next week.

3) Sweeney actually has a pretty good point re: market size.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Yeah? I betcha that the remaining 40% of PC thats DO have workable graphics processors still outnumber total 360 and PS3 sales (NOT combined though,2 vs 1 isn't exactly a fair comparision)

Never was a fan of Epic in the first place,no big deal for me though,gotta love how they keep on contradicting themselves,i'm guessing Rabid Consolites payed them to bash PC Gaming,LAWL

 

[invidia]

This guy is starting to whine more than a WoW player. Facts or no facts, whining and bitching won't change anything.

 

[tvdang7]

i think hes right. i dont think its ok to use intel as the reason to why ut3 didnt sell well but amd has nice intergrated graphics if you ask me. pretty much any board in the past few years that had igp worked great. nvidia or ati chipsets. And looking at the new amd chipset they keep getting better and better. im not say the other "60%" needs a super gaming igp. but at least run some games on low come on now. +1 for amd.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Well, like it or not, he does actually have a point. These are graphics 'adapters' that are so god-awful that they can't even run the new windows GUI, and Intel basically cajoled Microsoft into changing it's regulations. They're utter and complete garbage. and most of the time they flat out don't work. I have trouble believing any internet active PC gamer hasn't had plenty of encounters with poor schmucks trying to get some game to run on one of those decelerators.

A guy buys a game, and it runs, but not well, he might see a reason to upgrade. A guy buys a game and it does not run at all, he's frustrated - and given that he's already out $50 given the draconian return policy on PC software that is standard today, he certainly ain't looking to spend more money. And then he looks at the XBox in the corner, where the game just works.....and we know what happens. It's happening all around us.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Originally posted by: PhatoseAlpha
Well, like it or not, he does actually have a point. These are graphics 'adapters' that are so god-awful that they can't even run the new windows GUI, and Intel basically cajoled Microsoft into changing it's regulations. They're utter and complete garbage. and most of the time they flat out don't work. I have trouble believing any internet active PC gamer hasn't had plenty of encounters with poor schmucks trying to get some game to run on one of those decelerators.

A guy buys a game, and it runs, but not well, he might see a reason to upgrade. A guy buys a game and it does not run at all, he's frustrated - and given that he's already out $50 given the draconian return policy on PC software that is standard today, he certainly ain't looking to spend more money. And then he looks at the XBox in the corner, where the game just works.....and we know what happens. It's happening all around us.

Still,blaming Intel for 'ruining' PC Gaming is quite drastic,don't you think?

 

[Canai]

That's complete bullshit. The Source engine scales amazingly well. Epic is just too fucking console happy to make a real scalable engine.

Epic fail has an entirely new meaning now.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Originally posted by: IL2SturmovikPilot
Still,blaming Intel for 'ruining' PC Gaming is quite drastic,don't you think?

No, I don't think it's drastic at all. I have trouble thinking of another word to describe what intel is actually doing.


They dominate the market when it comes to the non-tech saavy, which pretty much means non-PC gamers. But they'll have PCs, fresh from best buy with an Intel GMA. God help them if they actually decide to try a PC game.

People with no experience in PC gaming - possible PC gamers, and let me be blunt here, and say they're also not as likely to be tech saavy bit torrent ninjas as the ones who have actual gaming cards, so they're much more likely to actually buy games - and instead of a nice introduction and a reason to maybe want to upgrade, their new shiny $50 game is likely to not work at all. Period. And the store ain't gonna take it back.

When your first taste of PC gaming is that - and given the market share, and that non gamers are still going to have computers, that's a good chance - who would come back for more? That would be like going back to a drug dealer who pissed in your free first joint.

 

[Fenixgoon]

intel didn't kill PC gaming, but integrated graphics do blow hardcore. it certainly reduces the number of potential players

 

[Soccerman06]

Originally posted by: invidia
This guy is starting to whine more than a WoW player. Facts or no facts, whining and bitching won't change anything.

You really don't play WoW do you, much less read the forums. cough cough hunters, rogues, warriors, mages, priests, druids, paladins, shaman... except warlocks, all they ever get is a nerf no matter the whining. Also, lets not forget the casual crap they put in recently.

 

[Calculator83]

I honestly don't know why Intel doesn't just take a year off to build GPUs. I mean they're in such good position CPU wise right now. AMD is FAR FAR behind.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: IL2SturmovikPilot

Originally posted by: PhatoseAlpha
Well, like it or not, he does actually have a point. These are graphics 'adapters' that are so god-awful that they can't even run the new windows GUI, and Intel basically cajoled Microsoft into changing it's regulations. They're utter and complete garbage. and most of the time they flat out don't work. I have trouble believing any internet active PC gamer hasn't had plenty of encounters with poor schmucks trying to get some game to run on one of those decelerators.

A guy buys a game, and it runs, but not well, he might see a reason to upgrade. A guy buys a game and it does not run at all, he's frustrated - and given that he's already out $50 given the draconian return policy on PC software that is standard today, he certainly ain't looking to spend more money. And then he looks at the XBox in the corner, where the game just works.....and we know what happens. It's happening all around us.

Still,blaming Intel for 'ruining' PC Gaming is quite drastic,don't you think?

This is actually an old criticism first raised a few years ago now. It was more than Epic raising the point.

 

[tuteja1986]

Epic can't make awesome game and the only reason gears of war did well because it was crappy F yeah shooter that had 100million marketing budget done by Microsoft to promote 360.

 

[SunnyD]

60% of the PC's out there weren't purchased with the intent of gaming either. If you were an employer, would you rather have your employees playing Unreal Tournament or using Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Outlook? First off, you don't need heavy 3D capabilities for that, and second if you have people constantly playing and installing gigs of games on your company PC's you've got bigger problems.

From Intel's standpoint, why waste the R&D money and the manufacturing costs on suitable 3D hardware that's never going to be used when you can take that cash and pocket it instead?

Sweeney is really grasping at straws for his own failures now.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
60% of the PC's out there weren't purchased with the intent of gaming either. If you were an employer, would you rather have your employees playing Unreal Tournament or using Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Outlook? First off, you don't need heavy 3D capabilities for that, and second if you have people constantly playing and installing gigs of games on your company PC's you've got bigger problems.

From Intel's standpoint, why waste the R&D money and the manufacturing costs on suitable 3D hardware that's never going to be used when you can take that cash and pocket it instead?

Sweeney is really grasping at straws for his own failures now.

yeah, but i suppose the hardware companies need to do more to let people know which games will run on a pc and which won't. plus things like shared memory and other little technical details throw people off and they think they have a capable machine when infact its just another pos integrated video card.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad

Originally posted by: SunnyD
60% of the PC's out there weren't purchased with the intent of gaming either. If you were an employer, would you rather have your employees playing Unreal Tournament or using Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Outlook? First off, you don't need heavy 3D capabilities for that, and second if you have people constantly playing and installing gigs of games on your company PC's you've got bigger problems.

From Intel's standpoint, why waste the R&D money and the manufacturing costs on suitable 3D hardware that's never going to be used when you can take that cash and pocket it instead?

Sweeney is really grasping at straws for his own failures now.

yeah, but i suppose the hardware companies need to do more to let people know which games will run on a pc and which won't. plus things like shared memory and other little technical details throw people off and they think they have a capable machine when infact its just another pos integrated video card.

It's not even that. Why should the PC Gaming industry blame hardware vendors when the hardware vendors aren't even targetting the same market? It's just stupid. It's like the Andretti family complaining that Kia's cars can't do 220MPH.

Sweeney simply needs to provide realistic expectations to potential BUYERS of SOFTWARE on what type of hardware his software will run on. That's all there is to it. If the game runs like shit on a GeForce 6200 and is for all intents unplayable - don't list it as your minimum requirement. The same goes - if it's not going to play at all on an integrated chipset...

Perhaps a proactive approach would be instead of shipping the actual title, maybe game vendors should ship a disc with a diagnostic utility on it that will analyze and benchmark your system, and then download and install the title only if the benchmark passes "good enough for minimum requirements".

Whining that your title sold like crap and then trying to find every angle to blame it on anyone but yourself isn't doing anyone any service.

 

[Mem]

There's nothing stopping Intel from making a new PCI Express video card or decent onboard graphics for gaming,unless its true and they don't want personal computers for the gaming market,AMD/Nvidia are doing fine in those departments so why can't Intel?

intel didn't kill PC gaming, but integrated graphics do blow hardcore. it certainly reduces the number of potential players

At least Nvidia/AMD are trying to rectify that area,onboard graphics have come a long way over the years thanks to these two companies,Intel just needs to wake up and get its finger out.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Mem
There's nothing stopping Intel from making a new PCI Express video card or decent onboard graphics for gaming,unless its true and they don't want personal computers for the gaming market,AMD/Nvidia are doing fine in those departments so why can't Intel?

intel didn't kill PC gaming, but integrated graphics do blow hardcore. it certainly reduces the number of potential players

At least Nvidia/AMD are trying to rectify that area,onboard graphics have come a long way over the years thanks to these two companies,Intel just needs to wake up and get its finger out.

Why would they? The bulk of computers sold are for business use. And businesses tend to update their hardware every 3 to 5 years. Average Joe buys a computer and uses it until it's dead, literally. Only the enthusiast will consistently update or buy computers at a quicker pace then the business market. When the bulk of your income comes from a market driver which literally doesn't care about gaming... why bother?

 

[jjones]

I knew it! Intel is in league with teh pirates!