Is it Aprils Fool's today? "Epic Games Making PC its Primary Platform"

[wuliheron]

Besides the games they produced themselves, Epic developed no less then 3 successful game engines that they then leased to other companies to create something like 200 fucking games. The current consoles are about to be replaced and they need to develop the next generation gaming engines which can only be done on PC because, DUH, the new consoles aren't out yet.

 

[renz20003]

Besides the games they produced themselves, Epic developed no less then 3 successful game engines that they then leased to other companies to create something like 200 fucking games. The current consoles are about to be replaced and they need to develop the next generation gaming engines which can only be done on PC because, DUH, the new consoles aren't out yet.

Yep, all there doing is gonna bring out some pc games with a new engine, use the pc crowd to play it, report bugs, get the kinks worked out and then you know what?

There gonna turn around and say pc gamers didnt buy enough of our products, and cry piracy. Then where will all those new IP's be???

You guessed it! The xbox 1080, and I hear its gonna have like 6 total red rings this time because its gonna be awesome!!!! - Totally sarcastic...

 

[badb0y]

personally? killing what I feel makes the Diablo Series good.

Though I do think DIAF is overboard, I do think they need a bit of a scortching as a wake up call.

Hmm, fair enough.

B.Net2, flying horses, selling out with D3. Basically, all the stuff Activision has had influence on. I personally don't hate Blizzard yet, but years ago I'd buy anything they put out and now they're just another company.

The thing about Diablo 3 is that Blizzard disbanded Blizzard North a long time ago so Diablo 3 is obviously going to different then previous Diablo games considering it's different people who are developing the game. Also I don't think it's fair to judge the game just yet, let's see what happens once it is released.

 

[TehMac]

http://kotaku.com/5811346/homefront-studio-shut-down

I guess this also has spurred them back to the PC market, the game isn't amazing and only just good to so-so and it causes a studio to collapse.

Kaos was a start-up of devs, many of whom were modders of the BF1942 Desert Storm mod. Hardly of the same establishment, rep, and AAA-status as Epic.

They were certainly AAA potential but kinda blew it. I mean, their first game was a big disappointment. Completely threw everything that made BF2 kewl out the window.

 

[wuliheron]

Yep, all there doing is gonna bring out some pc games with a new engine, use the pc crowd to play it, report bugs, get the kinks worked out and then you know what?

There gonna turn around and say pc gamers didnt buy enough of our products, and cry piracy. Then where will all those new IP's be???

You guessed it! The xbox 1080, and I hear its gonna have like 6 total red rings this time because its gonna be awesome!!!! - Totally sarcastic...

Its a business. A hundred million here, a hundred million there, and pretty soon the money takes on a life of its own.

 

[Scrodes]

They could start by putting a muzzle on that douchenozzle Cliff Bleszinski. His PC gaming comments aren't helping Epics image.

Beyond that I want to believe them because I remember the awesomeness that was UT and UT2k4. Maybe they really believe the risk reward ratio of a blockbuster title isn't worth it.

Besides the games they produced themselves, Epic developed no less then 3 successful game engines that they then leased to other companies to create something like 200 fucking games. The current consoles are about to be replaced and they need to develop the next generation gaming engines which can only be done on PC because, DUH, the new consoles aren't out yet.

I'm not naive though, and I realize the truth is probably closer to this.

 

[Arg Clin]

Maybe they've found the competition in the console market to be a bit stiff, so they're trying their luck back at the PC market.

Or maybe they're relying on consoles moving closer towards PC tech in the next generations, and starting slowly to abandon the current gen consoles.

 

[TehMac]

I really don't get the hate to Epic. I usually reserve my ire for game studios that made good games and that had a brand to continue into the future.

What did Epic have? Some engines and Unreal Tournament. Hardly a brand worth pursuing...

 

[Shmee]

they need to bring back the nali warcows like in the original UT99. Best UT of them all IMO. I sure hope they live up to their promises.

 

[blackened23]

I really don't get the hate to Epic. I usually reserve my ire for game studios that made good games and that had a brand to continue into the future.

I don't get the epic hate. So the games company goes where they can continue their livelihood, so what?

Lets not kid ourselves, piracy is rampant in the PC games industry, the sales of pc games that are non subscription are a joke compared to console game sales. PC also has less appeal because the "average" non enthusiast has a laptop that isn't so hot for gaming. So much so that the selection of quality titles for the PC is now paltry compared to the console counterparts, which is kind of disheartening because the PC was an amazing gaming platform in the late 90s / early 2k. Now I don't know where these most recent epic comments came from but PC gaming is definitely in a state of a decline...

Remember all of the unique quality games that the PC had exclusively back in the day? Stuff like magic carpet....terminal velocity....PC of course had doom before any platform....all of that crap is gone and now we're relegated to console ports for the most part. Kind of sad.

 

[Valkerrick]

I don't get the epic hate. So the games company goes where they can continue their livelihood, so what?

Lets not kid ourselves, piracy is rampant in the PC games industry, the sales of pc games that are non subscription are a joke compared to console game sales. PC also has less appeal because the "average" non enthusiast has a laptop that isn't so hot for gaming. So much so that the selection of quality titles for the PC is now paltry compared to the console counterparts, which is kind of disheartening because the PC was an amazing gaming platform in the late 90s / early 2k. Now I don't know where these most recent epic comments came from but PC gaming is definitely in a state of a decline...

Remember all of the unique quality games that the PC had exclusively back in the day? Stuff like magic carpet....terminal velocity....PC of course had doom before any platform....all of that crap is gone and now we're relegated to console ports for the most part. Kind of sad.

It's because Epic turned their backs against the people who made them great. UT99 was a major hit back then. Then all they do is make a updated version in 03,04 and UT3. Since those weren't selling so good, they blamed piracy. Then go create a whole new IP for consoles (Gears of War) and say we love console players now. At least thats my opnion.:\

 

[blackened23]

It's because Epic turned their backs against the people who made them great. UT99 was a major hit back then. Then all they do is make a updated version in 03,04 and UT3. Since those weren't selling so good, they blamed piracy. Then go create a whole new IP for consoles (Gears of War) and say we love console players now. At least thats my opnion.:\

Its not just them, basically every PC gaming studio from the old days has either gone belly up or has expanded onto consoles. Even ID software's rage wasn't designed for the PC exclusively per se...they knew the money was on consoles.

While I love PC gaming I can't deny whats happening: piracy is out of hand right now and the average PC user doesn't have a rig suitable for games...so that puts a lot of game companies in a bad spot.

The only exception to this is blizzard who have turned into complete capitalists in their own way. Paid name change, race change, server change in WoW, they almost charged for real id partying. Pay for pets....its ridiculous. You know what I Miss? The indie dev studios who would release a game out of nowhere that just blew you away. I remember when blizzard released shareware warcraft: orcs and humans and I loved it...or apogee's rise of the triad. I don't think indie studios will be able to thrive like they were in the past.

 

[Fenixgoon]

I really don't get the hate to Epic. I usually reserve my ire for game studios that made good games and that had a brand to continue into the future.

What did Epic have? Some engines and Unreal Tournament. Hardly a brand worth pursuing...

unreal and UT99 were awesome. UT99 is still better than 2003/2004/UT3 IMO.

 

[lupi]

We have entire markets devoted to selling indie, old and lost games. With STEAM, Impulse and GOG the ability to buy games is endless with PC gamers. I can't even count how many of the great classics I've bought again just to have a convenient soft copy.

They overblew the impact of PC piracy when compared to the long life PC games have. This combined with Intel FINALLY putting some resources to decent graphics on their chips and AMD with their Fusion programs, the market for PC gaming is only going to keep getting bigger.

They made an error and will have to deliver with some great games now in order to win back the PC gamer.

The pc piracy aspect has always been a farce of a red herring. While a lot of people may pirrate thiings wheen it's relatively easy, it's also as likely that only a small fraction of those doing so would buy if unable to try via pirating.

 

[blackened23]

The pc piracy aspect has always been a farce of a red herring. While a lot of people may pirrate thiings wheen it's relatively easy, it's also as likely that only a small fraction of those doing so would buy if unable to try via pirating.

I don't think the problem is as extreme as some industry insiders make it out to be, but to brush it off as insignificant? Thats delusional. Especially among college students and teens, downloading games off of bittorrent is very common and I would find it hard to believe that most of these people are buying the products after "trying" them out. Yeah right.

 

[wuliheron]

The pc piracy aspect has always been a farce of a red herring. While a lot of people may pirrate thiings wheen it's relatively easy, it's also as likely that only a small fraction of those doing so would buy if unable to try via pirating.

The whole piracy issue is a red herring. Games like MW cost 50 million to develop and rake in a cool billion. The real problem is console sales shot through the roof and developers started pumping out crappy games as fast as they could just to keep up with the demand. It got so bad people eventually stopped buying any games except a handful of the best sellers. That Epic is still producing games at all is a good sign they at least have confidence they can produce another serious winner.

 

[paperfist]

It's because Epic turned their backs against the people who made them great. UT99 was a major hit back then. Then all they do is make a updated version in 03,04 and UT3. Since those weren't selling so good, they blamed piracy. Then go create a whole new IP for consoles (Gears of War) and say we love console players now. At least thats my opnion.:\

It's not just that they turned their backs on PC gaming, it's the negative PC bashing comments about piracy they put out saying they basically went to consoles cause we wouldn't stop pirating their games. Which is a joke because what kind of cars did they drive when they were a PC only studio?

----
"I think the PC is just in disarray... What's driving the PC right now is Sims-type games and WOW and a lot of stuff that's in a web-based interface. You just click on it and play it. That's the direction PC is evolving into."

So with PC gaming all messed up, what's a development studio to do but stick with good old consoles?

"For me, the PC is kind of the secondary part of what we're doing," confirmed Bleszinski. "It's important for us, but right now making AAA games on consoles is where we're at."

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/02/13/gears-of-war-creator-update/
----

"Aw, that Cliffy B is such a sweetheart. With the news that Bulletstorm demos will be available for the 360 and PS3, but not the PC, clearly a few people with a big grey box are a little miffed. Is this in case of demo piracy? Er um. So the gaming’s Man Of Tact, as Blues report, has attempted to quell the storm with a thoughtful and thought-provoking tweet on the matter:

“http://bit.ly/eTr0BR – BULLETSTORM DEMO COMING TO 360/PS3 JANUARY 25th. In other news, PC gamers are grumpy about this.”"

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/17/no-pc-bulletstorm-demo-cliffyb-indifferent/

----
"So does that also mean you see the 360 as Epic’s main platform?

The PC right now is very different to how it was back in the day. The person who is savvy enough to upgrade their PC and buy decent video cards, are the same people who know about bit torrent and all other means to pirate PC games. So the high-end computer games are suffering on the PC.

Right now it makes sense for us to focus on 360. PC piracy is a factor, but there are other concerns such as multiple-configurations of different computers. There will not be a Gears 2 on PC."

http://www.develop-online.net/features/299/Gearing-Up

----

 

[KaOTiK]

It's not just that they turned their backs on PC gaming, it's the negative PC bashing comments about piracy they put out saying they basically went to consoles cause we wouldn't stop pirating their games. Which is a joke because what kind of cars did they drive when they were a PC only studio?

----
"I think the PC is just in disarray... What's driving the PC right now is Sims-type games and WOW and a lot of stuff that's in a web-based interface. You just click on it and play it. That's the direction PC is evolving into."

So with PC gaming all messed up, what's a development studio to do but stick with good old consoles?

"For me, the PC is kind of the secondary part of what we're doing," confirmed Bleszinski. "It's important for us, but right now making AAA games on consoles is where we're at."

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/02/13/gears-of-war-creator-update/
----

"Aw, that Cliffy B is such a sweetheart. With the news that Bulletstorm demos will be available for the 360 and PS3, but not the PC, clearly a few people with a big grey box are a little miffed. Is this in case of demo piracy? Er um. So the gaming’s Man Of Tact, as Blues report, has attempted to quell the storm with a thoughtful and thought-provoking tweet on the matter:

“http://bit.ly/eTr0BR – BULLETSTORM DEMO COMING TO 360/PS3 JANUARY 25th. In other news, PC gamers are grumpy about this.”"

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/17/no-pc-bulletstorm-demo-cliffyb-indifferent/

----
"So does that also mean you see the 360 as Epic’s main platform?

The PC right now is very different to how it was back in the day. The person who is savvy enough to upgrade their PC and buy decent video cards, are the same people who know about bit torrent and all other means to pirate PC games. So the high-end computer games are suffering on the PC.

Right now it makes sense for us to focus on 360. PC piracy is a factor, but there are other concerns such as multiple-configurations of different computers. There will not be a Gears 2 on PC."

http://www.develop-online.net/features/299/Gearing-Up

----

 

[Golgatha]

What did Blizzard do to you? lol

Ok fine, Blizzard post merger with Diablo (Activision) please DIAF.

 

[Golgatha]

B.Net2, flying horses, selling out with D3. Basically, all the stuff Activision has had influence on. I personally don't hate Blizzard yet, but years ago I'd buy anything they put out and now they're just another company.

That's quite the reason they need to DIAF. They took some of my most beloved franchises and integrated Activison's policy of clusterfucking over great IP and consumer sentiment. Same with EA and the Command and Conquer series.

Looks like a future of MMOs, indie games, and finishing out my backlog. Yes I'm super bitter about the way things have gone in the world of gaming if you're wondering or if there was any doubt.

 

[lupi]

I don't think the problem is as extreme as some industry insiders make it out to be, but to brush it off as insignificant? Thats delusional. Especially among college students and teens, downloading games off of bittorrent is very common and I would find it hard to believe that most of these people are buying the products after "trying" them out. Yeah right.

I also doubt many of them buy after they tried. Just as I doubt they buy if they couldn't try first. Back in the glory days the kid that downloaded 1000 albums and bought none of them would buy how many now that he couldn't download? According to common sense, let's say a dozen. According to the non-figure releasing industry, that guy robbed them of millions in sales. There's also a reason why companies like microsoft have pennies on tthe US$ versions of their products for some foreign markets, even though they still have piracy problems.

 

[Dankk]

 

[blackened23]

It's not just that they turned their backs on PC gaming, it's the negative PC bashing comments about piracy they put out saying they basically went to consoles cause we wouldn't stop pirating their games. Which is a joke because what kind of cars did they drive when they were a PC only studio?

----
"I think the PC is just in disarray... What's driving the PC right now is Sims-type games and WOW and a lot of stuff that's in a web-based interface. You just click on it and play it. That's the direction PC is evolving into."

So with PC gaming all messed up, what's a development studio to do but stick with good old consoles?

"For me, the PC is kind of the secondary part of what we're doing," confirmed Bleszinski. "It's important for us, but right now making AAA games on consoles is where we're at."

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/02/13/gears-of-war-creator-update/
----

"Aw, that Cliffy B is such a sweetheart. With the news that Bulletstorm demos will be available for the 360 and PS3, but not the PC, clearly a few people with a big grey box are a little miffed. Is this in case of demo piracy? Er um. So the gaming’s Man Of Tact, as Blues report, has attempted to quell the storm with a thoughtful and thought-provoking tweet on the matter:

“http://bit.ly/eTr0BR – BULLETSTORM DEMO COMING TO 360/PS3 JANUARY 25th. In other news, PC gamers are grumpy about this.”"

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/17/no-pc-bulletstorm-demo-cliffyb-indifferent/

----
"So does that also mean you see the 360 as Epic’s main platform?

The PC right now is very different to how it was back in the day. The person who is savvy enough to upgrade their PC and buy decent video cards, are the same people who know about bit torrent and all other means to pirate PC games. So the high-end computer games are suffering on the PC.

Right now it makes sense for us to focus on 360. PC piracy is a factor, but there are other concerns such as multiple-configurations of different computers. There will not be a Gears 2 on PC."

http://www.develop-online.net/features/299/Gearing-Up

----

You mad bro? Who cares what they think about the PC platform. They can say fuck the PC for all I care, why the hell would anyone care about what he says? I just care about end product. Fact of the matter is that consoles are a more lucrative market than the PC right now, thats a fact.....You can get mad all you want, doesn't change the fact -- good PC games are still being developed though, so its all good. The bad thing is that PC specific franchises are few and far between now.

 

[blackened23]

I also doubt many of them buy after they tried. Just as I doubt they buy if they couldn't try first. Back in the glory days the kid that downloaded 1000 albums and bought none of them would buy how many now that he couldn't download? According to common sense, let's say a dozen. According to the non-figure releasing industry, that guy robbed them of millions in sales. There's also a reason why companies like microsoft have pennies on tthe US$ versions of their products for some foreign markets, even though they still have piracy problems.

So you're saying--someone who outright pirates software -- because they would never buy the product -- that makes it ok for them to download it.

Gotcha! I forget that pirates are entitled to the right to try software out whether they're buying it or not. People with that mindset are the precise reason that so many
good games are ruined by DRM and draconion copy protection measures....That crap made me HATE the PC version of bioshock 2, I instead opted to play a friends version
on the 360.

 

[SMOGZINN]

So you're saying--someone who outright pirates software -- because they would never buy the product -- that makes it ok for them to download it.

Gotcha! I forget that pirates are entitled to the right to try software out whether they're buying it or not. People with that mindset are the precise reason that so many
good games are ruined by DRM and draconion copy protection measures....That crap made me HATE the PC version of bioshock 2, I instead opted to play a friends version
on the 360.

No, he is saying that it does not hurt the company’s bottom line. They are not 'losing' millions in sales, they are just not getting paid for some people's enjoyment of the game. There is a big difference.

Draconian DRM is less about piracy and more about IP control. DRM does very little good against the people they are trying to stop, simple CD check copy protection schemes that they had 12 years ago work just as well as the most advanced SecureROM systems that mess up entire systems today. They damn well know this, so why are they chasing ever increasingly complex DRM schemes? Because they are not trying to stop piracy, they are trying to control usage and capture usage data.