News Epic: "PC piracy drove us to consoles"

The companies are just all talking BS to make sure they can make more money.

The reasons they complain about piracy is because it's a good excuse for them to make.

By going console only, they can cheap out like they never could on the PC, they''re saving money in development costs as their games on consoles don't have to be anywhere near as polished before they're criticised for "lazy work".

Thing is, Epic are genuinely just making excuses now, think about just how much money they're realistically making? UE3 is the most commonly used third party engine, they're making a load of money just on licensing that, so they're now being lazy.

They probably think their PC work is "done" with them finishing the UE3 for PC.

 

That made me laugh.

Yes, all those console only games are so cheap to make....

 

They keep the updates going because it holds customers, this is something valve knows well, keep the current customers happy, set a standard of customer service, and they'll keep coming back.

Something people have a hard time understand as well is that when they have games on sale, the increase in sales isn't linear to the percentage of the discount, it's usually far far far higher.

They usually see multiple thousands of percent increases in sales when they discount their games.

That means they've made more money selling a game for £5 (at 75% off for example) than they have at £20, simply because they've sold 100,000 copies at £5 compared to say 5,000 copies at £20 (not true figures obviously, but it seems to work something like this).

With the constant updates, they're keeping their games fresh and making the games more desirable to new comers as the current players are more likely to tell their friends to grab a copy when it's 75% off.

 

Could you point out where I said console games are cheap to make, please? As I don't recall saying it.

 

I really wish people would stop using the 'all console gamers are idiots and they are responsible for the decline of quality PC games' argument - it's getting old and you look stupid for using it.
Do you honestly believe that game critics go softer on a game because it's console only? Or that the vast majority of console owners are some sort of idiot who can't recognise a good game?
I've been a PC gamer all my life but I own both a PS3 and a 360, and before that I've owned a PS2 and a PSX. There are some experiences that you just cannot have on a PC.
The implication that I am some sort of idiot or ignorant in some way because I buy console games is a gross misjudgement.

 

Do they really need to tell us this AGAIN?

 

Is this where the phrase "Epic fail" originated?

Seriously though, money is in consoles, PC is smaller market, we get it. But the piracy excuse is just that, an excuse. Doesn't seem to make DVD releases go away and all after-theatre movie distribution move solely into captive, streaming channels (pay per view, Hulu, Netflix, what-have-you), and DVDs are WAY easier to pirate for even tech illiterates than games.

 

TF2, as a sole entity, loses money. If it was as simple as your napkin maths, then every developer would be doing the same thing.

Valve make the vast majority of their money from Steam, i.e other people's games.

You said developers avoided PC development so that they could 'cheap out', be 'lazy' and 'unpolished' - if that doesn't imply cheapness that I don't know what does. Those statements couldn't be any further from the truth but makes for a nice and tidy arguement so you can somehow feel better about the situation.

There are numerous great multi-platform PC AAA titles (Batman:AA, Just Cause 2, Dirt 2) that would not exist if it wasn't for their console counterparts acting as a guarantee that they'll make their money back and I bet you've probably played and enjoyed some of them.

If the PC platform made as much (or more) money as consoles, don't you think there would be more games? These developers/publishers don't hate you. They just want to make money, like every other business does.

 

Well you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Of course they go softer on a console game when comparing it to a PC game, which is what I was saying. Consoles have lesser hardware in them, but I didn't once say console owners are responsible for the decline of good PC games, I'm a consoler owner my self and I don't understand where you got idiot from?

Compare the same game on PC to the console version and you'll soon understand exactly what I'm talking about.

Some one criticising a console game wouldn't realistically slate a game for a lack of AA because it's not exactly a standard thing on consoles, despite them being capable of doing it to some extent.

Where as the PC version would get slated for having no AA options.

See what I mean now?

It's to be expected that the vast majority of console owners aren't particularly technically inclined simply because of the sheer number of console owners, but I did not once say they're idiots, and secondly, since when has the absence of knowledge been evidence for stupidity or idiocy?

So yeah, I've owned most consoles out and currently have a PS3 and a Wii, I prefer my PC for games, but that means nothing.

But it's FACT that a console has lesser hardware and therefore can be done to a lower standard, why do you think so many games are rendered at low resolutions and then upscaled? Because the hardware isn't powerful enough to render it at high resolutions.

You'd be a fool to expect PC quality graphics on a current gen console, at PC monitor resolutions.

 

"I guarantee that if people were as likely to get away with shoplifting as they are with download piracy, theft of every medium would skyrocket. "

this /\

 

[Citation Needed]

 

I believe you are guessing here.

That's pretty much a given, considering how other company's games make up over 90% of the steam games catalogue.

Couldn't be any further from the truth? Are you guessing again? You seem to like telling people how they're wrong, but don't really go on to explain why you're right.

I didn't say console games are cheap, re-read my post. Console games are less polished than PC games, it's a fact. PCs are far more powerful, you can't get away with cutting as many corners as you can with console exclusives.

For one, console only games can have lower detailed models, lower detailed and lower res textures and need less Q&A done, again cheaper not cheap.

I didn't say all console games for one, and I was talking about console exclusives, do you have a hard time reading posts?

I'm not saying consoles are crap, and are cheapo to develop for, I'm talking about console exclusives being cheaper to make than multiplatform ones, because lazy devs (this doesn't mean all devs, I was talking about Epic in the first place) can get away with making something less polished, which is simply common sense when you think about the PC as a gaming platform

I again don't recall saying or implying that. I didn't say console devs hated me, you really need to learn how to read posts and stop thinking of ways to "read between the lines" which means you miss the intended point completely.

 

That was more in reference to the quote above yours, 'Bloody console-tards' my comment towards your post was aimed at the 'cheapness' in console games.

Since when was a game judged wholly and solely on its graphics? I don't expect PC level graphics from a console, I just don't think that by having a game released primarily for consoles that it's somehow inferior to a PC game.

I should clarify a point here, when you refer to the lack of polish I read this as an overall thing, if your comment was meant as a lack of polish graphically, then there's really no point to this discussion because I have the wrong end of the stick and your point would be a very valid one.

Still, there have been other people in this thread and others on this site blaming consoles for all the woes facing PC gaming and I think it's time they started looking elsewhere.

 

Not ALL console owners are idiots, as you put it. But there is a huge market out there of people who only migrate from one console to the next. They have no knowledge of the vast library of decent games on the PC. They just see what they think is next gen graphics and get all excited. They never noticed when the xbox360 came out, that decent PC's were already as good as or better than it spec wise.

I was a little disappointed first time I saw an xbox360. I was already playing games that looked that 'shiny' on my ageing PC at home. Consoles are excellent for multiplayer madness with friends though. That's the only real point in having one IMO.

 

Compare the same game on PC to the console version and you'll soon understand exactly what I'm talking about.

Some one criticising a console game wouldn't realistically slate a game for a lack of AA because it's not exactly a standard thing on consoles, despite them being capable of doing it to some extent.

Where as the PC version would get slated for having no AA options.

See what I mean now?

That's what I'm talking about when it comes to polish, because ultimately that's where the biggest differences lie when comparing a console version of a game to a PC version.

Don't get me wrong, I love consoles, I only tend to buy first party titles because their quality is generally higher than multiplatform tittles as it's only made for that specific console.

When a game is multiplatform, then I get it on PC as it's cheaper (by A LOT most of the time, the console versions are regularly close to 100% more expensive) and generally will have better graphical options and better online options, because it's just the way things are with the PC (such as dedicated servers).

 

True enough, you will always have people that think that the X360/PS3/*insert game console here* is the best thing since sliced bread and there's nothing better than it, no question there.
For me I choose to play most multi-platform games on PC, and like having the consoles around for the exclusives.

 

I offer you my apologies then kylew, I thought you had meant that console games lacked polish compared to their PC counterparts overall - not just when it came to the graphics. So I take my earlier comments back because you are 100% correct.

 

No worries, to be honest though I don't really know what other major (noticeable) differences there could be between a console and PC version of a game except the graphics.

I don't think physics currently quite counts.

 

Ah yes the exclusives. You have a point there. I'd like to play Metal Gear 4 on ps3, but alas I don't have one.

 

Darn Yet to play MGS4, can't quite pull myself away from Yakuza 3
That's one thing you never really get on PC, the crazy Japanese games that rarely make it outside their borders or the JRPG's.