Here’s a prime example of irony. Microsoft is axing the PC version of upcoming thriller Alan Wake. The big question is whether you believe the PR line (that it’s a game better suited to a TV in a living room than the “intimacy” of a PC) or if you want to read between the lines and look at the revenue line ($10 per unit sold isn’t pocket change).
The irony of course is this is coming from the company that CREATED the PC platform (well, the OS at least) and squeezed out the absolutely putrid Games for Windows initiative…you know for the first time in I don’t know how many GFW games I’ve bought the Update function ACTUALLY worked in BioShock 2.
Maybe instead of making a stupid announcement like this they should’ve just said they’re delaying the PC version “until it’s ready” or something lame but less lame than “PC gaming is useless to us”.
Granted, Alan Wake might be a completely stupid game, though Remedy did make Max Payne (and MP2), bringing one of the first if not THE first game to make Bullet Time a key gameplay function. This game’s supposed to be innovative in the use of light and dark…an interesting idea if pulled off right.
But, back to the gripe. I know right now is essentially the polar opposite of the game industry ten years ago when console gamers were griping about not getting a lot of good games that just released for PC only. So, you might expect this sort of uprising…especially after the whole COD MW2 debacle. Plus, more and more games that do make it to PC tend to be hampered with controls that were obviously geared towards a gamepad.
What does this mean? Nothing. It just means PC gaming is slowly being relegated to the state that Mac gaming was in just a few years ago. The better selling games will make it over with sales figures filtering out the crap that doesn’t sell on the console side.
The real downside? Independent game developers who don’t have the benefit of millions of development and marketing dollars might never get to expose their product across platforms if the console gaming crowd (which includes a younger demographic more interested in fast-action games than the type of games coming out of indie establishments).
Honestly, though, Microsoft’s PR department needs a reboot (which just happens to be the best advice for anyone running their OS and having issues). Who cares if you don’t want to worry about or waste time on a PC version of Alan Wake…a game that might make a dent but won’t likely achieve COD/Sims-like numbers when it’s released. Why would you stir up the bee hive with dumb comments like that (especially with Remedy personnel making it look like they don’t have a choice in the matter and are on the PC gamers’ side) when you could just let it lie? Just say nothing: “Alan Wake is hitting shelves this Spring for XBox 360!” If someone asks, just tell them, the standard gaming PR line: “We have not set a release date for the PC version as yet. Stay tuned.”
It’s always funny how Microsoft seems to step on toes all over the fucking place. If it isn’t tossing out substandard OSes (no, I haven’t tried Windows 7 yet…any reason for me to? Right…), mediocre IDEs (though I can’t say any of the open source IDEs out there have impressed me…they try too hard to be everything for everyone), and craptastic Games For Windows support. The whole initiative seems more like Guantanamo than Eden. The funny thing? I think despite the drawbacks of Steam, they’re doing a better job of promoting PC gaming and bringing together a community.
Speaking of Steam, if you get VAC banned, you can’t use any of your games on VAC servers…it’s not just one game…ALL of your games…not that I cheat but all it takes is one Blizzard-like banning event to fubar your game collection. Sort of bullshit if you ask me…
Is there a solution to all this (the PC gaming thing)? Of course, but the game publishers out there don’t really care. They don’t spend time finding a solid anti-piracy solution (including a simple phone home feature similar to online activation with a built-in expiration date so it’s not required after a year or something) and have their developers hack out a simple solution that fails or use something draconian like SecuROM which ends up fucking people’s computers up.
Whatever…here’s to hoping game publishers learn where their money originally came from (and there are still a lot more PCs out there than consoles…just fewer kiddies behind them). And as each subsequent generation starts earlier and earlier with electronics and computers, more of them will be in front of computing devices other than consoles more often (sorry, my console doesn’t go with me when I travel or when I’m at lunch at work). Talk about money on the table…
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