With the similarity in architectures of both next-gen consoles and the PC, which makes it easy to port between platforms, and piracy of MMOs being practically a non-issue, Bungie would be cutting themselves out of some revenue not releasing Destiny on the PC as well.
I'm not sure if I'll get me a PS4. There would have to be more interesting games on that platform.
Revenue of sales say otherwise, the money cost in porting then maintaining it on a open system that's is plagued with cheats/mods/piratesQuote:
Originally Posted by Lasse B
If you go look at game sales from a AAA title that's on consoles and PC ,PC market is no way near as big
Frankly I suspect that might have done a bit better had they focused on consoles, or even just one console (assuming MS or Sony would have paid them a boatload for exclusivity, which they often will). Defiance's MMO-lite nature isn't going to seem as jarring to console gamers, who by and large aren't used to feature complete MMOs, nor are they apt to have the same long-term expectations that PC gamers who have played other MMOs will likely have.
Where Defiance really went wrong, IMHO, was in making a Borderlands clone without any of the fun parts.
None of the quirky humor, endless search for over-the-top weapons in stunning variety, fun-to-use and meaningful-to-gameplay skills and perks... Hell, not even the bank, towns, or ease of grouping for drop-in/drop-out gameplay. Instead we get a trite storyline with characters so by the book you expect one of them to say "It was a dark and stormy night...", weapons and gear that vary so little that very early on it stops mattering what you use, skills that are a pale imitation of those in better games and passive perks so minor it's hard to be sure if they even work (and, given the overall bugginess, it would be foolish of you not to wonder), and a complete lack of anything that might remotely promote social gameplay.
Pc IS better but the next gen console could with decent coding shorten that gap almost completely. Sure PC can do higher rez but with a 60 inch screen who the RTYUI cares except elitists? I hope PCs are replaced by consoles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Atticus Batman
not meaning to change the flow here, but sign on right now. the instance i was in is clogged with folks right now. arkfalls are a blast! if there is so much wrong with this game, the sheer number of people i saw in the past hour says otherwise.
Porting costs as far as games for the next gen consoles and the PC are concerned should be lower, as the architecture used in these consoles is pretty close to the PC.Quote:
Originally Posted by marshy
Server upkeep is surprisingly small money. Taking WoW as an example, server upkeep is around $0.36 per player per month.
Piracy on MMOs is so little it borders on insignificance.
Cheats aren't that rampant on consoles, but there are devices that let you use keyboards & mice with them. As far as shooters are concerned, that's cheating right there. Here's why.
If you take it as both consoles combined vs the PC, you're certainly right. When it's each platform alone, consoles still lead, but the PC market isn't that far behind anymore. If the numbers at VGCharts are at least somewhat reliable, that is. Some sites even claim PC game sales will surpass console game sales soon, but I believe that when I see it.Quote:
Originally Posted by marshy
VGChartz ONLY counts retail store sales. No digital downloads, no online stores, etc. So, in the case of Defiance, where most PC players get it downloaded either from Trion direct, or Steam, VGChartz doesn't see those orders. Consoles require the disc, no? So most console players buy in retail stores, most PC players don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lasse B
Why yes, yes we do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Atticus Batman
It was smart business decision to release the game for three platforms and tap three markets. What didn't look so smart was the huge layoffs on a team that needs to focus on three platforms.
Pretty sure I read somewhere that Trion had over one million active game accounts for Defiance during it's first month of release. So even with all the problems they've had since then, they still have plenty of revenue to keep the ball rolling. Dropping all that staff seems like a smart way to stay in the black.
Defiance is an experiment honestly. Trion had balls for stepping up to the plate so that other companies can learn what works, what doesn't and what not. WoW wasn't a success because it was an original thinker title. It made it's success off the back of smaller companies (Verant for example) that put themselves out there first.