Are games dumbed down for console gamers?

This is a topic that's fuelled a lot of the arguments between console and PC gamers over the last few years, developers have made games much more accessible but the downside of this is that games are less appealing to the hardcore gamer.

When a developer's start working on a game they get told which platform is going to lead, the lead platform is the machine the game is going to be developed for. All of the other platforms will receive a port. The lead platform isn't decided by the developers it is decided by the publisher and whoever is willing to pay the most money to be the lead platform. Take Portal 2 for example there's been loads of banners advertising the game all over the web and even from these adverts you can see which platform is the lead one, check out the box art, the first most clear to see box is the lead platform so in Portal 2's case the PS3. Even in when the first game play footage is shown to the public you often see button prompts on the screen giving away the lead platform in the form an "X" or "A".

This is where the problem is for many PC gamers more and more games are being developed for the console and the use of a game pad which has to be one of the worst devices to play a first person shooter with it's so bad they have to include auto-aim to help the player move the crosshair from target to target. When this kind of game gets ported to the PC, PC gamers are left with something that is way too easy because of the precise movement of the mouse making something that would be considered hard to a console gamer easy for a PC gamer.

This is why argument will continue especially when it comes to games that started out on the PC getting mainstreamed for console gamers like Crysis and Call of Duty. More fuel is added to fire when PC gamers open a brand new game to see the message "Press start to begin" and then after navigating to the graphical options learning that there are 3 options to make changes to. The graphics level to either low, medium or high another to set the resolution and one last one to change the brightness of your "TV". Missing features often include the lack of advanced graphical options, the lack of anti-aliasing support --I hate jaggies – missing mouse configuration settings and the ability to turn off mouse smoothing. Games like this should come with a warning attached to them letting the consumer know that this version of the game is a port.

It's very rare that a game developer will talk about a taboo subject such as a game being dumbed down for console gamers, which is why an article posted on the PCGAMER website about the PC version of Fable 3 was very interesting. I've copied my favourite part of the article.

Fable 3 lead designer Josh Atkins admits that the game was designed to be easy for a console audience. "On Fable from the beginning I can remember sitting in a room with Peter [Molyneux] and him being very explicit with me that… I believe the direct quote, if I remember correctly, was, 'I want a blind child to be able to win this game with their feet."

It's not just the graphics of games that are held back by consoles it is the difficulty also! When Crysis came out in 2007 I remember running around the game world for ages just exploring and even in remote corners of the map I found that everything was highly detailed. So you will understand my horror when I ran up to the first key pad in the Crysis 2 something that is actually part of the game and not in a remote corner of the map and find this ugly thing.

http://www.cssmixes.co.uk/images/reviews/crysis2/This_is_what_consoles_have_done_to_crysis.jpg

No. There is no difference between a console and PC game, or PC and console gamers for that matter.i5750at4Ghz

According to Josh Atkins this is not the case.

[QUOTE="i5750at4Ghz"]No. There is no difference between a console and PC game, or PC and console gamers for that matter.PC-G4M3R

According to Josh Atkins this is not the case.

I've been gaming on PC and consoles for 20 something years. Honestly not much has changed, games have simply become more accessible. Which I see as a great thing. PC elitist like any elitist will see this as some type of dumbification.

you hear this alot, many series try to go mainstream and appeal to everyone. Its not really a console or a pc thing, its a money thing. But when a pc based title goes to console as well, you know they are aiming for a larger market obviously.

the term dumbed down is starting to get old and overused. PC gamers aren't better or superior than console gamers and vice versa. Neither are there games. . Nobody should take it personally or offensive when a Developer has to make changes to a game to make it work on all platforms. Developers are out for one thing. Money. They don't care about you or me or anyone else. They go where the most cash is.

the term dumbed down is starting to get old and overused. PC gamers aren't better or superior than console gamers and vice versa. Neither are there games. . Nobody should anyone take it personally or offensive when a Developer has to make changes to a game to make it work on all platforms. Developers are out for one thing. Money. They don't care about you or me or anyone else. They go where the most cash is.

gmaster456

[QUOTE="gmaster456"]

the term dumbed down is starting to get old and overused. PC gamers aren't better or superior than console gamers and vice versa. Neither are there games. . Nobody should anyone take it personally or offensive when a Developer has to make changes to a game to make it work on all platforms. Developers are out for one thing. Money. They don't care about you or me or anyone else. They go where the most cash is.

biggest_loser

The problem is that most PC gamers think of a console players being kids a lot like the "get off the xbox jacob" video on youtube, another thing during podcasts you often hear people talking about console multiplayer experiences and they tend to always say that they don't like being abused by a 11 year old. From my experience of PC multiplayer you don't seem to come across many children of that age and the banter just seems more mature. I think this is because parents are willing to spend £150 --sorry if this is the wrong price-- on a console than £500 on a gaming rig for their children.

The problem is that most PC gamers think of a console players being kids a lot like the "get off the xbox jacob" video on youtube, another thing during podcasts you often hear people talking about console multiplayer experiences and they tend to always say that they don't like being abused by a 11 year old. From my experience of PC multiplayer you don't seem to come across many children of that age and the banter just seems more mature. I think this is because parents are willing to spend £150 --sorry if this is the wrong price-- on a console than £500 on a gaming rig for their children.

PC-G4M3R

[QUOTE="PC-G4M3R"]

The problem is that most PC gamers think of a console players being kids a lot like the "get off the xbox jacob" video on youtube, another thing during podcasts you often hear people talking about console multiplayer experiences and they tend to always say that they don't like being abused by a 11 year old. From my experience of PC multiplayer you don't seem to come across many children of that age and the banter just seems more mature. I think this is because parents are willing to spend £150 --sorry if this is the wrong price-- on a console than £500 on a gaming rig for their children.

gmaster456

It's shocking to think my graphics card alone would get me a PS3 and a XBOX360 and a pile of games oh and a years subscription to XBL costs about 30 quid don't it. :)

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="gmaster456"]

the term dumbed down is starting to get old and overused. PC gamers aren't better or superior than console gamers and vice versa. Neither are there games. . Nobody should anyone take it personally or offensive when a Developer has to make changes to a game to make it work on all platforms. Developers are out for one thing. Money. They don't care about you or me or anyone else. They go where the most cash is.

gmaster456

It's not all bad anyway PC gaming over the last year has started picking up again and more and more attention is being focused on the PC, I think this is because Microsoft and Sony are trying to increase the life span of the consoles what should have been 5 years is now looking like 10 years so I think people are getting fed up of the console limitations and starting with PC gaming and even better Battlefield 3's lead platform is the PC a lot of console gamers are going to look at the game play footage and then be very disappointed when they play the game on a pixelated console also look at the player count something like a massive 64 on the PC and only 24 on the console.

Yes they are.

Lets go back to around year 2000, any games you could find exclusively on pc around this year, was a lot more complex and had more depth than most games today.

Then look at the console games from around year 2000, they are still "arcadish" and do not require much thought or planning- just like they are today.

Today however, most games are multiplatform, and im not aware of wether the pc port is alot different from the console port. I don't really think it is, ofc. with the PC port, you got some graphic options to sweeten the look of the game, but I dont think the actual gameplay is different or more sophisticated for the PC port.

Around year 2000 thou- there were a HUGE difference between a PC game anda CONSOLE game.

Around year 2000, an 8 year old could play most, if not all console games - however the same 8 year old would fail and die multiple times if the 8 year old played a more demanding/hard PC game.

Today the 8 year old could probably play and complete most PC/console games as well, but would probably fail horribly for a PC only/exclusive game.

Nope, games have become far more simple, but that's it. Using every single key on your keyboard for a FPS is just ridiculous but PC Elitists consider it an amazing thing.

Also, if it was true then how do you explain the PS2 version of Deus Ex or the Xbox version of Morrowind or Operation Flashpoint? They are exactly the same game as their PC counterparts.

No. There is no difference between a console and PC game, or PC and console gamers for that matter.i5750at4Ghz

This whole "pc elitist" thing is a joke. PC gamers have not changed the last 20 years, only PC games have. I have been a PC gamer since the early 90's, I know what a PC game is, I know what a console game is. The only games that stay true PC games are ones not ported to consoles.

Stop taking it personally console gamers, it is not directed at you it is directed at the game companies. You are taking the term "dumbed down" to mean so idiots who play consoles can play it. That is NOT how it is meant.

Dragon age 2 is the perfect example.The majority of games will be like press A or B and that's it,very sad but this is how it's going to be,and the kids will be like a robot without thinking to much,just press the damn butons like a robot.The PC will be no different in a few years.(sorry fot my english)

Deux Ex is a brilliant game I have recently been playing through the PC version again because of the new one coming out this year, looking at previews for Deus Ex : Human Revolution the game appears to have been smacked around a bit by the consolization cane. Why? because the game appears to me more of a first person shooter than a thinking mans game, this all comes back to developers making games easier for the console audience.

Fable 3 lead designer Josh Atkins admits that the game was designed to be easy for a console audience. "On Fable from the beginning I can remember sitting in a room with Peter [Molyneux] and him being very explicit with me that… I believe the direct quote, if I remember correctly, was, 'I want a blind child to be able to win this game with their feet."

This whole "pc elitist" thing is a joke. PC gamers have not changed the last 20 years, only PC games have. I have been a PC gamer since the early 90's, I know what a PC game is, I know what a console game is. The only games that stay true PC games are ones not ported to consoles.

vfibsux

Well said, but not all console games are dumped down, i enjoyed morrowind to death on my xbox (but it is true that these games are not as popular on console as they are on pc).

Not Console gamers as a whole, but there are alot of people playing on console that REALLY dislike a challange, or even to use thier heads just a tad.

And with todays market and the amount it costs to make a game, it needs to capture as many groups as possible, that also includes the lowest common denominator.

I doubt most people on these forums falls into the "lazy" or "dumb" category, afterall if they did they would likely not be here.

On PC it is far easier to make a game for a certain demographic, since it is ALOT cheaper to make, thus the impression of dumb console gamers.

In reality I think the console gamers dislike this just as much as PC gamers did, or they just started playing this gen, and do not know how games were earlier.

A good example are those who claims that the reason why NES games were so hard were to crappy controls, it always makes me laugh when I hear it, since games like the Megaman or theMario games on the NES had far BETTER controls then anything you can throw at them.

So is it the entusiat console gamers that are the reason for dumbing down? Nope, it is the high inflated cost of (ironically not making the game, but distributing it).

PC gamers just find it easier to say "consolized" since the dumbing down is pretty usual when a PC only title goes multiplay, you can pretty much count on excessive autoaim, and more polish then gameplay. It is annoying to see your favorite franchizes being utterly ruined for the appeal to the masses. -.-

A game that lost all its teeth, and any kind of challange due to a gamle for a larger demographics.

developers have made games much more accessible but the downside of this is that games are less appealing to the hardcore gamer.PC-G4M3R

No. There is no difference between a console and PC game, or PC and console gamers for that matter.i5750at4Ghz

Fable 3 lead designer Josh Atkins admits that the game was designed to be easy for a console audience. "On Fable from the beginning I can remember sitting in a room with Peter (Molyneux) and him being very explicit with me that… I believe the direct quote, if I remember correctly, was, 'I want a blind child to be able to win this game with their feet." PC-G4M3R

If there was ever a picture that speaks a thousand words about this topic it is this one :-

Have games been dumbed down ? Yep no doubt about it, if you can't see it then there is no point arguing with you. The much trickier question is whether consoles are to blame for it. I personally believe they have their role to play in the dumbing down of games with their restricted memory and outdated tech. However it is also down to the type of player a console platform attracts. I am sure there are plenty of "hardcore" gamers on consoles but they are vastly outnumbered by "casual" gamers that do not want a challenge. They want lots of flashy cool stuff in a 4 hour package that doesn't challenge them and developers have figured out that is where the money is at so we all have to suffer for that.

Games have been dumbed down for these reasons:

a) consoles

b) a majority of console gamers like CoD rehashes every year

c) consoles

No. There is no difference between a console and PC game, or PC and console gamers for that matter.i5750at4Ghz

If there was ever a picture that speaks a thousand words about this topic it is this one :-

Have games been dumbed down ? Yep no doubt about it, if you can't see it then there is no point arguing with you. The much trickier question is whether consoles are to blame for it. I personally believe they have their role to play in the dumbing down of games with their restricted memory and outdated tech. However it is also down to the type of player a console platform attracts. I am sure there are plenty of "hardcore" gamers on consoles but they are vastly outnumbered by "casual" gamers that do not want a challenge. They want lots of flashy cool stuff in a 4 hour package that doesn't challenge them and developers have figured out that is where the money is at so we all have to suffer for that.

charmingcharlie

I posted this pic on SW ... its too good not to flame things up with.

It's shocking to think my graphics card alone would get me a PS3 and a XBOX360 and a pile of games oh and a years subscription to XBL costs about 30 quid don't it. :)

PC-G4M3R

[QUOTE="PC-G4M3R"]

It's shocking to think my graphics card alone would get me a PS3 and a XBOX360 and a pile of games oh and a years subscription to XBL costs about 30 quid don't it. :)

l-lord

Not too sure what your getting at but I think you might be thinking I am talking about $ rather than the intended £, I know a lot about PC hardware and I know roughly how much a console costs in the UK, I don't know anything about US pricing only that it's a hell of a lot cheaper for people in the US to buy stuff, I think this might be because the population is higher in the US.

I think enough of a case has been made, the defenders of this have no ground to stand on...period.