Epic Games, turning its back on the system that made them a success?

Guys we are gamers just get a gaming pc and a 360/ps3 and u wont go wrong,its all about having fun.There somethings u get on pc u never get on console as also things u get on console u dont get on pc,also microsoft droped vista just now lets give devs time and see what they give us on pc. Sorry for my bad english.fidaii

 They dropped vista?

That wouldnt be a good thing either way, does anyone know any in-depth information about GAMING FOR WINDOWS LIVE? will it be like steam? forcing us to use real CD KEys, and have it checked everytime we play including singleplayer mode? If not ... then we are not moving forward at all.

 Was hoping Vista would change the current state of our gaming, but theres so little info about any attempts to prevent torrent piracy. 

[QUOTE="monco59"][QUOTE="Meu2k7"]

Who will follow? VALVE? CRYTEK?

Meu2k7

Well technically Valve has already made the leap (thought not an outright "jumping-of-the-ship") since HL2 came out for the Xbox and it's set to come out for the 360 and PS3 (although the PS3 version is handled by a different dev), along with Episodes 1 & 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. But I really don't see any reason in getting worried just yet. This is the new face of the industry, games cost so much, going multiplatform is the only way. When people talk about exclusives, they almost always forget that the PC is losing them as well, simply because development costs are so staggering. But that doesn't mean devs are abandoning the PC, or that it's dying as a viable gaming platform.

As a final note, I think your header displays rather clueless fanboyism as well. Going multiplatform does not mean a developer is turning it's back on a particular system. You just need to realize this is a business, and people are in it to make money. Don't make it personal!

Its not fanboyism, but think about Gears of War & UT3, both UT3 now has a single player which is a good thing I suppose but if it wasnt going to the consoles would we have even gotten it? UT3 is also dumbed down in terms of gameplay, you cannot do crazy jump tricks/super fast paced BECAUSE of the consoles, again, we are thier main platform I see? pffft.

Multiplatform one way and not the other is bad, if we dont get things the same time as the console, but they get ours, then whats the point in gaming on a PC?

Nothing to do with sales on PC, nothing to do with whos the best, it has everything to do with developers and the future, I'm not the first to say this, hell google "PC Gaming is dying" and read the endless articles about it.

A lot of that "consolization" is in your head. I hear people whine about it all the time, and on most occasions it's just mindless fanboyism. And since UT3 isn't even out yet, I wouldn't go around claiming the gameplay is dumbed down.

And I know you're not the first to say PC gaming is dying, it's very popular these days. But do you know why? Because a new generation of consoles just launched! It happens everytime new systems come out. People claim "this is finally the year PC gaming dies" and "now the consoles are more powerful than PCs". This is all Grade A bullpoppy. According to some, PC gaming has been "dying" for almost 10 years, yet I still see it waddle along like every other system, with it's own great exclusives. As for graphical power? Sure, at this point one could make the statement that consoles are more powerful. But just barely. And in 2 years? They will be out of the loop entirely. And if you really want to enjoy gaming, the best solution is to get a PC AND console. That way you get to experience the best of both worlds, and don't need to whine about lost exclusives, multiplat devs and other such useless stuff. 

A lot of that "consolization" is in your head.

monco59

I wish that was true....

I still can't get over what happened to Deus Ex: Invisible wars and Oblivion.  

[QUOTE="monco59"]

A lot of that "consolization" is in your head.

_Pedro_

I wish that was true....

I still can't get over what happened to Deus Ex: Invisible wars and Oblivion.

Can't comment on Invisible War since I've never tried it, but saying Oblivion suffers from consolization is pretty absurd. Granted, the game went through changes compared to Morrowind, but I would hardly call it dumbing down. More like streamlining the experience. My main love is with PC gaming, but alot of people whining about games being dumbed down for consoles just come over as sounding elitist and rather fanboyish. I have yet to play a game that I feel has suffered significantly from "consolitis". Not saying there aren't any games that do, but I think the problem is highly exaggerated. 

These kinds of thread are always made by people who are clueless to how business works.  The pc game industry is well over a BILLION dollar industry.  As long as there is that kind of money to be made, there will always be people and companies out there capitalizing on this. 

There is so much money invested in pc gaming, even without the games themselves.  Do you have any idea how much Nvidia and ATI spent in the last 2 year on R&D researching new technology?  Do you really believe a company would spend the HOUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars to develop these cards if they did not believe they would re-coup the money?  The ONLY way they can profit is on the trust that there will be amazing pc game developers creating amazing pc games.  I think they have better intel then you or I...

"But whats gaurenteeing us top Quality / big community games in the future? "

Um...making houndreds of millions of dollars in a multi billion dollar industry...

[QUOTE="Meu2k7"]

Who will follow? VALVE? CRYTEK?

monco59

Well technically Valve has already made the leap (thought not an outright "jumping-of-the-ship") since HL2 came out for the Xbox and it's set to come out for the 360 and PS3 (although the PS3 version is handled by a different dev), along with Episodes 1 & 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. But I really don't see any reason in getting worried just yet. This is the new face of the industry, games cost so much, going multiplatform is the only way. When people talk about exclusives, they almost always forget that the PC is losing them as well, simply because development costs are so staggering. But that doesn't mean devs are abandoning the PC, or that it's dying as a viable gaming platform.

As a final note, I think your header displays rather clueless fanboyism as well. Going multiplatform does not mean a developer is turning it's back on a particular system. You just need to realize this is a business, and people are in it to make money. Don't make it personal!

HL1 was a PS2 game as well :P

[QUOTE="monco59"][QUOTE="Meu2k7"]

Who will follow? VALVE? CRYTEK?

dnuggs40

Well technically Valve has already made the leap (thought not an outright "jumping-of-the-ship") since HL2 came out for the Xbox and it's set to come out for the 360 and PS3 (although the PS3 version is handled by a different dev), along with Episodes 1 & 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. But I really don't see any reason in getting worried just yet. This is the new face of the industry, games cost so much, going multiplatform is the only way. When people talk about exclusives, they almost always forget that the PC is losing them as well, simply because development costs are so staggering. But that doesn't mean devs are abandoning the PC, or that it's dying as a viable gaming platform.

As a final note, I think your header displays rather clueless fanboyism as well. Going multiplatform does not mean a developer is turning it's back on a particular system. You just need to realize this is a business, and people are in it to make money. Don't make it personal!

HL1 was a PS2 game as well :P

Indeed, silly me. And it was almost a Dreamcast game as well. Looks like Valve has quite a history with consoles after all ;) I'm pretty sure they were ported by other companies though... 

 Well after watching the video review with the President of EPIC GAMES and his opinion on PC gaming, its quite obvious he has taken a liking to the $$$$$$ he has made from Gears of War, so a massive company like Epic Games will be going to the console as thier priority quite clearly by what he said.

 So what does this mean for us PC Gamers? He knows Gears of War will not sell 5 million like the Xbox360, he knows many will torrent it for singleplayer mode because the Online mode was rushed so whats stopping them making a half-assed Gears of War port for us?.

Unreal Tournement 3 while having the mod and tournements on PC ... will they be less and less than past games? What will we be left with? MMORPGS? oh freakingjoy ...WoW clones R US.

 I was so hyped about getting a new rig in October, playing UT3 / Quake Wars / Crysis (2/3 consoled). but my faith is shattered a little, console gaming is alot more appealing to developers from the $$$, now clearly the EPIC GAMES president is jumping ship, in a not so subtle manner, a gaming rig is expensive to the normal consumer, thus they buy consoles.

 Who will follow? VALVE? CRYTEK?

 Something needs to change in our industry, we might have a decent line up for 2007, but no matter how decent it is, we are losing more and more to consoles, something that wasnt seen in past generations ... and its pretty damn worrying.

 Whats your thoughts on this (yea probably not original, but im losing faith so I'm posting this, go figure :roll:)

Meu2k7

Console gaming has and will always be around though they are becoming more PC like every generation. And PC's will always be around in some form as well.

PC's are always the hardware pushers and consoles the followers. Like many people (including myself) I love the odd bash on a high-spec PC playing the latest games.

But unfortunately the Console area is in a boom at the moment which has made the PC area lose a small share but its really not that bad if anything with DX10 and future cards the PC is on the brink of the next revolution of gaming which Consoles will not feel for 4/5 years when developers are able to push consoles beyond what people see as physically possible. And then the cycle begins again with consoles adopting tweaked DX10/similar chips etc etc...

I love consoles they offer me a quick direct arcade game style while if I have the time the PC offers me a more in-depth experience.

The fact MS are looking to merge Xbox Live with PC interface for me is great news. Too many its a disaster but I think it will push gamin into new realms though control and constraints will be put in place that will annoy many PC gamers.

Shame as I think both 360 and PC can work great in harmony. The gaming industry needs to grow up and though mods are great i can see what MS are trying to do by charging for some content. It really helps the developer especially with retailers pushing second hand games more and more the extra cash is a bonus for them . I certainly dont mind being charged £4 for 5 new Gears maps, unreal maps or Splinter Cell maps etc as long as they are very good, bug free and better than the amateur mod communities.

Anyway rambling on... Dont loose faith in the PC gaming arena yes developers need to make some cash from the booming console market. But the PC boom is no more than a year away in my eyes.

And like Graw2 many companies are making a console game and a PC game with different dev teams instead of straight ports which dont work either way.

The future is bright for gaming on PC and console

Well after watching the video review with the President of EPIC GAMES and his opinion on PC gaming, its quite obvious he has taken a liking to the $$$$$$ he has made from Gears of War, so a massive company like Epic Games will be going to the console as thier priority quite clearly by what he said.

So what does this mean for us PC Gamers? He knows Gears of War will not sell 5 million like the Xbox360, he knows many will torrent it for singleplayer mode because the Online mode was rushed so whats stopping them making a half-assed Gears of War port for us?.

Unreal Tournement 3 while having the mod and tournements on PC ... will they be less and less than past games? What will we be left with? MMORPGS? oh freakingjoy ...WoW clones R US.

I was so hyped about getting a new rig in October, playing UT3 / Quake Wars / Crysis (2/3 consoled). but my faith is shattered a little, console gaming is alot more appealing to developers from the $$$, now clearly the EPIC GAMES president is jumping ship, in a not so subtle manner, a gaming rig is expensive to the normal consumer, thus they buy consoles.

Who will follow? VALVE? CRYTEK?

Something needs to change in our industry, we might have a decent line up for 2007, but no matter how decent it is, we are losing more and more to consoles, something that wasnt seen in past generations ... and its pretty damn worrying.

Whats your thoughts on this (yea probably not original, but im losing faith so I'm posting this, go figure :roll:)

Meu2k7

Don't worry, when the devolopers see that not every shooter is as sucessfull as GeOW, they will never forget the PC

Console gaming has and will always be around though they are becoming more PC like every generation. And PC's will always be around in some form as well.

PC's are always the hardware pushers and consoles the followers. Like many people (including myself) I love the odd bash on a high-spec PC playing the latest games.

But unfortunately the Console area is in a boom at the moment which has made the PC area lose a small share but its really not that bad if anything with DX10 and future cards the PC is on the brink of the next revolution of gaming which Consoles will not feel for 4/5 years when developers are able to push consoles beyond what people see as physically possible. And then the cycle begins again with consoles adopting tweaked DX10/similar chips etc etc...

I love consoles they offer me a quick direct arcade game style while if I have the time the PC offers me a more in-depth experience.

The fact MS are looking to merge Xbox Live with PC interface for me is great news. Too many its a disaster but I think it will push gamin into new realms though control and constraints will be put in place that will annoy many PC gamers.

Shame as I think both 360 and PC can work great in harmony. The gaming industry needs to grow up and though mods are great i can see what MS are trying to do by charging for some content. It really helps the developer especially with retailers pushing second hand games more and more the extra cash is a bonus for them . I certainly dont mind being charged £4 for 5 new Gears maps, unreal maps or Splinter Cell maps etc as long as they are very good, bug free and better than the amateur mod communities.

Anyway rambling on... Dont loose faith in the PC gaming arena yes developers need to make some cash from the booming console market. But the PC boom is no more than a year away in my eyes.

And like Graw2 many companies are making a console game and a PC game with different dev teams instead of straight ports which dont work either way.

The future is bright for gaming on PC and console

mightyboosh13

I really dont see live on windows as good as you will have to pay every year just to play online.  

[QUOTE="mightyboosh13"]

Console gaming has and will always be around though they are becoming more PC like every generation. And PC's will always be around in some form as well.

PC's are always the hardware pushers and consoles the followers. Like many people (including myself) I love the odd bash on a high-spec PC playing the latest games.

But unfortunately the Console area is in a boom at the moment which has made the PC area lose a small share but its really not that bad if anything with DX10 and future cards the PC is on the brink of the next revolution of gaming which Consoles will not feel for 4/5 years when developers are able to push consoles beyond what people see as physically possible. And then the cycle begins again with consoles adopting tweaked DX10/similar chips etc etc...

I love consoles they offer me a quick direct arcade game style while if I have the time the PC offers me a more in-depth experience.

The fact MS are looking to merge Xbox Live with PC interface for me is great news. Too many its a disaster but I think it will push gamin into new realms though control and constraints will be put in place that will annoy many PC gamers.

Shame as I think both 360 and PC can work great in harmony. The gaming industry needs to grow up and though mods are great i can see what MS are trying to do by charging for some content. It really helps the developer especially with retailers pushing second hand games more and more the extra cash is a bonus for them . I certainly dont mind being charged £4 for 5 new Gears maps, unreal maps or Splinter Cell maps etc as long as they are very good, bug free and better than the amateur mod communities.

Anyway rambling on... Dont loose faith in the PC gaming arena yes developers need to make some cash from the booming console market. But the PC boom is no more than a year away in my eyes.

And like Graw2 many companies are making a console game and a PC game with different dev teams instead of straight ports which dont work either way.

The future is bright for gaming on PC and console

onemic

I really dont see live on windows as good as you will have to pay every year just to play online.  

You seem to whine a lot about price. Is $50.00 a year so much for you? Plus from what I read the silver is free and includes onlien gaming. 

I think live for Windows is what the PC needs. There are just too many cheating and hacking in Pc games. I only play battlefield on PC and there are just too many cheating going on. The last game i played had the commander doing strikes over and over.

According to MS it will have a protection against cheating. One of the reasons I like multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live plus their will be standards like widescreen and voice.

Who will follow? VALVE? CRYTEK?

Something needs to change in our industry, we might have a decent line up for 2007, but no matter how decent it is, we are losing more and more to consoles, something that wasnt seen in past generations ... and its pretty damn worrying.

Meu2k7

Don't know where you've been, mate, but it has been happening for ages.  Valve is already gone, Crytek will probably follow pretty soon (they may have escaped Ubisoft's clutches, but no-one gets away from EA).

The PC is being stripped of most of its franchises and top developers and if EA is able to really convert RTS games to consoles (and they are *desperately* trying to do so), we'll be in even more trouble.  Russian and Eastern European developers can't save us (and even they are being roped into console gaming).  

[QUOTE="onemic"][QUOTE="mightyboosh13"]

Console gaming has and will always be around though they are becoming more PC like every generation. And PC's will always be around in some form as well.

PC's are always the hardware pushers and consoles the followers. Like many people (including myself) I love the odd bash on a high-spec PC playing the latest games.

But unfortunately the Console area is in a boom at the moment which has made the PC area lose a small share but its really not that bad if anything with DX10 and future cards the PC is on the brink of the next revolution of gaming which Consoles will not feel for 4/5 years when developers are able to push consoles beyond what people see as physically possible. And then the cycle begins again with consoles adopting tweaked DX10/similar chips etc etc...

I love consoles they offer me a quick direct arcade game style while if I have the time the PC offers me a more in-depth experience.

The fact MS are looking to merge Xbox Live with PC interface for me is great news. Too many its a disaster but I think it will push gamin into new realms though control and constraints will be put in place that will annoy many PC gamers.

Shame as I think both 360 and PC can work great in harmony. The gaming industry needs to grow up and though mods are great i can see what MS are trying to do by charging for some content. It really helps the developer especially with retailers pushing second hand games more and more the extra cash is a bonus for them . I certainly dont mind being charged £4 for 5 new Gears maps, unreal maps or Splinter Cell maps etc as long as they are very good, bug free and better than the amateur mod communities.

Anyway rambling on... Dont loose faith in the PC gaming arena yes developers need to make some cash from the booming console market. But the PC boom is no more than a year away in my eyes.

And like Graw2 many companies are making a console game and a PC game with different dev teams instead of straight ports which dont work either way.

The future is bright for gaming on PC and console

rasstarman

I really dont see live on windows as good as you will have to pay every year just to play online.

You seem to whine a lot about price. Is $50.00 a year so much for you? Plus from what I read the silver is free and includes onlien gaming.

I think live for Windows is what the PC needs. There are just too many cheating and hacking in Pc games. I only play battlefield on PC and there are just too many cheating going on. The last game i played had the commander doing strikes over and over.

According to MS it will have a protection against cheating. One of the reasons I like multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live plus their will be standards like widescreen and voice.

It's not about the price it's about the principle. Do you really think it's right to make PC gamers pay for something that I think everyone knows should be free? I don't care if it's a dollar a year the fact is, that we shouldn't be charged for it, especially when you can get the exact same features(except playing with 360 users) with xfire. It's not right and I really don't know how you could even see paying for online, a feature that has and should be free acceptable.

And do you really think cheating will somehow be stopped if MS comes in and takes over online gaming? Not a chance. I guarantee cheating wouldn't even be slowed downone bit by this. Just like piracy, cheating will always be within the industry no matter what you do.

If the silver version includes online gaming I won't really care as long as I can do all the things I 've normally been able to do in MP games.(MP mods etc.) If not then it's just as bad as the gold version.

[QUOTE="_Pedro_"][QUOTE="monco59"]

A lot of that "consolization" is in your head.

monco59

I wish that was true....

I still can't get over what happened to Deus Ex: Invisible wars and Oblivion.

Can't comment on Invisible War since I've never tried it, but saying Oblivion suffers from consolization is pretty absurd. Granted, the game went through changes compared to Morrowind, but I would hardly call it dumbing down. More like streamlining the experience. My main love is with PC gaming, but alot of people whining about games being dumbed down for consoles just come over as sounding elitist and rather fanboyish. I have yet to play a game that I feel has suffered significantly from "consolitis". Not saying there aren't any games that do, but I think the problem is highly exaggerated.

Epic Games will not abandon the pc gaming market all together.  PC Gaming is still a billion dollar market in the US.  There is alot of competition in this market and capable for Epic to make profit.

Just realize if Epic Games does leave the PC behind.  There will be someone else who will come to fill that void.  Companies like Crytek will move in and make their own awesome game for the PC.

Epic Games will not abandon the pc gaming market all together. PC Gaming is still a billion dollar market in the US. There is alot of competition in this market and capable for Epic to make profit.

Just realize if Epic Games does leave the PC behind. There will be someone else who will come to fill that void. Companies like Crytek will move in and make their own awesome game for the PC.

Jd1680a

I believe your first comment to be a circle developers will encounter with consoles. Once they all shift their focus to consoles the market will become saturated with FPS games and other genres to the point that they'll be killing each other for sales. At that point the PC market will get the love again. 

I also believe Mike Capps of Epic is slightly disillusioned with his comments: "PC owners who can afford to buy GPU that can run these high end games also know how to use Bit Torrent". Gee Mike did it ever occur to you that people who can afford such GPUs can also spare $39 bucks for UT3??!?

To hide behind piracy as a reason not to publish on the PC is bullocks as consoles are not immune to it either.  

After watching that video I may have to reconsider buying UT3... 

You want to talk about turning your back on the system that made a company a success, go ask John Carmack what platform Wolfenstein 2 is coming out on.

I mean, the game franchise that arguably started the FPS genre is getting a sequal and its not even being released on its original platform.  WTF.

Piracy is a copout.  Yes, it hurts sales, but not so much that it justifies neglecting a loyal and enthusiastic fanbase.  I feel like developers think to themselves "hmmmm I could make 100 million off of a PC game, or I can make 110 million if I make it for the console....I think I will go with the console!"  Why cant they just settle for the 100 million, or make it dual release and spend a couple extra months optimising it for the other platform.

Whoa this is still going? Anyways, to those of you that are saying "Tough luck this is buisness" ... to be blunt no **** What did you think my intention was with this post? to start a rally? >> I accept theyre going to consoles, but I'm worried about the future of this platform and getting GREAT games not a year later! nothing to do with sales to boast, but what do we have coming thats known after Crysis/UT3 in 2008 thats getting huge hype really?

"Games for Windows LIVE is against principles" ... cmon mate, we have needed this for A LONG time, anti-cheating, unfied stats, Trueskill matching system instead of having to find "NOOBS ONLY" servers which turn out to be hosted by a pro wanting easy score >>. Widescreen/Voice standard, and a better sales pitch on all MAINSTREAM PC GAMES, not vapour ware made by small companies which waste peopels money for 5-10 poor hours of gameplay which is saturated in the PC Market.

All I was saying was that if things continue down this road, if we do not get blockbuster games as quick (or in similar time period) as the Consoles do, because the DEvelopers we all know that are great are catering to them first, we are in trouble, and I'm beggining to wonder is the investment in PC Gaming (seeing as its alot more pricy) will be worth it.

I'm holding out to see what Microsoft does with Games for Windows, otherwise we are on a slow ramp downwards in regards to GREAT games.

why single out epic??? valve (half life ORANGE BOX, 360), infinity ward (call of duty 2, 360), id software (doom 3 and quake 4 for xbox,360) CRYTEK has ported FAR CRY to EVERY CONSOLE imaginable. WHAT BOTHERS YOU GUYS ABOUT PC GAMES BEING PORTED TO CONSOLES???? if your fanboys that much, then just buy the pc game and dont torrent it. by the way does anyone remember a game called STARCRAFT GHOST????cheesyone

Crystek did not port Far Cry to consoles Ubisoft did.