Grand Theft Auto V PC Transfers Clarified

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Blue's News has the rundown on Grand Theft Auto V PC transfers, how it works and when we'll see PC system specs.

A couple of specific questions about the upcoming PC edition are answered, including a reassurance that players who have exported a GTA Online character from a last-gen console to a current one will still also be able to transfer their progress to the PC edition. They also say they will reveal PC system specifications next week.
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That is actually kind of cool. Maybe I'll finally finish the game I started on my PS3.
 
While i am excited to play GTA 5 on pc, i will not pay full price.. $20 or less sale.
However, if they can manage to stop with the exclusive console only first release crap in the future, i will definitely buy gta 6 at full price. I doubt that will happen though, even with the consoles running x86 tech allowing for easy porting, i still think MS and Sony will try to keep big titles on console only or exclusive console release. PC gamers are used to it.
Glad GTA5 is coming to pc though.
 
zacrobmer said:
That is actually kind of cool. Maybe I'll finally finish the game I started on my PS3.
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Same here. Was enjoying the game. Wasn't really digging the dated graphics on the PS3 and figured I'd hold off on getting really into GTA V until the PC version came out. Now I can pick right up where I left off.
 
Cmdrmonkey said:
Same here. Was enjoying the game. Wasn't really digging the dated graphics on the PS3 and figured I'd hold off on getting really into GTA V until the PC version came out. Now I can pick right up where I left off.
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Dated graphics lol yeah right.
 
cptnjarhead said:
While i am excited to play GTA 5 on pc, i will not pay full price.. $20 or less sale.
However, if they can manage to stop with the exclusive console only first release crap in the future, i will definitely buy gta 6 at full price. I doubt that will happen though, even with the consoles running x86 tech allowing for easy porting, i still think MS and Sony will try to keep big titles on console only or exclusive console release. PC gamers are used to it.
Glad GTA5 is coming to pc though.
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First question is have you already played GTA V on a console?

Second, if you continue this line of thinking then be prepared to always play second fiddle to consoles. If you wont pay market price for some ones work then be prepared to get ignored and be an after thought.

If you haven't played GTA V it is well worth the $60. It is better than any of the other "yearly" AAA titles. Can't find a single player game with better story immersion with actual game play as the GTA series. Most single player just feels like a movie with a little interaction.
 
Until Rockstar releases GTA at the same time or within a timely fashion on PC after console I'm waiting for a sale. They've already made me wait damn near 2 years already, waiting longer hurts nothing, especially when it's probably going to be a half assed console port anyways.

I would have happily paid full price for pc in 2013 when it released on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Rockstar says "Fuck you" to us PC people, we can say it right back.
 
XvMMvX said:
First question is have you already played GTA V on a console?

Second, if you continue this line of thinking then be prepared to always play second fiddle to consoles. If you wont pay market price for some ones work then be prepared to get ignored and be an after thought.

If you haven't played GTA V it is well worth the $60. It is better than any of the other "yearly" AAA titles. Can't find a single player game with better story immersion with actual game play as the GTA series. Most single player just feels like a movie with a little interaction.
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You totally missed my point. If GTA 5 would have been released on PC at the same time as consoles, i would have happily payed full price, and would/will continue to pay full price for titles like this if they release on PC at the same time as consoles, but that is not going to happen, so it has nothing to do with the my unwillingness to pay "market price".

I have no need or desire to play games on a console, and obviously that leaves me out of some titles, but the PC platform has plenty of AAA titles that get released at the same as consoles, not to mention PC only games, then add steam sales, and dont forget about mods, so why would i want to play on a closed platform just so i can play wen it first comes out? If they want my money, bring it to PC, if they want me to pay full price, then release it at the same time. Its very simple really.

I'm perfectly happy with the PC platform, and the huge library of games available for it that is much larger than any console. "second fiddle" is a relative term.
 
^ good for you, im sure rockstar will miss your $60.

I'm wondering if there is a discount for console copy owners. Either way my gtx 970 is waiting for this game. Looking forward to the mods too.
 
SGA76 said:
Until Rockstar releases GTA at the same time or within a timely fashion on PC after console I'm waiting for a sale. They've already made me wait damn near 2 years already, waiting longer hurts nothing, especially when it's probably going to be a half assed console port anyways.

I would have happily paid full price for pc in 2013 when it released on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Rockstar says "Fuck you" to us PC people, we can say it right back.
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While i agree with most of your post, I dont believe RS is the main reason for the delayed launch. Sony and MS always push for exclusivity at launch, especially when you factor in Xbox live a pay service for the most part, PC online play is almost always free for multi-play, so its a sound financial decision to release on console first, and porting from previous gen having to emulate a non x86 cpu im sure is a pain in the ass.
But, yes.. i will wait till its on sale. That wont hurt rockstars bottom line at all, but it makes me feel better. ;)
 
To anyone claiming "Console Port" for GTA5, there were files in the PS3 version indicating development logs going back before release for the PC version: DX11 support, various performance options, tessellation, and 64-bit support. We're in the land of Rockstar post-Max Payne 3, which was their first attempt at actually giving a damn, and trying to do right by PC gamers for the fault that was GTA4. And you know what? IT WAS EXCEPTIONAL. The MP3 engine is the EXACT same one being used in GTA5 (codenamed RAGE). They have openly admitted that port of GTA4 was a failure on PC (and for the most part, growing pains for PS3/XB360 programming), and have, at every opportunity, attempted to get PC users to calm down by actually trying to do right by them. They just don't want to put all the cards on the table before they had something solid to show for their efforts.

The only reason we didn't get an official PC announcement up until this year was because the PS3/XB360 versions were cash grabs from "the peasantry". If they had announced releases for all major platforms during the first release, they would have lost a ton of sales from the people waiting a year (not implying that PC gamers the rest of us here weren't already waiting).

The short version? GTA5 on PC isn't a port. It has been in development since the beginning.
 
XvMMvX said:
Second, if you continue this line of thinking then be prepared to always play second fiddle to consoles. If you wont pay market price for some ones work then be prepared to get ignored and be an after thought.
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Economy of scale.

There's essentially no cost difference to distribute twice as many of your games digitally, and PC game revenues at are over triple PS4 sales, and double PS3 and PS4 sales combined.

The only reason its "second fiddle" is because of this idiotic trend of securing "exclusive" game rights at launch.
 
Ducman69 said:
Economy of scale.

There's essentially no cost difference to distribute twice as many of your games digitally, and PC game revenues at are over triple PS4 sales, and double PS3 and PS4 sales combined.

The only reason its "second fiddle" is because of this idiotic trend of securing "exclusive" game rights at launch.
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That PC revenue stream is divided into a lot more pieces because of the diversity of developers and a big chunk of it comes from casual games which have a much, much larger and more dedicated player population that isn't as prone to making explosive, headline-grabbing pout-fests. So yeah, there might be smaller numbers, but individual companies that are established brands on consoles tend to make a lot more money on console releases than PC releases so they do business accordingly. If the world didn't work that way, profit maximising businesses would behave differently and the argument you're making about revenue would kinda make sense.
 
Ducman69 said:
The only reason its "second fiddle" is because of this idiotic trend of securing "exclusive" game rights at launch.
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I wouldnt call it "idiotic" more like, irritating to PC gamers. Any sale at launch that goes to PC, is money out of Sony and MS pocket, so i would say thats a sound financial decision to have exclusive releases. Until MS can get PC gamers to pay for Xbox live subs, this trend, idiotic or otherwise will continue. Getting PC gamers to pay for play is never going to fly. Dont get me wrong, i do realize you dont need to pay for xbox live to play games, but its obviously a residual money maker for MS, and PC users are way to stingy/smart for that. Then add Sony, if a sale goes to PC, they are totally out of the equation. So less competition is best for consoles.
The only way for MS/Xbox live to be successful on pc, is for game to be cross platform, and work flawlessly on either. Then console gamers might flock to PC, or PC to console. But that would be the Destruction of PC gaming imo. Levels and graphics are dumbed down enough, but if both platforms played the same media. No one would care about windows, or building a PC. ...man i hate to think of that day
 
I've waited this long for GTA V on PC, I can wait a little longer until it goes on sale.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
That PC revenue stream is divided into a lot more pieces because of the diversity of developers and a big chunk of it comes from casual games which have a much, much larger and more dedicated player population that isn't as prone to making explosive, headline-grabbing pout-fests. So yeah, there might be smaller numbers, but individual companies that are established brands on consoles tend to make a lot more money on console releases than PC releases so they do business accordingly. If the world didn't work that way, profit maximising businesses would behave differently and the argument you're making about revenue would kinda make sense.
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I think there's a lot more backroom deals and politics going on that drives the market, just look at Japan as an example on a micro-scale of how corrupt it can be. People act like Japanese guys just don't like PC gaming, when that's nonsensical as its the market forces keeping PC gaming out of the country.

And actually, regarding the whole "ecosystem", we can see that not only is PC gaming revenues absolutely dominating any individual console, but that even PC gaming hardware sales are kicking the craptastic consoles in the A: http://www.maximumpc.com/bragging_rights_pc_gaming_market_maintains_sales_lead_over_consoles_2014
According to Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the PC gaming hardware market is more than twice as large as the console gaming hardware market. JPR defines PC gaming hardware as personal computers, upgrades, and peripherals used for gaming. With that mind, the PC gaming hardware market stands at $21.5 billion, which is big enough to lap the console gaming hardware market, and then some.

"We continue to see a shift in casual console customers moving to mobile. While this is also occurring in the lower end PC gaming world, more money is being directed to mid and high range PC builds and upgrades by gamers," says Ted Pollak, Senior Gaming Analyst at JPR. "Committed PC gamers are generally not interested in pure content consumption platforms. They are power users and pay thousands for the ability to play games at very high settings and then do business, video/photo editing, content creation and other tasks with maximum horsepower at their disposal in a desktop ergonomic environment."

Moving beyond dollars and cents, the PC platform has an obvious power advantage. If you assemble a machine with an enthusiast grade CPU, high end GPU, SSD, and fast memory, it will "absolutely trounce the computing power and gaming capabilities of the newest console generation," Jon Peddie says.
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Console sales are stagnating, while the consoles themselves are becoming more and more PC like each generation, to the point that perhaps next generation we will get lucky and Microsoft will abandon the console concept entirely, and just release a line of XBox computers running the same unified OS as PCs. Heck, right now the XBox One actually does run regular desktop Windows virtualized, and is a clusterfuck of THREE operating systems on one device.
 
XvMMvX said:
Second, if you continue this line of thinking then be prepared to always play second fiddle to consoles. If you wont pay market price for some ones work then be prepared to get ignored and be an after thought.
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News alert, that already is the case. So if we're going to always play second fiddle to consoles why the hell should we pay full price?

This isn't a matter of some "exclusive period" where it's only on one system, it was on both the PS3 and Xbox, then when it was announced for next gen consoles PS4 & XB1 the PC was delayed still. Now I get the business of the decision, historically consoles sell more copies and its as simple as that, however if you're gong to constantly "screw over" one "system" don't expect people of that to want to pay full price, especially considering that "system" is often owned by people who also have one of the other consoles.
 
Ducman69 said:
I think there's a lot more backroom deals and politics going on that drives the market, just look at Japan as an example on a micro-scale of how corrupt it can be. People act like Japanese guys just don't like PC gaming, when that's nonsensical as its the market forces keeping PC gaming out of the country.
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I'm sure there are lots of backroom kinda things happening, but to even have bribe money to gain something like a platform exclusive deal, the people offering the bribe have to be able to afford the price of the incentive. If they can and companies with incentives to get software out for PCs can't then it's obvious that console makers have more money and there are more profits to go around.

And actually, regarding the whole "ecosystem", we can see that not only is PC gaming revenues absolutely dominating any individual console, but that even PC gaming hardware sales are kicking the craptastic consoles in the A: http://www.maximumpc.com/bragging_rights_pc_gaming_market_maintains_sales_lead_over_consoles_2014
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Hardware sales really don't translate directly into profits for game publishers so it's kinda hard to use that number as a way to measure how much money a developer of a game will make in sales with a console version versus a PC version.

Console sales are stagnating, while the consoles themselves are becoming more and more PC like each generation, to the point that perhaps next generation we will get lucky and Microsoft will abandon the console concept entirely, and just release a line of XBox computers running the same unified OS as PCs. Heck, right now the XBox One actually does run regular desktop Windows virtualized, and is a clusterfuck of THREE operating systems on one device.
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IDK about stagnating. People like to use that term with the PC market as well and if that's really true, then there might be a shift in favor of making a game for the PC and then porting it to the console. It might happen, but it certainly seems like that isn't the case now. When businesses find better profits available doing it in reverse of their current model, then sure, PC game sales will be obviously more valuable. As for the three OS thing, I dunno or really care and I don't think the people buying the console really think much about it. They just want it to do whatever thing they want it to do and it doesn't matter what a big mess it is.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I'm sure there are lots of backroom kinda things happening, but to even have bribe money to gain something like a platform exclusive deal, the people offering the bribe have to be able to afford the price of the incentive. If they can and companies with incentives to get software out for PCs can't then it's obvious that console makers have more money and there are more profits to go around.
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Nope, just more consolidated. Sony is a huge corporation, as is Microsoft.

MS is only very passively engaged in the PC gaming market. They own the operating system the games run on, sure, but otherwise they really aren't involved much in the software development, distribution, licensing, hardware, etc. Its a big free market with just a whole bunch of little players (save for say Valve/Steam as a big distributor).

MS would love for you to use a Windows Store instead, and then they would put their weight behind it, but the Windows Store is an answer to a question no one asked and has been a total flop. Why use that crap, when the world is already your oyster for free?
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Hardware sales really don't translate directly into profits for game publishers so it's kinda hard to use that number as a way to measure how much money a developer of a game will make in sales with a console version versus a PC version.
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I pointed out that software sales for PC gaming were overwhelming all consoles combined, which we knew from another recent thread. I then added that its not just software, but even HARDWARE sales are massive by comparison. That's winning on all fronts.
 
When it is release has nothing to do with how much it should cost. By all means keep being cheap and see what happens. The fact that PC gamers spend thousands on hardware and then wont pay for games is aburd.

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2614915

This is from 2013 with projections into 2014 and '15. Video game consoles almost DOUBLE the PC. Once you take out revenue monsters like WoW, LoL, etc (games that the master race despises) then PC game is nothing.

Want to see what happens when a developer tries to bend over to please PC gamers, go look at Star Citizen. They have milked millions from their backers and it has been plagued with feature creep. It will never be ready. Already pushed the release back to 2016.
 
Ducman69 said:
Nope, just more consolidated. Sony is a huge corporation, as is Microsoft.

MS is only very passively engaged in the PC gaming market. They own the operating system the games run on, sure, but otherwise they really aren't involved much in the software development, distribution, licensing, hardware, etc. Its a big free market with just a whole bunch of little players (save for say Valve/Steam as a big distributor).

MS would love for you to use a Windows Store instead, and then they would put their weight behind it, but the Windows Store is an answer to a question no one asked and has been a total flop. Why use that crap, when the world is already your oyster for free?

I pointed out that software sales for PC gaming were overwhelming all consoles combined, which we knew from another recent thread. I then added that its not just software, but even HARDWARE sales are massive by comparison. That's winning on all fronts.
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The totality of winnings is distributed widely among lots and lots of companies with respect to both hardware and software within the PC industry as a whole. Each individual company gets a smaller piece of a very big pie so they are individually worse off from PC gaming than the relatively few players that split a smaller pie into far fewer peices. So yes, I totally agree that more moolah moves between buyers and companies in the PC industry, but the share is smaller and there's lots'o'more competition which results smaller margins. In short, on a per company basis, PC gaming is less profitable which is why the bigger, more wealthy publishers put their priority on a more lucrative console market.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
The totality of winnings is distributed widely among lots and lots of companies with respect to both hardware and software within the PC industry as a whole. Each individual company gets a smaller piece of a very big pie so they are individually worse off from PC gaming than the relatively few players that split a smaller pie into far fewer peices. So yes, I totally agree that more moolah moves between buyers and companies in the PC industry, but the share is smaller and there's lots'o'more competition which results smaller margins. In short, on a per company basis, PC gaming is less profitable which is why the bigger, more wealthy publishers put their priority on a more lucrative console market.
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Nope, that's not what I said. I stated that total gaming revenue from both a hardware and software prospect are much greater for the PC platform than any console.

The consoles however are a duopoly of two of the largest corporations in the world, Microsoft and Sony. These huge players, can apply pressure that the smaller players cannot.

That doesn't have anything to do with margins for the actual content creators/developers/hardware manufacturers, as Microsoft and Sony take big cuts of the pie (I believe its 30% of any game sold for example). This is why Microsoft is able to afford selling its consoles at a loss, since as long as they can get enough of the devices on the market, they can make money from software and XBox live subscriptions. And in the long run if they can trap people into the ecosystem to where people want to play with their friends, get exclusives, or just replace their failed out-of-warranty hardware they can sell years old obsolete cheap hardware years down the line to consumers.

But the actual developers, if they sell a lot more PC games than they do for XBox or Playstation that require special coding, and have to share game profits with Sony and Microsoft, then PC would actually be more profitable. But again with two megacorporations able to muscle things in their favor, they can work out deals to get exclusives and what not. PC market doesn't have consolidated giants aside from Steam (which is still small fry) to apply pressure like that, and really the only reason so many exclusives exist for PC is that its by a HUGE margin the dominant gaming system.
 
Regardless of who takes what percentages, the corporations that publish games are acting in a manner that makes it obvious that they place priority on console game development. The wouldn't do that if PC games were more profitable as they are profit-seeking entities because they have their own set of shareholder to keep happy with dividends and improved market performance. By that alone, it's apparent that the companies that do publish multiplatform titles are earning more revenue from console game sales and therefore priortize development efforts to reflect that. I don't care about the idealism or "it shouldn't be like that" stuff. I'm just pointing out that profits drive business actions and those actions speak very plainly that PC games don't generate as much revenue.
 
Which ends up in a vicious cycle...

When they don't put the needed effort to make a PC port/game properly, they will not generate the required revenue they want to see, and they make less effort to make PC version properly, and the cycle continues. We need someone to break the cycle somewhere, and if GTA V's effort into PC were genuine and results were good, I really do hope Rockstar gets rewarded by sales for this, as it would not only keep RS motivated to do proper PC version games (good for PR and revenue), but hopefully it will motivate other game publishers to do the same.

Will it happen? We will have to wait and see.
 
XvMMvX said:
This is from 2013 with projections into 2014 and '15. Video game consoles almost DOUBLE the PC.
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Wait you mean taking the Xbox platform, and the Playstation platform, and the Nintendo platforms.... double the revenue of the a single PC platform? Get the F outta here!
 
XvMMvX said:
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2614915

This is from 2013 with projections into 2014 and '15. Video game consoles almost DOUBLE the PC. Once you take out revenue monsters like WoW, LoL, etc (games that the master race despises) then PC game is nothing.
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That's an older projection of 2014, combining the PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, and Wii U all as a single unified platform (which they aren't) and other sources that are actually FROM just earlier this year state that PC gaming revenue has exceeded all consoles combined, yet alone any single console:
http://www.maximumpc.com/bragging_rights_pc_gaming_market_maintains_sales_lead_over_consoles_2014
According to Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the PC gaming hardware market is more than twice as large as the console gaming hardware market.
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http://www.kotaku.com.au/2014/04/pc-gaming-revenue-has-now-overtaken-console-gaming/
DFC Intelligence owner David Cole told PCR: "On a global basis PC games have surpassed console games but the new console systems means consoles should show an increase.
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So either two research firms are wrong and one is right, the two are wrong and yours is right but has to combine all consoles in circulation as being one ecosystem (when they aren't even backwards compatible with themselves), or they're all a bit of guess-work and we average them out. Either way, PC as a platform without question from any source dominates any singular console platform.
 
Honestly from what I've seen 360/PS3 release was the beta test. There were a few major bugs and unpolish that I don't think PC user reviews would have been as content with, such as being unable to enter your house, lobby issues, and gamemode issues.
 
They let us down on this one. Still no word on requirements. I hope game don't get delayed again.
 
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