Why do games still come out PC only?

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NulloModo

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I know it is only a handful of titles, yet still some games still come out only for PC. The PC market is tiny compared to consoles, so why not go through the basic bother and convert for at least one or two of them?
 
Heh.. I couldn't even imagine playing a fast paced Quake3A match on a controller.
 
FEAR was PC only, and it was one of the best games of the year. It still isn't going to be out until 2007 for the X360.
 
A small market is still a market.

I'm guessing a lot of it has to do with the developers having a history of PC gaming. Sort of a 'labor of love.'
 
i dare you to be able to play moo or galciv on a console... small market, but good games still rack in millions...
you might as well as why make a porche?
cause people who like superior products will buy it!
 
It's sad when you go to large chain game-retailers and the gameboy section is larger then the PC's... EB Games in St. Vital, Winnipeg is guilty.
 
Karant said:
It's sad when you go to large chain game-retailers and the gameboy section is larger then the PC's... EB Games in St. Vital, Winnipeg is guilty.
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Not really, a lot of PC games are moving to online delivery, and the market is still very small compared to PS2/Xbox/360/Gamecube/DS/PSP/etc.

My friend manages an EB and he was glad when the directive came down to lose the PC section, it got next to no sales, 1 or 2 every other day at most compared to 20+ for PS2 and Xbox games.
 
My guess would be developing a game for the PC would cost less (in some cases) than a console.
 
B. W. said:
My guess would be developing a game for the PC would cost less (in some cases) than a console.
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Wouldn't it seem that it would be cheaper to devlope for a set determined hardware/control set than for an infinately variable setup like PCs ?
 
NulloModo said:
Wouldn't it seem that it would be cheaper to devlope for a set determined hardware/control set than for an infinately variable setup like PCs ?
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No, because MS, Sony charge an arm and a leg for the dev kits. Hell you can use a $300 PC to develop a game if you wanted to.
 
Rofl-Mic-Lofl said:
WoW has like 2million people right? Small market =\
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PS2 sold over 100 million consoles... Small market =\
Gamecube sold over 25 million consoles... Small market =\
Xbox sold over 26 million consoles... Small market =\
 
who cares about the market! Some games just play better on PC's.... well all fps plays better so bleh!
 
NulloModo said:
Wouldn't it seem that it would be cheaper to devlope for a set determined hardware/control set than for an infinately variable setup like PCs ?
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Countering that is the whole point of DirectX.

Specialized code paths for functions not covered by DirectX still works in tandem with it. And is still easier than redoing the whole game from scratch for the different consoles.

The difference between two different rigs (ex: nVidia/AMD <-> Intel/ATI) is minimal compared to two consoles.
 
long live pc gaming, IMO developers make pc games because there is so much more complexity and depth to the games that can be made.. I've always viewed console games as rather shallow, mostly due to the controller and it's many limitations.. don't worry, I'm not a hater, I enojy my 360, it's just that I get a much greater satisfaction from pc gaming... if you look at the community and at ANY pc game that appears to be 'consolified' it is immediately bashed and doesn't get played, why is that? Because pc gamers expect a higher level of quality from their games, it sucks that it kinda sounds elitist but it goes both ways, I'm sure hardcore consolers feel their platform is superior to others.. so it's all good, to each his own ;)
 
theNoid said:
PS2 sold over 100 million consoles... Small market =\
Gamecube sold over 25 million consoles... Small market =\
Xbox sold over 26 million consoles... Small market =\
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Do each of those consoles rack in $15 each a month?
 
Because as far as Im concerned, im only going to buy it if its on PC.

Screw consoles :D

Yea more people are going to buy consoles. You dont need really any knoledge of anything technical to play on one. Theyre cheaper to boot, and they dont need to be upgraded. They appeal to the masses. PC gaming is for the group that likes to constantly be on the cutting edge of gaming technology. We like the ability to customize our games and hardware. We also like the ability to use both a controller or a keyboard and mouse, or a joystick, or anything for that matter. PC's are simply better machines, consoles are cheaper.

Also theNoid youre comparing the amount of consoles sold to the amount of users on ONE GAME. Compare the amount of consoles sold to the amount of pc's sold. Thanks :)
 
Karant said:
It's sad when you go to large chain game-retailers and the gameboy section is larger then the PC's... EB Games in St. Vital, Winnipeg is guilty.
Click to expand...

That should change with "Games for Windows" they are going to have big gaming setups with PCs you can play demos on like they have PS2s and 360s out right now.
 
I feel a little torn on the subject of games on the PC right now. As a rule, I like PC games better than consols. Not to mention that there are many free games out there for PC is you look for them. On the other hand, keeping the latest Windows system around is getting expensive, so consols seem like a good option.
 
PC gaming isn't that big right now because the graphics cards sold with the majority of systems SUCK... be it the lowest end ATI/Nvidia cards, or any Intel shit integrated cards.

With Vista raising the bar so much higher, hopefully the video power of the majority of non-enthusiast PCs will increase to the point to where the average PC buyer can play the latest games reasonably.... *then* PC gaming will really take off...
 
Techx said:
long live pc gaming, IMO developers make pc games because there is so much more complexity and depth to the games that can be made.. I've always viewed console games as rather shallow, mostly due to the controller and it's many limitations.. don't worry, I'm not a hater, I enojy my 360, it's just that I get a much greater satisfaction from pc gaming... if you look at the community and at ANY pc game that appears to be 'consolified' it is immediately bashed and doesn't get played, why is that? Because pc gamers expect a higher level of quality from their games, it sucks that it kinda sounds elitist but it goes both ways, I'm sure hardcore consolers feel their platform is superior to others.. so it's all good, to each his own ;)
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Holy shit. He stole the words right ouf of my mouth.


Langford said:
I feel a little torn on the subject of games on the PC right now. As a rule, I like PC games better than consols. Not to mention that there are many free games out there for PC is you look for them. On the other hand, keeping the latest Windows system around is getting expensive, so consols seem like a good option.
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So did he. :(
 
Langford said:
I feel a little torn on the subject of games on the PC right now. As a rule, I like PC games better than consols. Not to mention that there are many free games out there for PC is you look for them. On the other hand, keeping the latest Windows system around is getting expensive, so consols seem like a good option.
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I agree as well; I've never even considered buying a $300-$400 console until just a few weeks ago. I wouldn't mind so much paying $300 for a new video card to play the latest games (my current 6800GT has lasted me nearly 2 years, and I can still play most modern games including Oblivion at acceptable settings) although as it is now, I'm running an agp video card, which means that just to upgrade my video card I will also need to upgrade my mobo. With that being said I might as well upgrade to a new socket (AM2/Core duo?) so that I don't have to buy another mobo AGAIN in a few months/a year, which means a new processor and memory too.

There just aren't any games out right now that I would actually NEED to upgrade my system for in order to play them at reasonable resolutions. If there are, I either haven't heard of them or don't even have the desire to play them in the first place.

Hell, in the past month or two I've had more fun playing old NES and XBOX games with my friends than I have playing PC games online. :( Maybe I just need to look harder at some new games.
 
J-M-E said:
Compare the amount of consoles sold to the amount of pc's sold. Thanks :)
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You do realize, that the VAST majority of PC´s aren't used for gaming right?

-wil
 
pigwalk said:
You do realize, that the VAST majority of PC´s aren't used for gaming right?

-wil
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no!! that cant be true! all pc's are water cooled and used ONLY for gaming!!! come on!!! and santa is real..lol

so true, gaming pc's are such a small % of computers in the world.
 
PC gaming is very expensive initially, but the games are just much more fun. I could seriously sit down and play CSS or CoD2 for half a day if I had that kind of time. Shooters are just all around better on pc, and every genre is the same- though fighters and racing games are better on console, so buy a controller. It's a small market, and it is odd when I walk into ebgames and see next to no PC titles, yet I go to Wal-Mart and it has half an aisle for them, but I wouldn't go back to console-only gaming if I was paid.
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
With Vista raising the bar so much higher, hopefully the video power of the majority of non-enthusiast PCs will increase to the point to where the average PC buyer can play the latest games reasonably.... *then* PC gaming will really take off...
Click to expand...

I dont quite think it will work that way, I think that once vista sets the bar thats when the newer graphics cards will take off continuing to develop better technology (as they never fail to do)

When Vista is released, it will probably be a couple years before Vista is on more computers than XP is... so once Vista becomes the 'standard' newer graphics cards (with their same $500+ price tag) will be out thus fueling technolgy and leaving the non-ethusiast pc users with graphic cards that run vista fairly well...

I dont know about you, but I like playing games at 1680x1050 (want to get a bigger monitor although that means i'll have to upgrade my graphics card more often :eek: :() consoles just cant display the graphics like my computer can... (granted they do have their HD but usually its 720p or something not up to par with computers...
 
Certian genres of games do not translate well to consoles. RTS games, MMORPG games, this is my opinion FPS, I cannot stand FPS games on consoles. And all 3 of those have big markets shares in the PC gaming industry. The BEST fps games are on the PC, because a majority of PC gamers are FPS players, which is not the case for consoles.
 
I believe that some games are PC only because:

Developers develope the game on PC's and dont have the resources available to immediately port it over to the console.

A console port could be limiting because of the various keyboard/mouse controls that a pc has.

A console port would be changed too much to the developer, from their intended pc game experience.
 
NulloModo said:
My friend manages an EB and he was glad when the directive came down to lose the PC section, it got next to no sales, 1 or 2 every other day at most compared to 20+ for PS2 and Xbox games.
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The PC game section at EB has always been terrible. I don't think I've ever been able to buy a popular game there on release day, an if it was available, they didn't have the DVD version. Over the years, I learned to just look elsewhere and not even waste my time; fortunatly for me, I live near a Fry's.

So, EB PC game sales suck because PC gamers don't shop there because EB's PC section has always sucked.
 
kellog said:
The PC game section at EB has always been terrible. I don't think I've ever been able to buy a popular game there on release day, an if it was available, they didn't have the DVD version. Over the years, I learned to just look elsewhere and not even waste my time; fortunatly for me, I live near a Fry's.

So, EB PC game sales suck because PC gamers don't shop there because EB's PC section has always sucked.
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Your EB sucks, the one i've been going to for years, always had a awsome PC section. They always had the new releases day of, and always took my pre-orders. However my GameStop didn't even have a PC section until recently.
 
Developers have every reason to only develop for the PC. It has become nearly ubiquitous with over 200 million in use in the U.S. in 2005. The pc gaming industry grossed about $1.5B during that same period. When you consider that the the entire gaming industry consoles, portables, PC, and others grossed about $10B for 2005 things look pretty good for the PC.

If we assume that the $10B is generated by the three major consoles, the two portables, and PCs we would expect each one to be making about $1.6B given an even distribution. We know that this distribution is not in fact even, and that there are other players on the scene as well which would indicate that the PC is in fact a larger market than at least some of the others.

So, when a developer is looking at what platform to develop for the PC is as good an option as any of the consoles from a market standpoint. When you consider the additional cost of things like a development kit, and programmers experienced in developing on a console the PC ends up looking even better.
 
Consoles will be come a major competitor when you can do the Quake 3 rail flicks on them. Until then, my PC suits me much better.
 
There are also royaly costs. You don't have to pay anyone to make a PC game. If you make a console game, you have to pay the console maker for every copy you make.

There's also content control and censorship. A developer can't just make any game they want to for a console. They need the console makers approval. Many games are censored or not allowed to be released to all markets because of the console manufacturer.
 
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