Molyneux: “Gaming is being reborn on the PC”

“Thats funny, I thought BCBF2 sold more on PC than the consoles? At least thats why the guys at my local Game and HMV store told me, since they had to order in extra copies of the PC version whilst they shifted a little over 70% of the console versions.”

Sales figures for each platform havnt been released, but according to EA whilst there are alot of people playing the PC version, theres still more people playing both console versions combined.

“Thats good amount of profit for a retail game on a PC. Just one example of a PC game making a healthy profit.”

It probably is “a healthy profit”, alot more then most PC games. But more profit from the PC version then the console versions though? Nope.

“I do agree with DaWulf on Console games being easy. I played MW2 recently on my sons’ XBox for something do, and I must admit, the Auto-Aim made it so much easier, as does the snap shooting when looking down the sight. That, to me, makes a game easy and almost worthless to play. No skill at all when you auto-focus on a target.”

Purely depends on the game obviously, just like on PC; some games are hard, others arent. To declare that a whole platforms line up is “easy” because its on that platform is totally retarded.

“There are some console games which bought some nice ideas, but, in general they haven’t. The innovation still sits on the PC, those small developers making games on the PC are the next future of gaming, in my opinion anyway. Those innovations will make it, in some form, to the consoles eventually.”

Oh dear, you need to review your video games history. More genres and innovations have came from console games. Look at the effect a little game called ‘Halo’ had on the whole FPS genre as reference.

“Also, define a ‘Casual game’? Don’t the consoles have Casual games that sell more than AAA titles as well?”

Maybe on Wii, not really on any other system.

“But didn’t the Xbox live game Castle Crashers sell exceptionally well and made the developers and M$ a nice profit? So, in that respect, we could say that casual games are helping to keep consoles afloat.”

So according to you, Castle Crashers (which isnt really much of a casual game in the end) is ‘keeping the 360 afloat’? Really? No. Its actually core games that keeps the PS3 and 360 afloat. Infact its not even casual game sales that keeps the Wii afloat, thats pretty much the consoles own sales.

In contrast on PC, most of the growth in 09 was thanks to casual games (and that famous “$13.1 billion” also counted Facebook revenue and advertising. Also worth pointing out that in 09 console revenue was higher then 13 billion, you can thank Nintendo alone for most of that).

yes I did misunderstand what you were saying, albeit putting GoW alongside LBP and Bayo is a bit embarassing.

anyway Kalain, I don’t understand is there no skill involved in other genres besides fps?

and “all games start their life as prototype on a PC before going to their respective platforms.”
sorry, you’re being sarcastic here or something? yes, most of the console devs do it that way, it has everything to do with the dev process and nothing to do with innovation.

Wow.. how to take my comments completely out of context.

Why do you combine consoles together and the PC seperate? aren’t they all dfferent platforms? That skewers any result.

BFBC2: I’m going on what the local stores by me have said. Not a good way, I know, but shows that some PC games do sell better than their console counterparts.

As for profit, are you saying Consoles combined or each console seperately? This is the problem with people, you choose what you want to declare it as to show how good your point it.

“Purely depends on the game obviously, just like on PC; some games are hard, other arent. To declare that a whole platforms line up is “easy” because its on that platform is totally retarded.”

I never declared that all, go back and read again. Because of the controller new ‘Helpers’ we given to console games to make them playable, to a PC gamer they make the game easy. We never had Auto-Zoom/Target Lock before FPS’ went to consoles, now we do. There are some games on the consoles which are brutally hard, but some genres have become easier.

“Oh dear, you need to review your video games history. More genres and innovations have came from console games. Look at the effect a little game called ‘Halo’ had on the whole FPS genre as reference.”

Would that be Halo that was developed by Bungie as a PC game, then got turned into an XBox launch title as MS bought them up? OH yeah, that Halo. Halo bought a decent FPS to the consoles, thats it. It showed people that it can be done. PLus it bought regenerating health which is now a staple in FPS’s, sad really.

Aside from Combat Action games, DMC/GoW etc etc, what else did console give us as a new Genre? RPGs? nope. Action Adventure? nope, FPS, nope, RTS, nope.

I think you need to have a look at your own history on gaming as it appears to be just as incomplete as mine.

We’ll probably never know the amount of casual games released on consoles since those numbers aren’t released, or if they are my google-fu isn’t working correctly.

“So according to you, Castle Crashers (which isnt really much of a casual game in the end) is ‘keeping the 360 afloat’? Really? No. Its actually core games that keeps the PS3 and 360 afloat. Infact its not even casual game sales that keeps the Wii afloat, thats pretty much the consoles own sales.”

And here’s me thinking that any cash coming in keeps something afloat? Anyway, I suggested that the console casual games market helps the consoles just as much as it helps the PC market.

So, what is the console revenue of each individual console? Console isn’t a platform. This is what irks me the most about most modern games journalists and console gamers, you pan all consoles sales into one and go ‘Look, more than PC gaming’, but when you break it down on a platform by platform basis the PC is the clear leader.

So, what is it to be? you going to plumb all the consoles into one or use each one as an individual platform for any argument on revenue? After all, any revenue from a game, no matter where it’s from, is good right?

DaMan..

There is, but people always go down the FPS is “Skillz” route, so I did for change. I wouldn’t dare say that no other genre needs any form of skill, because I know that to be untrue, but, as I said, the masses normally see FPS’s as skill only games, so I used that as an example.

I was being sarcastic on that remarke, some people on here seem to think that you program on a console and a PC has nothing to do with it.

“Why do you combine consoles together and the PC seperate? aren’t they all dfferent platforms? That skewers any result.”

Odd, you seemed perfectly happy in doing the same, from the start you and Wulf have clearly pinned this as “PC Vs. ConsoleS”.

Examples:

“Thats funny, I thought BCBF2 sold more on PC than the consoles?”

“My local Game and HMV store told me, since they had to order in extra copies of the PC version whilst they shifted a little over 70% of the console versions.”

“There are some console games which bought some nice ideas, but, in general they haven’t.”

“Also, you didn’t get what I was saying. Console games, in general, do not innovate as much PC games.”

Yeah. But whats really funny is that you seem to be considering everything the PC has done since its gained the ability to play games Vs. 7th generation consoles. In which case you should probably add PC install base into the mix. Now how many PC’s do you think can play, say BFBC2 are out there (on a side note, if a PC cant play it, is it counted as another platform?)? Probably a load, yet according to EA there are more PS3 and 360 players combined?

Buy anyway. At the end of the day its the PC crowd thats pinned this solely as PC Vs. Consoles as a whole rather then considering the PC as a games platform amongst console platforms.