Fri, Jul 13, 2012 | 17:41 BST
Total War on consoles is a question of “power,” not controls says Creative Assembly
The Creative Assembly’s studio director, Mike Simpson, has said the Total War series isn’t on consoles due to the lack of control options, instead, it has more to do with a lack of power.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Simpson said a Total War battlefield with 10,000 soldiers running around just wouldn’t work on any of the consoles.
“Total War on console, the reason it’s not there has never been about control,” he explained. “There has never been a control reason not to have the game on console – that’s not the problem. It’s a difficult design problem, trying to figure out how to control a game like that with a pad, but even that is a solvable problem – it just requires some clever design.
“We couldn’t fit a Total War battlefield, with 10,000 guys, into any of the consoles. It just doesn’t work. You can’t fit a gallon into a pint pot, it doesn’t go. That’s clearly been the main constraint.
“Now, it may be that at some point in the future, some of those constraints disappear, and at that point, then yeah, some possibilities open up. I’m not saying that we’ll actually go down those routes – it depends how things turn out. They’re not there at the moment – those routes don’t exist. They may, or may not, turn up in the future.”
Simpson said the studio will reassess things once Microsoft and Sony release next-gen consoles, but for now, it’s not in “a position to do that yet.”
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Posted in: PC, Sega, Steam, Strategy
Tags: Mike Simpson, the creative assembly, Total War
9 comments
#1
unacomn
13/07/12, 5:45 pm
Lack of power? But, but… I thought I was playing with power!
Sorry, couldn’t help but make that joke.
#2
Erthazus
13/07/12, 5:47 pm
consoles are always the problem when it comes to their system specs.
consoles is the reason we get less games like total War.
Instead we get shitty corridor shooters with 3 enemies that can duck and shoot in sub-HD resolution.
#3
Len
13/07/12, 7:34 pm
Even if the did make them for consoles I’m not sure they’d sell particularly well. Is the market really there for them?
#4
roadkill
13/07/12, 9:19 pm
@2 When you say “sub-HD resolution” you’re referring to textures right?
#5
JB
14/07/12, 11:55 am
@ Erthazus “consoles is the reason we get less games like total War.”
A what o_O ???
Actually: “Instead we get shitty corridor shooters with 3 enemies that can duck and shoot in sub-HD resolution.”
A what o_O ??? times 2.
#6
UuBuU
14/07/12, 12:12 pm
I would still say controls ARE an issue… especially if the controls/UI for the PC version ends up being heavily streamlined, as is the case with many multiplatform PC games these days.
And that’s just part of the whole bigger issue of multiplatform games being designed primarily with consoles in mind. That’s where most of the money is, so the PC version becomes an afterthought.
If Total War ever goes multiplatform, I think that will just about kill the franchise for me. Since Rome came out, it’s been getting worse and worse to appeal to a broader audience. Going on consoles would be the final nail in the coffin.
#7
JB
14/07/12, 5:21 pm
Ah, I see, so this PC only game didn´t sell enough copies on the PC = consoles fault – lol ^^.
#8
DSB
14/07/12, 5:31 pm
What? They’ve been doing Total War as a PC exclusive (with a single action spin off on consoles) for 12 years.
I’m pretty sure they’re doing alright, even if the quality has been very up and down within that time.
There’s a reason why everybody and their moms are flocking to the PC right now. Someone stopped yelling pirate and actually looked at the numbers
#9
Old MacDonald
14/07/12, 11:06 pm
Let’s not forget they claimed to have solved the issue of controls for RTS games on consoles with Stormrise. Do they talk much about Stormrise these days? Or are they hoping we’ll forget it?