Alan Wake PC "up in the air"

[toadeater]

Came out on 360 well over a year before pc and it ran like crap.

Yep, look at what happened during week 2 of GTA4's release:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56495

It dropped off the charts after PC gamers found out it ran like crap, had some buggy DRM scheme, and didn't get any PC improvements. The control scheme was lame too.

If piracy is so bad, why are those other PC games selling so well? There are AAA console games that are having trouble breaking 1M in sales right now too. Sales haven't been all great on consoles for hardcore games. What's selling like crazy is the casual and portable stuff. I guess people are too busy with Facebook and other distractions out there for old-school, hardcore games that consume your life. Although, MMORPG sales are on the rise, so maybe that's it...

All I know is, console gamers on average are little kids and young teens, that is a fact. It's easier to sell this junk to little kids than it is to older PC gamers who are more discriminating and expect slightly more meaningful content, or more complex gameplay.

[Unrealistic]

All I know is, console gamers on average are little kids and young teens, that is a fact. It's easier to sell this junk to little kids than it is to older PC gamers who are more discriminating and expect slightly more meaningful content, or more complex gameplay.

Uhhh no....

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

The typical gamer profile from Nielsen's report was not surprising: the majority were male (77.1 percent), but with a fair amount of diversity in age. 75.8 percent of boys—12.9 million—age two through 11 in TV households gamed on a console at home for at least one minute in the fourth quarter of 2006 (the average time spent on a console for that age group was 2 hours and 30 minutes per day, however). From the male 18-34 age group, almost half—16.1 million (corrected)—used a console, with an average of 2 hours and 43 minutes of game play per day. However, consoles were also fairly popular among certain other demographics, with 11.5 million females between 18 and 34 gaming and 10.1 million females from 2 to 11. Even the 50+ crowd isn't afraid to get their game on, with 50+ females out-gaming their male counterparts with 3.9 million gamers, compared to the males' 3.5 million number. Nielsen's data unfortunately does not indicate what types of games each group favored.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2007/03...ng-all-ages.ars

This was two years ago. It's even more now, but the majority age group is still 18-34. Both sexes.

[kiwi89]

Yep, look at what happened during week 2 of GTA4's release:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56495

It dropped off the charts after PC gamers found out it ran like crap, had some buggy DRM scheme, and didn't get any PC improvements. The control scheme was lame too.

........

+1 everyone heard that it ran like crap and decided to download it to see if it would work or not.

If the devs put of crap then they can't complain if people dont like their game.

Look at sins of a solar empire, Valve's games, The Cod series etc.... All great games, not a lot of copy protection but they have all sold a lot of copies. Why? Because they are all generally great games to play and they aren't some crappy 360 port.

[ViperAFK]

Heavy DRM only punishes legal buyers, pirates ALWAYS fine a way around it ALWAYS. Don't treat your customers like criminals and they will buy the game. If you have the game ridiculously locked down you **** off paying customers while pirates enjoy their drm experience.

Valve has DRM right with steam. Steam is good protection and is incredibly convenient and offers me a great service as well. And I can install my games as much as I goddamn please.

[Viper217]

Uhhh no....

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2007/03...ng-all-ages.ars

This was two years ago. It's even more now, but the majority age group is still 18-34. Both sexes.

The stats you just posted have nothing to do with what toadeater said, he was comparing console gamers to PC gamers and your article was solely about console gamers. The age average IS different between PC and console.

[The Teej]

Yes. And especially considering most console games are programmed and created on a PC, then ported to the console, it really is just a slap in the face to PC gamers.

That excuse is tired. It's coded on the PC, yes, but it's coded for the XBOX 360. It's not a case of just recompiling in most cases, there's been a lot of compression and tailoring for XBOX 360s hardware which would need to be done all over again for the PC. All DS games are created on the PC, so does that mean DS games should be on the PC as well?

Here's a suggestion: Go buy yourselves an Elite. They're $300, which is about the same price as a singular high end graphics card you guys would need to play this game. It's not like you wouldn't be making a $300 purchase in about a year anyway.

[cropcircles]

Yes. And especially considering most console games are programmed and created on a PC, then ported to the console, it really is just a slap in the face to PC gamers.

Agreed! Pretty ridiculous. I believe its about sales and money and they can make allot more these days on console games then PC. I just don't think the demand for PC games percentage wise can compare to all the millions of kids and adults playing on consoles. I do believe the PC gamer has the knowledge and expertise (they have too !) in knowing how to upgrade their systems in order to play these newer games. Its an investment in your PC but well worth it I think.

[fusi0n]

the games are coded on the PC using the Xbox 360 SDK then complied in xex and moved to a Xbox 360 XDK for debugging/Testing.

[Ji@nBing]

I don't know why PC gamers complain every time. You guys have been getting shafted this whole gen. If you want the latest and greatest, just get a 360. Pretty simple. Time to get with the program guys!!

[George P Global Moderator]

I find this kinda funny. Why blast MS who has, this gen at the most, brought you great games for the 360 AND PC? What has Sony done? What has Nintendo done? What's with all the bitching for anyways? I'd expect the PC gaming group to be adults at least.

Alen Wakie is an MS IP I believe, while it's being made by Remedy, MS as the publisher and the one paying the bills can do whatever they want with it. The intel quad demo just showed how the game was more multithreaded from the get go, it could have just as well ran on a quad AMD CPU as well, but guess what? The 360 is a multithraded system also. The point of the demo back then on a very early alpha of the game was to show how optimized the game would be, while most games barely use 2 cores let alone 4.

MS published games will always have a first release on the 360, it's a given, why do they push it more over the PC, because they have more competition on the console side. The simple fact is that the Playstation is big in Europe, MS has to push 360 games harder there to win. That's all there is to the comments posted in that one interview. Does that mean they don't care about the PC? Hell no! If you think that then you're dreaming, or just raging so bad you can't think straight.

If they didn't care what's with this big push with DX? Whats with the core Windows driver changes made specific for media and gaming for then? The shift from PC gaming to consoles for many is a simple choice of price and easiness. You have way more hassle with a PC game, if something doesn't work for your system but does for your friends then what?

At least with a console I know i'm paying that $300-$400, (price of a top end gfx card every 6-8 damn months!) and that the games will just play, and play well, for AT LEAST 5 solid years. Can any of you say the same for your graphics card? If you buy a new one today will it be good enough 5 years from now? I don't think so.

[SYBINX]

What CENSORED me off the most is the engine they are using for AW is bacwards compatible, it's also multi platform compatible as well, which means they can develop consol and PC games at the same time. There is no exception when it comes to developing these days. The PC market has always been strong and will never go. Console will never out do a hardcore gamer because as we know HCG prefer PC over consoles.

[ViperAFK]

Doesn't change the fact that this was really hyped up as a pc game by them in the beginning.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Doesn't change the fact that this was really hyped up as a pc game by them in the beginning.

Yup they've dug their own grave with this, showing off Alan Wake as the big PC game to benefit quad core, directx 10, yadda yadda.

If it wasn't pushed so hard as some PC technical show case the potential decision to ditch the PC version wouldn't be biting them in the ass as much.

[George P Global Moderator]

I don't think it's such a big hit to Remedy. I still think it'll find it's way to the PC, and probably end up even better in the end. Putting it on hold so you can finish the harder 360 version (and I say harder cuz in the end devs DO have to tweak games more for consoles than with the PC), is basically what they're doing at this point.

Getting the PC version out 6 months or so after the release of the 360 version is still doable, and I don't think MS as the publisher would close the door on that fully. It's just not being worked on right now.

[Leo Natan]

http://ve3d.ign.com/...f-Day-On-The-PC

Microsoft and Remedy have backed away from the PC version of Alan Wake over the past year - once a flagship showcase for Quad Core CPUs and all that is good about the innovative PC industry, Alan Wake gradually became a less ambitious, linear action-adventure game after Remedy signed on with Microsoft. The PC version was put on the backburner, with all efforts going into the lead Xbox 360 release; the launch date was pushed to "TBA," and official representatives were coy or downright evasive about its future. Now, Microsoft reps have finally confirmed that Alan Wake will never be released on the PC, after dropping all mention of the home computer version from their latest marketing materials:

Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience Alan Wake was on the Xbox 360, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive. Both Microsoft and Remedy have long histories in PC game development. This decision was about matching this specific game to the right platform.

Basically Microsoft paid Remedy to turn this into a crap for console retards.

[Hedon]

I don't believe MS or Remedy dug any graves. I think it's the pirates who have dug the graves. Devs are making less and less money on PC gaming, and console sales of games are trumping PC games.

That said, a PC version will follow after the Xbox 360 exclusive timeline is over.

[Sethos]

That said, a PC version will follow after the Xbox 360 exclusive timeline is over.

An ugly, butchered version with none of the features or technologies they showed us a few years ago.

[Leo Natan]

I think it's the pirates who have dug the graves. Devs are making less and less money on PC gaming, and console sales of games are trumping PC games.

Your ignorance makes me LOL. Publishers are making less and less money because they release games that are targeted at monkeys primarily (err sorry, I mean games that "are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen").

Make good games that are meant to be played by people with brains inside their heads with attention spans larger than 5 seconds, and they'll sell well. Sins of a Solar Empire is a prime example; released without any dumb copy protection and sold extremely well. Why? Because it was a good game.

We don't want a generic "less ambitious, linear action-adventure" #3141. Console dumbos can have it all for themselves.

[Denis W. Veteran]

I'm done caring at this point. :pinch:

Highly disappointed.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Timed exclusive, bet yah.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

An ugly, butchered version with none of the features or technologies they showed us a few years ago.

If that's the case, then I'll skip it.

[Hedon]

Your ignorance makes me LOL.

Please keep attacks out of this, it's not necessary. Merely just post your opinion like I have.

[iamawesomewicked]

Alan Wake no longer coming to the PC

[Berserk87]

Just got a brand new 5770 with directx 11, see alan wake as one of the few directx 11 games coming out soon, the trailers look good, and think "ill probably buy this game as soon as it comes out".

[Denis W. Veteran]

From here:

No, this is not official.

The only thing official we are saying is that we will be focusing on releasing the game for Xbox 360 at the moment.

We do not comment on rumors.

Methinks this is, as Audioboxer said, just a timed exclusive.

When it does come for PC, they might want to throw in some extras to appease those peeved off by Microsoft's marketing BS.