Arena For the PC?

[ChrisReid]

I'll try to meet up with you guys this weekend for Arena. Lot of addons and stuff for Arena. Get them all or will that screw stuff up?

No, downloading Arena trailer videos and dashboard themes won't "screw up" your XBox.

Definitly gunna have to get a keyboard. Will a standard USB keyboard work or do I need the xbox board?

You don't really need a keyboard. The official one is a little mini thing that clips onto the bottom of the controller. Any USB one works.

I'll send the 'copies' of Arena to LOAF soon as I get a chance and he can divvy them up or use them as a coaster

Ok, was going to either mail or email 1600 Xbox Live points (redemtion code card #) and people could use the points to buy the game and the addons. Nothing cute. Nothing bad. Just an opertunity for other people to own WC Arena. Is that a bad offer?

See, that's what we spent a dozen posts going back and forth asking. Microsoft points aren't copies of Arena. With the "coaster" you were implying you had the game on a disc and dodged the question when we asked.

Anyhow, nobody should need your point cards to get Arena. Every Crius.net member with an XBox should already have it. If someone was too cheap to spend $10 to buy the first new Wing Commander game in nine years, I'm sure as hell not sending them $20.

 

[DarkOne]

Would love to see Arena on the PSN (Playstation Network). I know this is probably a Microsoft exclusive thing but it would really bring in more money for the developer to have it cross platform (ie: PS3, Xbox360, Wii and PC)

 

[GreyViper]

DarkOne I understand what you mean, it should work rather well on PSP to. And it kind of makes me wonder why didn't they do a multi platform port? This way they might have gotten a bit more sales. As for porting to PC I doubt it would be beneficial since it would have hard time to compete with current space sims.

 

[Iceblade]

You know what, if it had come out on the PSP, I would probably have bought it.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Would love to see Arena on the PSN (Playstation Network). I know this is probably a Microsoft exclusive thing but it would really bring in more money for the developer to have it cross platform (ie: PS3, Xbox360, Wii and PC)

It is not a Microsoft exclusive; there was some talk about a PSN port during devleopment, but it doesn't seem likely at this point. What people often forget is that porting a game - especially from Windows/Xbox to Playstation - is an expensive process in and of itself. So the additional sales wouldn't just be free money... they'd have to cover the cost to port.

DarkOne I understand what you mean, it should work rather well on PSP to. And it kind of makes me wonder why didn't they do a multi platform port? This way they might have gotten a bit more sales. As for porting to PC I doubt it would be beneficial since it would have hard time to compete with current space sims.

Since the focus of the game was 16-user formal network multiplayer it probably wouldn't have transitioned well to the PSP at all.

 

[Madman]

On the subject of PC vs Console, I've been a PC gamer for nearly 20 years now and have always fought on the side of PC's in the great pc-console debate.

I have ranted and raged about the DRM issues and about how "piracy is killing the pc game" over the last few years, but the fact is, no matter what I think about it, PC gaming is not just in a slump, it's in a nose-dive. It's difficult to name 5 pc exclusive games in the last 2 or 3 years. certainly the big-hitters werent (bioshock for instance). The truth of the matter is that the pc gaming community has left the shop floor, we buy our games online, and we buy in small bite-size portions. Theres a reason why peggle is so succesful and why sam and max episodes continue to sell despite the initially icy reception. In truth, people want small simple games to play on their pc - because the pc gamers who remain are all too busy for a serious game anymore. Now don't misunderstand me here, that doesnt mean that people dont play big games, but if you only get time to play one big game a month, that cost of upgrade on the pc doesn't make sense, the console in the corner, near your sofa and beer-fridge is much more attractive and the games - while more expensive - run out of the box (no installation hassles) and will always run on that console.

Despite all that, I have not bowed to console sales ploys, and if it were not for arena I doubt I ever would. For me, it would be simpler to upgrade my graphics card to a mid-top end one for around 150 quid than to acquire a 360. I have on my shelf a copy of stalker: clear sky, bioshock, fallout3 - all games I have yet to play. Furthermore, There are plenty of old classics I wish to replay, and even more old games i never managed to play.

When I go on business trips I take my laptop, dosbox and a usb stick of old dos-games, I spend an evening playing traffic department or wing commander armada or the incredible machine. The pc gaming market has not simply died, but it has come to a cross-roads, forever update the machine, spending money, time and sweat setting it up only for the latest drivers not to support the game properly or play classics. The only other options are the console or the casual games that proliferate the pc world these days.

 

[Delance]

It's difficult to name 5 pc exclusive games in the last 2 or 3 years. certainly the big-hitters werent (bioshock for instance).

On the bright side, at least Bioshock and Mass Effect were released to the PC. The gaming market is quite unpredictable, but I think PC gaming will be around for a while, even if as a shadow of its former glory.

 

[Mekt-Hakkikt]

I sure hope so - I have my XBox now for almost 2 years and I can't say that I really warmed up to it. I can't even really point out why, it feels less comfortable, more hectic. I like it for split screen games with friends (though that seems to be getting rarer as well) and of course, love it for Arena.

Still, in May, when I have some more money and time, I'll buy myself a nice desktop PC.

 

[Branches]

PC gaming can never die. XBOX while it looks amazing, still cannot comprehend the next few years of improvement to Graphics cards and engines on the PC.

While the Consoles take advantages of the strides made, the PC is still where its at, even if the Console Plebs(like myself) believe themselves to be on the same level as the PC gamer Master Race.

 

[ChrisReid]

Despite all that, I have not bowed to console sales ploys, and if it were not for arena I doubt I ever would. For me, it would be simpler to upgrade my graphics card to a mid-top end one for around 150 quid than to acquire a 360. I have on my shelf a copy of stalker: clear sky, bioshock, fallout3 - all games I have yet to play. Furthermore, There are plenty of old classics I wish to replay, and even more old games i never managed to play.

PC gaming can never die. XBOX while it looks amazing, still cannot comprehend the next few years of improvement to Graphics cards and engines on the PC.

It's all pretty meaningless if you have an eight-core PC with four gigs of RAM and a graphics card that can push 12 jiggatexels/second, because what are you going to do with it in 2009? Run Flight Simulator X at a higher resolution? Run World of Warcraft or Sims 3 at a higher frame rate? PC gaming and console gaming really only has a small token area of overlap anymore. They're not mutually exclusive, I have a geforce 9 and powerful processor in my desktop, but I mainly just use them to post pictures to Facebook and update the CIC news. When I want to play a game, I'd much rather do it sitting on my couch in front of my 58" screen surrounded by my sound system. When I have parties and people come over to play video games, the action is in my living room and not in my office.

 

[Chuckles]

Not to sound like a PC Gaming fan boy, but until the day developers can boot up a console and do actual programming of a game through a console, then the PC will always be a market for gaming, and a profitable one at that.

The consoles are really good at what they do, and that's pretty much being a VCR. It plays what you put in. No fuss, no compatability issues, just hit play and enjoy. However it will be a very long time before consoles can support player created content on the level the PC enjoys and considers normal, and even before you get into things like online distribution, you have the simple fact that consoles and their players will look at a keyboard like it's the plague. Just as it is now, since the "Nintendo Certified" stamp on the cartridges on NES games, distribution and ownership rights on a console will always err on the side of the console manufacturer.

The PC has and always will be a hobbyist gaming platform, just like the consoles. And the gaming industry will always be where the hobbyists are. Just so happens more people have consoles than PCs these days, hence there are more games coming out for those platforms than the PC. Compatability and simplicity will always be the bane of the PC market, because prices and newer products will these days outpace availability and practicality. Yes the PC will be the benchmark of "what can be done", but the console will be the shiny toaster that does it well on demand in mass quanities.

Anyway, a game on a PC has just as much chance to succeed or fail as a console game. Just as a gaming development company solely based on console releases has a chance to sink or swim as a company who does PC exclusives.

 

[ChrisReid]

Anyway, a game on a PC has just as much chance to succeed or fail as a console game. Just as a gaming development company solely based on console releases has a chance to sink or swim as a company who does PC exclusives.

This isn't true. That's ignoring tons of dynamics of the market today. Certain games (MMOs, more complex simulations, some casual games) have a better chance of success on the PC. Other games (racing, sports, shooters, party games, adventure games) do better on consoles today. You can point to odd exceptions here and there, but the numbers are what they are. Looking at EA, which strongly supports as many platforms as possible, PC sales are down to about 15% the size of the console market. PC sales declined 20% last year, and the main three console game sales increased 50% compared to the prior year. If you're making a game for one platform, you need to very carefully evaluate who you players will be and pick the right one. Gaming companies that just randomly pick a platform out of a hat because all chances are equal won't be in business very long.

 

[cff]

However, EA is a bad example IMHO. They menaged to piss of a good number of ther PC user with their draconic DRM that comes with current releases (and that proved useless nonetheless). Personally I'd not even buy a WC game from them under this condition.

Also the increased console sales are often self fulfilling prophecies. Now which one do I buy? The console version which has additionally downloadable content or the PC version, which hasn't and is realeased 2-4 weeks later and looks the same (as it is 'only' a port). Hmmmmmm...
Right now PC gaming only has 2 advantages IMHO. Free selection of input device (mappable joysticks - yeah!) and modding capabilities (not that I didn't see modded console games - almost all of my consoles are 'cracked' in order to play homebrew stuff).

 

[ChrisReid]

That's mostly internet angst. The vast majority of people buying PC games couldn't tell you what "DRM" stands for and doesn't know EA puts "DRM" on their games. I would think EA is still probably the best example of a multi-platform megapublisher with their hands in enough of the entire broad market that their data is meaningful. Who else pushes both console and PC games so strongly? Microsoft is probably the next most representative, but their console push is limited to the XBox obviously, and they have a bigger reputation for hokiness than EA (regardless of whether that's more hype or not). Activision after that maybe?

 

[AD]

However, EA is a bad example IMHO. They menaged to piss of a good number of ther PC user with their draconic DRM that comes with current releases (and that proved useless nonetheless). Personally I'd not even buy a WC game from them under this condition.

Also the increased console sales are often self fulfilling prophecies. Now which one do I buy? The console version which has additionally downloadable content or the PC version, which hasn't and is realeased 2-4 weeks later and looks the same (as it is 'only' a port). Hmmmmmm...
Right now PC gaming only has 2 advantages IMHO. Free selection of input device (mappable joysticks - yeah!) and modding capabilities (not that I didn't see modded console games - almost all of my consoles are 'cracked' in order to play homebrew stuff).

I get really tired of people voicing the anti-drm arguments no matter how valid they feel it is. Also EA is now selling their games on Steam minus all the DRM people are complaining about. Digital distribution is the wave of future PC gaming.

 

[gevatter Lars]

From what I heard DRM is a point that influences the buying behavior. IIRC Amazon lost a good number of pre-orders when it was anounced that Spore would have DRM.
RA3 had its DRM loosend, not removed but changed from the original press release. Fallout3 on PC has no DRM but should had it in the beginning.
So for me it looks like DRM is indeed a valid point in PC sales numbers. Maybe not as high as some people claim it to be but high enough to allready change some companys behavior regarding DRM.

As for digital distribution..for small games that are about 5-10bugs its okay but for bigger products I prefere to have a CD/DVD. Broadband access isn't given everywhere and downloading my games over a "56k modem" isn't realy working for me.
On the other side I came to like Steam as it updates the supported games and finding your friends in a game of HL is damn easy. Espacialy the finding of friends part should allways run over steam for every other game that runs over Steam.
They shouldn't reinvent that part for every game. Just use steam but instead everyone has to have its own version of steam.

As for the general part between PC and console gameing. I think both will exist beside each other in the future as they did in the past.
As long as games get a good port to the PC I realy don't care if games appear first on console or not.

Ports like Mass Effect or Fallout3 are very well done in my opinion.
I just hope that Mass Effect2 gets ported. I don't have the money for a console or better said for a HD-TV. I don't even have a SD-TV where I could plug the console in.

 

[Madman]

I'm a big CnC fan, and I was initially concerned re the DRM in ra3 - but actually, you can deauthorise the game thereby getting back one of your installs. Perhaps better is that the single player expansion (uprising) allows you to install on 5 pc's only authorising at install - meaning you basically get 5 copies - and can deauthorise to get them back again! - Basically DRM has granted me a multi-user license to my game - for that, and for giving me the ability to remove that system from my 5 "authorised" systems - I am very grateful!

 

[gevatter Lars]

I don't think that this is a multi-user license but a multi-pc license. User would mean that you can have a installation on your friends PC too. A multi-pc would mean that you can install it on up to 5 PC you own. Thats a big differance.
Still I am not sure but its would be quite a strange police as this would mean that its legal to have 5 people buy one game and share it.
EA, trying to eliminate the reseller market, has quite the oposite structure. Basicly they want that everyone buys a copy instead multiple people sharing one, be it via buying used ones or in a multi-user system.
I don't know where you can read up the DRM rights for RA3. They are not in the manual or I haven't seen them. (Shouldn't they be?)

 

[Branches]

Let me correct my way of thinking. I think that quite a bit of what is on the Xbox now couldn't have been possible without the advances in PC gaming over the past decade.

However much the mutual relationship between the two causes problem in Trans-console gaming(i.e. Some problems with GTAIV for the PC, Etc etc.), They still can mutually co-exist. The PC will keep pushing on, while the Consoles take advantage of the technology in the future.

 

[Delance]

PC sales declined 20% last year, and the main three console game sales increased 50% compared to the prior year.

"If the current trend continues, the Kilrathi will be walking on Earth on six months, maybe less..." -- But I think those numbers will settle down and the PC will be a nice secondary market after the consoles... Hopefully.