Pandemic => 343 Industries

[Josiah]

yeah, I just got an i7 3.4 ghz + 4gb ram + 512/1024/?mb ati 6350 + 22" lcd for $900... it's not hard to get a good computer for under $1000

I've played games on both consoles and pcs, and I have to say, the level of precision on a pc compared to a console is miles apart... though if you do play enough(like, A LOT) you can achieve better than average precision on a console, but it still isn't close to a pc...

I don't know this for certain, but it seems to me that the reason pc games do worse in sales than consoles is piracy; it's WAY easier to pirate a game for a pc than it is for a console. Most of the time, anyways(unlike the freakin orange box I just got... >:\)

[Zero Angel]

Piracy is most def a factor -- but most of the (non-hardcore) gamers I know in RL do all their gaming through consoles. PC games are less accessible for several reasons. Constant hardware upgrading, no split screen multiplayer (less social aspect), and the idea of sitting at a desk and planting your face in a computer screen are three of the reasons I can think of off the top of my head why PC games might be less appealing)

[Nielk1]

Piracy is indeed a near non-issue. Most who pirate games never would have bought them in the first place, and thus I can reiterate Team Meat's point, every time a pirate's friend sees a pirate playing the game (in this case Super Meat Boy) and goes to buy it for themselves, that is a victory, and people don't blog about that cool game they stole, if they like it enough to talk about it in that way, they buy it after the fact.

DRM makes piracy more likely however. And as the publisher makes the DRM decision, good game makers get shafted.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

I've played games on both consoles and pcs, and I have to say, the level of precision on a pc compared to a console is miles apart... though if you do play enough(like, A LOT) you can achieve better than average precision on a console, but it still isn't close to a pc...

The proof is in the pudding. If you had a money tourney allowing any type of input device in an object tracking based game, i.e. an FPS-type game, I'd be willing to wager the final ladder would have no one using a console-style controller.

Question is; would anyone even enter an open input device tourney with a console-style controller?

[DuoRanger]

well normally i'd go first for the Uncle Torrynt's store to see the game first, if the game is freakin good i'll buy it, instead of buy and see that the game sucks and i've lost my money

[CivBase]

Isn't 343 Industries making Dust 514 at the moment? Which is supposed to be split between consoles and PC's? I think the idea is something similar to EVE Online for the PC Gamers, but a regular FPS for console gamers.

Basically, PC has the brains, Console has the FPS Braun. Could have the totally wrong company here...

343 Industries is basically Microsoft's Halo branch. They're currently working on Halo 4 and Halo: CE Anniversary. Since Halo is among my favorite games, I certainly welcome the thought of resurrecting Battlezone as part of the Halo franchise. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that will be happening if none of the BZ devs became a part of 343i. Oh well.

Personally, I enjoy both PC and Console gaming. My computer is powerful enough to play anything, and I have quite a few games for both platforms. I usually like to play shooters on the Xbox 360 and strategy games on my computer, although I have a number of exceptions both ways. PC games are often nicer looking and rely less on gimmicks like aim-assists, but PC's also suffer from a huge drawback. Far more people own consoles because a moderately-powerful gaming computer costs a lot, needs constant maintenance, and gets outdated quickly. Most "gamers" also don't know near enough about computers to keep them running at peak performance. Because of this, most of my friends get their games for the Xbox 360 - so, if I want to be able to play video games with them, I have to get them for the console too.

[GSH]

343 Industries is basically Microsoft's Halo branch. They're currently working on Halo 4 and Halo: CE Anniversary. Since Halo is among my favorite games, I certainly welcome the thought of resurrecting Battlezone as part of the Halo franchise. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that will be happening if none of the BZ devs became a part of 343i. Oh well.

It doesn't matter if Microsoft hired every single person that worked on BZ1 & BZ2. They wouldn't do a darn thing with BZ. Microsoft would say "you work for us, and you work on Halo now." Halo is Microsoft's main cash cow. They're going to milk it, producing sequels that are similar to what's been profitable in the past. Not take an utterly stupid turn (for them) to some franchise that didn't sell enough to make back the investment. Microsoft isn't a charity. Microsoft isn't going to ruin their top franchise for the sake of some other failed (to their bean counters) franchise you happen to like. Deal with it.

-- GSH

[DuoRanger]

man george collins is working now for thq
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/shee ... erId,2294/

[CivBase]

It doesn't matter if Microsoft hired every single person that worked on BZ1 & BZ2. They wouldn't do a darn thing with BZ. Microsoft would say "you work for us, and you work on Halo now." Halo is Microsoft's main cash cow. They're going to milk it, producing sequels that are similar to what's been profitable in the past. Not take an utterly stupid turn (for them) to some franchise that didn't sell enough to make back the investment. Microsoft isn't a charity. Microsoft isn't going to ruin their top franchise for the sake of some other failed (to their bean counters) franchise you happen to like. Deal with it.

I understand. Just dreaming.

[Zenophas]

I play Crysis 2 on full graphics just fine...



The only thing I ever have to adjust in PC games is the controls from WSAD EQ to Up, Down, Left, Right, Shift, and Ctrl.

Try the NUMPAD some time. It's different in an interesting way. Course, you're gonna have to position your keyboard a bit differently.

[Ded10c]

I play Crysis 2 on full graphics just fine...



The only thing I ever have to adjust in PC games is the controls from WSAD EQ to Up, Down, Left, Right, Shift, and Ctrl.

Try the NUMPAD some time. It's different in an interesting way. Course, you're gonna have to position your keyboard a bit differently.

Eurgh, Heavy Gear II did that. It was stupidly awkward. IJKL might also be worth a try.

[VSMIT]

Eurgh, Heavy Gear II did that. It was stupidly awkward. IJKL might also be worth a try.

I'd think that it would be better for someone who's left-handed. Having your right hand over the wasd keys is kinda awkward, but I may be a bit biased.

[Ded10c]

I would have thought an arrangement like [;'# would be better for somebody left-handed, but then again the menu key would get in the way.

[Eddy]

Whatever you may think about consoles and/or the Halo series, the fact of the matter is that console games sold well, and Pandemic's PC titles did not. Developers/publishers aren't charities doing things for a few hundred hardcore fans. Even though you may find yourself looking down on others, at least those people are opening their wallets. That's that matters to the games industry.

-- GSH

And it doesn't help with the wide spread cracking and distributing PC games. I'm sure it occurs with console games too but PCs afford hacking and distributing easier than consoles.

Console games are fun but I prefer a more immersive experience that I get with mouse & keyboard.

Eddy

[Josiah]

...
Console games are fun but I prefer a more immersive experience that I get with mouse & keyboard.

Eddy

same here.