Topic: Dear Rockstar, WTF?

[Razorkid]

I just saw the gameplay trailer for LA Noir and I have been really excited for this game for about a year. But of course they have not released anything regarding a pc version, hell they haven't released a pc version of Red Dead Redemption yet.

Although I am lucky to own a PS3, I just want to experience that type of game on my superior pc hardware!

What other games have people wanted ported to their system of choice, but it hasn't happened yet?

[Morari]

I haven't really been too impressed with Rockstar since GTA2. That said, it's always a shame when the PC get snubbed in favor of inferior platforms. Sadly, it seems to be happening more and more. Publisher (not developers) continue to cry foul over non-existent problems like piracy, but the truth is that console gamers are just easier to milk. They'll pay $60-$70 for a game, then immediately buy up all of the DLC to boot.

As for the original question. I was pretty disappointed that Super Street Fighter IV was forgotten, especially after the original version did so well on the PC. As far as fighters go, I'd love to see Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and the new Mortal Kombat as well. They didn't seem like obvious choices like SSFIV though.

[Chozo Ghost]

Forget the PC. Where's the Wii version?

[DAaaMan64]

I haven't really been too impressed with Rockstar since GTA2.

Wow dude, that is messed up.

[Morari]

Messed up? How so?

I have really hated the 3D Grand Theft Auto games, with the exception being San Andreas (despite the lame, gang-banger plot). They're ugly, ridiculously buggy, and almost unplayable due to clunky controls. I remember following the development of the first Mafia long before GTA3 was even announced. The two games were released only several months apart. Mafia was superior in every way (despite still being a tad clunky), but it was GTA that got all of the praise. I didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it now.

Really, outside of that franchise, Rockstar doesn't have anything of note. People keep talking about Red Dead Redemption, but it just looks like another clunky GTA game... with horses. Since they have no intention of releasing a PC version though, I'll never be able to find out either way.

[TJ Spyke]

The controls of GTA III are so-so now (although they were fine at the time), and are great games. Hell, most gamers never even heard of the company (then known as DMA Design) until GTA III came out. The controls got better, as did the games themselves. As for why Mafia got so little attention, it was a PC game and came out almost a year after GTA III (GTA released in October 2001, Mafia in August 2002).

Are you forgetting Midnight Club? Extremely popular racing series. Bully was a big hit, as was Max Payne.

[Ian Sane]

What other games have people wanted ported to their system of choice, but it hasn't happened yet?

Well how about every third party game that came out for every platform except Nintendo's for the last ten years or so?
 
In Rockstar's case it would have been nice to see the Cube get included for the GTA games.  I wouldn't even have given a **** if the PS2 got limited time exclusivity.  It just was retarded to not have the most popular third party game of the generation on our console when it could easily have handled it from a technological point of view.
 
At least this gen the Wii's severly gimped hardware provides some sort of an excuse.  But the Cube had no such excuse.  This sort of bullshit regarding third party support is very important to me but Nintendo has never shown any indication that it matters to them.  The near universal indifference from pretty much every third party suggests the problem lies in Nintendo themselves.  They have to learn how to accomodate other developers.
 
Regarding PC versions, I understand the frustration but I kind of get why a publisher would not want to bother and it is not just piracy.  Consoles just have more mass market appeal.  Joe Blow who doesn't know **** about technology just buys the console, connects it to his HDTV with regular A/V cables  , puts the game in and plays.  Most of the standard off-the-shelf PCs that Best Buy sells come with **** graphics cards.  Back in the days of Doom if you bought a brand new PC you could play everything.  Not so now.  Joe Blow can buy a brand new PC and find that 10 year old PC games run like **** on it.  You have to know what you are doing to get a gaming PC these days.
 
PC style games like first person shooters have found success on consoles.  In the past a game like this would be designed for the PC and then maybe you would get a down-graded port for consoles.  Now consoles are a target platform for these games.  One of the benefits of PCs is the superior hardware.  But a game is designed for the lowest common denominator.  Thus they're making it so that it works as a console game so even if there is a PC version it does not have the same jump in quality that you would get in the past.  So I go to all the trouble and cost to get a gaming PC but everything looks the same as it does on the Xbox 360?  Why don't I just buy an Xbox 360 then?  And that just starts the trend.  There is less incentive to be a PC gamer so there are less of them so companies make less of an effort to make the PC a good gaming platform.
 
Morari, would it make a big difference to you if consoles allowed more for keyboard/mouse controls?  I really think that for certain games, like first person shooters, it would make sense to provide the option.  But then I have the same attitude regarding Wii games allowing for both motion controls and traditional controls and that just falls on deaf ears.  I understand that PCs also allow for mods so it isn't always something that consoles can accomodate.  But I think consoles can be user-friendly without being so restrictive regarding options.

[Morari]

The controAre you forgetting Midnight Club? Extremely popular racing series. Bully was a big hit, as was Max Payne.

I did forget that Max Payne was part of their history. I was quite fond of it when it came out. Hell, I still use mouse pad that came bundled with it!

Morari, would it make a big difference to you if consoles allowed more for keyboard/mouse controls?

No. If I wanted to play video games on a locked down system that just happened to have keyboard and mouse support, I'd buy a Mac. Though the precision controls and customization are some of the more obvious benefits of PC gaming, there are other things as well. Modding comes to mind, and is the reason I still make sure that Quake III Arena is installed on all of my machines. Sadly, even that level of community involvement is drying up as developers try to control their creations more and more. Or how about more basic things, like screen resolution? I've had two hi-def monitors sitting on my desk for over a decade now. The Dreamcast had VGA support, but for the most part console games are just now starting to adapt to a reasonable resolution. Besides... a proper desk setup, with a good chair and ergonomical planning is far more comfortable than a couch.

You mention the lack of graphical updates in your post, Ian. I think that's a valid point nowadays. It used to be that video games pushed technology forward on the PC. Now however, everything is designed toward the lowest common denominator (consoles), so you rarely see leaps in technology. It's for that reason that PC gaming is more viable now than ever. Why spend hundreds of dollars on a consoles, when you could spend that money on a serviceable computer? You'd definitely get more out of it than just games and movie playback like you do on a console. Everyone owns at least one PC, and that's not likely to change. They need it to keep in touch with their friends, to read the news, to do their work, etc. Why not use it to play games as well?

The problem isn't that computers are too complicated or expensive (they're not). The problem is that the major manufacturers sell absolute junk for ridiculous prices. Outside of my netbook, every computer I own was assembled with my own hands. That's not something the average person is going to do however, and that's what holds them back from breaking free of Dell and HP.

Edit: That's why I've always had Sega and/or Nintendo consoles. They usually have a large enough selection of unique games that you simply cannot get anywhere else. With the PS360, I can get just about any game worth having elsewhere.

[DAaaMan64]

Messed up? How so?

Because 99% of people who know of Rockstar barely acknowledge that companies existence prior to GTA3. Would you know agree that you have at least a very uncommon point-of-view here? It was soo uncommon I was thrown off and called it messed up. I amazed someone even devised the opinion.

Besides, Bully alone rapes everything they did prior to GTAIII (other than Silicon Valley).

[Morari]

Yes, GTA3 was clearly their breakout title. I don't disagree that it's an uncommon opinion. Then again, I don't shy away from having uncommon opinions.

[nickmitch]

The GTA series has gotten worse and worse controls since III. IV and it's DLC had horrible driving controls. I couldn't stand being in a car. Then the DLC makes you drive motorcycles and helicopters the whole time, which actually control worse.

As for the PC thing, piracy is a big issue there. I'd hate to post more cracked articles here, but skip down to number one.

[TJ Spyke]

You are in the minority there nickmitch. I thought the controls in IV were great, easily the best in the series and on the best in sandbox type games.

[Morari]

As for the PC thing, piracy is a big issue there.

I'm sorry, but I don't buy that. It's a scapegoat and always has been. If you make a good game and price it fairly, then it will sell. Worrying about the loss of theoretical sales is ridiculous. It makes even less sense when you consider that it's easier to pirate console games. On a console, all I have to do is pay $40 for a solderless modchip and then throw ever DVD-R at it I can. To the contrary, the PC requires time consuming workarounds and patching for each individual game. I don't like having to dig my discs out to play a game, and always make sure to get a well working "no CD crack".

Console gamers have always been easier to milk. They haven't become accustomed to long-term support byway of large, free updates from the developers. They don't care about high quality user-created content, as they'd much rather pay for DLC that was intentionally left out of the original product. Hell, they're even willing to pay that little "console tax" that bumps their games up to $60-$70 a pop. Of course, consoles are also "easier" to develop for in some regards. You don't have to plan for multiple configurations and EVERY system is a customer to be marketed at, as opposed to the PC where a lot of machines only do taxes.

[nickmitch]

You are in the minority there nickmitch. I thought the controls in IV were great, easily the best in the series and on the best in sandbox type games.

Really? I had trouble with the cover system until I just ignored it in favor of just crouching behing walls in stead of atually using cover. Everything else on foot was fine, but the controls of the vehichles were just such a pain in the ass to me. Especially the helicopter missions in TBoGT.

And Morari, I don't think there's anyway to prove that pirated sales would have been real sales. That idea seems silly. But when the real sales are there and the pirated downloads are, then you can that there's a problem somewhere. However, I do think that there is a fair number of people would rather steal the game than buy it at launch, wait for the price to come down or whatever. Then there's people who will flaunt that they stole the game as a reasonable alternative. But I don't wanna be the one casting the first stone on that one.

[KDR_11k]

Hell, most gamers never even heard of the company (then known as DMA Design) until GTA III came out.

Yeah but they'd still recognize Lemmings.

[TJ Spyke]

True, and that made me double check and saw I got the companies mixed up. DMA Design is now Rockstar North (the developer of the console GTA's). Rockstar Games itself was created in 1998 (several years after Sony had bought the Lemmings IP). Just semantics though, I get your point.

[Razorkid]

I have not completed any of the popular GTAs (3, VC, SA, IV) but have owned all and was very disappointed. What draws me to playing Rockstar games in the first place is their premise, presentation and boldness to subject matter.  Outside the obvious tomfoolery in some of their titles, they always had some kind of very mature, almost adult    theme/storyline. It seems like with each subsequent title they release, their games become more and more interesting to play (even if they turn out to control as badly as before) and it kills me to have to play it on anything more inferior than my pc, especially when their games tend to perform and look better on the pc.


But oh well, there are tons of great games in the wings.

[Morari]

But oh well, there are tons of great games in the wings.

That's ultimately how I find it works too. Anytime I'm disappointed about not getting one game, I just look for something else that is available. Hell, I even end up going two or three years back in the release catalogs. I don't have enough time to play everything, after all.