Yeah, I'm sure there was some pressure from above, which is why I wasn't just placing the blame on Bioware. However, I do think that Bioware is big enough at this point that they can get away with telling EA management to back off once in a while. There doesn't seem to be much of that happening, and as much as it pains me to say it about the company that made KoTOR, I think they may be onboard with a lot of what EA is blamed for making them do.
I'm glad I'm a paying customer. Think about the burden all those poor pirates face in having to manage every piece of game content. For $60, I get a game AND EA offers to keep my inventory more manageable by removing items based on where I bought the game. No extra charge!
What really irks me about Dragon Age 2 is just the sheer lack of effort. How can you make an RPG with such a small scale and still reuse environments? How do you make so few environments, yet still make them so bland and lifeless? Despite all of that, how do you still make 98% of your quests the most mindless, laundry-list fetch-or-fight crap? I just don't known where the creativity and work went. That's unforgivable for two monstrously successful companies like Bioware and EA.
Did anyone actually read past the title, or would that take too much time away from posting reactionary comments? He wasn't trashing consoles at all. CVG just smacked a sensationalist title on a very level-headed interview to get hits.
I actually watched this interview yesterday, and most of it was about his increasing prioritization of gameplay over high end graphics. The gist of it was that "we could make much better looking games by focusing on high end PCs, but t...
People don't get the tone? That's ridiculous. It's one of the most consistently lauded aspects of the series. The reason so many gamers have lost interest in Fable is that someone high up in the food chain at Lionhead is so obsessed with netting casual gamers that they've gradually stripped the series of all complexity and depth.
I understand that he's upset about the hard work of dozens of people going unappreciated due to the poor decisions of a few at t...
@Nac
Of course you upgrade for games. Every new console generation is a hardware upgrade that allows you to play new games. I'm sure you didn't play Uncharted on your PS2.
Judging from the quote in the article, I'm thinking it's SSAA, but with a much cooler name.
"Whilst the games were still getting strong review scores, the game's core mechanics however remained a bit too complicated for most to get to grips with."
I have to disagree with the author. The older, more complex games are generally considered the best, and sold very well to boot. By virtually all accounts, the problem with the Splinter Cell series is that they've removed too much complexity, not that they've retained too much of it.
@Therealspy03
Definitely worth checking out, and it's on GOG right now for five bucks.
I have to disagree about the lack of originality. Take a look at the line up of big games coming out this year. The VAST majority are just new numbered installments of franchises created in the first few years of the current generation, if not even earlier.
The PC version actually has the highest aggregate user score. Both console versions are lower, so I'm not sure how this is the fault of PC gamers.
It's not stupid at all. You have to remember that Valve is making mountains of cash with Steam (just under $1 billion last year alone). So, it makes sense that they care more about expanding the Steam user base than losing a few sales on a game that will only generate a fraction of their revenue for the year.
Even if they did care, they have no way of knowing if you resell your game. The only linking involved is between PSN and Steam accounts, and while the PC codes are u...
No they won't. Each PSN account that plays the game will be linked to it's own respective Steam account, but the physical game disc itself isn't tied to any specific one.
That's still extremely slow compared to flash memory.
The prices aren't arbitrary. Console games generally cost more because they have licensing fees and other additional costs, while PC does not.
This guy really doesn't know how to stick to a claim.
1. Sure, piracy is a problem with the PC, but there's no mention of why piracy of PC games hurts consoles (the claim).
2. I can accept that this CAN be true, but far more often it's the lack of buttons available on consoles that hurt PC games.
3. First of all, it's "purist." As far as this point, again, this has nothing to do with "hurting consoles." It's just a rant....
No, what I mean is that the vast majority of gamers would own PCs whether or not they intended to do any gaming on them. That's true of the population at large, but even more so for a tech-friendly demographic like gamers. So, in order to make an accurate comparison of costs, you have to determine how much they would have to spend above and beyond their general PC expenditures to have a gaming PC comparable to a console in performance.
Actually, as the vast majority of gamers already own desktop PCs made in the last five years, the only costs needed for anyone in that majority to obtain a gaming PC that can outperform a console are those of video cards, and perhaps some RAM. Considering that RAM is about $25 for 2 GB, and a $100 video card (like an HD 5770) will easily outperform either HD console, your average gamer is statistically highly likely to be able to achieve console level performance or higher on a PC for less t...
@pepbizmo
I think you're right about the timeline for the unified shader architecture but PC GPUs, like the X700 and X800 Pro cards, were using GDDR3 at least a year and half before the 360 came out.
@annus
Actually it's generally profitable to make DLC and release it for free, which is why it was common practice before this generation. Remember, it usually takes a few months to get your whole studio up and working on a new game, so having people support the one that was recently released just means you're making good use of the full-time employees you're already paying, rather than half the team just waiting around.
Free DLC will also usually...