No PC Alan Wake

[Feb 12, 2010, 11:15 am ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

Alan Wake is not coming to the PC, Strategy Informer reports, quoting a statement from Microsoft on distribution plans for the psychological thriller in development at Remedy Entertainment. Apparently Microsoft feels the Xbox 360 is the Dr. Phil that will help the game get over its intimacy issues: "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 platform, 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."

Alan Wake was announced in May 2005 for "next generation consoles and PC's," and a year later it was touted by Microsoft as a game that will benefit from the then upcoming release of Windows Vista followed by discussion of possible Vista exclusivity. After that the PC wasn't mentioned for so long that fans began expressing concern this version was in trouble, and sure enough this was followed by Remedy saying that whether the game would come to Windows was up to Microsoft, which lead to a petition asking Microsoft for PC support.

View

79 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 1.
< Newer [ 1 2 3 4 ] Older >

79.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 19, 2010, 01:08

Tanto Edge

trying to manipulate the fact they are complete fucking sellouts.

True that. Frankly, just nutsack cancer will do.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=705LEH3j2g0&t=0m24s

78.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 15, 2010, 15:33

Verno

Sempai wrote on Feb 13, 2010, 10:52:
"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 platform"

Whoever wrote that should be put up against a concrete wall and shot in the fucking skull for trying to manipulate the fact they are complete fucking sellouts.

I hope whatever suit wrote that dies of fucking ballsack cancer..slowly.

You fucking sellouts.

You need a break from the computer, preferably in an asylum.




Playing: Faster Than Light, Tales of Graces F, Fire Emblem 3DS Watching: Ghost in the Shell, Hannibal, Oblivion

77.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 17:01

Sty

Was interested in buying the game because I enjoy the premise and the location (NW resident). Oh well, one less purchase. I own a PC, a Wii and a PS3. No reason (or desire for that matter) to buy a Xbox 360.




You know selling dlc before you patch the client doesn't impress upon me the need to support your shit. -massdev

76.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 10:52

Sempai

"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 platform" Whoever wrote that should be put up against a concrete wall and shot in the fucking skull for trying to manipulate the fact they are complete fucking sellouts. I hope whatever suit wrote that dies of fucking ballsack cancer..slowly. You fucking sellouts.

75.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 10:41

The PC Warrior

googles os is for practical dumb terminals you moron. i bet you just typed up that post using a browser that runs on windows. no one else has even a fraction of the drivers for the hardware you want to run and no one else has bothered to build application compatibility. hate on the xbox if you want but microsoft is what enables you to act like a retard on the internet so be grateful.

74.

GOOGLE, IT'S TIME FOR YOU, PLEASE READ

Feb 13, 2010, 08:07

NobleAtreides

I'm going to write a long post here, bear with me, the reason why I want to write a long one with double spacing, so that is to spread the word, the idea, for Google, with it's mega-momentum and unlimited endless cash lined pockets, bandwidth, infrastructure, streamlined speed and simplicity to I'll say it in all caps, to, GOOGLE, I WELCOME YOU AND RIGHTFULLY ORDER YOU TO; DE-THRONE MICROSOFT, AND MAKE/PUBLISH/SUPPORT GAMES FOR THE "PC OOHHNLEEEY" WITH YOUR UPCOMING GOOGLE OPERATING SYSTEM. DOES EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY GOOGLE, UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY HERE? 73 posts in, it seems most comments here are anti-xbox, anti-microsoft practice for the demise of PC Gaming. It's time for the next great company to rise above Microsoft and hit them where it hurts. Let Microsoft continue to dumb down the current XBOX populace with its royalty disc pressing noob-chatting button-mashing TV vision eye- burning frantic remote anal-inserting Walmart soccer mom shopping chip modding FUCKTARD gaming nation, whilst Google can do something now to restore the rest of us pleading pioneers of PC elitest gamers, with hardware to justify, to give us quality PC games for us people, for the people, demanded by the people, tested by the people. Oh, it's time. The time is now to strike. AND FUCK YOU EA. sincerely, a PC gamer at heart, mind, and soul.

73.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 05:48

Prez

Here's the more realistic explanation: Microsoft wants everyone to own an Xbox and play games exclusively on that Xbox. They want developers and publishers to support only the Xbox because MS makes royalties from every disc pressed. They want everyone using Xbox online so they can reap the monthly fees. They want as many games or content in general to be Xbox exclusive as possible, which is why they paid $50 MILLION for GTA4 DLC exclusivity. They view PC gaming as competition to the Xbox, which is why they shut down their remaining PC-centric developers (ACES and Ensemble) and haven't published an original PC game in about three years (the last game they published was an AoE3 expansion in 2007). This is also why they delayed the PC ports of GoW and Fable for a year, Halo for two years and Halo 2 for three years (and even then it was only to promote Vista). Mass Effect 1 & 2 would not be on the PC if Microsoft was still publishing them.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, or accuse me of being suckered in by the feeding frenzy and drinking the kool-aid, but to my mind this description is the closest to the truth. It simply stands to reason that it is in Microsoft's best interest to help PC gaming die. Of course, they might realize that PC gaming can never truly completely go away because of a myriad of reasons, but they still seem to be doing their level best to ensure is relegated to even more of a niche than it already is.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

72.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 05:01

Muscular Beaver

Jerykk wrote on Feb 13, 2010, 00:30:
Here's the more realistic explanation: Microsoft wants everyone to own an Xbox and play games exclusively on that Xbox. They want developers and publishers to support only the Xbox because MS makes royalties from every disc pressed. They want everyone using Xbox online so they can reap the monthly fees. They want as many games or content in general to be Xbox exclusive as possible, which is why they paid $50 MILLION for GTA4 DLC exclusivity. They view PC gaming as competition to the Xbox, which is why they shut down their remaining PC-centric developers (ACES and Ensemble) and haven't published an original PC game in about three years (the last game they published was an AoE3 expansion in 2007). This is also why they delayed the PC ports of GoW and Fable for a year, Halo for two years and Halo 2 for three years (and even then it was only to promote Vista). Mass Effect 1 & 2 would not be on the PC if Microsoft was still publishing them.

I agree and that is why I will never buy an XBox or whatever name it has in the future. I simply cant bear the thought that I would support the demise of PC gaming with it.




Oh that is so lame... You will PAY for your use of inappropriate dialogue! - Mojo Jojo

71.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 03:22

Jerykk

But it isn't minimal. QA is vastly more work for the PC. I wouldn't say that. True, PC games require compatibility testing. However, console games require certification testing and certification testing is the most thorough testing you can do. Why? Because if you miss enough cert-related bugs, you will fail MS/Sony submission and your game will get delayed. You will also have to pay out the ass to resubmit the game to MS/Sony. Conversely, on PC, there is no certification and you can release the game whenever you want, in whatever state you want. In addition, console test kits aren't cheap. A single PC (which can be obtained anywhere) can handle multiple configurations and you can easily swap OSes or hardware. Test kits have to be purchased from the console manufacturer or borrowed from the publisher (who has to buy more if there aren't enough).

70.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 03:10

Prez

But it isn't minimal. QA is vastly more work for the PC.

I didn't say it was minimal. I said it was minimal by comparison to what was spent just getting the game to this point. Compared to the money that has been spent developing the tech, the engine, the art, the sound, the levels, the story, etc., the cost of PC localization and QA (especially given what they pay testers!) is relatively minuscule.

I'll take you at your word that you have insider information about the cash situation; it would be a silly thing to make up for no reason. As I was alluding to in my previous post, the nice thing about deferred ports is that the cost expenditures for the console and PC are not concurrent. If the game is a massive hit on XBox, suddenly there is a whole lot of cash where there was none before, making QA and localization costs academic. At that point, the only consideration as to whether a PC version should be made is how likely the effort would pay off in dollars. Because of the lower cost of localization and QA for PC, the game wouldn't have to sell near what it needed to sell on XBox to be profitable on the PC. The only valid reason I could see them nixing any possibility of a PC version before the Console version even ships is that internally at Microsoft, the game is expected to be a dud.

I have been looking forward to this game since it was announced, and despite what others have said here, it looks like it has come together fairly nicely. To know that they have killed the PC version without even seeing how it sells on console is very disappointing.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

69.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 01:18

Beamer

then ported to PC for minimal effort and resources as compared to the MASSIVE expenditure of resources it has taken up until now just to get it ready on Xbox

But it isn't minimal. QA is vastly more work for the PC.

And, if you have no money for a significant QA department, nor for the redundancies, you're kind of screwed.

Trust me. I was speaking with people very familiar with the situation at a game conference in Europe this summer. They have zero funds. Microsoft, feeling they've put enough money into this, is willing to make sure it gets out the door a hig quality product, but they're wary about continuing to throw money down this hole. Remedy, meanwhile, has been looking for any form of income they can find to keep development smooth. They've been creative.




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

68.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 00:30

Jerykk

It's not just 'making the game work on the PC', it's also tech support, marketing, packaging, distribution, etc. The beauty of multiplatform development is that a lot of these costs are shared between platforms. Marketing, for example. The other costs are pretty negligible given the hype surrounding Alan Wake. PC gamers have been waiting for it for years. Does Microsoft honestly think it would sell poorly on PC? I doubt it. Microsoft probably looked at this game, didn't think it was going to be a phenomenal hit, and are playing the safe bet by focusing their efforts towards the unarguably larger console market, with a consistent hardware platform, that the game is better suited for anyway. You do realize how much money MS has put into the game's very long development cycle, right? If they didn't think the game was going to be a big hit, they would have canceled it years ago. That or they'd release it PC as well to help recoup costs. Here's the more realistic explanation: Microsoft wants everyone to own an Xbox and play games exclusively on that Xbox. They want developers and publishers to support only the Xbox because MS makes royalties from every disc pressed. They want everyone using Xbox online so they can reap the monthly fees. They want as many games or content in general to be Xbox exclusive as possible, which is why they paid $50 MILLION for GTA4 DLC exclusivity. They view PC gaming as competition to the Xbox, which is why they shut down their remaining PC-centric developers (ACES and Ensemble) and haven't published an original PC game in about three years (the last game they published was an AoE3 expansion in 2007). This is also why they delayed the PC ports of GoW and Fable for a year, Halo for two years and Halo 2 for three years (and even then it was only to promote Vista). Mass Effect 1 & 2 would not be on the PC if Microsoft was still publishing them.

67.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 13, 2010, 00:26

The Half Elf

Prez again look at my post (60), the hardware Intel provided to showcase this game over the last year or 2 makes it all the more baffling why there isn't going to be a PC version. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2006/09/26/Intel_shows_Core_2_Quad_threaded_Alan_Wake/1 How in the hell do you scale it back to look and run decently on a 360 from those specs?

66.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 23:54

Prez

Sorry, I'm not buying the "out of money" excuse for this. Even if that were the case, the console version could be released, sell the "buttloads" it's supposedly going to sell, then ported to PC for minimal effort and resources as compared to the MASSIVE expenditure of resources it has taken up until now just to get it ready on Xbox. People would bitch, sure, but when don't they? This is how ports are done most of the time.

I don't think I've heard one person complain that this isn't a PC exclusive, so I have no idea where that strawman came from. It is common knowledge that consoles make the most revenue; that hasn't stopped a gazillion PC ports being released prior to this.

The point is, I think we'd all be happier with the standard "there are no plans for a PC version at this time" than the utterly retarded excuse they gave that is basically an insult to anyone who plays games and has even a modicum of intelligence.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

65.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 22:55

Ruffiana

More platforms = more revenue = more potential for profit. On a basic level, yes. But if the cost to port the game to those SKUs is more than the expected revenues, it doesn't make sense to do that. It's not just 'making the game work on the PC', it's also tech support, marketing, packaging, distribution, etc. All of which is different for every platform and all of which costs money. Microsoft probably looked at this game, didn't think it was going to be a phenomenal hit, and are playing the safe bet by focusing their efforts towards the unarguably larger console market, with a consistent hardware platform, that the game is better suited for anyway.

64.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 22:46

Narf2029

Come to think of it, another reason for Microsoft to kill off PC in favor of the 360 is because they get a licensing fee for every single game unit sold for the 360. Of course, there is no such fee for selling a Windows-compatible product.




Huh? I'm sorry, I was thinking about cake.

63.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 21:52

The PC Warrior

Roachmojo wrote on Feb 12, 2010, 20:04: killer_roach wrote on Feb 12, 2010, 10:23: Fion wrote on Feb 12, 2010, 10:20: But no Alan Wake? This is the game thats been under development for 4 years from the Max Payne guys. They 'cannot' forget the PC crowd with this one. You make it sound like Microsoft cares about PC gaming. They don't. To them it's one more thing in between them and you paying them $50 a year to play games online. Definitely true. MS wants you to join the ranks of sheep 360 owners that pay for DLC, Live, and inflated hardware prices. Microsoft is the PC Gamers biggest enemy...next to xbox console gamer score achievement fuckholes. reality check kid, we have had tons of sheep on the pc playing mmos and sims for years.

62.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 20:35

Longjocks

I've just heard from an anonymous source that the following warning will be on the label: "Not to be played on <22" screen. Player must be seated in a low padded chair that sits 2+ people." The same source revealed that stores will be required to have you sign a waiver stating that you will not play the game from a swivel chair, a stool or the corner of a bed. You will be allowed to play laying on the floor, however you must be on a padded quilt and use a V-shaped pillow. The game will also auto-detect your TV and delete the contents of your HDD if the required screen size, resolution and brand is not met.

61.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 20:04

Roachmojo

killer_roach wrote on Feb 12, 2010, 10:23: Fion wrote on Feb 12, 2010, 10:20: But no Alan Wake? This is the game thats been under development for 4 years from the Max Payne guys. They 'cannot' forget the PC crowd with this one. You make it sound like Microsoft cares about PC gaming. They don't. To them it's one more thing in between them and you paying them $50 a year to play games online. Definitely true. MS wants you to join the ranks of sheep 360 owners that pay for DLC, Live, and inflated hardware prices. Microsoft is the PC Gamers biggest enemy...next to xbox console gamer score achievement fuckholes.

60.

Re: No PC Alan Wake

Feb 12, 2010, 19:46

The Half Elf

There you go folks, showing just how deep Microsoft pockets really are. Rememdy and Intel were showcasing this on a 8 core super cooled overclocked Intel system (from the future) all over the place the last few years, and all of a sudden it's exclusive to the 360?

79 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 1.
< Newer [ 1 2 3 4 ] Older >