NVIDIA on PC Exclusive Games

[Jun 10, 2008, 11:47 am ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

NVIDIA's Roy Taylor Interview on Eurogamer talks with the NVIDIA VP of Content Business Development in a conversation where he opines that the heyday of PC exclusive game development is coming to a close:

I think that we're going to see more digital authentication, and we're going to see more of an approach that says that PC games aren't products - they're a service. You're going to start out with a basic service, which is the game, and then increase the value of that service through patches, mod packs, expansions, maps and so on. That's the direction it's going to go, because the pirates are just killing the developers - and I think it's really unfair what they're doing.

In terms of your other point, which you're right, is related - in terms of where PC development sits relative to consoles, I think we have to face the facts - the value of consoles is such that no-one is going to make a PC-exclusive game in the future. Why would they? Why would they ignore consoles? That said, PC gaming is changing - and consoles don't threaten PC gaming. They're just different. Adapting to that and understanding that is what I think is really, really important. Most PC gamers also own consoles - not all of them, but a lot of them. What we're seeing happen is that, yes, people are developing for Xbox 360, for PS3 - but they're also developing for PC.

The console is now a baseline. If you look at Gears of War or Assassin's Creed, they came out on console and they were great experiences - but the PC versions had additional aspects to them that also made them attractive, whether you owned the console version or not. The PC version was better. That's something that people need to get their heads around - the console is a baseline, the PC is going to be an improved version. That's an exciting future, and that's why I don't see anything threatening about console at all.

The other aspect is that in the past, PC gaming development meant pandering to the lowest common denominator - which meant some poor integrated graphics. Today, developing a PC game means starting at a console, and console graphics are way above integrated graphics. That means the baseline is getting better. Now we're going to add to that version additional features, additional content, to make the PC version even better.

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39.

Re: No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 15:17

Krovven

Damn you, Dagok. Why'd you have to go and wake up Capt. Egotistical? He was doing just fine slumbering with his head up his ass... HAHA, thanks for the laugh ---------------------------------------------------- Grand Theft Auto IV.....what else is there? PSN ID= Puscifer73 "Blues News" Steam Community... http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bluesnews/

38.

No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 15:12

Tim James

PC gamers are the elite and God's chosen people. I just wanted to throw that out there.

37.

Reality

Jun 10, 2008, 15:11

Tumbler

The NYTimes had an interesting article about the future of all creative media the day before yesterday, guessing that since DRM is probably doomed to failure all businesses that sell content are going to have to offer it free/cheaply because competition and piracy will not allow them to use the old business model. Doomsday scenario for content makers (not just large publishing companies).

This is what I'm predicting for the future as well. Companies are trying to lock users into some sort of system where they can only get content by paying the maker directly and that's just not going to work. You may try and enforce your rules and go after people but we're going into a market that is going to have millions, if not hundreds of millions of people viewing/playing your content and it get less realistic to try and control groups of that size with stuff like DRM the bigger they get.

If you can successfully punish 1000 people out of 10000 that is a good result overall. If you can successfully punish 1000 people out of 10 million you're wasting your time. You're better off learning how to use all those new customers to your advantage instead of trying to force them to all follow the old rules that working for a group of 10,000.




VGfive.com - Game Trading site (Steam codes too!) Kickstarter "Game Developer"!

36.

Re: ...

Jun 10, 2008, 15:10

Jerykk

NEway, Assassin's Creed was pretty terrible on PC - nowhere near as natural as the Prince of Persia games. It was pretty terrible on the consoles too. That didn't stop it from selling millions of units. Big market + low standards = easy money. That's why console games sell better than PC games and why piracy really has nothing to do with developers jumping onto the console bandwagon.

35.

Piracy

Jun 10, 2008, 15:01

Pumas

6 general scenarios that are possible:

1. Things continue as normal. The game is bought by some and pirated by others. The profit margin is not effected in either direction.

2. Dev companies add a boatload of DRM. The game is bought by the same number of general users, but the DRM frustrates the pirates and some of them end up buying the game instead. The profit margin increases.

3. Dev companies add a boatload of DRM. The DRM frustrates both the pirates and the general users. Some of the pirates buy the game instead and fewer general users buy the game. The profit margin is not effected in either direction.

4. Dev companies add a boatload of DRM. The DRM frustrates both the pirates and the general users. The pirates still don't buy the game and fewer general users buy the game. The profit margin decreases.

5. Dev companies add a boatload of DRM. The DRM frustrates both the pirates and the general users. The pirates still don't buy the game and same number of general users buy the game. The profit margin is not effected in either direction.

6. Dev companies add a boatload of DRM. The DRM frustrates the general users, but the pirates get around it as they have with every other form of DRM. The pirates still don't buy the game, and fewer general users buy the game. The profit margin decreases.

Only 1 of those five scenarios has a positive outlook for PC game developers (#2)...and it's also the least likely to occur. The most likely to occur is #6 which is a serious negative for game devs.

Here's the best scenario though:

Devs don't create games that suck balls and then try to blame their failures on pirates. Pirates still don't buy the game, but MORE general users buy the game because it's actually GOOD! Profit margin goes through the roof.

________________________________________________
Have a nice day

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V
This comment was edited on Jun 10, 15:08.




How will I know limits from lies if I never try?

34.

No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 14:59

Nameless Again

Damn you, Dagok. Why'd you have to go and wake up Capt. Egotistical? He was doing just fine slumbering with his head up his ass...

33.

yep, they ARE different

Jun 10, 2008, 14:54

Daturan

playing through gears of war really exemplified the very sad state of the game industry. I could feel the (financial) bottom line in every aspect of the game... so what's the solution? IMHO it's all about supporting the mod makers that work with the GPLed software. Growth is good for all, unlike when a game Co get large, it's the stock holders that don't give a flying #$%% about our "gaming experience" and are just concerned with their portfolio.

32.

Re: PC Gaming

Jun 10, 2008, 14:52

Sixis

Warning, long-ish analysis from a first-year business student follows, no one is making you read it if you don't want to! Piracy is only to become a larger problem for consoles as they become more and more PC-like. The more complex they become and features they add (especially things that PCs already have like hard drives, internet connections, and DVD drives) the more piracy will become an option for the average user. The NYTimes had an interesting article about the future of all creative media the day before yesterday, guessing that since DRM is probably doomed to failure all businesses that sell content are going to have to offer it free/cheaply because competition and piracy will not allow them to use the old business model. Doomsday scenario for content makers (not just large publishing companies). This is pretty close to what NVidia is saying (although they seem to think the consoles will win against the pirates). Of course, all these people seem to be completely ignoring the success Valve has had with Steam, and no one really knows what to make of WoW (an argument could be made that WoW is really hurting PC gaming by monopolizing so many players). Maybe it just means that mediocre developers can't expect to make 50-100 million dollar games on the PC work. Big budget games on the PC have always been a more dicey proposition than on the consoles, and we may only now be realizing how much the major studios have bought into the big budget formula.

31.

...

Jun 10, 2008, 14:50

theyarecomingforyou

That obviously won't work with today's tech because all the pirates would have to do is locate and either disable the piece of code that asks for this information or hack it so that it accepts whatever rubbish you enter. Piece of cake really.

It was obviously a sarcastic comment... it wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

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30.

Re: PC Gaming

Jun 10, 2008, 14:50

dsmart

I guess Roy and Derek both want applause for finally opening your eyes to the obvious? PC games, have been this way for as long as I can remember. Welcome to the 21st century!

Don't be daft. No they haven't.




Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living. If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead ...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them

29.

Re: PC Gaming

Jun 10, 2008, 14:46

Krovven

You're going to start out with a basic service, which is the game, and then increase the value of that service through patches, mod packs, expansions, maps and so on. That's the direction it's going to go I've been saying it here and elsewhere for quite sometime now. I guess Roy and Derek both want applause for finally opening your eyes to the obvious? PC games, have been this way for as long as I can remember. Welcome to the 21st century! ---------------------------------------------------- Grand Theft Auto IV.....what else is there? PSN ID= Puscifer73 "Blues News" Steam Community... http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bluesnews/

28.

lol

Jun 10, 2008, 14:39

Muscular Beaver

I bet more non-entertainment companies wish they could blame their customers for shitty sales and call them criminals.
Ignorance par excellence. Nothing new.

But Ill give those idiots a hint: I was a huge fan of the Splinter Cell series. Bought all of them (even that POS Starforce infested Chaos Theory), except Double Agent. Why?
Because I had no money? No.
Because I pirated it instead? No.
Because my computer was too slow? No.
Because IT WAS A FUCKING POS CONSOLE PORT WHICH DIDNT EVEN ALLOW TO SET CUSTOM CONTROLS PROPERLY?
DING DING DING!

And that was just an example out of many more. But sure, go ahead and blame the HUGE HUGE HUGE base of pirates. Doesnt matter if you dont have a simple fact about piracy being that big of an impact. Also doesnt matter that your credibility goes down the drain if you count every single copy as lost sale. Ignorance will help make it all good for sure!

Actually it might be a good thing when all the big developers and publishers wont release for the PC anymore, because the small developers will get MUCH more money then and will start PC gaming over again, as it was 10-20 years ago. High quality games will be released again, maybe even the flight sim, space sim and adventure genres will be resurrected again!




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

27.

Re: PC Gaming

Jun 10, 2008, 14:28

dsmart

We need copy protection like the old games where you had to answer questions (Leisure Suit Larry), find the first letter of a paragraph in the manual (Command HQ) or spin a little wheel to line up pictures (Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe).

Rock solid protection!

That obviously won't work with today's tech because all the pirates would have to do is locate and either disable the piece of code that asks for this information or hack it so that it accepts whatever rubbish you enter. Piece of cake really.

The best CP scheme is one which requires either a retina scan or a thumb print.

But then all you'd have to do is find someone who actually bought the game. Then borrow their finger or eyeball for a bit.

Oh, as to the article itself, its peppered with the usual bullshit that is hardly grounded in reality. However, this part is 100% spot on and I've been saying it here and elsewhere for quite sometime now.

I think that we're going to see more digital authentication, and we're going to see more of an approach that says that PC games aren't products - they're a service. You're going to start out with a basic service, which is the game, and then increase the value of that service through patches, mod packs, expansions, maps and so on. That's the direction it's going to go, because the pirates are just killing the developers - and I think it's really unfair what they're doing.

This comment was edited on Jun 10, 14:33.




Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living. If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead ...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them

26.

Re: No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 14:24

Krovven

PC games simply can't compete with the hundreds of thousands of units sold straight to video retailers around the world (to be rented out) before the game even hits the public. When a game budget can be made back from selling rental units alone, that's a significant advantage over PC games, and something PC games don't really have a way to make up for. It's going to be a different market for PC games, with different options for making money and everyone needs to understand that. Blaming pirates is getting extremely tiring. ---------------------------------------------------- Grand Theft Auto IV.....what else is there? PSN ID= Puscifer73 "Blues News" Steam Community... http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bluesnews/

25.

PC Gaming

Jun 10, 2008, 14:18

Tumbler

That's the direction it's going to go, because the pirates are just killing the developers - and I think it's really unfair what they're doing.

Hunh...the pirates hunh? And all this time I thought it was people like me that don't think your software is worth it and have stopped going to the stores and buying them legitimately. Well good luck on your crusade against pirates. I'm sure they will start paying you soon.

And it's laughable to to consider the PC versions of Gears of War and Assassin's Creed "better". It's still a console based game ported the PC.

Designing a game to function with 14 total buttons vs 108 might as well be making 2 completely different games. Not to say that each one isn't great on it's own, but the experience using a game pad simply can't be ported over to the PC and and vice versa without failing to exploit the advantages of the keyboard and mouse.

Go ahead and slap on all the digital auth software you want, you won't be missed when you file for bankruptcy because no one wants to buy your software.




VGfive.com - Game Trading site (Steam codes too!) Kickstarter "Game Developer"!

24.

Re: No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 14:11

Overon

Blue posted this story to piss off pc gamers and start a 100+ thread.

23.

Re: No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 14:04

Lincolns Mullet

Then you jail them FOR-EV-ER. This comment was edited on Jun 10, 14:04.

22.

Re: No subject

Jun 10, 2008, 13:56

JaZeeL

I thought of that, too, but then I realized it wouldn't work. Someone would just scan copies of the manual into PDF and post them online.

21.

Re: Rampant piracy

Jun 10, 2008, 13:55

Lorcin

The next-gen consoles may actually be a problem for PCs. If Sony can make there current gen hack proof then surely Nintendo and Microsoft (well maybe not them) will learn how to add adequate protection too. If piracy is eliminated on the consoles then I imagine more studios would jump away from PCs. At the moment it's nearly a level playing field with 2 of the 3 big consoles and both handhelds having piracy problems too.

20.

Rampant piracy

Jun 10, 2008, 13:38

FRAGaLOT

PC gaming market has been around for like nearly 30 years, for which within the past 15-20 years the platform hasn't changed. The consoles continue to change less than every 10 years, and get cheaper all the time compared to gaming PC rigs. The point is that pirating is so well grounded in the PC market that game developers are just too damn paranoid to make anything for that platform (ablit the fact the games are still being MADE on PCs). So yeah there's rampant piracy on consoles too, but you'll playing by your self. You end up voiding your warranty when you hack your console to play these pirated games. Plus you'll likely get banned from the online services you try to use with a hacked console. This was never a problem with PCs and continues to go on.

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