No PC Ghost Recon: Future Soldier [Nov 24, 2011, 2:09 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Though plans for a PC edition of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier was previously confirmed by Ubisoft, PC Gamer has word that the next installment in the Ghost Recon series is for consoles only, and that PC gamers will get Ghost Recon Online instead, which is apparently Ubisoft's new approach to PC piracy following their almost universally despised always-on DRM. Here's word from Ghost Recon Online producer Sébastien Arnoult:
We are giving away most of the content for free because there’s no barrier to entry. To the users that are traditionally playing the game by getting it through Pirate Bay, we said, ‘Okay, go ahead guys. This is what you’re asking for. We’ve listened to you – we’re giving you this experience. It’s easy to download, there’s no DRM that will pollute your experience.’
We’re adapting the offer to the PC market. I don’t like to compare PC and Xbox boxed products because they have a model on that platform that is clearly meant to be €60’s worth of super-Hollywood content. On PC, we’re adapting our model to the demand.
“When we started Ghost Recon Online we were thinking about Ghost Recon: Future Solider; having something ported in the classical way without any deep development, because we know that 95% of our consumers will pirate the game. So we said okay, we have to change our mind.
We have to adapt, we have to embrace this instead of pushing it away. That’s the main reflection behind Ghost Recon Online and the choice we’ve made to go in this direction.
The thought occurs that, these days, hype is as good at selling a game as that game's actual content. Skyrim sold respectably on the PC, which is saying something, and I don't think it did so because people were watching gameplay videos and reading reviews. It's the hype that did it.
Not just these days, snakeoil sales pitches have been a large part of selling gaming software as far as I can remember (20yrs?). However I do believe that today it is easier to find out if a game sucks or not before you buy it.
People get wary after a while. Ubisoft has a track record of selling half-baked goods and quickly dropping any after release support. People might put up with this for a game they "must have" but odds are they won't buy any other prodcts from that company.
Years ago I used to pre-order every game I was even remotely interested in. A few dozen coasters later and I learned my lesson
Gamers have become smarter consumers. If the company was pushing crap and relying on hype and marketing to move it, their bottom line will have steadily dropped over the past number of years.
I think in Skyrim's case there are many other important factors however. For example, it is building on an already well established franchise (going back to TES: Arena) so people have a fair idea what to expect even outside the hype.
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