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.
Fair enough though, maybe there's some truth to what you're saying, and maybe there just aren't that many dedicated PC gamers around anymore. That said, among so many potentials, it's a pity you have only one example. Jury's still out, I'd say, which makes me anything but trolling.
There are plenty of PC gamers around but it can't be treated exactly like console platforms. Some genres aren't traditionally well represented on the PC or don't work as well due to control considerations. A lot of publishers seem to just expect that when they put their games on the PC that they should sell X number of copies no matter what. I understand from their perspective they are just looking to recoup costs and hopefully profit but there are other factors than just having your game out there.
In the case of Ubisoft a lot of their catalog simply isn't going to sell millions of copies on the PC, they are going to need to adjust their expectations and be more selective. Turning all of their IP into online properties isn't necessarily a recipe for success though. Speaking as a consumer I don't like the constant delays with their PC releases either, I often find myself skipping their titles because I've largely forgotten them by the time they arrive. I'm also not happy about the constant DRM, I don't want to have to go digging on several forums just to find out how hard they're boning us on that front this time. They aren't consistent with it either, they change it up almost every release and it's becoming tiresome.
I think Ubisoft made a mistake with the I Am Alive announcement, that's exactly the kind of small scale downloadable title you can throw on steam and make a very respectable profit on. Ghost Recon well, it's a shame whats happened with it but I think its older audience has largely given up on it anyway so I can't fault them for trying something new.
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