nin wrote on Apr 17, 2012, 19:42:
I'm not sure if Blue is saving it for tomorrow or decided against posting it, but according to this:
"On the matter of GFWL, just shy of 20,000 people have now signed a new petition asking for the bloated horror’s removal from the PC version. Nacom told VG247 that GFWL’s inclusion was “still to be decided”, so perhaps there is yet hope they’ll opt for something else."
So keep bitching, people!
I saw that. It's kind of a shitty petition, unfortunately. "Slap in the face" is the kind of language that would make me crumple it up if it were a real letter, and they misspelled deterrent. But mostly I think suggesting that the game will be pirated if it's on GFWL but not if it's on Steam gives the impression that either the petition writers are drooling imbeciles, or else they think Namco Bandai are. Everything that's not an MMO going through an online gateway gets pirated. Suggesting otherwise just damages any attempt at useful discussion.
It also fails to suggest how Steamworks is going to be cheaper than GFWL, which I think is an even bigger question for Namco than selling X number of copies. It's impossible to say for sure how much more or less a game would have sold if only they had done Y, but costs are very real. I hear that the only thing GFWL has to offer is that it makes it easier (i.e., cheaper) to port games from the 360, and given the minimal keyboard/mouse support described in the article, Namco is clearly going for the cheapest option.
I also kind of think that if Namco concedes they'll have a reputation for caving in, and then they'll have to deal with petitions for every pet cause that PC players like to lug around: better KBAM support (inc. rebindings) and menus designed for PCs, FOV, completely-DRM free GOG version, support for deaf gamers, saving anywhere, simultaneous worldwide release, dedicated servers, DLC equality, a more narratively cohesive ending, LAN support, and so on, and so on. I think there was one guy here who wouldn't play games without 3D glasses support.