Picked up from Blues, the story is here.

Ok, somebody tell me it is April 1rst because this is just not even funny. Before I didn't mind consoles because the one genre it can do better than PCs (fighting games) didn't really interest me. But when they start taking good games away from the PC it is personal. What the fuck are they thinking? Neither of the games is suited to console play at all. If they make them suited for console play they are going to suck on the PC once they are ported.

Anyone else think this is an incredibly stupid move?

-- Xaroc

I dunno... they did a really good job with UT on the PS2... as long as you can use the mouse and a keyboard, I think it's a good idea. Not necessarily that they bring the games to PS2 first, rather that they bring it to that system at all.

What I find funny is that it doesn't seem like any FPS on console (even UT, Quake III etc.) has been a big hit yet. I really think most folks like their FPSs in their face, and it really isn't healthy to stick your face a foot away from your TV. :) But all the bean counters seem to now think shoveling their FPSs onto consoles will make em rich quick. Wouldn't it be fun if it blew up in their faces....

Yeah, I think all the suits and accountant have been seduced by the dubious promise of increased sales. Sure, it's a bigger installed base, but if you're making PC style games you're in trouble from the outset. Plus you're competing head to head with big time console companies who can throw 100 employees and 8 million dollars at a project.

The rational is supposedly that it will be easier to produce art, etc, for the confined resources of a console first and then port 'up' when you look to do the PC version. This is as opposed to trying to wedge all your gigantic textures into the limited VRAM of a console. I'm not sure one way is really better than the other except your game code and engine might be more tightly written once you start on the PC port.

Brad Grenz

If this is true then Ion Storm is in for the final death knell. Thief and Deus Ex are PC GAMES. they will never do well on console. are they expecting sales ala Summoner? (still a good game!!).

Like Geo said, I dontt even thing Q3 and UT did as well on console as it did on pc. they are stupid to believe that XboX or whichever console it is, will earn them moolah.

But then again, pc sales havent been too great either...

oh well. who cares! Deus Ex was overrated and Thief can still be played by the massive number of user made levels.

etc

mtkafka wrote:

---

Quote:

oh well. who cares! Deus Ex was overrated ...

---

Actually, for a game like Thief I think it could work well on the console. Metal Gear Solid, after all.

I just hope they stick with the first person view. I really am not a fan of third person games.

Mark wrote:

---

Quote:

Actually, for a game like Thief I think it could work well on the console. Metal Gear Solid, after all.

---

I personally think that many of these companies that have switched their development over to consoles are going to receive some very unpleasant surprises.

They should have heeded the warning signs after the Playstation 2's lacklustre performance. I really can't see the X-BOX release being truly successful unless Microsoft is prepared to support a "loss leader" for at least two years.

I think another console shakeup is inevitable. The market can only support so many consoles.

I have visions of developers with their tails between their legs running back to the PC games market.

Interesting times ahead !

There's no dash in Xbox (nor a capital "B"). Just FYI, since people type X-Box so much. =)

I heard the rumor as well, don't know if it's true. I can totally see Thief as a console game. Ben disagrees, but he's never played an FPS on a console for more than a few minutes, to my knowledge, and certianly not a Good one like Goldeneye or Perfect Dark. So I think he just can't see any first-person game on a console being fun without keyboard/mouse. But that's besides the point.

I can see an Xbox controller handling Thief well (leaning, jumping, using one weapon at a time, the "highlight grab/use" thing). Hell, it's halfway to console controls already--you cycle through inventory with a "next inventory" button and stuff. Pull up the map with the Start button, make mantling a little more "sticky" and you're there.

Deus Ex though? I mean, the PS2 version does a reasonable job of bringing that metric buttload of interface, inventory, and character managment to a console, but it's still amazingly awkward-looking. I can't see Deus Ex 2 as a console game unless they drastically change the game to focus a lot less on freedom of character development and inventory (making it less of an RPG and more of a "free-roaming shooter" perhaps).

Yeah, I agree with Jason. Most of the actions in Thief can be handled well by a gamepad. It's not a fast-paced shooter, so you're not hampered by not having a mouse for aiming. Deus Ex does require quite a bit of FPS gunning, so switching to a gamepad could be an issue.

Sean, I agree about some developers perhaps being in line for some unpleasant surprises. Not only may their games not sell as well as hoped, but they'll have the royalties to deal with too. I talked to an Enix marketing guy and asked him just about the costs. He said it's normally a $7-8 royalty per game and about another $1.50 in production costs that third parties have to pay for each copy that's manufactured. That's probably $8 more in expenses per copy that PC game developers don't have to pay. The console business is probably more competitive too. These PC developers switching to consoles will be competing with some really well entrenched console developers.

Blues News pointed out this TTLG post from Emil P.. It doesn't explain the Xbox X-Box ex-bocks choice but has some details.

As long as Thief 3 comes out for PC eventually, I'll be happy.

"I have visions of developers with their tails between their legs running back to the PC games market."

Yeah, I see that too. You've got all these guys who decided all of a sudden to make console games instead of PC games. I think a large number of these people are going to realize that they WANT to make PC games! They're different platforms with different strengths that demand different design philosophies. PC developers work on the PC for a reason!

Brad Grenz

Reading on various sites of the weak showing of pc games at E3 gets me all riled up... and then to hear some PC developers focusing there efforts into consoles... well then, I just hope Barbie, Deer Hunter and Who wants to be a millionaire? games continue to sell well just to stick it in the eyes of these developers.

etc

Looks like this was just an unfounded rumor. Ion squashed it. VE has it, I would guess other places have it as well. Whew!

-- Xaroc