Molyneux: PC Gaming Deflates, Reiterates

Maybe Mr. Molyneux should consider the quality of his recent efforts compared to things such as Dungeon Keeper, Syndicate, Populous, Magic Carpet and Theme Park.

Fable? I've forgotten more hype and promised features than what actually made it into the game. Let's not even talk about Black and White.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I don't think the Shack community can provide a good opinion on the state of PC gaming. Most if not all of us here, by the very fact that we frequent a predominately PC gaming website, are emotionally involved with PC gaming.

However, the very fact that many PC companies have joined even a loose alliance to promote PC gaming, something never before done with such a wide scope of different organizations, surely has to make one consider that things aren't especially healthy for PCs.

How many developers, how many companies, how many game studios would have to tell Shack community that PC gaming isn't doing well before they even considered it?

How can these tools claim the lack of life in the pc gaming industry when you have companies like Valve and TellTale making innovative games and SUCCEEDING.

Waaaah, no one bought your Gears of War, pc community is dying, gamers suck...give me a fucking break.

I think it's funny that 90% of the people posting in this commented on how somehow Valve and whoever else are 'innovating' the genre, the only PC game to 'innovate' recently that comes to mind was Sins of a Solar empire.

I don't buy the "The Sims and World of Warcraft are sucking all the air out of the PC Market" stuff.

If that was the case then you could say <insert popular console games> were sucking the air out of x platform. We do see trends where the month a game like Halo3 comes out the other games don't come close to sales and publishers avoid doing that on purpose but all the months surrounding Halo3 plenty of other games are successful.

PC publishers and developers should look into getting a stronger word out there and create better products if they want to help the PC gaming market. I would like to see a few things myself.

-Create games that run on more varied hardware.

If you look at the success of Valve and Blizzard not only have they recently made games that run on low/mid level hardware but going back to Stracraft days you could run that game on a P100 (i used to) when other games were starting to use 3d acceleration or higher end P2's. Same goes for the original HL which still supported software rendering for example.

I've talked about this before in other posts but I absolutely hate not knowing how well a game will run when it comes out. Everytime a new PC demo or retail game comes out message boards are flooed with "will x game run on y hardware" and if technically savvy people like shackers don't know then it's a problem for the mass market.

-Create more stable software

This is a harder issue because of the thousands of hardware configurations out there but even today you still have games like The Witcher which release patches that lower the load times of the game by like 5-10x or whatever it was. This is really unacceptable imo, stuff like that shouldn't get through Q&A and it just helps perpetuate the stereotype that PC games are slow or buggy. This isn't even talking about crash bugs that seem to slip through all to often.

-Create a better method of patching

This has actually been improved 100x the last 5 years which is awesome. However you still have issues where a game like Company of Heroes requires you to download multiple patches instead of one patch that has everything you need. Steam does this right for the most part and something all developers should continue to improve on.

PC gaming is awesome but it's just inconsistent which is my biggest gripe. However companies like Valve and Blizzard are thinking differently, more efficiently and it's paying off. Starcraft 2 and EP3 will most likely sell well even with The Sims and WoW sucking the air out of PC gaming. Both companies have created a feeling with consumers that just give you faith in their products and you have a good idea that it may run on your machine and run well.

my .02

The only game I can reasonably say undersold, was Crysis.
Crysis deserves your money.

So far I haven't heard a peep from Crytek though.

lol I love this. The CliffyB one everyone jumped all over him, some people were sour over UT3 for whatever reason so it was no question.. now it's like ... This guy... this guy is suppose to be one of the more respected ones.. can we still jump on him now?

All these developers saying these things... I'm sorry but they are right. No one (no not valve) are innovating on the PC, it's WOW and the Sims for the most part.

Sims + World of warcraft are popular because they are easy to play and the systems requirements are also friendly

System requirements are huge because they take hassle out of getting a game to run and get new drivers etc etc which most computer users probably don't want to have to put up with

Toot Toot! Here comes the PC gaming is dying train!

"That's driving the PC right now is Sims-type games and [World of Warcraft] and a lot of stuff that's in a web-based interface," said Bleszinski. "You just click on it and play it. That's the direction PC is evolving into."

I am getting sick and tired of these fucking whiney babies. People don't enjoy your personal style of game? Suck it up. In Epic's case it's their own fault, the GoW launch was marred with Live which was all their problem. Guess you shouldn't fuck with your fans eh? Next time don't release a piece of shit port for your game.

UT3 speaks for itself. They removed features everyone loved, fucked the UI up the ass and then proceeded to ask "Wut?" when no one bought it. I bought it because I like to play UT when I'm bored with bots in DM. However I know thats nowhere near the use most got out of the originals so I can easily see why it's hated. It's not because PC gaming is dying, your game just sucks.

The Sims? Killing PC gaming? Hahahahaha. Thats funny, the sales are better than ever and fueled a renewed interest in casual and simulation games. How is this a bad thing? Oh why Molyneux, because you didn't think of it first? Excuse me but Black and White is essentially the sims with RTS thrown in the mix (and most agree it's shoddy RTS). Just because your game failed and Wright's doesn't mean the whole industry is flawed.


Bitch bitch moan moan, it's funny how Gabe Newell and steam show that sales are better than ever. Valve's games are unique, fun and very refreshing and they do well. As do many steam releases. Spore will probably sell like hotcakes. So you know what? Guess it's time to rethink how you do business my friends. Sam and Max and many adventure games are even coming back - you have no excuse. Console games sell more? No shit, they always have even back in the 90s. Thats life. More people own consoles.

"The PC is where its at" said Spore gameplay producer Thomas Vu in an interview at Videogamer.

"PC games are the frontrunners," said Vu. "They innovate, they do the things that can't necessarily be done on the consoles. RTS are PC games. FPS are still PC games. Sure consoles have come a long way, with Halo and Call of Duty 4 - the console versions are pretty good, but at the same time, if you really want to be at the forefront of making really interesting new games, PC is where it's at, in my opinion."

Vu also denied that the PC gaming market was in trouble, pointing towards the success of MMO World of Warcraft and EA's own The Sims franchise as evidence of its rude health. "

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/36698/The-PC-is-Where-Its-At-Says-Spore-Dev

I hope they post all the console trashing interviews here as well for a little balance.

Did anyone here ever play The Movies? I totally forgot about that one and may pick it up if its worth it. Was it good?

I disagree that the issue is WoW per se. For me (as an avid MMO'er) it's simply a matter of I find nothing in the single-player or non-persistent-world multiplayer space that's really compelling enough to make me drop my MMO and go play some single-player experience for 20-40 hours when I could be advancing my MMO character and interacting with my online friends for that 20-40 hours. If you want me to put down my MMO for that amount of time, the experience better be really quite amazing, high quality, and bug-free. So many games today get released at (at best) beta quality with cookie-cutter gameplay and plot lines that it's just not enough to make me take a break from my MMO of choice.

A prime example of an exception to this rule was Bioshock. I bought and played that game and felt my time invested there was really rewarding. I'm glad I took the time to play that game as it's one of those rare games that anyone that considers themselves a true gamer needs to play. I recommended that game to numerous friends who all had similar experiences.

Mark my words: I know these guys are touting how they are moving to consoles because that's where the money is, but the day someone releases a WoW-caliber MMO on a console is the day that market dries up just like it has in the PC segment.

Maybe the issue is Peter and company need to make more compelling single-player titles.

oh dear god, i can't believe anyone still gives a flying f over what this guy says. he's good at nothing but creating hype and masquerading as an "innovator" while in reality he pretty much blows.

WHO CARES?!?!?! aaaaargh! all this b!tching and moaning! if they don't like it, FING LEAVE! there are plenty... PLENTY of folks waiting to fill whatever vacuum they create.

Once again, if you're complaining because you're not making enough money, instead of blaming the platform, lower your costs! Games do not need to cost millions to make them! A quality game can be made in months and make untold profits, but developers like Lionhead, Epic and Valve feel some obscure need to research new graphical technologies that are obsolete before the game even reaches shelves, and spend hundreds of thousands on something which is barely even used in the game, like facial animation technologies, which relatively few buyers even notice.

I do not advocate lowering the quality standards of games, but the frivolous overspending to match the cutting edge in graphical technologies is the major problem for PC developers, NOT a lack of buyers, or a trend for piracy.

Humans are lazy and always were, consoles are 'easier' for the masses, resulting in the obvious trend.

However, there aren't less people buying PC games now than there were then, there are in fact far more, there are simply comparatively less than there are console gamers. If you keep your budgets realistic you can still enjoy profits and critical acclaim, but not if you're trying to match bank balances with the makers of shallow, crowd-pleaser console series'.

Such greed and immaturity.. Both Blewhatever and Molyneux are part of a small and irritating breed of 'gaming celebrities' that make me feel slightly nauseous.

Aww more PC Gamer bashing incoming :(

I'm a HUGEEEEEE UT fan, but I can't get into UT3. They took out everything I liked. The movement, the LG... movement is a HUGE part of fps.

A free game running on quake2 engine (warsow) is more fun to me than UT3. UT3 just sucks. The maps suck. The UI sucks. I can't easily join servers as spectator, no webadmin. The game just fucking sucks. Turn a game into a console game and port it to PC and its going to sell like shit.

Molyneux games on the other hand, are a bit niche, and not for everyone. Plus he's sort of digging himself a hole by showing revolutionary gameplay in Fable 2 - a DOG THAT FUCKING FOLLOWS YOU - wow are you kidding me bro?

Fuck off seriously.

I mentioned this before but I am think this is great! The idea that there will be fewer companies making games for the PC reminds me of how things used to be when PC gaming was just taking off. Fewer games, less fragmented multiplayer communities, companies that interact with their community such as Valve...

Its a very exciting time! PC gaming doesn't have to be mainstream to be relevant. In fact, I'd prefer the opposite.

About Peter... he has talent and I respect him for what he's brought us (I'm looking at the total career, not just the recent stuff), but unfortunately the cheese has simply moved.

My post from the cliffyb version of this: http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=16280694

And infinitely more important...here is a link to a great business book about moving cheese: http://www.amazon.com/Moved-Cheese-Amazing-Deal-Change/dp/0399144463

Cliffyb and Peter...you really need to read the book. It reduces complex, hard business lessons down to a cute story about a mouse and some cheese. You can read it in one sitting. When you're done...you'll have wisdom you didn't even have to work for.

Didn't hear Valve complaining after the Orange Box launch. They do have some kind of point but Valve with Steam and the Orange Box seemed to be able to find out what PC gamers wanted.

Not of my concern what people like peter molyneux or cliffy b. have to say since both of them are irrelevant in any way concerning todays pc games market. There was a time where what they had to say mattered but after a steam of rehashes,bad ports and overhyped games with no substance i think it resembles the rantings of people that missed the train. More so because they are basically disregarding one of the biggest markets there is, Europe, which is up to this day pc centric.
If a game like witcher can succeed with no steve jobs/molyneux distortion field pre-release hype on a "small" budget then i wonder how well it would have done with proper marketing and a bigger team/budget.
Yes the us console market is where the money is and ye wow/sims are selling like hotcakes but 1 million sold copies of crysis are nothing to cry about. Stalker did reasonably well... etc

Now if blizzard or valve start badmouthing the pc THEN i start worrying and stop loving the pc.
Until then i wish someone would tell moyneux to stfu about his games and bring them to the pc in a playable state and just how he promised.

Perhaps developers should stop making console exclusives then.

In the same vein that was stated in the Cliffy B thread.

Make a game that truly innovates something, but give it depth so that we don't get bored after the 3rd level.

I predict a convergence of trolls to this thread in 3 ... 2 ... 1...