DoubleFine Explains Lack of PC Releases
by Alice O'Connor, Nov 25, 2010 9:30am PSTWhen Brutal Legend and Costume Quest developer Double Fine announced its new title Stacking earlier this week, many were disappointed to see that this will be the third game in a row from the indie developer to not hit PC. Here's why it won't.
While Double Fine Productions already has "much of the technology in place to produce PC versions of all these games," studio founder Tim Schafer explains in the recently-updated DF FAQ (via Eurogamer), publishers simply "don't see enough financial reward" in bringing Double fun to PC gamers.
As a developer we do not have final say in the sku plan for our games. That is the decision of the person investing the money, i.e. the publisher. We have much of the technology in place to produce PC versions of all these games, but there is still some more work required to make them shippable and that costs money. So far, our publishers have not elected to fund that work. Not because they hate PC Gamers, but because they don't see enough financial reward. Double Fine does care about PC Gamers, and we always push for a PC version, and will continue to do so in the future. If we ever get super stinking rich here, with enough money to fund PC versions of our games, then we will go back and make them ourselves! Oh man, wouldn't that be cool?
Brutal Legend was ultimately published by Electronic Arts, having started off with Sierra Entertainment, while THQ is responsible for Costume Quest and Stacking.
And if you continue nagging Tim about PC releases? "Every time that happens it make my eye twitch and I take a dollar out of the 'PC Port Fund' jar."
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Comments
Well, yes. If you don't release PC games, you won't see a financial reward for yourself in the PC game market. It's fairly obvious that if you don't make something, nobody will buy it. ;)
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"PC is really important to me." -- THQ Executive Vice President of Core Games Danny Bilson
I guess that PC isn't "really important" to THQ as a publisher or distributor. And yet they did publish Darksiders, Metro 2033, and Dawn of War 2 for PC.
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From a business standpoint if they believed in the games they make then it would be better to try than to not. If the opportunity is there then take it.
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Didn't Minecraft get millions of dollars and it's not even in BETA yet?
What I'm trying to say is, isn't it entirely possible DoubleFine's games will do better on PC with the right release strategy?
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After finding out they were only for consoles ... bah. Seriously, I know it takes software development effort to put it on PC, but with digital distribution a lot of the risk associated with producing physical copies is dissolved. There's also a lot more sales after the peak market window of opportunity that is the first 6-9 months after a game comes out.
The publisher seriously thinks they can't recoup their losses?
You make me sad. So be it. Come, Patsy.