Ubisoft: Microsoft & Sony pressuring them 30fps on PC

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ubisoft-engineer-says-microsoft-sony-pressuring-them-to-force-30fps-on-pc.html

So sad :( They release underpowered hardware than cannot even compete with a Core I3/750ti rig and now they're trying to hold back the PC version. It is obviously true as Watchdogs got crippled on the PC too, Ubisoft saying they wanted both the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Unity proves they are not against doing this. Just look at what Watchdogs looked like on PC before, then look at it post release and how it is no different to the consoles, then you have people tweaking the config to turn some of this stuff back on...

Ubisoft are on my black list, joining Activision and EA.

Follow the money.

Ofc. a multi billion company caters to the more lucrative market and better deals what did you expect? The raw PC power hasnt been utilized in any AAA game the last 10 years.

Shadows of Mordor? Crysis? The Witcher 3 is coming out?

Crysis sure and we will see about the Witcher but Shadow of Mordor aint even a great looking game on consoles.

Reddit, that reliable source of unbiased information

Witcher 2 then? Shadow of Mordor looks pretty good on PC, not sure what you are on about.

@yothatlimp: Its made for consoles and would have looked way better on PC if it wasnt hampered by that. It is what it is.

CDPR is commonly considered the last true PC developers but i wouldnt say Witcher 2 was pioneering PC graphics like they aim to do with W3. The Witcher 2 was more like their first take on making an in house game engine and compared to Crysis its nothing.

@terrorantula: I think your link is busted. It just pops me back to Giantbomb.com

My stance is that I never ascribe a conspiracy when it can be easily explained by incompetence. Businessmen are always trying to make a deal that is in their best interests and just because there is talk does not mean that anything is actually going to happen.

A good example is that Watch Dogs PC graphical features that were disabled. The reason they were disabled is because they severely reduced stability (My PC crashes once every fifteen minutes with those on), with a greater than 2x reduction in performance (I dunno, my 680 only has 2gb of VRam so that might be the case), and all for a marginal increase in visuals. The crashes were so common that they disabled the Ultra graphics options because that would have created a bigger backlash than missing options would. It was a no-win situation for them and their only problem was that their PR company does not understand how to deal with PC gamers, so they dropped a load of bullshit on our heads.

follow the p's

I still think this is a load of BS. Ubisoft are terrible at optimizing their games for PC and this has always been the case with Assassin's Creed especially. If MS and Sony are pressuring Ubisoft to gimp their games, why are 2K games and EA games generally pretty good at PC versions then? No other publisher have the same consistent track record of bad PC ports as Ubisoft. At best, the people at Ubisoft could claim that the consoles aren't as powerful as they'd like them to be, which is why Watch Dogs didn't end up looking as good as they wanted it to originally.

Step up your game, Ubisoft, and stop blaming someone else.

@monetarydread: I agree with you but watch dog with the cut stuff mod in actually made the game run better for most people. Including myself

That's his point. It looks great on PC so your point is false.

It makes business sense.

Sucks for PC users and Ubisoft, though, since if PC versions are hamstrung, then people will be more likely to just get the console versions instead. Well, at least Ubi will still get money from those console sales, but not as much as if someone buys it off Uplay.

This is my reaction to this as well. Ubi PC games have always sucked. That's just how it is.

PS @terrorantula your link just goes back to the front page of GB.

@monetarydread: You are not seeing the whole picture. Those disabled modes are broken and thats why they are disabled you say and while that may be true you must ask yourself why are they broken?

Are you saying a studio like Ubisoft cant make minior graphic tweaks to work on an AAA title, comon if they actually devoted resources to it they could make it run flawless and with superior graphics on the PC.

As I get older following gaming news has become really stupid. All of this is so dumb. Just stop...

CHEMTRAILS!

Let's compare receding hairlines and talk about QBert's Amstrad vs Spectrum 135p/135i controversy.

what exactly does MS or Sony get out of crippling the PC version?

Also great job on the link there...I don't even know what this conversation is about....

You cant think of a single reason what Sony and MS would get from crippling an rival platform?

Inevitable bad press?

If they release this shit on PC locked at 30 fps for absolutely no reason, I'm fucking done with this company.

I don't trust them at this point to be smart enough not to do this, but they are seriously reaching a point where the PC audience is just going to rip this company to shreds on the internet.

Nope, he's saying they don't care enough to put the ressources into making those tweaks and testing those bugs. Here's the ugly truth about most AAA publishers: they perceive the PC as some sort of secondary platform full of pirates and people who will only buy games at 90% off. Whatever this is true or not doesn't matter, the result is that you get bad ports without any conspiracy required.

@otakugamer: the guy that decides Ubisoft will pull all support for consoles in favor of PC will have about 3sec to enjoy that decision before hes out of work.

Microsoft of all companies has little reason to gimp PC gaming just yet. They might do surprisingly little to support the PC gaming market despite having a bizarre grip with DirectX, but PC gaming still mostly relies on a Microsoft OS for broad support. The games I've seen to date that are frame/resolution locked have seemed to be because of port work where minimal effort was put in. I'll also mention that due to the openness of the PC, various options are available to bypass that restriction anyway, even if it doesn't always result in an optimal experience.

To be fair, Ubisoft doesn't have the best rack record with pc ports.....

The other side of it is that there are much fewer PC only gamers than there were even 5 years ago. There are still many duders who usually prefer PC, but they'll probably have a console or 2 for the number of games that console exclusives. So if they hear the PC port of whatever game doesn't take advantage of the PC's... advantages, they'll just buy it for the consoles it was really intended for anyway.

This kind of shit sucks for gamer choice, but I see it less as Ubi actively trying to fuck PC people over, and more of them just being kind of appropriately conservative with how they release these games that take hundreds of millions of dollars to make.

So those conspiracy theorist were right all along?

"Whispered hush" - follow the money...

I N F O G A M E S

@rethla: ...And those are all features that take time to implement. Watch Dogs was already delayed by over a year when it was finally released, I am sure that developers simply ran out of time to fix those bugs because their priorities were to finish this mess and get the game out the door.

I am positive that developers would still be working on that game if they were given the chance to release the title they actually wanted to release.

That works so well with your avatar.

Where are all the p's Micro$oft?! They can't all have just disappeared.

#ReleaseThePs

Here's a link that doesn't send you to the Giant Bomb front page.

If true... Welp, won't bother buying anything else from them.

As mainly a console gamer, this doesn't really affect me... but if I was a PC gamer I might be pissed? Having this 60fps 1080p all the time isn't really my main focus in gaming.

The thing is, it's probably not true and even if it is we won't ever know for sure unless actual journalists investigate instead of biased reddit randos.

Yea Shadow of Mordor isn't the next coming of graphics but on PC it runs fantastic and looks sharp as hell for the most part.

Well that wont happen but just ignoring it seems stupid. Voice your oppinions folks, the day when making lesser games becouse of shady businessdeals is publicly accepted is the end of gaming as we know it.

i have never heard of this website and the article is shoddily written so its hard for me to take it seriously. maybe someone can vouch for them. not to mention their only source is r/pcmasterrace which might as well not be a source at all.

the tech spec obsession is something ill never fully understand.

Naw man it's because Ubisoft genuinely thinks 30fps is better. PC would actually be getting dissed if they gave us some shitty 60fps version instead of the real deal.

If you have never hear of guru 3d i take it you are a console guy of the Dan Ryckert school.

@rethla: It doesn't change the fact that their only source is some guy on reddit who said he thought that a Ubisoft engineer "implied" that they were being pressured to limit the framerate on PC.

I don't think not knowing about a website really means anything though.. I've been computer gaming and the internet since the early 90s and have never come across this website so its not impossible.

even if the site has been around forever it doesn't really change the fact its only source seems to be a post on a bias subreddit.

Im not saying this story can't be true but I'm saying this is not enough for me to have a reaction.