@geraltitude: Here's an answer you're not likely to want to hear, but let's use the recent example of Metal Gear Solid V.
It sold 3 million units in its first week of release, and it's sold many more since then. 700,000 of the copies sold in September--and this info is given by Konami themselves--were sold on PC. Right now, Konami is saying that this is the fastest selling game in the history of Metal Gear. While we'll have to wait for the September NPD data to see just how many copies it sold on the console market, I'm willing to bet that if it hasn't tied MGS2's 7 million, it's damn near close.
But let's just say it's 7 million for shits and giggles. of those 7 million copies, 700,000 of those were PC sales. What does this tell you about the viability of the PC market with regards to AAA titles? It tells you that, while you can reap a sizable return, it's not exactly the side of bread that gets the butter. Yet I always see PC gamers acting befuddled as to why their platform of choice seems to get delayed ports, or shoddy ports, as if their money isn't good enough or something. That's obviously not true, and I don't think any publisher is willing to turn down free money, which is why these games do get ports, but in contrast to what they make in the console space... you see where I'm going.
Basically, while the PC market is a lot stronger than it was ten years ago, it's still not a heavyweight contender when it comes to raw sales. The thing is, from what I've been able to piece together through years of observing the PC gaming space, is that while PC gamers are definitely willing to spend the money on games, there aren't enough PC gamers to, for lack of a better phrase, make it worth the investment in both time and money that it would take to do a proper, spitshine polished port.
Taken in this light, it becomes a lot clearer as to why the AAA publishers treat the PC platform the way they do. CDPR have outright stated that if the Witcher 3 hadn't been made with consoles in mind, it point blank wouldn't have been made. And that's CDPR, the company that is sister to the second largest distributor in the PC gaming space.
Of course none of this is to say that PC gaming doesn't deserve quality ports, or day and date release with consoles, but the ridiculous reality of the situation is that PC gamers will, sadly, have to put up with one or the other. It's not the primary market, it's not the primary focus, and it's not because these companies hate you or any PC gamer, it's because in terms of sheer volume, compared to consoles, there's just not enough PC gamers willing to buy AAA games.
Log in to comment