Ghostbusters Dev Explains Lack of PC Multiplayer

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Ghostbusters Dev Explains Lack of PC Multiplayer


The CEO of one of the studios behind Ghostbusters: The Video Game [http://www.ghostbustersgame.com/] says the PC release has no multiplayer because developers wanted to focus on making the console versions of the game "the best that they could be."

The Threewave [http://www.xbox.com], the studio that developed the multiplayer component, the decision was made to cut PC multiplayer in order to focus on the console side of the coin.

"Multiplayer for the PC version of Ghostbusters is something that Threewave and Terminal Reality [http://www.terminalreality.com/] always wanted to do," Irish said in a statement. "However, our focus was on making the console version the best that they could be - an experience that allows multiple players to re-live and re-fight many of the themes from the movies."

"When we looked at the resources necessary to pull off multiplayer on the consoles and the PC, it became a question of what could we do and still be excellent in our execution," he continued. "We couldn't do all versions with multiplayer simultaneously with the resources that we had available - there was simply too much to do. Something would have to suffer. Therefore, we kept our focus on making the console versions deliver on the promise of being an integral player on the Ghostbusters team."

It's difficult to read "making the console versions deliver" without also seeing, crammed in there between the lines, "We don't much care if the PC version delivers or not." But it's possible that Terminal Reality and Threewave aren't just casually throwing PC gamers under the bus; patching in multiplayer support at some point in the future would presumably be simpler for the PC than any of the other platforms. There's been no indication yet from Atari [http://www.atari.com] that it has any plans to do so, however, so maybe I'm just being irrationally optimistic.

Source: Big Download [http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/06/17/atari-and-threewave-comment-on-lack-of-multiplayer-in-pc-ghostbu/]


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sirdanrhodes

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Nov 7, 2007
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That is truly pathetic! I thought it would have been easier to do on PC to be honest though, so they coulda just bumped the game back, THEN brought it out!
 

S.H.A.R.P.

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Mar 4, 2009
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*mumbles something about it being a good move to encourage massive piracy for the PC version*
 

Alleged_Alec

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Sep 2, 2008
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It probably had something to do with the control schemes as well. Pc players do have a big advantage because of the mouse/keyboard configuration. Therefore the game would become unbalanced.
 

Dr.Sean

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Apr 5, 2009
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When I first saw the commercial for GhostBusters, I thought to myself, "L4D with ghosts instead of zombies."
 

Jordan Deam

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Jan 11, 2008
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Something to keep in mind: The PC version is half the price of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. If the only thing it lacks compared to them is the multiplayer, that's a pretty good deal.
 

TheBlackKnight

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Nov 3, 2008
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Jordan Deam said:
Something to keep in mind: The PC version is half the price of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. If the only thing it lacks compared to them is the multiplayer, that's a pretty good deal.
But it still feels like a nice kick in the stomach and I don't think they are going to add multiplayer later on via a patch (at least not a free one)
 

Cousin_IT

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Feb 6, 2008
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Id say thats annoying, but id never have bought this on the PC neway so doesnt bother me. If they had to make a choice, they made the right one from a business perspective at least.
 

Abedeus

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Sep 14, 2008
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Won't buy it, won't download. It seems just like a cash-in game riding on the fame of movie series.

But if they even say a word about people pirating their game, someone will need to drop a bucket of lead on their heads.
 

Azhrarn-101

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Jul 15, 2008
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Also, don't forget that for Europe atleast, Ghostbusters is a timed exclusive to the PS3 I believe, because Sony got hold of the publishing rights here. So Piracy of the PC version is going to be pretty insane anyway, since the "exclusive" window could be 6 months if not more.
(no information on this, just guessing. Sony does tend to put itself first and gamers a distant second usually.)