Firaxis Explains Why XCOM 2 Had to be PC Exclusive

[Steven Bogos]

Firaxis Explains Why XCOM 2 Had to be PC Exclusive

XCOM: Enemy Unknown came to a variety of platforms, but XCOM 2 will be strictly PC affair.

When Firaxis surprisingly revealed IGN [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140987-XCOM-2-PC-Exclusive-Launches-November-2015-From-Firaxis-And-2K-Games] why the sequel absolutely had to be a PC exclusive, and why you shouldn't hold your breath for a console release.

"Our expertise here is PC. That's our home, and that's where we're really comfortable," said XCOM 2's Creative Director Jake Solomon. He explains that when his team set to work on an XCOM sequel, it set some pretty lofty goals - high-fidelity characters and environments, better-looking destruction, physically based rendering, and of course, procedural generated maps. He said that the only way the team could pull this off was by focusing on the single platform that it had all its expertise on.

"When we have our meetings, when we talk about stuff, we only talk about PC," said Solomon. "We talk about 'What is the experience like on PC? What does the mouse feel like in this experience?'" He explains that this means that the entire XCOM 2 experience was built with the PC gamer in mind. Some examples of this include the optimizing the interface to be mouse-and-keyboard friendly, and displaying a lot more detailed tactical information on screen, as Firaxis can count on players sitting close to PC monitors (rather than far from their TV screens) and being able to read smaller text.

So for Xbox One and PS4 owners looking to get their hands on XCOM 2 - while Solomon didn't completly rule out the possibility of a console version, as he did state that Microsoft and Sony's new boxes were "technically" powerful enough to run the game, he did say that it isn't even something the team is thinking about at this point in time.

Source: IGN [http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/05/why-xcom-2-had-to-be-pc-exclusive]

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[Briantb]

I think there a little more then technical powerful enough.

 

[Bat Vader]

That sucks for PS4 and X-Box One users. Perhaps after they release the game they can then port it to the consoles.

 

[Dumoras]

Good of him to remember to talk about how he forgot about us and doesn't consider us important enough to address in relation to his job in the video game industry.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

That sucks for PS4 and X-Box One users. Perhaps after they release the game they can then port it to the consoles.

Or they could just spend an extra $200 above what a console costs, and buy a PC that is more than 3 times as powerful. That's what, a console and 2 games?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Good of him to remember to talk about how he forgot about us and doesn't consider us important enough to address in relation to his job in the video game industry.

Sorry, what exactly does his position in the game industry have to do with this article?

 

[Bat Vader]

That sucks for PS4 and X-Box One users. Perhaps after they release the game they can then port it to the consoles.

Or they could just spend an extra $200 above what a console costs, and buy a PC that is more than 3 times as powerful. That's what, a console and 2 games?

Not everyone can drop an extra $200.00. To afford my PS4 I had to save up for about six months. The gaming rig I have took me about two years to save up for. That is with only having the most minor of bills to pay.

 

[Iwata]

That sucks for PS4 and X-Box One users. Perhaps after they release the game they can then port it to the consoles.

Or they could just spend an extra $200 above what a console costs, and buy a PC that is more than 3 times as powerful. That's what, a console and 2 games?

Not everyone can drop an extra $200.00. To afford my PS4 I had to save up for about six months. The gaming rig I have took me about two years to save up for. That is with only having the most minor of bills to pay.

This, exactly. I have a family to take care of, and I can't afford a gaming PC AND the consoles that I feel most comfortable with. Fortunately for me, my wife is a PC gamer while I am a console gamer, so between us, we're pretty much set. But for those not fortunate enough to have the means to purchase and maintain multiple platforms, the choice has been made for them.

 

[Bat Vader]

That sucks for PS4 and X-Box One users. Perhaps after they release the game they can then port it to the consoles.

Or they could just spend an extra $200 above what a console costs, and buy a PC that is more than 3 times as powerful. That's what, a console and 2 games?

Not everyone can drop an extra $200.00. To afford my PS4 I had to save up for about six months. The gaming rig I have took me about two years to save up for. That is with only having the most minor of bills to pay.

This, exactly. I have a family to take care of, and I can't afford a gaming PC AND the consoles that I feel most comfortable with. Fortunately for me, my wife is a PC gamer while I am a console gamer, so between us, we're pretty much set. But for those not fortunate enough to have the means to purchase and maintain multiple platforms, the choice has been made for them.

Plus if someone's friends are getting all consoles the person will have a difficult decision to make. Get a PC and not play with their friends or get a console and miss out on PC exclusive games. A friend of mine did that. He opted to get a PS4 instead of a gaming PC. He eventually got the gaming PC but it took close to a year.

 

[QuadFish]

It's worth remembering that it was a surprise XCOM got a console release in the first place considering it's a Firaxis game. The only other console releases out of their entire game history they ever put out were 2 Civ ports. Much as it sucks for console XCOM fans, this is less of an abandonment and more like a return to status quo.

 

[Elfgore]

Question. Can console gamers now become as whiny complain as much as PC gamers that they got screwed? Or are they just being told to not "buy an idiot-box next time"?

I've got a PC that can run it, so I really don't care it isn't getting ported. Sucks for console players, but there is always another game coming out.

 

[Wiggum Esquilax]

XCOM sold better on Steam than all consoles combined. Never mind other PC sales.

http://forums.2k.com/showthread.php?2132381-Why-No-XCOM-2-for-Consoles

Between the cost to port, cost to crush bugs, cost to give Microsoft/Sony their cut, compromises that have to be made to the UI, and the inability to mod, I wonder why they would develop for console. It's hardly as though the console ports are never coming, they'll just take a while.

My question them becomes why did Firaxis give the exclusive to IGN, of all sites. For the pleasure of antagonizing their core demographic? Because that would be hilarious:-D

 

[Zontar]

I just hope the game will be more mod friendly. Long War is interesting, but damn it I want a Stargate full conversion mod that everyone wants but no one can made because of how damn impossible it is to play around with the program.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Not everyone can drop an extra $200.00. To afford my PS4 I had to save up for about six months. The gaming rig I have took me about two years to save up for. That is with only having the most minor of bills to pay.

I can understand that aspect, but I also see it from the developers point of view; Gamers these days are clamouring for better visuals and enhanced gameplay. When they look at the specs for the Xbone and PS4, all they see is hardware that was out of date before the consoles even launched.

 

[zombiejoe]

Man, that sucks.

I got into Enemy Unknown by playing a console version of it. I mean I'll buy it for PC, but it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth, even though I completely understand their decision.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Enemy Unknown ran on a fucking iPad, I'm a PC gamer myself and I find the dude's comments to be bizarre. He speaks as if a PS4 somehow is inherently incapable of procedural generation. I'm not sure if Xcom 2 is going to run on UE3 (or 4) like last time, either way there's absolutely no reason why Xcom 2 can't be on consoles, even if Firaxis aren't the ones doing it. I'm going to assume that the sales of EU on consoles were far too low to justify the effort or hiring of a porting house, but they were apparently high enough that EW made a console appearance.

No matter what changes they make in the sequel, unless it's some insane decision to have Witcher 3 level graphics on procedurally generated isometric battlegrounds where one needs 16GB of RAM on PC, it should be possible on console if the demand is there. If it was possible for a 3rd party to take the PC Dragon Age Origins and modify it to the insane extent that it ran on PS360, even if not quite the tactical RPG it was on PC, this should be possible.

I understand Firaxis' point though. PC is what they do, and I'm going to assume that the real message here is that in their planning, they don't intend on considering CPU, GPU, or RAM limitations of either of the consoles when making a graphical or design decision. Making it work on the console if the demand is there can be 2K's problem later.

The thing is, I didn't know I liked tactical strategy until EU was a PS+ game on PS3. I got the PC version afterward, but it was totally playable and fun as hell with a controller on my TV, it's doable. Honestly, I'm hoping that Xcom2 will support gamepads natively, my PC is in my living room and it would make life a whole lot easier for me.

 

[tippy2k2]

Spoiler

Good God this sucks donkey. I can't blame them (I was pretty surprised to see the first one on my precious console) but it hurts somethin fierce to see this.

This puts PC gaming back on the table for my gaming needs. I've never been comfortable gaming on a PC in any real way (technical, exclusives, and my friends in real life I play with) but my love of XCOM bordered on crazy levels.

Was it truly better to have loved and lost or would I be happier having never loved at all....?

 

[Lil_Rimmy]

Well, as much as that sucks, hopefully it gets ported for those who don't own the only way to game a PC.

However, it's important to remember that the ports of XCom sold like shit while the PC version sold like hotcakes. It isn't just a little bit of effort to make some free money on other platforms, a console port costs a far bit to make.

 

[Tony2077]

i don't mind it being pc only it's some of the people and their comments that make it kind of bittersweet