I Am Alive Producer Dismisses "Bitching" PC Gamers

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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I Am Alive Producer Dismisses "Bitching" PC Gamers


Ubisoft is well aware that PC gamers are "bitching" about not getting a version of the upcoming I Am Alive, it just doesn't care.

In a way, given Ubisoft's recent track record with the PC market, this sort of dismissive talk isn't all that terribly surprising. Still, the sheer in-your-face ballsiness of this guy's attitude toward the PC version of I Am Alive [http://iamalive-game.ubi.com/iamalive/en-GB/] and those who might want to play it is kind of shocking.

"We've heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them," Creative Director Stanislas Mettra told IncGamers [http://www.incgamers.com/News/29694/despite-the-bitching-piracy-means-i-am-alive-is-not-likely-on-pc]. "But are these people just making noise just because there's no version or because it's a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?"

I guess we'll never know because Ubisoft has apparently decided not to make it. Mettra wasted no time going straight to the same tired old excuse to justify excluding the platform. "It's hard because there's so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games that we have to precisely weigh it up against the cost of making it," he continued. "Perhaps it will only take 12 guys three months to port the game to PC, it's not a massive cost but it's still a cost. If only 50,000 people buy the game then it's not worth it."

50 thousand unit sales is nothing to write home about, sure, but as Rock, Paper, Shotgun [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/23/i-am-alive-dev-dismisses-bitching-pc-users/] noted, we're talking about a digital release of a PC port of an Xbox 360 game. You release the thing on Steam for 20 bucks a pop, Valve takes its cut and 50,000 units later you're taking home 700 large - not a lot of money in today's industry but enough, I would think, to be "worth it." And if the game sells better, which despite Ubisoft's best efforts in the DRM field is always a risk, you could be looking at substantially more.

I suppose, in the spirit of the season, that we might be thankful for this in some ways. Instead of losing our minds with rage over yet another potentially good game brought low by Ubisoft's idiotic DRM, we can just ignore this one completely right from the get-go. It's not an ideal situation but under the circumstances, it's an upside I'm willing to take.


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Sewer Rat

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Sep 14, 2008
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Heh, guess you don't want my money Ubisoft, I'll just put it right back in my pocket *slowly goes to put money in pocket* Oh... they are serious. Guess they just have an irational fear of wealth and success and good public relations. Douchebags.
 

_tinned_magpie_

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Feb 19, 2010
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Well, I might have bought it before, but now you don't have a chance even if there was a PC version. Nice job alienating a chunk of the market!
 

RedEyesBlackGamer

The Killjoy Detective returns!
Jan 23, 2011
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Wow, what a douche. I'm not even a PC gamer and that guy pisses me off. You couldn't have just politely said no? Instead, he says "I hear you whining, but you are all pirates or cheapskates anyway."
 

Delock

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Mar 4, 2009
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Got to love this PC/console flame war. It's much stronger than any other console war I've seen (considering how personal the insults are).

You know, there was a chance I was going to buy this, considering I was interested in it before this, but now Skyrim is looking so much better. And there's a patch coming to the console versions too, indicating a developer that doesn't write off one side of the "conflict" as just picking the "losing side."
 

Phlakes

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Mar 25, 2010
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I was going to buy this game. For the 360. Congratulations at your brilliant marketing, Mr. Creative Director. Now hire a new PR manager.
 

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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Well, that's the problem with the gaming industry right there, it's not about making a profit, it's wanting to make monster profits. A "mere" $700k isn't worth their time and that's why people like me are up in their face. I understand te logic but it's what's destroying gaming, especially seeing as it's just about ports of games, but even whether games are made. A few million dollars in profits is something that the industry is increasingly willing to turn it's nose up at because they realize they can make more money by churning out games for the casual crowd as opposed to ones for serious gamers or that advance the medium.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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Well, Ubisoft are clearly a bunch of idiots, so it kind of follows that a guy like this would find stable employment under their wing.

If I were him, in charge of a second choice developer developing a downgraded version of a massively over budget title that will be delivered two years late at best... I wouldn't say anything about anything to anyone outside the company.

Inside the company all I would say is Dear God let this be a success we are all so fired if this is anything else than a megahit, don't make anyone angry! Then again, I'd never take a job at Ubisoft unless it came with a seven figure salary and a huge buyout clause...
 

dragongit

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Feb 22, 2011
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I wasn't even awear of this game's existance untill now, and any care I might have had quickly goes away with that sort of additude. I mean I could buy it for the PS3 or something, but just for them to give a big finger is not a good sign.

BTW, it would be cool to see Rayman Origins on PC as well, just saying... I mean, if you are alergic to money Ubi, we understand. It's why you haven't made Beyond Good and Evil 2 yet.
 

2fish

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Sep 10, 2008
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Phlakes said:
I was going to buy this game. For the 360. Congratulations at your brilliant marketing, Mr. Creative Director. Now hire a new PR manager.
PR only has one option, kill everyone who knows about this. PR can't fix stupid, they can only make it look nicer.

Not sure this can be twisted into a nice angle...

Oh well EA and Ubisoft seem to be trying to piss me off recently. Have they been digging through my box of things I hate again?

Oh well it beats when team ninja was digging through my underwear.
 

isometry

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Mar 17, 2010
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What a pathetic attempt to gain publicity for their crap game, Ubisoft are so awful that they even make EA look good.
 

snakeakaossi

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Mar 18, 2010
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Okay, has anyone ever noticed that Ubisoft was really bad in PC titles BEFORE they started with the whole DRM thing? All my Ubisoft PC titles come from the discount pile and most of them don't work.

Even worse: a couple of months ago I bought the ubisoft discount pack on steam. 4 games for 10$ or something. Call of juarez crashes after the intro movie, Assasin's creed forgot to draw the player half way through the game and nowhere was a solution to be found, and Far cry 2 was just 'ugh'. The only ubisoft PC games I've ever found working are the Tom Clancy series

The Rayman Raving Rabbids PC version did not work on most PC's for no apparent reason. A friend of mine bought it full price and could not get it to work. FYI, hes a computer scientist. A patch was never released.

The point I'm trying to make is: ubisoft is so bad in PC titles, they are actually doing us a favour with not making a PC version. Seriously, if it's ubisoft, go directly to console, do not pass start and seriously do not collect any pity about a missing PC version.
 

BakedZnake

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Sep 27, 2010
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TBH I can actually see where producer is coming from. Anyone remember the Humble Indie bundle game pack of Trine, shadow grounds, and couple other well regarded games going for "however much" you want to pay for like anything above $4 for charity towards the earthquake victims in Japan early in the year. $4 you can have 4-5 very good fun games and help out a charity, but within 1 day all those games were leaked onto torrent sites and downloaded by thousands of cheapskates who wouldn't even spend $4 of DRM-free games.

Another game series I love, the witcher, which is also DRM-free and comes with support and free DLC is currently getting pirated to hell. I am primarily a PC gamer and I'm sick and tired of my favourite game developers getting screwed over by piracy.

So I totally understand why a company that does't want to lose money over developing for a platform due to piracy.
 

Faladorian

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May 3, 2010
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Riddle me this, Ubi: How many people, because of your attitude towards PC gamers, will now not buy Revelations either, even if we intended to? If you added the revenue from PC gamers buying any of your games because they actually respect you, then would it be "worth it?"

Unless this is more PC gamer bitching. We're such a whiny bunch, wanting to pay you to play games you make, as is the exchange when marketing video games. A whiny bunch indeed.
 

CrystalShadow

don't upset the insane catgirl
Apr 11, 2009
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... Yeah, that pretty much explains ubisoft right there.

Anyone checked piracy figures recently? Notice that some of the most pirated games are actually 360 & PS3 titles?

Eh. It's not even worth discussing anymore at this point. You put in crippling DRM then blame the poor sales on piracy, and insult your potential customers...

Nope, clearly though, it's the piracy that's killing you. >_<
 

Lhianon

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Aug 28, 2011
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well played ubisoft, now, instead of giving you my money, if i want to play it i have to pirate it and run it with an emulator, success, i guess.
self-fulfilling prophecy and all that funny business.
 

-|-

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Aug 28, 2010
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Therumancer said:
Well, that's the problem with the gaming industry right there, it's not about making a profit, it's wanting to make monster profits. A "mere" $700k isn't worth their time and that's why people like me are up in their face. I understand te logic but it's what's destroying gaming, especially seeing as it's just about ports of games, but even whether games are made. A few million dollars in profits is something that the industry is increasingly willing to turn it's nose up at because they realize they can make more money by churning out games for the casual crowd as opposed to ones for serious gamers or that advance the medium.
$700k might seem like a lot, but it all depends on how much the game cost to produce. If said game cost $25M and took two years then it's not really worth it the risk in making it when they could make more than that just by owning a bond or two and doing nothing.