Firaxis Explains Why XCOM 2 Had to be PC Exclusive
- Thread starter Steven Bogos
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Well that sucks for me, personally. 
I've got to say the "expertise" thing does ring a little hollow , considering roughly the same team (as far as I'm aware there's been no huge comings or going) simultaneously released EU/EW on PC, 360 and PS3, whose architectures were all vastly different from each other in comparison to these new consoles, and then managed to port the game to everything short of a toaster, and nothing that I've heard about XCOM 2 so far sounds impossible to implement on consoles.
I've got to say the "expertise" thing does ring a little hollow , considering roughly the same team (as far as I'm aware there's been no huge comings or going) simultaneously released EU/EW on PC, 360 and PS3, whose architectures were all vastly different from each other in comparison to these new consoles, and then managed to port the game to everything short of a toaster, and nothing that I've heard about XCOM 2 so far sounds impossible to implement on consoles.
- Apr 1, 2009
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I found the controller to work pretty well on it, as opposed to mouse and keyboard which was weirdly awkward to use. Anyway, now they are just focusing on the pc the m/k should work much better.Zeljkia the Orc said:
I can't really see the game being all that enjoyable to play on the consoles. Then again, people play shooters on the consoles, and that's awful.
It's a bit of a shame for those who were looking forwards to it, but, sadly that's just how it pans out sometimes. It doesn't look like a particularly taxing game, so, even a modest computer should be able to run it.
It's a bit of a shame for those who were looking forwards to it, but, sadly that's just how it pans out sometimes. It doesn't look like a particularly taxing game, so, even a modest computer should be able to run it.
I'm a PC gamer but I fully support cross-platform titles. So I do hope it comes to consoles eventually for you guys.
That said, a strategy title like XCOM is not easily played with a controller setup and I'm looking forward a lot to the additional features for UI and mods that a bigger focus on the PC release will bring.
That said, a strategy title like XCOM is not easily played with a controller setup and I'm looking forward a lot to the additional features for UI and mods that a bigger focus on the PC release will bring.
I'm always glad when a major game is PC exclusive. I have never seen the "console vs PC" thing to be about hardware but rather about two different types of people. I respect the Dudebros, but I hate how cross platform games have to be "dumbed down" and "action packed" to make it accessible to them. This is a tactical strategy game. It's shouldn't have to sacrifice that to be accessible to the console players.
It is so wonderful to hear the complaints coming out of the mouths of the consolers that are nearly carbon copies of the ones told by the PC crowd for years when it came to exclusives and ports and being told to suck it up.
So allow me to have this wonderful moment to repeat it, "Suck it up, wait for them to realize a port is profitable in a year or so, won't be that long of a wait".
So allow me to have this wonderful moment to repeat it, "Suck it up, wait for them to realize a port is profitable in a year or so, won't be that long of a wait".
That's a pretty wide generalization. Not all console owners are like that just like all PC gamers aren't elitists.Redryhno said:
I played Enemy Unknown on both console and PC and I didn't notice any of that. By any chance are you talking about The Bureau: Xcom Declassified? That was a separate game entirely.cthulhuspawn82 said:
C'mon man, just start up a thread about Bloodborne needing to have a PC release, or the Dark Souls port. Or one of a thousand games that were console exclusive that PC gamers didn't get a shot at. There'll be a plethora of console players singing to the tune of "So what?". Now it's just a sweet joke because there's something that can be pointed to that everyone can understand when people say "PC is better".Bat Vader said:
I don't own a console, and haven't done since I was a teenager. As a result, I've missed out on many games which I'm sure were excellent but were either console exclusives or designed so heavily with console in mind that the PC port was barely functional.
PC seems to be having a revival right now as a gaming platform (for better or for worse) but for a long time the boot was squarely on the other foot. I remember when I stopped being able to buy PC games in stores (which was genuinely annoying, as I lived in a rural area with capped internet usage).
I'm not saying this is a good thing. In an ideal world, everyone should get to play the game they want in whatever format they want and get an experience which is tailored to their needs, but in reality some developers do build games primarily for PC or consoles because that's what they're good at, and complaining about that is futile and only asking to be insulted with knock-off, barely functioning ports tacked on at the last minute.
The thing is though, developers like Firaxis and Paradox aren't going to die out unless they can get some of that sweet console money, they have incredibly committed and loyal PC fanbases to whom they are primarily marketing.
Consoles are valid platforms for gaming, but they are not the platforms for gaming. That's what people need to get over.
PC seems to be having a revival right now as a gaming platform (for better or for worse) but for a long time the boot was squarely on the other foot. I remember when I stopped being able to buy PC games in stores (which was genuinely annoying, as I lived in a rural area with capped internet usage).
I'm not saying this is a good thing. In an ideal world, everyone should get to play the game they want in whatever format they want and get an experience which is tailored to their needs, but in reality some developers do build games primarily for PC or consoles because that's what they're good at, and complaining about that is futile and only asking to be insulted with knock-off, barely functioning ports tacked on at the last minute.
The thing is though, developers like Firaxis and Paradox aren't going to die out unless they can get some of that sweet console money, they have incredibly committed and loyal PC fanbases to whom they are primarily marketing.
Consoles are valid platforms for gaming, but they are not the platforms for gaming. That's what people need to get over.
Good-bye XCOM 2. I will miss you, as you looked like a game that would address some of my criticisms of Enemy Unknown. But alas, it apparently is not meant to be for me. :-(
Meh I will miss not playing Xcom I still love enemy within but it's there product. Heck I never played the witcher 1. Just not worth getting a gaming lap top. Heck I only got the console becuase it had the most games I wanted to play. All in all I have bill and have to be an adult.
That all said I glad it at least is getting a second game. If they decide to put it out on PS4 later greate. If not a year down the road I will have forgotten about it. As another poster said another game will come out.
That all said I glad it at least is getting a second game. If they decide to put it out on PS4 later greate. If not a year down the road I will have forgotten about it. As another poster said another game will come out.
I played Enemy Unknown on both console and PC and I didn't notice any of that. By any chance are you talking about The Bureau: Xcom Declassified? That was a separate game entirely.[/quote]Bat Vader said:
We cant know for sure how Enemy Unknown would have turned out if it were a PC exclusive. We cant know for sure if it was "dumbed down" for the console crowd. But Dragon Age and Elder Scroll developers have both admitted to making major changes to their games because the players are, in their words, "scared of numbers" and that people were quitting the game after being presented with the character creation screen. It is an assumption on my part that these people are primarily console players. I think that assumption is not too far of however. I remember Dragon Age some other games actually monitored gamely choices people were making and found console players were far more likely to make irrational and violent gamely decisions.
There's no doubt in my mind it would have turned out better. Concessions are always bad. Firaxis has said they're a PC developer, so they would have had to change the experience they wanted to accommodate consoles. That's not good.cthulhuspawn82 said:
What I'd like is PC and all the different consoles to remain separate so they can excel in their own individual ways. Like they were in the SNES days. Ports are bad, and multiplatforming is bad. Perhaps this is why my favorite games over the past decade have been PC exclusives or handheld games - which didn't have to cripple themselves for accessibility's sake.
Well if you only got time and money to do one then you do one, you don't go stretching your team too thin and end up with 5 bad games. If their shit is solid they can still port it afterwards, but if it's just shit ported to everything there will be no redemption song.
It worked though. I found EU plenty easy to plug in a pad to my PC if I wanted to relax on the couch or didn't have the space at that moment for my KB/M. There were a couple of niggles (like you can't rotate the camera at the same time as aiming a rocket/grenade like you can with the mouse/kb), but it worked. I'm not sure what complexities you couldn't fix with some menus. It might not be as easy to navigate, but it's a turn based game, so there can be some comprimise. It's a shame console players are going to be missing out on this game, I can only hope Firaxis will port it later on down the line for them.Oly J said: