Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Huh, whaaa...? So basically they're taking a console game and making minor tweaks for PC use? Used to be things were the opposite.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

In the good old days...I think I'll finally become a console convert. Makes no sense to buy a million component upgrades, especially if it's basically the exact same game as on console

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

That was when PC gaming was alive.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

The major downer being that the world of homemade mods is going to disappear for TES. I don't see xbox live or PSN making a way to upload 'free' mods.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Which might just be enough to make it a lesser game compared to the previous two. I don't mind playing the OC once or twice, but the mods are what keep me coming back years after as well

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Well, Oblivion was kinda similiar. It was clearly a console-first and PC-last game. That said, I would wager Oblivion got more PC love in terms of tweaks and patches than Skyrim will when released. Wait and see.

Trust me, there will be no shortage of mods for PC despite the dwindling numbers. Not yet, anyways. There are still enough PC gamers around - many of them in denial that the market has dried up - to dole out the custom content.

Now, with the next ES title things might be different. I wouldn't be surprised if the title after Skyrim is released on consoles only tho. Or, the one after that one. It will happen eventually so enjoy your mods while you can. Many games whose earlier incarnations were originally on PC, now skip the PC platform altogether in their sequels. It's just not profitable especially in harsh economic times.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Soon we'll have to use controller to play these console ports because these so called pc version is not optimised enough to play with kb+m.

Just look at the latest dungeon siege 3 for the pc version. Another console port but you'll get more out of it by playing it with a controller.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Yeah, controllers for PC are actually pretty cheap. I have one, just for playing ports, like Marvel Ultimate Alliance or Bully. Great thing is, we're not tied to a proprietry gamepad like consoles are.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

PC Gaming is very much alive and has moved significantly to digital downloads. Steam and G.O.G. sales are very, very healthy. So much so that companies like Amazon.com have begun offering digital PC downloads.

An associate of mine who is an avid PC gamer works at a local Gamestop said that due to companies like Steam, Gamestop has decided to phase out the PC aspect which if anyone who walks into one of their stores can readily see.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Well, a change in how games are distributed does not equal the market being very much alive. It just means the existing stuff has been made available for download as technology allows us to deviler bigger files digitally.

GOG for example, was unheard of 2 years ago. With higher internet speeds becoming more mainstream, enabling a person to stream a movie or download games, they picked a prime time to launch their site. But this has nothing to do with whether new PC games are created. It is just another way to buy a game, like getting a pizza delivered or picking it up. Downloading an old game from GOG or Steam is great business for them - but says more about their success and profits than it does about the uncertain future of this platform.

Besides, Steam and other companies are already moving into the console market this year. When they do, I can bet you will still see more shelves dedicated to console discs than you do PC games (my local Gamestop and EBgames have a single shelf for them alone, and they are arranged upright like library books as opposed to facing out).

I can count on one hand the amount of PC games I played/looked forward to this year. A few years back, when Ironworks was younger, there was an influx of games being released monthly. I am sure you feel the same when you count your own games now in comparison. The frequency of games released on this platform has severely declined. But it has increased on current consoles today. We can debate it back and forth - hey, I don't like it either - but by researching and observing the market you will come to the same conclusion.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

SKYRIM ROCKS
I have been playing it on both X-Box and on PC and the PC version is almost Twice as good due to all the MODS and with 6 Good size Add on MODS with a huge MOD on the way + there are something like 600 little mods to pick and choose from.
I have been playing Dragon Age II also and it floats in at a close second but not as much replay in my opinion. Dragon Age Origins just wasn't that good and SKYRIM blows it off the MAP again in my opinion.
The Engine and Story in Skyrim is way above and beyond Oblivion but I did play through Oblivion 7 times maybe 8. I still Play Morrow Wind and the expansions
With the new Skyrim Mod where you can ride a Dragon instead of a horse works great and I like it better than the wagon rides because you can find old ruins that have no roads to get to them and then use Dragon Call Shout to call it back when your ready to move on. If you use the Dragon follower with the storage mod you can collect close to a ton of stuff.
Dan

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

That maybe true but sales are sales. At one level it doesn't matter to the game publisher if his games are sold via retail or digital distribution as long as they sell. (Okay maybe there is a small impact on distribution costs as you don't need fancy packaging for 100% digital distribution) So the bottom line is are PC game sales increasing, dropping thru the floor or flat?

It's no secret that retail PC game sales are down, but overall PC game software sales (which includes digital distribution) have increased each year for the last four consecutive years. If that doesn't point to a healthy PC game market, I don't know what does.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/122/1220114p1.html

In fact, PC game sales are projected to actually surpass console sales in two+ years.

http://media.bestofmicro.com/Nvidia-...-308575-13.jpg

Are those projections for 2012 and beyond accurate? I don't know, but I've been hearing about the total demise of PC games for several years and I simply don't see it.

Any way you slice it, those numbers do NOT point to a failing market. No way, no how.

I think your point about Steam entering the console business says more about the decline in retails sales across the entire market than it does about the relative rise or fall of a given segment of that market. Steam (and others) simply see an opportunity to sieze market share in the console software market just as they did with the PC game market. It's the brick and mortar aspect of PC software sales that was/is at risk not the platform itself.

Re: Bethesda doing it again on Nov.11th?
 

Well, sales and production rate are different things. Like I said in that post almost 1 year ago, I can count on one hand the PC games I am excited about annually. So far, for this new year of 2012 I have racked up a total of one. And I am on the fence to even term it excitement.

New methods of selling games online are great there's no doubt. With internet finally mainstreaming at speeds that can distribute large games to your computer within an acceptable timeframe, people are using these services to instantly purchase old games that stores have long since taken off their shelves. Can't find BG1 or Icewind Dale in your little town even though you are willing to pay full price? GoG, Steam or D2D are happy to take your business. Looking to get your hands on Thief 1? They have that too and you won't have to wait for the mailman. This is a much-needed windfall for the PC gaming industry. Maybe it is this alone which attributes to the increases?

Optimistic predictions like you have above, are as common as pessimistic ones. For every site crooning about the market being "on the mend", you can find 3 more spelling out its demise, equipped with different charts and graphs etc. that interpret the numbers differently or warn you not to believe the hype that's designed mainly to placate stockholders and investors... IDK who's right or wrong at this point. But just from my own observation, there is a marked difference in how retailers even handle PC games. How they stock them, what they stock and how they showcase them compared to their console cousins. Such a precious commodity would only be pushed aside unless it was no longer as precious. And then people tell me the market is thriving right now i'm like wtf? I remember when the market was booming! High quality games released almost weekly. Now the Xbox reigns supreme.

More interesting is the goal of Apple, who have basically said they envision a future where the PC is replaced with the tablet (iPad). A few years ago that would be laughable, but now...not so much. At the same time, I just saw a report that tablet sales were down this month so like I said, who knows what to believe? I mean, thinking about it Apple would say that, given how they make no bones of the PC being their ultimate rival.