The trailer for Double Fine's latest game, Costume Quest, is now available for viewing.
What do we think? It looks great! And even better for the fact that it isn't out on PC. No sarcasm! Keep it up, Double Fine - and all other developers. Muahahaha!
Source: Kotaku
The Tingler
Well then, this is just a difference in preference. I personally enjoy playing things like Grim Fandango and Zombies Ate My Neighbours again. If you just play games once and never touch them ever again, then you don't have to worry about this.
I'm not saying there aren't games I don't want to play again. I'm just accepting the hard fact that this is completely out of my hands. So if we're in a position where you can play the game for as long as the console generation is active, and you lose it after that, then there isn't a choice. Right? You either play it til they take it away from you, or you never play it. To me, missing the game, wanting to replay it but being unable to due to Microsoft or Sony, is a bad deal - but it's better than never playing the game at all. And fundamentally, it's the publisher - Double Fine, in this case - who suffers from people refusing to buy the game on a principle like this. And I actually think it's good that you have that principle, because this is something you believe in and want to change - but we just have different opinions, I think, and we're both right according to our own belief systems.
But Zombies was a console game!
The Tingler
You're right that Mojo isn't the place to make the argument, but you started it! :P
I suppose I did, and I didn't think it would turn into this furore, and I apologise for winding people up this much. I really thought you'd just think I was teasing you a little, in an amicable way, which I guess you did, but that was as far as I'd looked ahead.
elTee
As for playing old games, I don't see your point. You'll be laughing at me when I can't play Costume Quest again in 8 years time? I'd rather play games like that once (and I really do tend to play games once these days) than never play it at all.
But don't you want other people to play them too? I say things like "you should track down a copy of Grim Fandango" to people all the time. I can't say "you should track down a copy of Rogue Squadron" because that would mean buying a working N64 too. Same principle at work here.
elTee
Fundamentally, it's a moot point. Publishers don't like releasing games on the PC because they're easy to pirate... Developers want their games released on every format in the world, but it isn't up to them. Mojo isn't the place to make the argument, frankly.
You're right that Mojo isn't the place to make the argument, but you started it! :P I just want to convey my disappointment and why I'm disappointed, that's all. And the 360's easy to pirate too. Want a copy of Halo Reach when it comes out? Check Bittorrent.
clone2727
The Tingler
Sony has NO backwards compatibility for PS2 on PS3.
Well, they mean nothing to Sony certainly. And the UK only ever had one version of the PS3 that had a little bit of backwards compatibility (the 60Gb version I believe) and they were impossible to find after a few months.
The Tingler
Sony has NO backwards compatibility for PS2 on PS3.
As for playing old games, I don't see your point. You'll be laughing at me when I can't play Costume Quest again in 8 years time? I'd rather play games like that once (and I really do tend to play games once these days) than never play it at all.
Fundamentally, it's a moot point. Publishers don't like releasing games on the PC because they're easy to pirate - and the rules introduced by companies like Ubisoft to counter piracy are laughable, frustrating, and detrimental to the gameplay experience in a way that simply doesn't exist on consoles. Developers want their games released on every format in the world, but it isn't up to them. Mojo isn't the place to make the argument, frankly.
Just want to reiterate that I am looking forward to the game, and this is all friendly arguing, as if we were round a table at the pub. Just in cause that wasn't apparent, as I know it's hard to tell sometimes with text. I did say I was annoyed reading my comment back, but that was more a "you little git" type of annoyed than genuine anger.
elTee
I got the impression that Tingler got the joke, and responded appropriately, and then it snowballed into something else.
Oh, I did realize you were making an ironic joke at me for always going on about it, but I think you could've done it better. I think it was the "no sarcasm" part that got me annoyed most. It's okay to support the game, but I don't think it's okay to say "yay, people who want to play this game can't", even ironically.
This isn't me hating on Double Fine or THQ, it's all love. I want their games to a) be available to as big an audience as possible, and b) to be available to play forever. Psychonauts, Grim Fandango etc are timeless. I want my future kids to enjoy them. There are no future guarantees with console games.
This is why we did the LucasArts' Secret History series, if you remember. Anyone playing the N64 version of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine? We got a re-release of Zombies Ate My Neighbours, but only on Wii and for many years that game was unavailable. More recently, is it possible to play the PS2 version of Psychonauts? What if the PS2 version was the only version available, then no one could play it.
I hope all the games people buy on Xbox Live or PSN will work with Xbox 720 or PS4, but Microsoft turned off support for Halo 2 and the entire Live service for original Xbox recently, and Sony has NO backwards compatibility for PS2 on PS3. Think 360 games will of course work on 720 if they're digital? Of course not, it will be a completely different console. Unless they actively make sure that the games will work, which both Sony and Microsoft didn't do for all games (if at all), it won't matter if they are available on digitally - they won't work. And if Microsoft and Sony turn off their online service for this generation, which they WILL, you will not be able to download or play Costume Quest, even if you own a console.
It's not "the future of games" to snub the PC, it's shortsightedness. The PC has always been the future of gaming, and digital distribution IS PC gaming.
I will be saying "I told you so" in a few years.
Kroms
The best part of the trailer was when that pony came up. The trailer, guys.
IT'S A RAINBOW UNICORN, not a bloody pony. Duh.
elTee
Well, the logic behind that is the Tingler doesn't shy away from expressing his displeasure about 'no PC' in his newsposts, and as I previously stated, I don't want to give the impression to the world that this is "Mojo's opinion" on the matter. Each staff member has their own personality, and that is encouraged. For me, and my brethren, the 'no PC' thing is a non-issue.
But when thinking about it, why would I NOT want it to come out on PC? That, to me, is insane. I literally don't care - and that applies both ways by definition. You know me well enough to know that I'm not very spiteful.
Yeah, I definitely assumed too much malice on your part. I shouldn't have. Sorry! :)
I just didn't find the joke funny at all, and because of that, I didn't even realize it was supposed to be a joke. Cue lametastic reaction. :O
But when thinking about it, why would I NOT want it to come out on PC? That, to me, is insane. I literally don't care - and that applies both ways by definition. You know me well enough to know that I'm not very spiteful.
elTee
But yes, all console games could be released on PC. There are many reasons why they're not, and I see it as a case of adapt or die. That does suck, for some people, but there's not really anything we can do about it. And turning Mojo into a battleground for the debate is not going to change any publisher's minds about this (and it IS the publishers who decide) - it's just going to divert attention from the fun stuff, like new Double Fine games.
Ideally, if we wanted to avoid debating this on Mojo, we wouldn't make supposedly "joking" flamebait comments designed to troll one side or the other in a news post in the first place.
I've had so much more success with games on consoles than I have on PC. Everything seems to be splitting, sort of like how it was in the golden age of LucasArts, where PCs are good for certain types of games, and consoles are good for the rest.
But yes, all console games could be released on PC. There are many reasons why they're not, and I see it as a case of adapt or die. That does suck, for some people, but there's not really anything we can do about it. And turning Mojo into a battleground for the debate is not going to change any publisher's minds about this (and it IS the publishers who decide) - it's just going to divert attention from the fun stuff, like new Double Fine games.
Remi O
ATMachine
've seen enough awesome console titles fail to come to PC, and I'm already pretty jaded about it. It's a sore spot with me.
Buy a console?
I mean, really, I'm sure people were pissed when the 8-track/Betamax/whatever-technology-have-you was dying too, but the point comes when you have to move on.
I hate consoles with an undying passion. (Translation: I never got the hang of the controls, and still can't.) If gaming abandons PC entirely, I'll abandon gaming. I simply cannot make that transition. Call me a Luddite if you must.
However, the sad thing is, even though it was said in jest, millions of console fanboys out there would agree with LT's sentiment. That saddens me; I don't want the PC to die out as a gaming platform. Nor do I want to give developers any reason to think that abandoning the PC would be acceptable. Jokes like this one are simply not funny to me, and never will be.
Sorry for calling you names and all that, LT. I always do get angry far too easily. Friends?
ATMachine
've seen enough awesome console titles fail to come to PC, and I'm already pretty jaded about it. It's a sore spot with me.
Buy a console?
I mean, really, I'm sure people were pissed when the 8-track/Betamax/whatever-technology-have-you was dying too, but the point comes when you have to move on.
elTee
Yeah ATM, there's only one person acting like an asshole here - everyone else is aware that Mojo is a site with a legacy of humour, and they also have a grasp of irony. Is this another one of your episodes? Will you calm down in a few hours, and pretend it never happened? Or do you think I was being serious? ¬¬
Bah, if this was an attempt at humor on your part, it certainly wasn't one bit funny. I know there are plenty of people who actually DO think that way about PC releases. No reason to add to the pile with a poor attempt at sarcasm.
I've seen enough awesome console titles fail to come to PC, and I'm already pretty jaded about it. It's a sore spot with me. And there's no reason to rub salt in my wounds.
At least put a goddamn smiley face next time in what you think are your "joke" news posts, or something, so we can actually tell you're not 100 percent serious. News flash: it's NEVER obvious on the Internet.
elTee
I don't want our readership - which includes the developers - to think we're a miserable bunch of whining bitches. For a lot of us - me included - the lack of PC support is utterly irrelevant. Raise your complaints however you wish, but don't assume we're all in the same boat.
Which still in no way means that you have to act like an asshole who actually takes DELIGHT in not having a PC version.
The moment someone mentioned "Earthbound-inspired" that was guaranteed. Mix that in with The Nightmare Before Christmas and put Double Fine in too, then you really do have a must-buy.
elTee
Even if they do, so what? There are plenty of old games that deserve a second chance in the years to come, but I still rarely play them. And the LucasArts games wouldn't even work on PC if other people didn't put in the hard work and effort to make them compatible. (Thanks ScummVM!)
What site is this again? So it doesn't matter about people being able to play Grim Fandango does it? I'm sure they'll prefer to play Brutal Legend (until the next generation comes around without backwards compatibility) instead of that "old game".
That's the exact point though - PC games CAN be made to work.
Brutal Legend might be supported, or at the very least you can dig out your old 360/PS3 and put the disc in. However, when Xbox Live/PSN is discontinued for this generation, you will NEVER BE ABLE TO PLAY COSTUME QUEST AGAIN. EVER. Or Deathspank. Unless they get re-released, which a) isn't guaranteed, and b) you'll have to buy it again. So you happy to just rent a game now, or would you prefer to own it for the same price? If it was on PC you would have it forever.
THAT is why I want a PC version. I am uncomfortable buying digital-only games on consoles, a temporary medium. Otherwise I wouldn't care and would happily buy it on 360, as I did with Brutal Legend.
ATMachine
Don't be a dick, LT.
I don't want our readership - which includes the developers - to think we're a miserable bunch of whining bitches. For a lot of us - me included - the lack of PC support is utterly irrelevant. Raise your complaints however you wish, but don't assume we're all in the same boat.
The Tingler
F*** you and f*** your s***** console games that you won't be able to play in 3-4 years.
At least we'll be able to play the game when it's released.
Don't be a dick, LT.
I do hope you can get those banana-costumes in your party. Can't wait to see the 'powered up' versions of those.