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Cliff Bleszinski doesn’t trust PC enthusiasts

Gargoyle September 29, 2008 11:15 PM ET in Tech

That may be a little harsh, but that’s just what the lead designer for Epic Games implied that in an interview with TVG on Monday. Bleszinski said that Gears of War 2 will not be coming to the PC not only because of the myriad possible graphics chips they would need to design for, but also because computer enthusiasts know well the currents of the sea of warez.

…the person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know bit torrent to know all the elements so they can pirate software. Therefore, high-end videogames are suffering very much on the PC.

However, this rationalization doesn’t really hold water.  Modern games continue to sell well on PCs despite ambitious system requirements and piracy.  Crysis went platinum while being both the standard that high-end rigs are judged by and widely available on BitTorrent.  If Bleszinski had said that their resources would be better spent moving onto new projects than milking extra profit from another platform, fine.   After all, it is easier to ensure an intended gaming experience on a console, and development time is expensive.  This characterization of the PC fan base that helped propel Epic to where it is today is a bit of a slap in the face, though.

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14 Comments:

  1. Buddy J
    Dept. of Propaganda
    29 Sep '08, 11:18 pm

    Wutadick. Is it really that much harder to program for graphics cards? Surely it's a cop-out.

  2. _k_
    deep in the bush
    29 Sep '08, 11:33 pm

    Well there is some work just look at games like Grid and Dirt, both done by the same company and both poor ports to the PC.....I have to use a crack to play it even though i purchased the game, the DRM won't work correctly on 64bit. BitTorrent is turning into an option when you don't want to load companies spy ware or their game will not play because of OS.

  3. allenpan
    Icrontic Duke of Haxor
    30 Sep '08, 12:30 am

    geeze. those who want to steal will always find the way, seriously i find priating console games is much easier, since i just need to DL the DVD9 of X360 image and burn it, as for PC, i need find crack, patch...blah blah...seriously, priatcy been there, even back in original nintando, what do we do in asia? i make NES to read floppy and u can have like 10 small original games on the floppy or 3 floppys for 1 big game, such as chorno-trigger for SNES...sigh what is develop thinking? if is good i will buy it, if is shit. no freaking way...

    i dl crysis warhead but i also went out and bought a collector edition after playing the BT copy for few hours....first the price @ 30$ is good, also , is much better than original...that is the way should be,///

  4. pseudonym
    Faster than you!
    30 Sep '08, 2:22 am

    Geee, thanks Cliffy!! The fact that I can bittorrent and upgrade my computer means I can, and apparently will, steal!!

    I'm off to take a picture of my stack of store bought games with my middle finger in front of it and send it to him, including all that Epic swill I've bought over the years....

  5. pigflipper
    Shot Master
    30 Sep '08, 3:35 am

    Thanks CliffyB for turning your back on those you made you into the icon you are today.

  6. Lincoln
    Snapperhead
    30 Sep '08, 10:05 am

    Again, contrast with Valve's stance.

  7. Zuntar
    Modder extraordinaire
    30 Sep '08, 1:41 pm

    OK, so question for all of you.
    What percentage of the games that you play have you "acquired"?

  8. Gargoyle
    We can't stop here...
    30 Sep '08, 1:50 pm
    Quoting Zuntar

    OK, so question for all of you.
    What percentage of the games that you play have you "acquired"?

    These days, 0%. But, my hardcore gaming days peaked years ago. I only play two PC games even semi-regularly, and they're not new. I suspect that people who have the urge to try all the latest and greatest games will be more tempted to "sample."

    I dunno though - I've thought about upgrading my video card, and apparently I'll have to go pirate something after that.

  9. primesuspect
    The Icrontic Guy
    30 Sep '08, 2:07 pm
    Quoting Zuntar

    OK, so question for all of you.
    What percentage of the games that you play have you "acquired"?

    Zero. I don't pirate anything. I have spent thousands of dollars on games over the years. And yes, some of that went to Epic.

  10. Snarkasm
    The Photographer.
    30 Sep '08, 2:17 pm

    Congratulations, we're all above reproach. Do we honestly think we're the majority, though?

    It sucks he's making this generalization and thereby preventing ALL PC sales, but let's not pretend he doesn't have a fair reason to do so. Spore got torrented 170,000 times in three days from one tracker. We can be disappointed in his/Epic's decision, and certainly have every right to be, but to insult him personally is just ignoring the mountain of evidence they had to weigh to determine what was best to do for their company.

    /me prepares flamesuit for defending big bad corps for once

  11. Gargoyle
    We can't stop here...
    30 Sep '08, 2:24 pm

    Piracy is definitely costing companies money, but it's not rendering them profitless.

    Spore went platinum in under a month (about 3x faster than Crysis, BTW).

  12. UPSLynx
    The Dean of Computer Graphics
    30 Sep '08, 4:21 pm
    Quoting Gargoyle

    Bleszinski said that Gears of War 2 will not be coming to the PC ...

    And nothing of value was lost.

    I liked the first GoW, but it was far from groundbreaking. If little Cliffy wants to run away, let him. The mans ruined franchises that the PC loved and renowned. Most of us want nothing to do with him and his crap at this point.

    UT3? Quite the disappointment. The series that once spearheaded the PC online platform has been reduced to rubbish. We've got VALVe, we don't need Epic any more.

    Like the shirt about Joss Wheadon, VALVe are my masters now.

    Man.... I'd wear the heck out of that shirt.

    But don't worry, I can just about guarentee we'll see a GoW2 release on PC. They said the same about Gow, Halo 2, Mass Effect... I can keep going. The fact of the matter is, if there's a profit to be made, someone will go for it.

    Regarding piracy, I haven't pirated a single game in about 6 years now. (With one recent exception, I felt it warrented.) I figure I shouldn't damage the industry I'll probably be working in soon.

    Not to mention, game devs deserve the money. Just like those that work on films.

    Snarkasm, part of the reason why everyone gets so indignant about this is because CliffyB's done and said all this before. He's a frequent offender of the 'BAWWWW PC SUX I LUV XBAWKS 360 NO PIRATCY HURR DURR' mantra. The man is a fool with a very large mouth.

    Screw him. I don't care any more.

  13. Winfrey
    kaishakunin
    30 Sep '08, 10:16 pm

    I agree with you Lynx, UT3 was a disapointment. Epic has lost their roots as well as their ability to put out a high quality product. Cliff stopped being a "creative" developer awhile ago and he can continue to make uninspired console rehashes, people will eat that crap up.

    As for me I have lost respect for a company that forgot its identity and is dissing on the very people that helped them to where they are.

  14. troll
    Folding Troll
    1 Oct '08, 12:55 am

    Well if GOW2 is anything like that "PoS" that was GOW, then who really cares.

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