"dumbed down for the console gamer"

[JUMBO PALACE]

Its probably because you have ruined every awesome franchise, EX: look at Fallout 2 compared to 3. One was awesome, the other was a dumbed down buggy piece of trash. Just please play Halo Wars, and leave the rest of the RTS's alone.

Damn trolls.

 

[-Torchedini-]

you are primarily a console game, who is more interested in starting a argument, than actually being involved in a constructive discussion.

I do game primarily on the console, though I'm not interested in prolonging an argument, only refuting this ridiculous notion that console gaming brings down PC gaming when it comes to multiplatform development.
Consoles don't. Developers do.

Yeah and Developers do because of Consoles

And people are stupid in general. Thats why most people bought a console for gaming. And since this is all about money the developers go for as much turnover as possible.

 

[Diligent]

The term is not dumbed down for console gamers, it's dumbed down for consoles.
First, I am a fan of consoles and the PC but there are clear examples of dumbing down that have happened in the past.

Deus Ex: Invisible war was on the Xbox, and to accomodate this the texture quality was lower than the PC average at the time, the levels were tiny and loading points were frequent compared to the PC average at the time, the inventory and ammo was completely removed to accomodate a controller based control scheme, there was no proper widescreen support which is something the first game has...etc.

Many people like to look at halo as an example of dumbing down because of the lack of weapon selection and slow "floaty" movement. This is a bullshit example because the game was designed with the controller in mind, and it just makes sense on a controller.

So weather the term pisses you off or not (I don't know how it could piss people off) it is 100% true in some cases, while in other cases games are better on the console.

 

[lumenadducere]

In a Game Informer from a while ago. In it it stated that Bioware will try to make sure the game is exactly the same across all platforms. Whether or not they were referring to graphics, gameplay, or anything else is unclear though. However usually when thats said it usually ends with a shoddy PC/console port.

Plus it makes me worried about mods. The first game was moddable, very moddable. So far we haven't heard anything on it for DA2.

Check out some of the dev posts on the BioWare forums. They're going to be keeping tactical gameplay, but the camera may be changing. They haven't set it in stone yet, but they're looking for something that's closer than the way zoomed out overhead that still gives you the tactical pause. So we'll see.

And the GI comment was more directed at the notion that for the first game the consensus amongst the press was that the console version was inferior and didn't play as well as the PC version, so that was intended to say "hey, the consoles are going to be as good this time around."

And as for mods, they're using the DA toolset again, but it's been modified. They're hoping to get the modified toolset released a few months after ship because they don't have the time to include it in the launch. But since it's using the same toolset I'm sure people will be able to figure out how to incorporate mods using it with DA2.

 

[Baby Tea]

Consoles don't. Developers do.

Yeah and Developers do because of Consoles

And people are stupid in general. Thats why most people bought a console for gaming. And since this is all about money the developers go for as much turnover as possible.

No, developers do because they are lazy.

And your presupposition that only stupid people buy consoles for games is beyond silly.
I can't believe anyone actually thinks that. You've got to be trolling.

But whether you are or you aren't, you're far from willing to have a serious discussion about this.
Especially with remarks like that.

Hilarious.

 

[CobraX]

Its probably because you have ruined every awesome franchise, EX: look at Fallout 2 compared to 3. One was awesome, the other was a dumbed down buggy piece of trash. Just please play Halo Wars, and leave the rest of the RTS's alone.

Fanboy Alert.

 

[drivel]

If you're looking for a detailed case-study of what this phrase means, look at Eurogamer's comparison of the console and PC versions of Dead Rising 2:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-dead-rising-2-tech-comparison-article?page=1

"At GDC China, Crytek outlined its vision for future game engines. You can read the full presentation yourself, but the R&D developers behind the state-of-the-art CryEngine technology agree with the theory that PC gaming is being held back by the current-generation HD consoles, and there will be no new rendering paradigms while the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are still the dominant forces in the market."

 

[Irridium]

In a Game Informer from a while ago. In it it stated that Bioware will try to make sure the game is exactly the same across all platforms. Whether or not they were referring to graphics, gameplay, or anything else is unclear though. However usually when thats said it usually ends with a shoddy PC/console port.

Plus it makes me worried about mods. The first game was moddable, very moddable. So far we haven't heard anything on it for DA2.

Check out some of the dev posts on the BioWare forums. They're going to be keeping tactical gameplay, but the camera may be changing. They haven't set it in stone yet, but they're looking for something that's closer than the way zoomed out overhead that still gives you the tactical pause. So we'll see.

And the GI comment was more directed at the notion that for the first game the consensus amongst the press was that the console version was inferior and didn't play as well as the PC version, so that was intended to say "hey, the consoles are going to be as good this time around."

And as for mods, they're using the DA toolset again, but it's been modified. They're hoping to get the modified toolset released a few months after ship because they don't have the time to include it in the launch. But since it's using the same toolset I'm sure people will be able to figure out how to incorporate mods using it with DA2.

Well thats reassuring. I'll go browsing the forums for these posts then. Unless you happen to have them on-hand.

 

[blankedboy]

I find that insulting.

I do a fair share of console gaming my self and I feel it's more like "made complicated for the PC gamer"

I mean, who can keep track of all those randome buttons???????

Me...
There's only about 90 or so, and most of the time it's WASD + the mouse...

 

[Potato21]

Battlefield 2/2142 to Bad Company series....it was dumbed down for the consoles. Some situations there may not be any dumbing down, in a lot of cases PC gamers are getting angry that games are losing features and depth to appeal to gamers on the console. BF3 better return the series back to what it was (but with the frostbite engine, that would be awesome).

Another example was when MW2 was announced to not have dedicated servers, the games online system was dumbed down to P2P.

Its not saying that the console users arent mature, its saying that the games are losing features to make it either work on a console, or appeal more to the console gamers, who may not like the depth PC gamers like.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Well I'll point to the example I used in the blog post I made: Dragon Age. Dragon Age is very very different on the PC as it is on the console. The PC version gets higher resolution graphics, a totally different camera angle, and a completely different control scheme. The console version gets lower resolution graphics, and a controller-friendly control scheme. Both parties get what they want and get to play the same game.

That's proper multiplatform development.

And what sucks is that it seems Bioware's treating the PC and consoles the same with DA2's development. This frightens me because instead of playing to each platform's strenghts, as they did with Dragon Age, they're just making it all the same, which could negatively affect all platforms.

I thought that Bioware had stated that they were making the console version of Dragon Age 2 more action-oriented, but keeping the PC version more strategy oriented. Where did you hear any different?

In a Game Informer from a while ago. In it it stated that Bioware will try to make sure the game is exactly the same across all platforms. Whether or not they were referring to graphics, gameplay, or anything else is unclear though. However usually when thats said it usually ends with a shoddy PC/console port.

Plus it makes me worried about mods. The first game was moddable, very moddable. So far we haven't heard anything on it for DA2.

I read that article too (if you are talking about the cover story from a while back that is). I had thought that the article stated near the end that the traditional "Pause and Play" gameplay is being kept for the PC version, while the console version is being designed to be more action oriented.

 

[DustyDrB]

Well I'll point to the example I used in the blog post I made: Dragon Age. Dragon Age is very very different on the PC as it is on the console. The PC version gets higher resolution graphics, a totally different camera angle, and a completely different control scheme. The console version gets lower resolution graphics, and a controller-friendly control scheme. Both parties get what they want and get to play the same game.

That's proper multiplatform development.

And what sucks is that it seems Bioware's treating the PC and consoles the same with DA2's development. This frightens me because instead of playing to each platform's strenghts, as they did with Dragon Age, they're just making it all the same, which could negatively affect all platforms.

I thought that Bioware had stated that they were making the console version of Dragon Age 2 more action-oriented, but keeping the PC version more strategy oriented. Where did you hear any different?

In a Game Informer from a while ago. In it it stated that Bioware will try to make sure the game is exactly the same across all platforms. Whether or not they were referring to graphics, gameplay, or anything else is unclear though. However usually when thats said it usually ends with a shoddy PC/console port.

Plus it makes me worried about mods. The first game was moddable, very moddable. So far we haven't heard anything on it for DA2.

I read that article too (if you are talking about the cover story from a while back that is). I had thought that the article stated near the end that the traditional "Pause and Play" gameplay is being kept for the PC version, while the console version is being designed to be more action oriented.

It does say that. I have it right here and it says exactly that. Don't fret, people.

They exactly said they want to play more to each platform's strength, which is something they didn't feel they did well in Origins.

 

[drivel]

If he doesn't come back to do it, allow me to explain. If you couldn't guess (I hope you could) what he is refering to is blaming ones misdeeds on the attraction of the misdeed.

-snip-

No, I got it. It's just the most ignorant, inappropriate and appallingly offensive analogy I have ever seen posted on this forum.

THIS. Wholly inappropriate to equivocate RAPE with porting console games to the PC.

 

[WOPR]

this is a phrase i see alot on the escapist but what exactly does it mean, i think as a console gamer its a misrepresentation, the majority of console gamers are mature but there is a loud majority that gives us a bad name.

i can understand that keyboard and mouse is more accurate and your average PC can process alot more than a console which is fair enough but when you say "dumbed down for console audience" its implying that they will simplify the gameplay to suit us and suggests that we are not as mature

so i want to know why this phrase is used, i can accept if it relates to the control scheme or the processing power but its misrepresenting to say that its because we are dumb

EDIT: its good to see that people are taking this well and not resulting to blind fanboyism

I play console and pc games

easy way to explain the "dumbed down" thing is
A) you never really see console games that require in depth thinking (ie RTS games... go figure thoes only work well on PC anyways... except Warzone 2100 on PS1)

B) computers have mouse and keyboard, consoles have joysticks and ridiculous auto aim settings

C) the ammount of actions, I'm pretty sure no one here has heard of "Universal Combat" but it uses each and every key on the keyboard and changes they're actions depending on which combination of Ctrl/Shift/Alt you're holding at the time; it's a completely unneeded amount of controls, while a console have a good 4 face buttons 4 shoulder buttons start and select

now just to make it clear, I love both console and PC games, I'm just guessing this is what they mean

I personally have never seen the phrase "dumbed down for a console game"
however I can see it applying to certian games... I can't remember their names at the moment but on the computer you died in one hit, got 1 continue, and had 3 lives... then the console port you died in 2 hits, got 5 contiues, and have 10 lives...

also just to say it
many games have been getting the "dumbed down" treatment in other ways

Super Mario World SNES = you play as mario, and if you get hit you go to tiny mario
Super Mario World GBA = you can play as mario OR luigi with his flutter jump, and if you get hit you lose your power up then if you get hit again you go small

making the game much easier

 

[Archetypal_Maniac]

this is a phrase i see alot on the escapist but what exactly does it mean, i think as a console gamer its a misrepresentation, the majority of console gamers are mature but there is a loud majority that gives us a bad name.

i can understand that keyboard and mouse is more accurate and your average PC can process alot more than a console which is fair enough but when you say "dumbed down for console audience" its implying that they will simplify the gameplay to suit us and suggests that we are not as mature

so i want to know why this phrase is used, i can accept if it relates to the control scheme or the processing power but its misrepresenting to say that its because we are dumb

EDIT: its good to see that people are taking this well and not resulting to blind fanboyism

Dumbing down doesn't mean your dumb per say, for example Dragon Age: Origins on PC is harder and more complex to play, the console version is dumbed down to make it more simple. Demographics clearly indicate an average age of gamers to be lower on the console than on the PC. When it comes to ca$h they don't really care about the minority, they go where the monies are.

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

Well, there does seem to be simplification at times when the primary targets are consoles(esp controls,) but I don't know enough to say how vast the differences are. I can say that I was disappointed with the CoD series ever since it became primarily for consoles. I hardly recognize Infinity Ward anymore. And while it's true it may be a decision done by the devs, I have to question why they made that decision.

I will always prefer Valve games on the PC. The treatment they get on consoles is horrendous. The poor consoles don't even get games like Day of Defeat, and you may as well not even bother picking up the Orange Box unless you just want to play Portal.

Then there are mods.

 

[gerrymander61]

System Shock 2 vs Bioshock
Deus Ex vs Deus Ex: Invisible War

Pretty well sums up "dumbed down for consoles." "Simplified for consoles" would be more appropriate, I guess.

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

Consoles don't. Developers do.

Yeah and Developers do because of Consoles

And people are stupid in general. Thats why most people bought a console for gaming. And since this is all about money the developers go for as much turnover as possible.

No, developers do because they are lazy.

And your presupposition that only stupid people buy consoles for games is beyond silly.
I can't believe anyone actually thinks that. You've got to be trolling.

But whether you are or you aren't, you're far from willing to have a serious discussion about this.
Especially with remarks like that.

Hilarious.

Am I supposed to believe that developers are lazy because you said so? Where's your proof?

 

[mexicola]

I don't think it's about console gamers but about consoles themselves - the simpler controller and the general philosophy of the games made for that market. But then again I never use that phrase so meh.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

Its basically used when PC gamers get a game from a developer they love but dont like the game itself. The refuse to accept the fact that the developer they are blowing can make a bad game and look for any excuse out there. This is one of their favourite since it not only removes the blame from the dev it also blames their most hated enemy the console gamers.

It's used because people are ridiculous. I did a blog post on this recently, and the entire notion is beyond silly. 'Dumbed down for consoles' is just the insecure PC elitist's excuse to push blame from poor development (Because they love the developer) to other, 'inferior' platforms. It's a joke.

Holy shit that is an amazing little article you got there. It just so perfectly explains everything in ways that I couldnt. I might actually have to link it next time somebody brings up this rediculous arguement that games get dumbed down.

Its probably because you have ruined every awesome franchise, EX: look at Fallout 2 compared to 3. One was awesome, the other was a dumbed down buggy piece of trash. Just please play Halo Wars, and leave the rest of the RTS's alone.

Its all just in your head. I actually remember on multiple occasions this site voting fallout 3 as one of the best games out there. That should say something along the lines of just because YOU dont like a game doesnt mean its shit. I wont say it wasnt buggy because its bethesda and all their games are buggy as hell. I will say that I played both fallout 1 & 2 and thought them to be trash, oh and I did play them both before fallout 3.

I think you just proved my point with whole dumbing down of games. I'm sorry that those games actually made you think. Why don't you just call Diablo a steaming turd, Warcraft and Starcraft garbage, and the explain to me how awesome Halo is.

Take your elitism and shove it. How about you tell me how awesome Half-Life is? Or even Starcraft? I haven't played Starcraft, but from what I've heard it seems like one of those "you're either good at it, or not" things.

Halo is extremely enjoyable as it stands out from current FPS and TPS games. Sure, it still has regenerating health, but it mixes in a health bar. Not only that, but it isn't a "realistic" war shooter. There's jetpacks, lasers, aliens etc etc. Sure, it may not have the best narrative, but it has a great dev team which cares about their games and communities to put that extra bit of polish on their games and to release weekly updates both on their community website and in-game. I think the reason PC Gamers bash Halo is because they're sore it hasn't been on their platform in a while.

Having said that, I'm not saying PC Gaming is terrible. My PC is a piece of crap and can't run the latest games. I still play older games such as Evil Genius or Battlefield 2142. I even played City of Heroes for five years. Sure, I prefer a controller rather than a mouse+keyboard, but that doesn't mean I wish the PC Gaming industry would die in fire.