How comes people never talk about PC exclusives?

[endtherapture]

People always bang on about console exclusives selling consoles for them, but dismiss PC exclusives as not being important.

Why is this? Are PC exclusives not important despite there being a lot more of them than console exclusives?

 

[Spambot 3000]

Because PC exclusives actually carry viruses that can turn your computer into a Decepticon and it's best we don't let them get publicity.

 

[InfernalGrape]

Because PC is default platform - no need to add word "exclusive" =)

 

[Doom972]

Because it doesn't work the same the other way around. PC doesn't have hardware limitations, so a PC version is always possible, while a console version sometimes isn't. Another reason is controls - it's easy to map gamepad buttons/movement to the keyboard and mouse, but it sometimes requires a complete overhaul of the user interface to make a game intended for PC controls work with a gamepad.

Also, when a console game is exclusive to a single console, it usually means that the developer made an exclusivity deal with the console maker - that gets people mad because a game they might like can be "held hostage" by a console that they don't want. Since the PC is an open platform that isn't made by a single company, no such option is available for PC game developers.

 

[Zhukov]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

Also what Doom972 said re open platform.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

But I thought they do. I saw some Witchers 1 threads popping up from time to time, Diablo 3, Sim city, MMO and all that.

Maybe most PC-only games do not appeal to the mass?

 

[Able Seacat]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

Also what Doom972 said re open platform.

Good old Zhukov here made a thread about a PC exclusive not so long ago.

Also what he said about the high profile thing.

 

[Delerien]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

The next one that comes to mind would be Rome2: Total War (or is it Rome: Total War 2, I can never remember). Anyway, for some reason many people seem to think "Forklift Simulator" when talking about PC exclusives, not "Starcraft 2".

 

[synobal]

Because exclusive usually indicates some deal with the console maker. You don't have to limit yourself with the PC and call yourself an exclusive. Hell it isn't really even a selling point worth mentioning. The whole exclusive thing is for the console warring peasants.

 

[Anachronism]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

The next one that comes to mind would be Rome2: Total War (or is it Rome: Total War 2, I can never remember). Anyway, for some reason many people seem to think "Forklift Simulator" when talking about PC exclusives, not "Starcraft 2".

That's the thing, though. Since The Witcher went multiplatform, there basically aren't any big-name PC exclusives which aren't real-time strategy. There are a bunch of small, quirky indie games, but they're not the sort of thing to get a lot of notice and press coverage. And a lot of them eventually come to XBLA or PSN anyway.

So yeah, the main reason people never talk about PC exclusives is because there are hardly any of them any more.

 

[endtherapture]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

The next one that comes to mind would be Rome2: Total War (or is it Rome: Total War 2, I can never remember). Anyway, for some reason many people seem to think "Forklift Simulator" when talking about PC exclusives, not "Starcraft 2".

That's the thing, though. Since The Witcher went multiplatform, there basically aren't any big-name PC exclusives which aren't real-time strategy. There are a bunch of small, quirky indie games, but they're not the sort of thing to get a lot of notice and press coverage. And a lot of them eventually come to XBLA or PSN anyway.

So yeah, the main reason people never talk about PC exclusives is because there are hardly any of them any more.

There are a bunch of MMOs.

 

[Albino Boo]

The simple reason being there isn't single source of PCs. The consoles have single manufactures who pay for the exclusive deals and spend money on advertising. There is central authority for PCs to do the same.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

The next one that comes to mind would be Rome2: Total War (or is it Rome: Total War 2, I can never remember). Anyway, for some reason many people seem to think "Forklift Simulator" when talking about PC exclusives, not "Starcraft 2".

That's the thing, though. Since The Witcher went multiplatform, there basically aren't any big-name PC exclusives which aren't real-time strategy. There are a bunch of small, quirky indie games, but they're not the sort of thing to get a lot of notice and press coverage. And a lot of them eventually come to XBLA or PSN anyway.

So yeah, the main reason people never talk about PC exclusives is because there are hardly any of them any more.

There are a bunch of MMOs.

For some reason we don't even tend to think of an MMO when we say "game". We tend to define them as a shorter, more compact experience. Possibly because an MMO is less like play and more like work after sufficient time.

OT: The function of an exclusive is to sell the console, not the game. Since most console gamers will probably have a PC for non-gaming purposes, you don't need to try and sell them one. Particularly since it might not be your brand of PC they end up buying.

 

[Sight Unseen]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

The next one that comes to mind would be Rome2: Total War (or is it Rome: Total War 2, I can never remember). Anyway, for some reason many people seem to think "Forklift Simulator" when talking about PC exclusives, not "Starcraft 2".

That's the thing, though. Since The Witcher went multiplatform, there basically aren't any big-name PC exclusives which aren't real-time strategy. There are a bunch of small, quirky indie games, but they're not the sort of thing to get a lot of notice and press coverage. And a lot of them eventually come to XBLA or PSN anyway.

So yeah, the main reason people never talk about PC exclusives is because there are hardly any of them any more.

Dota 2
Team Fortress 2 (not an exclusive but is TF2 even still viable on consoles given how gimped it is compared to PC? Do people still play it on consoles?)
Civ V
Project Eternity
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Wasteland 2
Starcraft 2
Any strategy game

Not all of these are "AAA" but they're all pretty high profile games. There's probably a lot of others I can't think of right now.

 

[404notfound]

People don't talk about PC exclusive games because PC's are not part of the on going console wars, manufacturers of consoles use exclusives as a way to try and influence a family that can only afford one console to buy their console and not the console of their rivals. The closest thing you'd get for PC's would be an operating system war but that's kinda one sided, even though more games recently are getting support for Mac and Linux.

 

[Sight Unseen]

People don't talk about PC exclusive games because PC's are not part of the on going console wars, manufacturers of consoles use exclusives as a way to try and influence a family that can only afford one console to buy their console and not the console of their rivals. The closest thing you'd get for PC's would be an operating system war but that's kinda one sided, even though more games recently are getting support for Mac and Linux.

Graphics Card wars and Digital Distribution wars still kind of happen on PC. Nvidia and AMD both get the rights to optimize certain games first before the other to make their drivers the best for that game. There's no exclusivity though.

 

[Silverbeard]

People always bang on about console exclusives selling consoles for them, but dismiss PC exclusives as not being important.

Why is this? Are PC exclusives not important despite there being a lot more of them than console exclusives?

There are no PC exclusives. The last example of such a thing I can think of is Witcher 1 (even Witcher 2 got to consoles eventually)- but Witcher 1 was a relatively risky project. I can understand the console chaps being reticent to shift that game onto their consoles. The only other games that become PC exclusives are RTS titles (like the soon-to-be Rome 2) that are wholly incompatible with console systems anyway.

The bottom line is that consoles are not that different from each other; they have similar hardware and similar software, barring things like touchscreens or whatever. A game that can run on a PS 4 ought to be able to run on a Xbone. That leads console makers to want exclusive titles to separate their titles from the pack and the best way to do that is to lock in exclusive titles.

 

[Gorrath]

Because how many high-profile PC exclusives do you see being released?

Also what Doom972 said re open platform.

I suppose my question would be, what constitutes a high profile? Certainly PC games in general have a lower profile, overall, than console games. For my money, I would say there are boatloads of PC exclusives that have a high-enough profile among PC gamers to matter. Many of these exclusives are exclusives because of genre and the limitations of console control schemes.

For instance, I consider Europa Universalis IV to be a high profile PC exclusive, but its profile compared to, say, CoD is a joke. I think that a discussion of PC exclusives is really important though, as I have a number of friends who have argued exclusives as a reason to pick Consoles over PC gaming. They were totally ignorant of the sheer number of PC exclusive titles that come out, and when I got a chance to show them, they were pretty blown away. Since gamers do take exclusives seriously when making their platform decisions, I think it would do people well to have a discussion about PC exclusive titles, mostly because they don't have the same profile as console exclusives.

Anyway, I realize I responded to a lot more than what you said, and I don't disagree with you at all.

 

[Anachronism]

Dota 2
Team Fortress 2 (not an exclusive but is TF2 even still viable on consoles given how gimped it is compared to PC? Do people still play it on consoles?)
Civ V
Project Eternity
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Wasteland 2
Starcraft 2
Any strategy game

There are a bunch of MMOs.

You both make good points here. I'm going to blame my own myopia for part of this, given that I don't play MOBAs or MMOs. Still, as excited as I am by Torment and Project Eternity - seriously, I don't think I can stress enough how much I'm looking forward to those games - I maintain that they're not the sort of thing to make a huge impact in the mainstream. As evidence I use the fact that they were funded through Kickstarter, because no publisher would be willing to greenlight a PC-only, old school isometric RPG in this day and age.

As I said in my original post, the independent scene is thriving on PC, and is probably one of the best reasons to use the platform at the moment. You'll be hard pressed to find a "AAA" game that isn't Starcraft or Total War only appearing on PC, though.