Topic: MS gets Bioshock and Splinter Cell Exclusivity

[iPPi]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6158827.html

Now... I'm still really hoping that Bioshock will still be released for the PC, otherwise I will be very disappointed.

[PyroMenace]

Oh if it goes 360 only I will be fucking livid. I can only guess that MS pushed for it but Irrational didnt want it to happen, and I hope it stays that way.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, that's fucking weak.  Still, it's going to come out for PC.  You know it is.  It just sucks that we're probably going to have to wait.  And that greatly upsets me as I was looking forward to playing it ON MY PC.  Ugh.

[Pugnate]

I am pretty sure it will come to PC after all that coverage. And I think Que is party happy cause it makes his 360 a better investment.

No but I am sure it will come to PC after all that coverage from PC Gamer. Splinter Cell I can see going after what happened with the R6 and Ghost Recon franchise.

Ok wait...

ummmm...Do you guys even read the links?

not the least of which was a pair of anticipated titles becoming exclusives for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Well?

Splinter Cell would be coming only for Microsoft's next-gen console and the PC

Jeebus! Ok so what was the drama about? That's pretty conclusive, don't you think? haha this has happened here before. Someone posts a link and some comments, and then no one reads the link and starts a chain of over reaction.

This isn't news to me anyway. I always didn't see Bioshock going to Sony at launch. Also if you think about it, Microsoft's interpretation of exclusivity is exclusive for a year or so.

[Xessive]

Microsoft have a tendency to keep the term "exclusive" fairly loose-ended. When MS acquired Bungie, Halo was still on the PC list, but when the Xbox became their priority they pulled it from the PC release list and kept an exclusive Xbox release (mainly to boost Xbox sales). 2 years later Halo is released for PC, and everybody is still ticked off about it.

The whole fiasco with R6 Lockdown was a real mess. I'm still kinda mad about it. That's $50 down the drain, and no new R6 game I was really looking forward to. On top of that it's on 5 discs and it has Starforce.

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is a really boring game. You literally do the same shit over and over, and there's no real sense of tactics like in the original GR. This one is more like "Shoot! Shoot the crap out of them! What? Yeah, you can take cover behind that car if you want to!"

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory was a huge success on PC! Even bigger than the Xbox release. So I'm not too worried about SC. Ubisoft Montréal generally know what they're doing. Taking Double Agent off the PC shelves would be a pretty illogical move.

[MysterD]

Microsoft have a tendency to keep the term "exclusive" fairly loose-ended. When MS acquired Bungie, Halo was still on the PC list, but when the Xbox became their priority they pulled it from the PC release list and kept an exclusive Xbox release (mainly to boost Xbox sales). 2 years later Halo is released for PC, and everybody is still ticked off about it.

Yeah, b/c Halo PC ran like junk and was not the FPS game everyone made it out to be.

The whole fiasco with R6 Lockdown was a real mess. I'm still kinda mad about it. That's $50 down the drain, and no new R6 game I was really looking forward to. On top of that it's on 5 discs and it has Starforce.

...

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory was a huge success on PC!

Chaos Theory ALSO has Starforce.

Even bigger than the Xbox release.

I guess PC gamers like Starforce....

So I'm not too worried about SC. Ubisoft Montréal generally know what they're doing. Taking Double Agent off the PC shelves would be a pretty illogical move.

Agreed.

[Xessive]

Hehe well, Starforce was a bad point of SCCT (and a whole bunch of Ubisoft games of the time), but in all fairness it's an inconvenience rather than a flaw on the part of the game's content. Atleast SCCT (the copy I have) is on a single DVD.

[MysterD]

Hehe well, Starforce was a bad point of SCCT (and a whole bunch of Ubisoft games of the time), but in all fairness it's an inconvenience rather than a flaw on the part of the game's content.

I really hope Ubi plans to remove the SF-need for Prince of Persia: Two Thrones and SC: Chaos Theory. It would make my day.

And Larian removing the SF-need from Beyond Divinity would be nice, too...

Atleast SCCT (the copy I have) is on a single DVD.

Definitely a good thing. More publishers should take note.

[beo]

Oh if it goes 360 only I will be fucking livid. I can only guess that MS pushed for it but Irrational didnt want it to happen, and I hope it stays that way.

from joystiq.com -

Both BioShock and Splinter Cell Conviction (the suspected title for the post-Double Agent iteration) will be console-exclusive to the Xbox 360; BioShock will still be coming to the PC, while Splinter Cell can still be released for the PC and various portable console (DS, PSP). BioShock publisher Take-Two will also be providing "exclusive access to two downloadable, epic episodes of Grand Theft Auto IV via Xbox Live, each with hours of entirely new gameplay.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/27/splinter-cell-bioshock-gta-iv-episodes-are-console-exclusive-f/

[Xessive]

What? GTA is going episodic as well?! Wait, I don't really care about GTA much.. Making BioShock console exclusive will be a huge mistake.

I think we'll need to rattle some cages and make as much noise as we can about it.

[beo]

What? GTA is going episodic as well?! Wait, I don't really care about GTA much.. Making BioShock console exclusive will be a huge mistake.

I think we'll need to rattle some cages and make as much noise as we can about it.

did you read what i posted? bioshock is still coming to the pc! it's only exclusive to the 360 in terms of consoles (meaning the wii and ps3 wont see it).

[iPPi]

Good stuff.

[Xessive]

did you read what i posted? bioshock is still coming to the pc! it's only exclusive to the 360 in terms of consoles (meaning the wii and ps3 wont see it).

Sorry, I misread the one part! I thought thatw as just about SC I don't care too much about consoles, as long as it comes to PC I'm happy

[Quemaqua]

The sad thing is I *did* read the link and still somehow didn't pick up on it.  Of course, I was tired as fuck and could barely see straight, which might explain it.

[PyroMenace]

Yea I kinda got scared too, I read it as 360 exclusive and will come to PC later. *whew*

[MysterD]

Yeah, that's fucking weak.  Still, it's going to come out for PC.  You know it is.  It just sucks that we're probably going to have to wait.  And that greatly upsets me as I was looking forward to playing it ON MY PC.  Ugh.

I think Que will LOVE this news on Bioshock -- June '07 for the PC....

Oh, and the X360, also....

[iPPi]

I'll be getting it for the PC myself as well.  I mean, the PC version of the game tends to be cheaper than the Xbox360 version.

[Quemaqua]

And it will look better, sound better, and have more options.  At least if you've got the rig for it.  And thanks, MyD.  It's good to have a date!  Because I really need to get that old HD fixed so I'll actually have roomed for the friggin' thing...

[Pugnate]

I think Que will LOVE this news on Bioshock -- June '07 for the PC....

Oh, and the X360, also....

That's so far away. I don't know... it almost seems like there was at least one excellent game released every month a couple of years ago.  Nowadays despite all the hype surrounding the success of the industry, things just seem thinner. I was particularly disappointed by what was available during the holiday season. 

Also credit to Que for being the first of us to call attention to this. At the time most of us were like huh? This looks neato.

[Quemaqua]

That's just because half of you never played System Shock.  Actually, I don't know that *anyone* here has played the original System Shock.  I think Cobra did, and I know people played SS2, but did anyone play the first?  This game is something of an extension of those games, hence I'd saw off my arm in order to get news about it.  =)

[MysterD]

That's just because half of you never played System Shock.  Actually, I don't know that *anyone* here has played the original System Shock.  I think Cobra did, and I know people played SS2, but did anyone play the first?  This game is something of an extension of those games, hence I'd saw off my arm in order to get news about it.  =)

Ain't played SS1.

SS2 is good stuph (thanks again a million times, Idol!), to say the least -- I do need to play that one more.

[Pugnate]

Ummm.. yes I played SS2 and SS1.

SS1 I found far more enjoyable than SS1 for some reason. Then again I was a kid and was watching my cousin at it.

[nickclone]

At first I thought MS was trying to bring PC like gaming to the masses with the Xbox. In reality it seems like they're trying to eradicate PC gaming altogether.

SS2 is the only game to scare the living shit out of me to the point where I was afraid to continue playing. Once I got over the symbiotic dudes and psychic monkeys I had to overcome freaking robots. Thats as far as I got.

[Cobra951]

Ummm.. yes I played SS2 and SS1.

SS1 I found far more enjoyable than SS1 for some reason. Then again I was a kid and was watching my cousin at it.

Um, I can't get the sense out of that from context.  (I tried.)  So which is it?

I think I liked SS2 more, but SS1 was by far the more revolutionary title in its day.

[Pugnate]

Sorry I watched my cousin play System Shock on his PC and loved it. I found it far more scary than SS2, then again it could have to do with the stage of my life.

As for SS2, after PCG's review I bought it the day it came out. Myself and Xessive both sat down to play it, and we both didn't like it as much as the first one.

Of course Deus Ex always comes up whenever I think of SS2. That's because it uses a lot of SS2's mechanics.

[Pugnate]

At first I thought MS was trying to bring PC like gaming to the masses with the Xbox. In reality it seems like they're trying to eradicate PC gaming altogether.

With Vista they are 'apparently' trying to reinvigorate PC Gaming. They are soon going to be launching their 'games for windows' program. A lot of major stores will have test PCs with state of the art equipment tuned for PC gaming. Each will be demonstrating the latest Windows games.

They are also going to refine the games section with Vista games coming in DVDs packaged similar to console games. And you are about to see this logo everywhere:



Here check out these two sites:

http://www.gamesforwindows.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/default.mspx

Both were launched this past year.

[Quemaqua]

Keep in mind, Pug, that watching someone play a game doesn't equal playing it.  But yes, I liked the first better than the second as well, but I still loved the second.  Bioshock may not be SS3, but that's actually fine with me.  I think the new setting and stuff is going to really breathe new life into the SS-styled gameplay.

[Pugnate]

Well obviously...

[MysterD]

With Vista they are 'apparently' trying to reinvigorate PC Gaming. They are soon going to be launching their 'games for windows' program. A lot of major stores will have test PCs with state of the art equipment tuned for PC gaming. Each will be demonstrating the latest Windows games.

I do think Microsoft is trying to reinvigorate PC gaming w/ all the stuff that got planned for Vista that we read in interviews and stuff, w/ the new standard DVD cases and DX10 plans, sounds great and all....

....But making games "Vista Exclusive," like they announced for Halo 2 and Alan Wake, WAY before the OS is EVEN released is NOT the way to reinvigorate PC gaming. That's alienating users b/c we ain't even adopted an OS yet, yet M$ is trying to shove Vista down our throats before we're even ready for that.

I think for at least a few years, games should be Win XP & Vista as a minimum requirement. Hell, we just saw in the last year or so games finally be Win XP ONLY.

They are also going to refine the games section with Vista games coming in DVDs packaged similar to console games. And you are about to see this logo everywhere

I do like that idea, myself -- w/ the boxes becoming DVD packages and all.

Most times, I wonder why the game is in the mini-box it comes in; as the box feels like most of it is empty, and all you get is a game in a paper sleeve -- or a bunch of them and a manual. Why waste all that space, if you ain't gonna use it properly???

[Quemaqua]

Personally, I hate the whole idea.  MS has it's fucking console, now they need to shut the fuck up about PC gaming instead of trying to own it.

[Pugnate]

Well PC gaming is in trouble. It needs something. All these fucking games coming out in unplayable states... wtf is going on?

Neverwinter Nights, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Rainbow Six Vegas just to name a few.

[MysterD]

Well PC gaming is in trouble. It needs something. All these fucking games coming out in unplayable states... wtf is going on?

Neverwinter Nights, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Rainbow Six Vegas just to name a few.

Let's add to the list: Gothic 3 (Xessive can vouch for me, since I ain't got G3), GRAW PC, BF 2142, and Dark Messiah.

NWN2 was fixed w/ a lot of issues, w/ 1.03 pretty much....Still could run better than it does, but at least most graphical bells and whistles, for me, are on now....

Dark Messiah was said to be also buggy upon release, but in its most recent patch --- it switched the "High" setting and renamed it now "Very High", while adding a brand new "High" setting. fixed a good amount of bugs. I run it on the new "High" and it runs and looks great -- never below 30 FPS EVER.

PC Gaming ain't in trouble, if you ask me. Lot of great games came out this past year and some good ones are on the horizon, but this past 2006 year has been a nasty year for a number of games "released WAY too early out the gate."

[iPPi]

Yea Double Agent had some problems on the PC.  Still I'm playing it on the PC and it's fine now.  I think I'm nearing the end of the game already.

I bought Vegas for the 360 though, since it got rave reviews for the 360 version.

[Xessive]

Double Agent is still pretty buggy, even after the two patches. The save system is still faulty, and there are a few other gameplay bugs here and there.

R6 Vegas is pretty decent (albeit heavy) on PC. I've only played about an hour of it, so I can't say much about it. Though I hadn't really encountered any major issues. It's already got two patches that people seem content with.

I don't patching, but it supposed to be a "just in case" scenario. Now they're being treated as the standard procedure.. "Oh release it now, if there are any bugs we'll just patch it." It's almost like we're game testers who pay instead of get paid.

[scottws]

...which is exactly why I'll never purposely contribute money to EA again for a PC game.  They have no interest in hiring beta testers to provide a quality product.

[Cobra951]

I'm on the console side of my cycle now.  The Windows PC is going through too many expensive upheavals.