Topic: Epic working on 5 games, PC lead platform

[idolminds]

Color me surprised.

"It's nice to target the PC as a primary platform again," teased Capps, "not just for ports."

The revelation was made during a presentation at Gamescom in Germany today. Responding to an audience question, Capps suggested these five titles maybe smaller in scope than, say, the Gears of War projects.

"At Epic we didn't multiply the studio size by five when we started workig on these multiple projects," answered Capps, "so you can make some assumptions about the size of those projects".

I'm cool with smaller projects.

He also makes a good point on issues within the industry.

Capps went on to suggest that companies need smaller-sized projects to counter-balance the big-bucks, high-stakes blockbusters.

"Everyone knows the middle class is disappearing from the console business," he said. "Gears of War I hope will do really well, but a pretty good game doesn't make its money back any more. A game like Homefront sells a couple of million copies and they close the studio, right?

"That's not enough any more. That's pretty depressing. You don't want to see what happens to an industry where it's Call of Duty, Halo and Gears and no-one else has enough money to make any games any more. That's not a fun industry.

"I can't bet my entire company every time I make a game," declared Capps. "That's a really dangerous business."

[Xessive]

Finally, glad to see Epic is back to PC even if just for a little while.

I like small projects. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a smaller, simpler game.

Hmm, Infinity Blade PC Edition? With hi-res graphics etc. Might be tempting.

[idolminds]

Wish we could get Shadow Complex.

[sirean_syan]

I more or less bought the 360 to play Shadow Complex. That is, it was the deciding factor when the game was released. I still feel like it was a good decision.

That's not the point of this post though. This is. The way this article is worded makes it sound like Shadow Complex was cut in favor up upgrading the Unreal Engine and Infinity Blade because they would produce more money in the long and immediate run. I wonder if it really just meant the game was pushed back in favor of projects that were more viable at the time.

[idolminds]

Yeah that sounds kinda weird that they would drop the game entirely.

[scottws]

So Epic is coming back to the PC?  Interesting, given the comments they've made in the past.  To me, they have burned their bridges and I am done with them.

[Cobra951]

It was decided that a technically impressive iOS game would be a better use of time and resources, and hence we received Infinity Blade instead of Shadow Complex 2.

That's the saddest thing I've read in a long time (aside from real-world tragedies anyway).  I've stayed out of the iOS thread just about entirely.  But it's getting harder to ignore the loss of dev resources for real gaming platforms.  Dammit, this sucks.

[Pugnate]

What Scottws said.

It is like it is convenient for them so they are coming back.

[MysterD]

Where the hell is UT4?

[Xessive]

Where the hell is UT4?

Or Unreal 3.

I'd love to see The Samaratin (their most recent tech demo) turn into a full-fledged game.

I'm inclined to agree with Scott and Pug but I believe in second (or is it third?) chances. I want to give Epic a chance to redeem themselves. Also if they're really concerned why don't they just release Gears of War 3 on PC?! The game was already developed, the Unreal engine ports relatively well and I don't think people who would buy it would mind, it's really a matter of the control scheme and network functionality, like the first GoW.

[idolminds]

Because they would (or should) have to port Gears 2 first.

Speaking of Gears PC, anyone else notice it dropped off the face of the earth and all copies you can find are like $50 still?

[Xessive]

Because they would (or should) have to port Gears 2 first.

Speaking of Gears PC, anyone else notice it dropped off the face of the earth and all copies you can find are like $50 still?

Nuts, huh? Epic want to forget about it.

I figure they could skip GoW2 like some other franchises have done e.g. Fable, Devil May Cry (off the top of my head).

[idolminds]

Probably. I imagine thats Microsofts call for that franchise, though.

[Xessive]

Probably. I imagine thats Microsofts call for that franchise, though.

I forgot Microsoft had their claws in on the X360 exclusivity.

Well, we'll see what Epic will do win back the PC crowd. Time will tell.

[scottws]

Aw man, I completed forgot about Gears of War PC!  That's even more fuel on the fire.

Speaking of Gears PC, anyone else notice it dropped off the face of the earth and all copies you can find are like $50 still?

You want my copy?  I assure you that it is a complete pile of crap.  But if you want to find out on your own, more power to you.

[idolminds]

haha, I'd take it. How bad could it be (famous last words)?

[scottws]

I'll have to see if I can find it.  A lot of our stuff is still in a storage unit.  But when I do I'll let you know.  I definitely will not be playing it again.

[MysterD]

haha, I'd take it. How bad could it be (famous last words)?

Gears of War 1 PC is infamous for poor performance issues, texture popping, lag, and stuttering framerate issues upon its release.
It was never patched-out and fixed, despite their forums flamed w/ these issues - b/c this game didn't sell well.
Throw in G4WL, and you also have the infamous profile save deletion and disappearance issue that many G4WL games have [Batman: AA, Fallout 3, etc].

And, there was a patch to fix the issue w/ the game not activating b/c of a problem w/ time calendar set for game to expire.

Hopefully, modern PC's can handle this games...or some modders fixed it themselves....