If you played Transformers: War for Cybertron back in 2010 on the Xbox and PS3, then you were most likely treated to a barrage of superb transforming robot-on-robot violence that successfully recaptured the spirit of that nostalgic cartoon, making Autobots and Decepticons more than just another Michael Bay joke.
If you played the game on PC however, you most likely dished out some violence of your own on your poor, defenceless rig as the final product that appeared on that platform was a bug-riddled mess that had been severely glitch-slapped.
A sequel will be arriving this year, under the name of Fall of Cybertron, and looks set to provide more of the same, addictive gameplay as the original title, only with more improvements and of course, robot dinosaurs.
It’s going to be available on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but PC owners will unfortunately not get to flex their inner Autobot, as the game is staying far away from that platform. And developer High Moon Studios has a good reason why PC fans will see a Transformers 4 film before they see another game on their platform.
They simply cannot faithfully port the title over, it’s as simple as that. Game Director Matt Tieger spoke to Kotaku about why exactly the studio was abandoning any attempt to do so, saying that the studio did not have enough experience to do so.
“There are a couple of reasons why that is,” Tieger said. “Focus is one. I know that it’s not a huge leap to do a PC SKU, but it is different. It’s outside of our area of expertise, to be honest.”
I think there are a few things that are inherent in what PC consumers are looking for that frankly we didn’t deliver good on. I think there are a few things that are inherent in what PC consumers are looking for that frankly we didn’t deliver good on.
Things like customizing your user interface, remapping your controls, and some of the voice over stuff, a lot of that stuff is easy or comes inherently on the console.
But such easy to do things on a console are not so easy to do on a PC at the end of the day, as Tieger explained. “We were spread so thin that I feel like we barely served that audience. Then there were some issues with continued support that were frankly beyond our control, but at the same time did not create a great experience for PC gamers that got it.”
Considering that skipping the PC market will mean a loss of potential revenue for the studio and it’s publisher, Activision, Tieger still felt that it was the right decision to make.
It seems like so glamorous from the outside, but games are this constant struggle of tough choices; it just is when you’re making a game. Despite the fact that it’s an artistic creation, the technical constraints of how many resources you have and what you can do, you really want to try and do the things you can do well.
It certainly is a brave decision that gives the studio some moral high ground, as releasing a buggy, broken pile of digital horse manure will only devalue the final product. Better to receive nothing than to have to get your PC all smelly when installing something that reeks of failure.
Last Updated: February 16, 2012
