Bad News - No Alan Wake for PC

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Bad News - No Alan Wake for PC

Post by trog @ 08:45pm 13/02/10 | 44 Comments

Strategy Informer have got some news from Microsoft that indicates Alan Wake is going to be an Xbox 360 exclusive:

"Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive. Both Microsoft and Remedy have long histories in PC game development. This decision was about matching this specific game to the right platform." said a Microsoft spokesperson.

There is, of course, always hope.

alan wake xbox 360

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DM
Posted 08:52pm 13/2/10

Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC

HAH. Yeah right. 99.5% of games are across all 3 platforms.

We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform

More people own a 360.

so we focused on

Couldn't be fucked porting it.

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ctd
Posted 08:54pm 13/2/10

Hahah. That is fairly ridiculous. Sure some games are better on the couch but that is a terrible excuse to avoid piracy or whatever the real reason is.

Lots of people have gaming comps in the lounge room with controllers.

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trog
Posted 08:58pm 13/2/10

I dunno how it works for most people, but I have a 40" TV that I sit a few metres back from. If I hold up my hand in front of my face so it is between my eyes and the TV, it blocks out most of the TV.

I know this is not a huge TV, but when I do this in front of my monitor, it blocks out a tiny little patch in the centre of my monitor (22").

For me, sitting in front of the PC is heaps more immersive - because it's much more in-my-face, I have a lot less in my peripheral vision, and thus much less to distract me from the experience. It's why I feel that PC games are much more intense than console games.

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ravn0s
Posted 09:01pm 13/2/10

in other words,

"we couldnt be bothered, tough bikkies."

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Eorl
Posted 09:02pm 13/2/10

Ooooo boy are they going to regret saying that. And I was right! We'll never see Alan Wake!! For PC that is!! xD

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ravn0s
Posted 09:06pm 13/2/10

i just find it strange that they are limiting it to just one system. the game has been in development for years so they probably spent a decent chunk of money creating it. i believe it was originally a PC exclusive to showcase dx10. what changed?

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DM
Posted 09:13pm 13/2/10

Yeah I remember seeing Alan Wake back in like 2002 or something in PC Powerplay mags as "coming soon". It's stupid to limit the game to just 1 system. Oh well if they want to make less money good for them because my 360 is off limits as my sister has claimed it so wont be getting anything from me.

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Erisus
Posted 09:28pm 13/2/10

360 is the devil of gaming in general.
Great console and all. Aside from its hardware issues its a great machine.
Just that its marketing strategy is basically based around 'dick' moves to make it the best, not because of the features but because it can afford to get developers to develop games exclusively for them ie. Halo series, Gears of war, etc.

Microsoft is slowly strangling whats left of the gaming market by buying the rights
to produce games exclusively on the console. PC gamers and PS3 gamers respectively are suffering and thats only the beginning.

Microsoft, while totally legally monopolizing the market, is doing so in an unethical manner. If you ask me, Microsoft should've just stayed out of the Console gaming business all together. That way, we wouldn't have been subject to horrendous software titles like Vista, Games for Windows Live and direct x 10.

At the moment, at Microsoft, all the different departments work in silos. ie. No one talks with each other about what the other team is working on. Xbox team does not talk to Games for Windows Live team and thats really damaging for both gaming communities. PC gamers more so. Pretty much every department is out there to get their own. Makes sense some what, but ultimately detrimental to the idea of team work in a business.

I guess I'm just ranting and going on a typical "Microsoft is evil" Spiel and you are right. But at the end of the day you know that what's being done here is pretty much the killing of PC gaming. Look at windows Vista. When released Microsoft was pushing Vista with products like Direct X 10 and Halo 2. This was done to promote the image that Vista is a great gaming platform. With the release of Windows 7, I have yet to see a marketing campaign in the same nature to promote its worth as a solid gaming platform and that really worries me.

Yeah sure we may have awesome titles coming on the way, like Bad Company 2, Medal of honor and etc. But when you see developers being asked by Microsoft to develop exclusively for them (Dead Space 2 and Alan Wake) in return for a big wad of cash, its pretty inevitable to say PC gaming is dying, slowly but surely.
It may not happen in the next 4-5 years, but its definitely happening.

End rant.

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trillion
Posted 09:34pm 13/2/10

If youve been reading into the game dev media over the last year maybe Remedys choice relates to content channel strategies to minimize their loss to piracy, the GFC and the dev team cuts a lot of the studios made in that time

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Mitch
Posted 09:54pm 13/2/10

Poor Form !! They planned this the whole time ... 2006 Alan Wake for PC, 2007 Alan Wake for XBOX and PC, 2010 Alan Wake exclusive for Xbox.

In the days of Max Payne 1 Remedy and Sam Lake this would have never been possible, what happened to the pursuit of the great art of video games on the right platform ... not just the fastest way to getting top dollar returns from unappreciative 12 years.

Next thing it will be Deus Ex 3 for PSP only ! :)

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DM
Posted 09:55pm 13/2/10

That is a legitimate reason tril, but if it was the only reason then we would of seen a PS3 version. So far it's impossible to run pirated games on it so whats their reason for no PS3 copy? I'm betting Eri is right in the fact that they just want it for their console to keep people interested in it

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Khel
Posted 09:56pm 13/2/10

Why is Microsoft being singled out as the devil? Platform exclusivity has been around since the days of Master System vs NES.

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Bah
Posted 09:56pm 13/2/10

360 is the devil of gaming in general. blah blah

Yeah because there has never been an exclusive on the ps3 or any sony console.

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rrrocket
Posted 09:58pm 13/2/10

I've been following this game for quiet some time...

Pricks, not happy. I seriously hope it fuckin flops now! People who own xbox won't even know what it is anyway nor would they know who remedy is.

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Khel
Posted 10:11pm 13/2/10

Just like people who own XBoxs would have no idea what Call of Duty is, because that started as a PC franchise. Guess they're regretting bringing that to consoles hey.

Its a ridiculous argument, it has as much chance of succeding as any original IP does. Plus it looks like Microsoft are grooming it to be a pretty big title, so I'm sure the hype machine will go into overdrive before it comes out.

Edit: Or you could just buy a 360, $400, you probably spent more than that on your last video card, and you'll be opening yourself up to a whole new range of games you can play. Consoles and PCs can co-exist quite happily in the same house without causing some kind of Doctor Who style reality implosion you know.

last edited by Khel at 22:11:06 13/Feb/10

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trillion
Posted 10:13pm 13/2/10

DM there is an emerging hack of the PS3 (some hypervisor access to SPE memory) in the hacky scene. This probably wouldn't have mattered much to this decision so I'll speculate that they couldn't find a time effective way to port code an graphics programming from C# and DirectX to Cg and OpenGL ES

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greazy
Posted 11:02pm 13/2/10

I was looking forward to this game. Now it looks like I'm going to play it in 10 years time when I finally get an xbox360

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Python
Posted 11:15pm 13/2/10

game seems shit anyway

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Lithium
Posted 11:20pm 13/2/10

I take this as a sign that it's going to be a bad game.

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WetWired
Posted 11:52pm 13/2/10

Alan Wake has been in development for at least 4 years, it's no surprise that Microsoft would opt to reduce the amount of platforms it's being released on just to get the fucker out on the market and try and recoup some of that 4 years of cash hemeraging it's been doing.

Less piracy on the 360 and a single locked down system specs make it an easy choice out of the two.

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deadlyf
Posted 11:54pm 13/2/10

Edit: Or you could just buy a 360, $400, you probably spent more than that on your last video card, and you'll be opening yourself up to a whole new range of games you can play. Consoles and PCs can co-exist quite happily in the same house without causing some kind of Doctor Who style reality implosion you know.

I have an Xbox, haven't bought a game for it in ages. The last time I used it was to watch a DVD.

It's not that consoles aren't available to people, it's that the gaming experience isn't enjoyable to a lot of people. I originally bought my xbox for Mass Effect but now I'm happy to wait 6 months for PC versions because I think it's just a much better experience.

I reckon this will get a delayed release to PC though. Piracy is not an excuse to ignore a market, just one to postpone a release for it so it doesn't affect console sales.

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hardware
Posted 11:57pm 13/2/10

I read no wake on lan.

I'm going to bed.

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Infidel
Posted 12:08am 14/2/10

I really dont mind console games now pc's are such a hassle/

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Viper119
Posted 12:14am 14/2/10

Since leaving old brisvegas and living in London with lots of travelling around the world. I've found it much easier and cheaper to have an xbox then a actual gaming PC. I also found that gaming on the xbox is pretty awesome and it's alot more comfortable on the couch with a massive tv and a sweet sound system. This is from previously being a mad PC only enthusiast.

Moving forwards I probably won't bother with a gaming PC again.

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Midda
Posted 12:16am 14/2/10

I was about to post pretty much exactly what Khel wrote, though I want to add that you're a bunch of whinging pussies. None of you would complain if a game was canned for consoles but still being released for PC, because so many of you are under the impression that you can't enjoy PC games and console games. You're just retarded for limiting yourself to half of the games that come out.

I was probably going to get this on 360 anyway, since it seems like a game that's all about the immersion, and I sure prefer my lounge, surround sound and huge TV compared to my office chair and, desktop speakers and 22" LCD monitor.

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Erisus
Posted 01:30am 14/2/10

IF Piracy is the issue then go to your favorite torrent site. Look how many XboX DVD rips there are out there. Before Mass Effect 2 and Modern Warfare 2 was released on any platform, it was already out on the torrents for the 360. The PC version came 3 days later after the release.

So thats proof that piracy inst the issue. Its about the push for cash flow and whoring out that dreaded white box for all the money it can muster.

But then again, when you heard it was going to be released on the Xbox, you all knew it was going to be crap and dumbed down didn't you?

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Midda
Posted 02:11am 14/2/10

Nobody said piracy wasn't an issue on 360, but you're kidding yourself if you think it's anywhere near as widespread as it is for PC.

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Trauma
Posted 02:21am 14/2/10

I hope it sux.

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Khel
Posted 02:40am 14/2/10

Sure, theres rips of 360 games out there, but actually playing them is significantly more effort than pirating a PC game. Anyone with half a brain and a torrent client can pirate a PC game, few more hoops to jump through when it comes to the 360.

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Douche
Posted 03:04am 14/2/10

im probably more inclined to play it on xbox. fonly it was co-op

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Viper119
Posted 03:12am 14/2/10

I don't think many games are actually dumbed down for the xbox... sounds like PC enthusiasts propaganda.

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Eorl
Posted 09:34am 14/2/10

@khel that reminded me of the good ol' days with my ps1 and ps2 being chipped. I'd just go down to Video Ezy on a cheap tuesday, rent 10 games and bring em back the next day. Counter chicks would always look at me weirdly as if to say 'YOU PLAYED ALL THOSE GAMES?".

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L33tBix
Posted 11:58am 14/2/10

Grrrrrrr @ Xbox 360!!

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 01:54pm 14/2/10

and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive.

I bet the compelling reason was a big fat wad of cash from Microsoft.

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Mantorok
Posted 02:12pm 14/2/10

You guys do realise Microsoft are the publisher? They don't have to pay any money to make it 360 exclusive, they just axe funding for the PC version.

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fpot
Posted 02:19pm 14/2/10

Cool this way they can concentrate on making it perfect for one decent gaming platform (except for the Wii but that doesn't count)

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DM
Posted 02:20pm 14/2/10

I'm sure the decision to make it a 360 exclusive was all totally for good reasons and had nothing at all to do with them getting an incentive to do so.

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groganus
Posted 03:35pm 14/2/10

As a massive gamer who games on every platform i gotta say that the amount done on my pc has severely reduced since the quality of console games has increased. I'm not the type to fuss over what type of controller ill use, and to me the graphics all look the same... though when you nit pick about it you can tell the obvious differences, what it comes down to most is ease of use... the last time i played a game on my pc i had to re-download it from steam, then i had to fuck around with my graphic drivers cause it had been yonks since i last updated them, then i found out my mobo isn't compatible with windows 7... so i got the said game for my 360 instead and it worked with out a problem...

If alan wake was multiplatform i would of gotten it for my 360/ps3 over the pc anyway.... sadly with the decrease in community modding i can now safely say that pc gaming has little to offer me over the ease of use of a console.

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weedy
Posted 11:15am 23/2/10

Since the 360 and PS3 are almost identical in hardware and you play both of them on your big screen tv this is obviously just a cop out. There PR team is horrid at making excuses.

Anyway i wont be getting this now :) thanks for allowing me to save my money

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greazy
Posted 11:36am 23/2/10

You will be missing out on a great game.

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Khel
Posted 01:38pm 23/2/10

Actually, the hardware behind 360 and PS3 is MASSIVELY different. Sure, at the end of the day, the capabilities are about the same, but the two are wildly different under the hood.

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Resonate
Posted 06:15pm 23/2/10

What are the chances it will come to PC like a year or so down the line anyways once the 360 version has had time to sell and cool off. Same thing happened for Halo 1 & 2, Mass effect 1. All of which microsoft were the publishers for and were xbox exclusives at the time of initial release.

last edited by Resonate at 18:15:36 23/Feb/10

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Dazhel
Posted 06:30pm 23/2/10

Same thing happened for Halo 1 & 2, Mass effect 1.

I still have my bright green Gears of War case that has the ONLY ON XBOX 360 stamped at the top.

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Resonate
Posted 06:50pm 23/2/10

Another reason could be that the title is probably big enough to shift more consoles upon release. If they released it on PC at the same time it would have an impact on the number of possible consoles sold.

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