Mark Rein: Consoles hurt PC gaming

Posted on Tuesday, February 12 2008 @ 3:07 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Epic Games president Mark Rein told in an interview that consoles are taking away gamers from the PC platform:
In an interview with Guardian Unlimited, Mark Rein related one of his experiences regarding the shift of first-person shooters from PC to console. “When Call of Duty 4 came out, I heard some of our guys sitting around talking about the great game they'd had last night and I'm like, 'Hey guys, what server are you playing on? I'd love to come and join you,' and they said, 'Just send us a friends request,'” he said.

“It was at that point I realized they were all playing it on console. Plus, the sales of the console versions are something like ten times the sales of the PC versions,” Rein said, affirming an earlier statement. “I'm a real fan of the PC, but yes, consoles are definitely stealing a lot of hardcore gamers from the PC.”

One thing easing Epic’s development on consoles is the emergence of multiplayer-centric gaming. Thanks to the current generation’s connectivity options, Epic is able to translate nearly all of the PC gameplay and options to the console. For example, the PlayStation 3 version of Unreal Tournament III supports most of the modifications available on the PC, partially due to Sony’s open approach to online services.

“I think Sony are real pioneers in this - I think they deserve a lot of credit for letting us do this,” said Rein. “They're really doing something different, and it hints at what they want to do with the PlayStation Network in the future. They're definitely on the right track!”


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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