Ubisoft has blamed piracy for the decision to release neither I Am Alive or Ghost Recon: Future Soldier on PC.
Furthermore, the company had a big dig at the PC gaming community.
"We’ve heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them," I Am Alive’s Stanislas Mettra told IncGamers.
"But are these people just making noise just because there’s no version or because it’s a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?"
"It’s hard because there’s so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games that we have to precisely weigh it up against the cost of making it. Perhaps it will only take 12 guys three months to port the game to PC, it’s not a massive cost but it’s still a cost. If only 50,000 people buy the game then it’s not worth it."
Piracy was also blamed for the lack of a PC version of 2012 shooter Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, with Ubisoft pointing out that it will be offering free-to-play title Ghost Recon Online instead.
“We are giving away most of the content for free because there’s no barrier to entry,” the game’s producer Sébastien Arnoult told PC Gamer.
“When we started Ghost Recon Online we were thinking about Ghost Recon: Future Solider; having something ported in the classical way without any deep development, because we know that 95% of our consumers will pirate the game. So we said okay, we have to change our mind.
“To the users that are traditionally playing the game by getting it through Pirate Bay, we said, ‘Okay, go ahead guys. This is what you’re asking for. We’ve listened to you – we’re giving you this experience. It’s easy to download, there’s no DRM that will pollute your experience.”
“We’re adapting the offer to the PC market. I don’t like to compare PC and Xbox boxed products because they have a model on that platform that is clearly meant to be €60’s worth of super-Hollywood content. On PC, we’re adapting our model to the demand.”
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Comments
5 comments
Yes it's impossible to pirate what isn't there.
And of course we all know it's impossible to sell on the PC, that's why steam is a complete failure.
Maybe if they didn't delay PC games by a month after the console version Ubisoft games would sell more.
The piracy argument isn't valid, more needs to be done pursade people not to pirate the games and condem the rest of us. Cutting off the nose to spite face comes to mind.
Phil Evans ELITE GAMER
0 0Nov 25th 2011 at 12:01PM
Simultaneous releases on PC and Consoles result in piracy heavily affecting console sales, so the delay is unfortunately required if a company want's to actually make money.
Jarvis Crofts INDUSTRY
0 0Nov 25th 2011 at 1:47PM
A company should reward the people that purchase games and not punishing them.
You can never get rid of piracy, there will always be those that want something for nothing.
Phil Evans ELITE GAMER
0 0Nov 25th 2011 at 2:22PM
Ubisoft make shoddy console ports with DRM so awful that nobody will ever buy another game from them again. Then loudly blame PC Piracy for your withdrawal from the platform. That works. Nobody pirates UbiSoft games, they're too abysmal!
I was left with a copy of Assasin's Creed 2 that wouldn't play because of DRM that required THEIR website to be up, which it wasn't - should the retailer have to refund my money because Ubisoft are incompetent? No, that's unfair to the retailer that sold the game in good faith.
Ubisoft need to look closer to home for poor game sales on the PC. I for one, won't miss them.
"Simultaneous releases on PC and Consoles result in piracy heavily affecting console sales, so the delay is unfortunately required if a company want's to actually make money." Eh?
Piracy of XBOX and DS titles is rife and doesn't require a PC release, so what kind of feeble excuse is that?
The games my family play on the PS3 (Just Dance3, MOVE Sports, etc.) don't exist on the PC and the games I play on the PC (BF3) I wouldn't ever consider on the PS3 - it's like holding off sports car sales to help the sales of caravans! The two simply aren't connected.
Anthony Hunt INDUSTRY
0 0Nov 25th 2011 at 4:44PM
As far as I am concerned, Ubisoft can burn in hell. Those assholes wont see any money from me ever again.
I am boycotting Ubi since introduction of their stupid "always on" DRM and since they ruined Silent Humter 5.
Jakub Janovsky ELITE GAMER
0 0Nov 27th 2011 at 5:56PM