"PC Version of Alan Wake Officially Scrapped"

The PC Version of Alan Wake has been " scrapped". I think there may be a little bit more going on here. Could Microsoft have halted the production of the PC version to ensure the Xbox 360 has a true exclusive at release?

In other words, 'we don't have very many exclusives anymore, want you to purchase an Xbox 360, and eventually subscribe to Xbox Live, and pay for DLC content down the line. If we had it our way, Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2 would be exclusive to the Xbox 360. We have control over Alan Wake.'

 

Yeah I think that's pretty much it. You don't scrap a game that was used as a technical demo for Intel multicore CPU and DX10 for no reason... I think MS threw money at the studio to cancel the PC version...

 

To me it looks like Microsoft canned it just to get them to finish. 7 years with little or no progress as it appeared from the outside looking in. Now what they show looks like little more than an Alone in The Dark clone (A video Game preview show host in the UK asked about the comparison to Alone in The Dark, never have I seen a man double take like that before... ROFL!!!). If you look at gameplay from 2006 and compare it to what they show now it would appear they are working backwards. Now they don't even show daytime gameplay and have scrapped the open world aspect of the game for the same gimmicky TV episode theme from Alone in The Dark. Seriously it looks as though they say Alone in The Dark and said "That looks way easier, lets just do that, all over again." I am sure they will port it to PC if it does well on XBox, but really, do we need Alone in The Dark again?

Years ago Microsoft scrapped Obi Wan for the PC a supposed sequel to Dark Forces, and opted for an XBox only release. There was a huge outcry by PC gamers about it but, when it came out it was truly awful. It was said "Something awful happened to Obi Wan when it became an XBox exclusive" I have no doubt something awful has happened to Alan Wake as well. Microsoft seems to like to kill games they are not confident in, or with games that have a poor track record on PC (Halo, Gears of War). I really think this is a case of a lot of what Remedy was trying was not working, and Microsoft was tired of dumping money into a bottomless pit. From what I have seen, Alan Wake belongs on XBox, let him die there.

 

This is such bs. I was looking forward to play this game in dx11. I liked the 'mystery' theme too. It's a shame.

 

There's not a single good reason for a 360 title to seek exclusivity from the PC platform. Perhaps this is just a step towards mediocrity for Alan Wake, heh.

 

You make some excellent points in your post, but Halo: Combat Evolved for PC was one of the best games of all time. Sure, it was ported by Gearbox two years after the original Xbox release, but damn, they did a good job of it. Online multiplayer was added (never existed in the Xbox version), along with a bunch of PC-exclusive maps and a couple extra weapons as well. Not to mention Halo Custom Edition and the HEK, which allowed for user-created maps, some of which got to be pretty insanely popular. I remember my days of Halo modding with fondness.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Halo 2 for Vista. It came out at exactly the wrong time, when Vista was relatively new and everyone hated it, and most of the original Halo crowd was still on XP. I ended up buying it, and never saw more than 20 people online. Still, it was nice for being one of the first PC games to have DirectX 10 support, and to this day it's the only PC game that actually let you play while it installed in the background. Unfortunately, it was also tainted by the presence of Games for Windows Live.

I would like to see the newer Halo games come to PC as well...Halo 3 (and ODST) realistically has no reason not to be, other than Xbox exclusivity, considering the first two were, and Halo Wars, because the PC is where RTS games belong. Reach looks like it would make an awesome PC game as well.

 

Sorry, but that is purely a matter of opinion, I bought Halo as I heard it was better than Half Life. I was quite excited. Instead I found a fairly good game, but I have only ever played it once. I bought 2 expecting maybe an improvement, instead it was just the same two year old game ported, and way worse than the first one.

Halo 2 never used DX10, it was part of the big gripe about Halo 2, it was a Vista exclusive, but never even used DX10. Honestly I find it a little hard to believe you thought that game was DX10? It looked awful...

I have played ODST and I have to say I really liked it, I wouldn't mind seeing it on PC with some PC perks, it was a little different than the other Halo games, and I like how they did the story with different perspectives that converge. As for Halo 3 I could care less... Didn't like Halo 2, no interest in the outcome in Halo 3. Really I should have been more specific the sales of Halo 2 and Gears of War showed that they were not really accepted in the PC gaming... Like Gears of War, a whole game about hiding behind stuff? I have been doing that since Doom.

 

Microsoft are idiots if they don't know that you can hook your PC up to your TV screen and use their own X360 controllers on the PC.

 

This is about exclusivity to the X360 for games, while the cash in on everything else to do with computers. M$ is all about the money, I am glad they don't release a lot of games.

 

You can't blame them... Sony Entertainment has been releasing great exclusive titles one after another. If I'm a PC gamer who hasn't bought a console yet, why would I buy the Xbox over the Playstation if I can get the Xbox games on PC? And the PlayStation has blu-ray, and supposedly better hardware, free multiplayer, etc...

I can't remember the last great only on Xbox exclusive.

I don't think Alan Wake will be all that great, but you can see the direction they're going in.

 

I do think the original Halo for PC was better than the first Half-Life...for starters, it was several years newer (Half-Life was 1998, I believe, and Halo was 2001 on Xbox and 2003 on PC). But Halo 2 was definitely not even close to the awesomeness of the first. The only advantage it had over the original was native widescreen support without HUD stretching, and even Halo had some third party fixes for that. Halo 2 PC modding basically never took off, unlike Halo/Halo Custom Edition modding, which had a huge scene a few years ago.

Is that true? I remember DirectX10 being the biggest hype about Halo 2 for Vista...shame.

But yeah, Halo 2 was basically a disaster on PC. Apparently not even DX10, and all the Games for Windows Live crap on top of that.

Yeah, I bought Gears for PC...it felt exactly like playing an Xbox game with a mouse. I'm kinda glad they ended not releasing Gears 2 on Windows.

I tell you what, though...I've seen some video documentary stuff on the upcoming Halo: Reach, and it looks really nice. It looks like it's going to be a lot less linear than the previous games have been, which is a definite plus. The new engine improvements allow for some awesome graphics too...it looks like it could make a really good PC title if they decided to release it for us.

lol, I should hope they know, considering they sell their own controller with a wireless adapter specifically for the PC!

As for the whole Microsoft games thing, I like a lot of games they've come out with...what I don't like is the Games for Windows Live system. It just sucks, plain and simple. Microsoft (and some other companies...lolactivision) needs to realize that making PC games more like their Xbox counterparts is not what we need, nor want. Live works great on the 360, but not on PC.

 

Well one is lucky to own both consoles 360 and PS3. I am mainly a PC gamer, but when most games doesn´t get released on the PC I have to play them on the console, either of them, it´s the same old story about pirating that´s why the games isn´t made for PC anymore.

I personally would like to play Gears of War 2 in 60 fps on my laptop or desktop, but the game isn´t going to be released at all which is a shame. Alan Wake the same, though I am glad Bad Company 2 gets released on the PC that is the version I will get. However I hope some game other than Crysis comes along and shows what PC gaming truly is graphics wise.

 

Well even if it was still being bought for the PC as opposed to the PS3, there still making the money there, and possibly for an OS as well. I highly doubt many people buy consoles for the sake of playing one game.

Obviously they make more money selling consoles and their games, but why not at least try and get some partial sales by selling on the PC as well?

Whatever, this game seriously went downhill, I doubt the graphics are anything special anymore considering how long it has been worked on for and how much it has dated.

 

Halo was a semi-disaster, I can still find a lot of people on the servers. The problem with H2 was that it wasn't even using DX10. It was a DX9 game that could run perfectly on XP with a little bit of tinkering. People felt scammed by MS that's probably why it tanked at first.

 

How dare you compare that worthless piece of junk to Half-Life???

 

Yeah, Halo 2 for Vista was too much hype and not enough product.

Jesus, dude, so much rage! I'm sorry my opinion differs from yours!

 

*yawn* Who cares? This game is going to be a huge disappointment imo. Years of delays, the fact it WAS a PC game and now MS is saying the PC is "too intimate", lol. I expect this will be a complete mess that PC gamers would rip apart hence it's 360 only status. MS wants to think this is the 360s Heavy Rain... I think it will just be a Heavy Pain.

 

Wow, I had forgotten about Alan Wake.

There needs to be more PC Exclusive Games! I want a game that is made for PC not a game ported from Console to PC. BC2 claims to be done well for PC but looks like a console port to me still.

PC gaming is dying! Anyone else feels PC games more and more are being released not optimized which is forcing gamers to buy the latest hardware to make up for it? I just hate that they can make the games look great and run on 5 year old technology of 360/PS3 and run horribly on PC unless you have the latest hardware.

 

lol Halo will beat half life anytime.. way better graphics , gameplay and story...

 

Of FAIL!!!

 

Gotta disagree with you there. Halo's plot isn't terribly deep.

But yeah, the GoldSrc engine that Half-Life was made on is pretty hideous. Half-Life still looks like crap even with the high-definition pack.

 

It's saddening to see what was once a big name PC title be turned into a watered down console game. I bet some of the developers at Remedy (who are PC devs! Remember Max Payne!) aren't too happy about this.

Also I have to touch on GFWL since it was brought up earlier. Personally, I like being able to talk or send messages to friends who are playing on their Xbox 360 while I'm on PC. I think it's convenient. Another thing that is neat is the unification of your gamertag/gamer score. What is not convenient is the welcoming of matchmaking/P2P in PC games that carry the GFWL banner. That needs to end, and dedicated servers need to begin. I think only then will GFWL ever take off.

Example: GTA 4 PC with dedicated servers would probably make that game one of the most popular online PC games today.