Wednesday, September 28th 2011
Electronic Arts' Massive 2012 $1.6m Battlefield 3 Tournament: Consoles Yes, PC No
While PC gamers are getting understandably excited about one of the year's biggest releases, which is guaranteed to have standards-setting graphics at least, there's a kick in the teeth waiting just around the corner. EA and Virgin Gaming have teamed up to launch a massive BF3 contest with $1.6m in cash and prizes - for consoles only. Yes, you read that right. And the reason? Consoles are the "gold standard". That's the aging console platforms reported on TechPowerUp a few days ago. GameStop's president Tony Bartel said in an interview with IndustryGamers:
The competition website excitingly states:
This strategy appears to make no sense. Why spend all that money on developing the game only to alienate a massive market segment, even if it's perceived to not be as big as the console one? It will very likely sell massively well to PC gamers regardless, but wouldn't it have made even more dollars by not artificially restricting the competition like this? This goes to show the arrogance and contempt that some big companies show towards their customers and EA is no stranger to controversy, restrictive DRM issues being a major source.
Source:
Maximum PC
We continue to believe that the console is a strong platform and will continue to be the gold standard.
The biggest, most realistic, room-shaking FPS ever demands a tournament that will always be remembered," the contest's sign-up page brags. "That's why Virgin Gaming, and EA DICE have come together to bring you an online competition you'll be telling your grandkids about. So strap on your boots and check your magazine-when the spoils of war are this rich, you can bet things are gonna get messy.That page then goes on to include links for PS3 & XBOX360 to register, but not the lowly PC. On top of that, it won't even be available on Steam, but gamers will instead have to sign up for the competing EA Origin platform.
129 Comments on Electronic Arts' Massive 2012 $1.6m Battlefield 3 Tournament: Consoles Yes, PC No
And then come the non-GAAP revenue figures. It’s all bloody confusing, really. But it breaks down to the 360 bringing in $152m, the PS3 coughing up $111m, and the PC ruling the roost with $154m. This breaks down to the PC and 360 both providing 29% of total non-GAAP revenue, while the PS3 offers 21%. The rest is made up by Wii (3%), PS2 (1%), mobile (11%), PSP (1%), DS (1%) and the mysterious “other” at 4%.
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/07/27/eas-non-gaap-figures-pc-beating-consoles/
What's GAAP?653m$ with the 2 main consoles, vs 205m$ with PC. That's over 3:1
"In almost all countries, PC gaming in one of its many guises is the dominant form of gaming."
United States:
$4.3 billion traditional PC games
$2.6 billion MMO’s
Traditional PC Games including MMOs = $6.9 Billion
$2.8 billion Casual Websites
$1.8 billion Social networks
PC Casual Websites + Social networks = $4.6 Billion
Total PC Revenue = $11.5 Billion
$2.1 billion Mobile devices
All Consoles combined = $8.0 billion
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/07/05/pcgaming-trends-2011/
there is no denying pcs are more complicated, require more time, and are easier to manipulate to your advantage. i am sure there will be PLENTY of pc tournaments, and dice will probably sponsor one or more - but this one is console only. this company that is actually running it, ONLY runs console tournaments.
i just don't see it as a slap in the face. after the last few years developing the game, let them milk consolers and make some more cash. i got a new gen battlefield game that actually takes advantage of my hardware. i have no complaints.
And yes, even with potential extra overheads for the PC I can't see it being unmanageable. After all, PC contests have been held many times before.
But, c'mon, this is the Pres of Gamestop ffs and the operative word is definitely "gold" as in of course this guy is just gonna say whatever keeps bringing it in.
Though I'm also hardly angry or insulted or whatever. Maybe I'm used to boneheaded and short-sighted moves by the likes of these moneygrubbers and, while certainly stupid and unfortunate, it really doesn't affect me at all. At any rate, I'm still going to enjoy BF3 in it's best and true form my PC the same as before. Already am...
But i think all so companys don't want you to get stuck playing one game as they want to sell you another version of it ASAP.
Arma 2 tournys are very possible just not like they were in GR as you cannot have them as People v's computer.