<![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too - Kotaku Comments]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too - Kotaku Comments]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Surprisingly nobody has mentioned that these games are littered with cheaters. UT2004 is a nightmare if you aren't an experienced player. And even being experienced like me with over 10,000 hours of play time on ut2004, it can be a real headache.

UT3 is overwhelmed with cheaters, they had the cheat program out the next day, the same day with the demo version.

Seriously, online games are flopping left and right because of these cheaters. It's a menace that should be taken care of.

We definately need to pass laws against online cheating. Locally, I don't care. But when you practice as much as I have and go onto server after server to get smashed every round, who wants to play anymore, except the cheaters.

FYI...To catch cheaters in UT2004. Go spectate a player that you suspect of cheating. Type NETSPEED 1999 into the console. To get to console while in game, press the ~ (tilde key).

Player will be really jerky, has very little actual mouse movement and will seem to lag. All shock rifle primary and lightning gun shots will be off the cross hairs.

Now if you have a good video card, you should get about 50 FPS (Frames Per Second). If you don't, then turn down all the video settings to lowest. To check your FPS, type STAT FPS into the console.

I play at netspeed 1999 all the time and have very little lag problems, but everyone who is cheating will have major lag problems.

The cheating program has problems, and this is one of the hax to hack a cheater.

LiquidMemory

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> UT is an all-but-dead franchise. UT2004 was an outstanding game, but UT2003 the prior year sucked and turned off a lot of fans from the original game. There's problem #1.

HL2 and Doom 3 came out that year and stole all the hype. Once HL2/CS:S/HL2DM hit, the player count went way down in UT2004, despite UT2004 being arguably the better multiplayer game, and being supported with a ton of high-quality free downloadable content for about 2 years after the game's original release.

Now we have UT3, which is essentially UT2004 with prettier graphics and a few more bells and whistles. That isn't going to cut it with Halos and CoDs running around.

KaneRobot

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @irnchriz:
No the reason for playing on a PC would be to get the absolute best experience from that game. Personally I don't mind keeping my PC relativity up-to-date because I like gaming on a state of the art machine rather then playing on consoles that are already out dated by the time they are released. Just buy smart and you can have a good rig at a fair price I mean I have a good job and go to school full-time and I make it work!

FtGF

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @myd12:
All that demonstrates is that there are fuck all good games out on PC. PC game sales are so fucking low that they are made as an afterthought and are often ports of Xbox 360 titles. Also, piracy is now at a massive peak with PC games, more copies of crysis were downloaded on the launch day than copies sold.

Except MMO's and strategy games, which will soon be the only reason for playing on a PC.

irnchriz

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Hansel: Crysis is actually a pretty good game. An considering theres going to be two more of them I doubt it'll be forgotten.

UT3 will only get better with user-mods and patches.

belo

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Fluffy22: PC copy is $10 cheaper.

belo

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> hated both these game. love cod4 multiplayer and the tanker level.

homelessvagrant

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> How about some new franchises? Right now PC game development is one big jerk-off contest about who can produce the best visuals. I think developers need to get back to basics and come up with some original gameplay instead of releasing older game that have gotten tweaks. UT3 is more like UT2K4 with an engine update, extra maps and vehicles. This is mod content! Bedroom modders do this stuff, not a big, multi-million dollar development team!

Pinhead

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Crysis is not a good game, few years from now it has been forgotten. UT3 most likely will have some legs but still I have to say that I'm not surprised if the popularity of UT franchise is waning. First UT was a great game, but then they started adding lot of different gametypes, vehicles making the core gameplay too confusing for some.

Also I bet there is lot of people who don't own PS3 or decent PC that would meet todays standards. Reason why games made by Valve and Blizzard sell so well is that those games can be played even with old PC's with no problems.

Hansel

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @EnigmaNemesis: "Gears of War?"

Yes I know it's very similar to the Unreal Franchise but it's not part of it so that isn't relevant.

However if you could gears they'd still be screwed without their engine sales. Every company has had one successful game. GT Interactive published Doom and Quake and look where they are.

frankstallone

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @fuchikoma: Unreal Championship 2 was not made by the same people I think that did UC and UT, it was made by Midway themselves and other/new epic people. The game had many nice new features and gameplay but in the end failed due to too many bugs, glitches and lag+framerate issues. The first Unreal Championship however was great, not the best port but still full of win. I played that for 6+months myself, and it also kicked ass cause we had the option to turn auto aim off on servers :)

Yeah, I think you are pretty much on the money with Gears of War. UT3 for PS3 is looking great though, not so hot for PC.

Irenicus-the one and only

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @-EDGE-:
I think they tried to reenvision UT for console. There was Unreal Championship, which became UT2003 on PC, then there was Unreal Championship 2, which included weirdness like melee attacks and melee weapons deflecting bullets.

I think Gears was kind of their realization that they couldn't just tweak Unreal for consoles, but had to actually make a console game FOR consoles, which led to their "stop and pop" mechanic. (Though I haven't read many interviews so I could just be putting my own interpretation on it.)

But I would certainly say they gave UT on consoles a few tries.


fuchikoma

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Cell9song: Actually I would've played more UT3 if it was more like UT2k4 and if they improved the various things I have mentioned that made UT2k4 a much better game than UT3.

Para

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> You can't be the best at both making games and making game engines. Take your cash and sit in the corner Epic/Crytek.

SchoolBusDriver

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I have Crysis and UT3 for the pc and I'm able to run them great on max settings. I've played all of the unreal series and I'm glad to pay for another face lift. And right now i'm liking Crysis more than I did farcry. Its got a pretty good story line in comparison to the large lack of decent story lines. Only downside so far is none of my roommates can afford to play with me yet.

Thecyberchrist

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Cell9song: totally agree. I think quake wars has done what UT3 should have done this time. also they should have focus more on ps3/xbox360 since so many people dont own a PC which can run those games well.

if my PC can only run those games at medium resolution and quality, I'd rather play them on my consoles.

htd

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> This is the first time I've seen a game being multiplatform spun as a negative aspect. Color me impressed.

Luziphir

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Para:

I'm one of the biggest UT series fans there are and even i admit UT3 is just one notch above UT2k3 in terms of entertainment. It is simply a prettied up and streamlined versions of 2k4 which, IMO, was one of the greatest MP games ever made. Unfortunately most fans of 2k4 have burnt themselves out on that game long ago and were ready for the next step up in gameplay. The only problem Epic only gave us a step up in graphics instead while paring down everything else.

Cell9song

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Mark Rein doesn't "answer" questions, he steamrolls the interviewer.

Cell9song

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Really I am a UT fan too but I have been somewhat disappointed with the latest release of UT3. Epic no doubt about it tried to cut corners with the development of UT3. Menus way too difficult to nagivate with a lot of page flipping, reduced options, a lot less commands, less characters to choose from, reduced number of game modes and a horrible server browser.

Many features that were in UT2k4 were cut out from UT3 and that severely hurt the overall package as being the next generation shooter, you would expect all the neat features of UT2k4, that made it a very positive game with a metacritic of 92.4%, be better with the increased budget, fame from Gears of War and greater graphical capability. I truly believe that UT3 was a rushed release and Epic Games really shot themselves in the foot by doing that.

A good first impressions is very important. Epic Games did not fully satisfy that requirement.

Para

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Candlejack:
i would screenshot it but i have vowed to never take my LE copy of UT3 out of the dark drawer it is in every again. ive been supporting Epic games for almost 15 years and that is how disappointed i am with UT3. and i still play UT2004 and UT99 almost weekly still.

2th

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @myd12: well halo has already sold it's 4 mill+.How are slow sales a plus?

TheHun

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @frankstallone:

Gears of War?

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> They've been making the same game for 10 years and they still can't perfect it or even improve upon their previous work. That is why it doesn't sell.

Epic desperately needs to sell their engine because they couldn't make a game to save their lives and I'm sure Id is glad Epic took Mark off their hands all those years ago.

Is anyone honestly surprised that it's not selling well when a chart of the Unreal franchise's success resembles the cliff that Wile E coyote keeps falling down?

frankstallone

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Personally, UT3. I hoping the sales pick up , and the prices drop (some more) before I'm willing to spend the money on it.

As far as crysis goes, its nothing special. Graphics are great, gameplay is a bit meh, and the storyline can be seen coming a long way away. saying that I still played it and enjoyed it.

Flawless101

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @rebelphoenix:

Gameplay sucks?

Have you, seriously played it? Or are you going of the typical hate mongering internet that gets jealous of its graphics cause no longer is Uncharted and Halo 3 the best looking games?

Play it if you can, then tell me if it is an "updated Farcry" ... also ... every game is an updated something with this logic.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Excuses, excuses. But so far people have seen crysis for what it is, the next gen Farcry, and that is to say, the graphics look purdy, but the gameplay sucks. UTIII is boring as hell, and I've never said that about a UT before, so I feel kinda sad about that.

rebelphoenix

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @theblade:

True, but it would have taken off more so. Look at the 360's attachment rate. A record 7 to 1 ratio. 360 owners just buy games, and lots of them. They surely would have, bought this up, more so than what sold on the PS3. Not a big deal though. The PC sells over time, the PS3 will sell more and is rated highly on it when the install base grows, and the 360 will sell a ton of copies as well when it releases.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Candlejack: I can confirm what 2th said, the PC UT3 DVD (when loaded into your PC) does say, "UT3_RC7".

Ethyn

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @theALLseeingEYE: Dismal ps3 market? umm ok i aint hating but if you think it woulda done better if it was on 360 thats just a really off fanboy thought. Like other posters have stated there was ust to many good games out this past yr on all systems last yr alone i bought over 8 ps3 games an this was like on a 1 to 2 game every month basis. UT3 is an awesome game but it simple got lost in the cracks.

The reason it did well on ps3 is cause tho 360 is a heavy fps system doesnt mean that ps3 doesnt have fps fans every system does have fps fans, just cause 360 is heralded as the fps system , doesnt mean every fps is gonna sell like hotcakes on it or that fps games cant sell well on other consoles grow up.

theblade

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Candlejack:

It doesn't mean it wasn't finished.

[forums.epicgames.com]

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> UT would sell a lot better if it were in any way different to the UT they released about 8 years ago.

Jamie_W

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @FlashIV: Yeah it does seem to lend itself a lot better to consoles. I still miss crazy ass dodge doubble jumps, I loved them :(

Irenicus-the one and only

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @2th: Did the disc actually say that? I mean seriously? That's embarrassing. And bad.

Candlejack

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Integrating GameSpy didn't seem to do anything to help UT3's multiplayer situation. I remember buying Battlefield 2 when it was first released, it had GameSpy integrated as well. BF2's server browser was broken and severely lacking standard features and it was no different with UT3. They did a quick patch job to add a history and favorites list and guess what, they don't work.

I think the "beta demo" really turned off a lot of PC players from even downloading a pirated version. The whole menu system, with it's big fonts and lack of tweaking options, shows that it was designed for a console connected to a TV. The entire game experience outside the killing and flag capturing is like nails on a chalkboard.

I'm still sticking with it though, mostly because of my teammates. The mapping community has done a great job picking up some slack, especially as far as CTF is concerned and the game really is fun once you finally get there.

FlashIV

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Walk into walmart. Look at the pc games section. See the copies of zoo tycoon doom 3 and starcraft? 8 years from now people will still be buying crysis. 2 years from now no one will be buying halo.

NessD12

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I suspect that many people have a certain level of anxiety when buying pc games...will it play on my rig, how well will it play, how much will it cost to get it to play better.

I used to buy pc games that listed my pc within the minimum requirements...and it was a godawful unplayable mess. And what I needed to play it was a new computer. Eventually I just gave up and moved to consoles.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't alone and that many others joined me in my frustration.

Islandkiwi

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @fuchikoma:
Right, and thats what I'm saying. They needed to establish it on console by re-envisioning it. Getting it to people with a "fresh" take if they wanted it to stay strong. What they did by releasing Gears was IMO take away from their UT market. Maybe if they released Gears for PC and console at the same time it would have been different. Yes, they created a new franchise with Gears, but look at UT with a 3rd person cam and it is Gears on a purley superficial view.

Yes UT will always sell as a PC title, but they missed an oppertunity IMO on the console market to breath life back into the UT franchise. Which in turn would feed the PC market as well, and expand the user base.

I guess it comes back to chicken or egg really.


-EDGE-

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @2th:

Good job!

@kw4k:

You are right, and PC sales are always over time!

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> AHAHAHA mark rein is a moron. when UT3 is released and the dvd itself says RC7 (that stands for release candidate 7) he should seriously off himself right now. UT3 isnt a finished game. plain and simple. and the marketing never happened till the game was released for the PS3. EPIC FAILURES. that is all i have to say about UT3. they pandered to the console community and produced a game that is trash.

2th

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> PC sales are always slower than console #'s, right? i think that's the general comparison people make all the time? correct me if i'm wrong

kw4k

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> alot of people mentioned that the devs get more money out of pc games than console games, i'm just wondering how thats possible since i thought that they just passes on the $10 licence fee to the consumer.

TheHun

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @EnigmaNemesis: Well they lost a sale for not releaseing a demo that was representative of the final product. No sale for me. And I was really looking forward to the game.

dumptruck

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I remember playing UT for the first time. I was eight... I sucked.

Spiderbait

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> When the UT3 demo was released it was getting some very mediocre reviews and some were saying the game was more a spotlight on how pretty the Unreal 3 Engine could be, rather than a next-gen shooter. One other thing that disappointed me was how ambitious they were when they first announced UT3. Remember when they were talking about the new game mode and how it was going to resemble a perpetual war with different architecture morphing the landscape and things, then the game comes out and the new mode is nothing more than onslaught with a glowing ball. They over-promised and under-delivered imo.

Talleyrand

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @dumptruck:

Cause it was a demo that isnt optimized?

I can assure you it runs on low spec machines. Runs fine on an old P42.8 HT 1 gig of ram and a 7800GS AGP (4 year old box).

And runs insane on my higher spec machine.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Nirolak:

/agree

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Atrahasis:

Oh yeah?

CoD4 sales, Halo 3 sales, Orange Box sales?

Some fad huh? Dominating the charts still.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I think this FPS fad is finally starting to fade...

Atrahasis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Now this is a spin, it flopped Rein, get over it. All PC sales flop, except MMO's and maybe Steam etc.

What I wanna know is, how does UT3 perform on the PS3? Cause the game is anything but bad, but for PC, I got other games I rather play.

Irenicus-the one and only

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @-EDGE-:
...but almost ten years ago, you could play Quake 3 and UT on Dreamcast. UT on consoles is nothing new.

fuchikoma

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> One user had it right above ...simply too many PC games to pick this xmas season. UT was being sold for 10$ more than the other titles...so this will get bought when it gets cheaper. (the original UT is still the best though)

Shooters on consoles? omgawsh noooo! lol :)

Grok

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> "While we're (OK, I'm) a huge Unreal Tournament fan, when the latest installment's advertising needs to call upon its Gears of War street cred, one has to wonder how relevant the IP is to the emerging younger market."

What a brilliant point. Most younger gamers have zero interest in Unreal Tournament games, many haven't even heard of it. The UT name no longer has any weight unfortunately.

Passa

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> The demo ran poorly on my raided Opteron 185 w/ SLi'd 7800 GTs + 2g RAM.

WHY?????

That plus the Gamespy id thing prevented me from playing with friends. I refuse to sign up for a 3rd party 'service' to play a game demo with my friends.

dumptruck

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @EnigmaNemesis: Yeah, you do have a really good point there, often mods would end up selling UT better over time than the game itself did at launch. I do hope this game ends up selling quite well over time though as I think there could be some really amazing mods for it even as much as the lack of assault mode annoys me.

Nirolak

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I think that UT3 is going to prove to have great legs to be fair. I've been a big fan of UT since '99 and I think that (as with Crysis and many of this winters releases) many people are waiting to upgrade before they take the plunge.

TokeYo

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I have to say, I disliked Gears incredibly. It's awful and bland storyline, it's limited and repetitive multiplayer...
If that's the standard of Unreal games then I'm not interested. Add this to the debacle of the PC version getting extra content and I think Unreal is the one developer I plain dislike.
I know that this is going to sound like a trollish post, but I guess I'm trying to point out why I personally wouldn't consider buying UT3, and why it may have appeared a poor purchase next to games like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and the Orange Box.
I honestly think that the poor performance of Shadowrun and UT3 may show signs of the online only genre dying away.

Marcus117

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> It's one thing to defend your product when it's getting top reviews and is critically claimed among prior fans and games media alike, but it's another bag of chips entirely when the game is inferior to previous installments in both content and playability. If you deliver an inferior product, consumers take notice.

I love the Unreal Tournament franchise but it's pretty obvious that this is the weakest installment yet.

alb1221

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> "Unfortunately I don't have a current high-end gaming rig at home right now" -Mark Rein

You mean the head of Epic doesn't even own a machine that can run UE3? WTF?

cybereality

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I think what hurt them the most, is focusing on the dismal PS3 market (where they are doing ok with UT), and the dismal, overly game-pirate centric PC market.

The very target market they aimed for on the PC, the ones that are often completely unable to accept change in thier sequels, are the same tech-savvy cheapskates who'd rather steal the game and spend thier cash on Pizza or something they can't steal so easily.

Truth be told, if Epic didn't shun the 360 market, the very ones that lifted them up for thier Gears sales, and released the thing on 360, it likely would have sold like gangbusters.

I'm sure thier doing fine, but thier sales are indicative of some poor choices, not to mention the lack of any inovative appeal in UT3. I think they need to re-hit the drawing board, or scap UT all-together. Start the fresh new excellent MP shooter that I know they can create.

theALLseeingEYE

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Kruel:

Can you please explain how feel they ruined it?

(been playing UT since the original, and used to run many heavily modded LAN parties every Friday night 5 years ago at the college I worked at)

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @mva5580:

Exactly!

That is the same point I made in another thread. PC games have a longer re-playability than buy/rent it, play it, back to the store or ebay mentality in console games.

I love them both, but it has always been this way.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Fluffy22:
Yes true that the world is a different place outside of America but North America is by far the most important market and thats why a lot of the numbers we get are from North American sales.

FtGF

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I check out the guardian gamesblog everyday and was tempted to put a question in that post. I didn't think he would actually answer them directly though!

Now I'll never know whether he prefers coronation street or eastenders.

roogi

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Nirolak:

Yes, and during those years, they didn't have a 360 with a ton of AAA titles out all in one year.

I agree, there was a switch. Things are getting more expensive and people (normal people not the filthy rich) are not making any more money than they do to compensate. Thus I fear a recession in this country.

I was guilty of switching as well... but I also just built a new PC last month. I think things will pick up when the higher spec machines will become cheaper.

My point about UT though, is it always sold over time, never was "huge" right away like the Half Life's and Doom's.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I don't know why anybody is even bringing up the Xbox 360 or PS3. I'm pretty sure that this article is only talking about PC sales.

Personally I don't think the sales would have been huge on the 360 if it released on that console instead of the PS3. There were simply too many good games to get this winter and Unreal Tournament III simply fell through the cracks. With games like Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, COD4, Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc etc... to compete with it simply got lost in the shuffle.

I know thats the reason I didn't pick it up this year. There were simply too many other games already on the market by the time it finally hit stores.

Bones_Jackson

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Should have put it on 360 along with PS3 at the same time. I bet you anything the sales would have been huge, especially with 360 owners being a lot are the people who bought gears and cod4. fps's are in their blood.

Walker

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Having played UT2k4 for about 3 years, I'm bitter about UT3. They ruined it. I'm hoping in the near future that mods will make the game worth buying.

Funny thing is, they probably would've sold more copies if they hadn't released the demo. It certainly changed my mind, and that of a few friends as well.

Kruel

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Fluffy22: I think everyone understands that the U.S. isn't the world we hear you. You know what though the gaming industry couldn't survive without it. I know it may pain you to say this but the gaming industry could survive without Japan and still maintain its growth, it could survive without Europe and maintain its growth, it could survive without Australia and maintain its growth as long as the good ole' USA is the driving economy in gaming. Maybe that is why the US sales charts are really the ones that matter, its not arrogance just economic facts that drive the world. You know those FPS titles the nationalists always like to rip apart those are going to be the driving force that keeping consoles profitable enough to make those same consoles viable enough to sell a niche JRPG and make it happen even if it sells only 250,000 copies.

Leobebes

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Never, EVER, release a bad demo.

Tepoz

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @fuchikoma:
I hear you, and Gears is a great game. But I more meant it in terms of establishing Gears on Console before UT has hurt the console side of their UT business.

Gears was a "fresh" take on UT and people snapped it up (and this is a good thing). But I think it was a missed opportunity in terms of timing. I think if they could have envisioned UT and released it instead of Gears thing might look different for UT. Because UT would have been a fresh experience for many console gamers as well.


-EDGE-

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @EnigmaNemesis: Well, I think it's at least more recent than "always" because back in 2004 Half-Life 2 sold four million copies and Doom 3 sold 3.5 million so I think it at least had to be the console generation switch that caused it. I mean I'll admit I'm part of the problem as I switched from playing almost exclusively PC games to playing almost exclusively console games around the same time.

Nirolak

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Gears was in no way a failure. That fact that it's become the standard by which the rest of Epic's games are compared to is a testament to how good it is. What Epic needs to understand is that times are changing. With high-end televisions and surround sound systems people are more likely to buy a console that can produce great graphics and sound at a fraction of the cost of a brand new computer. Let's face it, games like Crysis, which require a significant investment in computer technology, that will likely be out of date in three months, just doesn't cut it anymore for the average consumer. Not everyone is a high end gamer. In fact, most people can barely can pull off the prices of the next gen consoles. Why do you think the Playstation 3 got such a poor start? It wasn't because it was affordable, I can tell you that. Epic needs to take these things into consideration. And if it wants to get higher sales for a game like UT3, then it had better release it on the Xbox 360 first, or at least at the same time as everything else, because that 9 million customer install base outnumbers the Playstation 3's base 3:1.

DugDawg

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Unreal Tournament's always going to have a built-in market as long as they continue to make it ridiculously easy for budding artists, programmers and game designers to get together and generate a ton of extra material from the community. It's added replay value, which means a win-win situation for Epic and gamers.

The Great Moof

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> People need to understand that PC sales numbers are totally different than console sales numbers.

For one thing, PC games do not need to sell as much as consoles for the devs to make money. That's just fact. Add that in to the fact that PC gaming has little to ZERO marketing, and there just isn't as much money spent on making PC games, therefore they don't need to sell as many copies to make money back. And all the licensing costs that go along with making console games just don't exist in the PC realm. And then of course all the people who don't play PC games just because they think they need to have a 2,000 dollar computer for the games to even work.

Second, PC gaming is much different in console gaming because a PC game can sustain at least decent sales for years, where as a console game essentially gets the great, great majority of its sales in the first couple months of release, and then it's over. People will be buying Crysis for years as PC's get stronger, and people are able to run it at higher and higher resolutions/detail. The same thing can be said for a game like Flight Simulator. It's PLAYABLE now, but the game will look incredible 2 or 3 years from now.

That's one thing that I definitely love about PC gaming is that I can have a different experience with the same game for years, instead of just spending the money on it up front and being done with it after 6 months, like the typical console game. Where as people will buy tons of console games every year, I could play 5 PC games for the entire year and be totally content. Just a better overall experience.

mva5580

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> In the case of Crysis, I could buy an entirely new beefed up computer and that still might not be be enough see all it in all its glory. Why bother? It doesn't hurt that this was the year of the FPS. I can plunk down the money for the Orange Box and get an amazing single-player game (HL2), an amazing multi-player game (TF2), AND Portal. I'm sure Crysis and UT3 are great, but there's just better ways to use my money.

Quilt

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> The real reason this game isn't selling as much is because Cliffy B wasn't behind it like he was before on the previous UTs.

And really i doubt the sales will do any better on the 360, if they do it's only because of a better release schedule. They just released the PS3 and PC versions next to COD4 and Halo 3 but they failed to realize that COD4 was on PC and PS3 too so no one was going to play this.

Spoony

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Fluffy22:

But i suppose everyone likes to see things they dont like fail :(

Bingo!

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @MasterOfPastures: How is he being a troll? Millions of people state this on forums and if anything it is pure fact. Unless your pissed of about the 360 being a fps console get a PS3.

DAMN YOU WITZBOLDDDDDDDDDDDD

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> As much as dislike most of Mark Rein's statements, he has a very good point here. Both games were games were poisoned by internet hate long before their release and had a strange cloud of bad rumors surrounding them after the fact but their sales performance aren't so untypical for PC centric titles. As far as PS3's sales go, one shouldn't let the performance of other "more accessible" shooters sour the sales impression of UT3. Besides, the true profit for both of these games lay in the amount of developers they can license the technologies to and not the games themselves.

okenny :)

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @-EDGE-:
I can't see how Gears is possibly a failure for Epic. It's massively loved. I don't think it's taken the wind out of UT's sails - that was done by the ambiguous amount of change in each new addition to the franchise. You have people like me who try UT3 and go "meh, more of the same" and people like a friend of mine who's convinced it's nothing like UT and they've ruined it. The actual fans of it are just one of three sides of UT fans in general.

fuchikoma

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Porblem with all these numbers and sales data released its nearly all american.

The world is a very different place outside of american u know :o
The ps3 actually outsells the 360 in alot of the world (not being a fanboy, just making a point :P)

and like kyl81 says, too many people are quick to shout fail!!!
But i suppose everyone likes to see things they dont like fail :(

Fluffy22

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @MasterOfPastures:

How is he being a troll? The fact that he is pointing out that the first person shooter demographic has switched over to the 360, isn't that what PS3 fanboys are always saying? That the 360 is an FPS only console? You can't have it both ways...You can't say the 360 is an FPS only console and then turn around and deny that UTIII wouldn't do better if it were marketed and sold on the 360? Choose your facts guys and stick with them.

Leobebes

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Kyle81:

Good point!

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @Nirolak:

Console games have alway sold more. This is nothing new. Just wait till it hits the 360.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Well he is right, people get to excited with numbers and love to claim games failed based solely on first week sales. Games, especially in the US often continually sell throughout a year or more unlike Japan which has sharp sales drop offs.

Kyle81

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Demographically speaking many mid level to lower level PC users have migrated to the xbox and to a lesser extent the PS3. Due to online gaming, studios like EPIC, Sierra, Valve also migrating some of their titles to the consoles. This trend will continue due to piracy and people just not being able to afford a top of the line PC every three years. Consoles are a wonderful alternative for high end gaming in a weak economy. So it surprises me to hear rumors like Crysis only coming to the PS3, and UTIII being first released on the PS3 when all the cheap ass ex pc users all play on the the 360.

Leobebes

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @DaiMacculate:

As much as I like UT3, it really does feel alot like UT1 or 2k4

That is the beauty of it though ... if Epic has things up their sleeve for supporting it, and mods start rolling out (need another strangelove mod), then things will pick up more.

It is a double edged sword though. If they change it the way the fans loved it, lynch em, if they leave it the same, where is more?

It is a tough balance ... but I think keeping to its core game play is better than trying a new failure. And who knows, maybe things will be added, and it is early like you said. Epic are the kings of free stuff for their games.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I think Gears will go down as a mistake for Epic. Hear me out before you have a fanboi assplosion. Whenever UT is mentioned now it is with/in the shadow of Gears (especially on the console side). The PC gamer who cut their teeth on UT will always be there for the franchise, whereas Gears has set itself up as the "UT" for console. I find it funny when I hear people say shit like "aaah UT sucks it's a Gears rip off" or some such nonsense. Couple this with the rampant piracy (see the recent CoD4 statement) and the sales take a huge hit.

Though the UT franchise is without question getting tired, it is still usually the technical bar (as it has always been) for what the current UT-Engine can do. That said, it is time to re-imagine what UT will be going forward if they want the franchise to matter anymore outside of being a "Tech-Demo".

-EDGE-

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Well said. I still see copies of Doom III on the shelves.

DigitalHero

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> What's "Unreal TOUNAMENT"? sounds familiar..

JamieA

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> It is amazing how people can look at two weeks of sales (in our case) in one single territory in the busiest Xmas sales season the industry has ever seen and come to the conclusion these titles are doing "badly".

But the issue becomes that almost all of the big deal games that launched during that window all sold hundreds of thousands if not millions of copies in the same time frame and territory.

Nirolak

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @reptile168: The flip side of that is that it can be better to be a big fish in a small pond.

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Here's a hint for Epic. If you want to sell more copies, try fixing all the rampant instability issues. I'm a die hard UT fan, but it'd be so much easier if they didn't make it so hard.

Also, the one add I did see played much too heavily on the very thin and mostly unnoticed story segment. UT is a multiplayer franchise with a story mode as *ahem* an afterthought. Not that I don't like the single player, but it's not what those adds need to focus on. Here's a slogan:

"Halo who?"

I'll take royalty payment by certified check. Thanks so much.

Ytmnd Matt Neski !!!11

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> People are used to console sale numbers. PC being an open market and more money in devs pockets, the numbers don't need to be as high.

They will be fine. And games on PC, like consoles, will be bought later on when people get new equipment.

The "I always wanted to try this, now I can" syndrome.

EnigmaNemesis

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> As much as I like UT3, it really does feel alot like UT1 or 2k4 on graphical steroids. Given that the main thing to love about those games is mod/customization, and people have barely started doing mods and such for UT3, I have to agree with Mark its not really fair to judge until its had a few months on the market where it wasn't competing with 15 other good new FPS games.

Still doesn't mean its doing great :(

DaiMacculate

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @ErickTheRed: Ugh... bordeline trollish.

MasterOfPastures

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> @ErickTheRed: stop living in the past, u do know hating on the ps3 isnt what the cool kids do anymore - times change :P

Fluffy22

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> It has more to do with Midway being an inept publisher. They're responsible for the marketing and frankly, the marketing was non-existent. Midway probably blew their entire marketing budget this year on Stranglehold and it bombed.

If Sony or MS or Activision or EA had been publishing this game, it'd have got a much bigger push.

Tanod

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Oh Kotaku. You enthrall me with your pics.
Except tubgirl. That was another dimension of emotion...

MasterOfPastures

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> "how relevant the IP is to the emerging younger market" - this shows how much money you can make by going PS3 exclusive!!! If this was on 360 it would've at least had a chance to compete

ErickTheRed

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> People just cba keeping thier computer up to date, especially with consoles closing the gap and being so much cheaper.

Give me a reason to buy UT3 for the PC over the ps3 version?

Fluffy22

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Meh. Last great UT was UT2k4 for me. Kind of died after that.

Fyren

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> I think people are still burned from the PC version of Gears of War not even working out of the box. Hell, I know I was with how buggy that game is. That made me think twice about Unreal Tournament 3. Then, of course, there's the whole issue of Unreal Tournament 3 being practically the same thing as every other Unreal Tournament, with the addition of some snazzy graphics. Epic's like the highschool football player who got drafted to the NFL, got cocky, and then forgot what it was that got him to the NFL in the first place. Just work on Gears of War 2, you guys.

DugDawg

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> UT3 on the 360 along side the PC version would have created a lot of buzz and sells would have been much greater. Most gamers who prefer shooters are on the 360.

reptile168

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> Well many FPS out there these days have great single player AND online. UT3 only gives great online, so its not going to appeal to as many people.

Ryan Saotome

]]> <![CDATA[Rein Defends UTIII PC Sales, Crysis Too]]> It's UT. Either you like it or you don't. Same with CS, DOD, ...

Crysis on the other hand...is a crisis for the PC (pun intended).

Candlejack

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