Blizzard stops Console development

[Spriggan]

While it's no surpise that Blizz hasn't had much luck with the console market consiering they haven't even managed to get a single game out despite like 4 years of development, they decided to move back to PC only games for the time being.  So ya, if the last annoucement about Ghost being axed didn't convince you this one should hope you that the game will never see the light.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/04/blizzard-refocuses-efforts-away-from-consoles/

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

Oh oh, wasn't Starcraft on the N64 or some other console? Didn't that happen? Heh, that was funny.

[FirstMateJack]

As was command and conquer... what person came up with the idea to put strategy games on a console?

Hmmm, that's a lot of tanks, of south border? ok, I promise not to send my air units down there.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

not that i've played either, but before Halo, FPS was considered a no no for the console too. I don't see why RTS couldn't be done well there too.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

That's the thing though SE. Done well. Halo survived, not because of the storyline, but because it was actually fun (and bearable) to play.

When I say bearable I'm coming from the POV of someone who has played FPS' on PC's dominately. At first I was turned off of Halo and even when playing found it slow and rather boring.

But then I went through the campaign (in about... 4 hours) and started to play with friends. That's where it really shines. Multiplayer. Halo 2 just grappled onto that. The storyline there was also subpar.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

and this means RTS can't survive.... why?

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

When did I say it couldn't? It could depending on how well it's made. Yah hear?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

"that's the thing though" implies disagreement with my conclusion.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

OHH , ok. Pick and choose will you. There's still the next sentence you're forgetting. "Done well." Ahem? You assume too much from my text's. They are simple and docile. They mean you no harm. There are no layers of text here. I don't find myself needing to layer text around here.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

that phrase isn't in your previous post. I was just explaining why I reacted like I did.

[Archon]

I would find it hard to adapt to playing RTS's on a game system, I think. First of all, there are only 12 buttons on the Xbox controller, if you include the joysticks. That means that you can't use as many hotkeys as you normally could. For most RTS's nowadays, there are hotkeys for attack, attack-move, defend, move, numbering units (which adds a lot of extra keys, and, I believe, most players rely on to organize their troops), stop, build (again, adds a lot of keys, which, granted, can be the same as some other commands, but still), force attack (for attacking friendly or neutral units), etc. Without hotkeys, RTS's slow down considerably. I suppose it's not an insurmountable barrier, but I think that it's enough to keep RTS's, at least good ones, on the PC for a while.

[FirstMateJack]

Archon brings up a lot of good points, in addition to no keyboard, no mouse; That makes a huge difference.

And while in a first person shooter knowing what a person has and where they are going doesn't get them killed, your lack of skill gets you killed.

where as on a starcraft, as soon as you start building a control tower on your starport, I know you are going to be building battlecruisers and valkeries, it's a given, or else you are wasting your money.

I just start massing goliaths.

It's like playing paper, rock, scissors where as soon as you make your choice, the other player has 1 second to choose after you do.

Those two reasons are the biggest reasons why I never got into them. I rented both (C&C and SC) neither was any good for those reasons. And when I talked to everyone else who played them that was their biggest reason for hating them.

No one wanted to start making anything, because as soon as you do, your opponent starts making counter units. And you can't make a secret base anywhere.

Sad sad sad.

It will be very interesting to see what happens in the near future with BFME2 that was recently released for the Xbox360.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I think you over simplify the RTS game. Sure, if you have a control tower you're building battle cruisers, but if I have another science building, I can also be pumping out ghosts and nukes. Or, simpler, I could also be building a wad of seige tanks to smack around your goliaths.

I *still* don't like console FPS. I prefer my mouse for facing. I can't move as well with that stupid console controller. And it was *this* reason that FPS took so long to take off on consoles in the first place. I'm pretty certain that the controller issue is something that can be innovated around.

[FirstMateJack]

Ever tried to drop a nuke while the other guy is watching your screen?  

Anyway, I don't disagree about fps, i prefer a mouse, keyboard and seperate screen, but i think they are fun for a recreational play.

i could not ever get used to rts on cons. maybe a turnbased.  

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

no, i usually set up my lan parties so you can't see two monitors. *shrug*