Mass Effect rumored for the PC
by Alan Rose 
{ Oct 22nd 2006 at 3:22PM }
An article scan from the latest PC Gamer UK reveals that BioWare's Mass Effect could be heading to the PC. This is most welcome news for Windows gamers, but hardly surprising when you consider the Canadian developer's previous two Xbox titles followed the same path. Knights of the Old Republic started out as an Xbox exclusive, and its PC conversion followed four months later. Also, a special edition PC port of Jade Empire was announced at E3 and will ship in January.
Mass Effect doesn't arrive on the Xbox 360 until Q2, so we probably wouldn't see the rumored PC release until late next year. We'll let you know if we hear any confirmation details.
[Thanks to the readers who sent this in!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sub @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:28PM
Judging from how buggy Kotor 1 was on the PC, I'll be buying it on the 360.
Mediaddict @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:30PM
Who cares? The PC version will be worse unless you have a state of the art gaming rig. My 360 and 56" HDTV ensure that I'll be getting Mass Effect in glorious detail. If I used my computer, then I'd be playing 800x600 at medium detail.
Thanks, but I'll stick with the 360 version.
darko82 @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:34PM
Yeah, but if you don't want to spend $400 for the system to play it on, this would be a great alternative for PC gamers. I haven't seen any must-have games on the 360 yet, except for Gears of War, so if you have a good gaming rig now, you should be able to play Mass Effect.
LordMinogue @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:37PM
to #4:
I dont have $1200 to spend on a new PC. That is why I have a 360.
MO @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:47PM
Hmm. Seems like most of the must-have games on the 360 are going to PC, too.
bobby @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:49PM
damn another reason i dont need to buy a 360. i want to get one but if they keep porting them to pc then i dont have a reson to buy one. my specs are dual 3 gig , 1 gig of ram and a ati 1900 xtx 512 mb videocard so i think ill be good .
EvanB @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:49PM
This rumour gets shot down on a weekly basis on the official forums.
The developers have said if there's enough demand for a PC release it will get one, but it certainly won't be next year, and it probably won't be until the entire trilogy is out on the 360.
Blackmoon @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:54PM
You people underestimate the PC market. There are tons of people that would rather play this than on an X360 or perhaps not have to buy an X360 to play this.
I for one would be one happy camper if it came to PC.
Fan @ Oct 22nd 2006 3:56PM
"I dont have $1200 to spend on a new PC. That is why I have a 360."
Well you can build a pretty good rig for alot less than 1200$.
Its much easier for me to justify spending money on upgrading my PC, for work and all. And with all the good games for the 360(GeOW, Alan Wake, Mass Effect) coming to the PC someone tell me why I need a 360.
It makes sence also. Microsoft is making money off the PC while the 360 money sink is a subsidised machine to keep competitors away.
But if these games are Vista exclusives they will make me cry.
darko82 @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:16PM
Evan, I don't think a reputable publication like PC Gamer (best PC games mag ever) would mention this if it wasn't going to happen. Look at KoTOR and Jade Empire. Why wouldn't they port this to the PC?
@LordMinogue, a lot more people have PCs than Xbox 360s for school, work, etc. Many of them don't have the luxury of buying a system just to play games. ME on the PC would be a good thing.
Bill @ Oct 23rd 2006 6:28AM
So it's exclusive to microsoft platforms (Windows, Xbox).
Sony is frozen out again.
EvanB @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:41PM
10, I didn't say it wouldn't come out. I fully expect it too, as it has a huge audience that BioWare wouldn't be reaching otherwise.
However, PC Gamer and Joystiq seem to think the inevitable port will be out next year (by the way, the 360 version doesn't have a release date yet, but say whatever you feel, Joystiq), which is highly suspect at best. The developers have repeatedly said that the 360 is the primary development platform for this game, and that there is no PC version in development right now.
By the way, there's a topic on this article on the forums right now, http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=504448&forum=104
O_o @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:54PM
to #4
And yet, you have $4000 to dish out on a HDTV?
I'd rather spending $400 to upgrade to a better card.
Judd @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:54PM
Look I have a 360, an HDTV, but not really the most high-tech computer. So for me any time a game comes out on the Xbox 360 and PC, I'm clearly playing it on the 360. But I will play the devil's advocate here.
A lot of people have souped up computers and spend thousands on their setup not just for gaming(just like people who spend thousands on an HDTV for reasons other than next-gen systems). For them the same game comes out for $10 less and looks a little better as well. If you don't consider the PC, the 360 has had a phenomenal first year. If you do, they still haven't had any great exclusives yet.
Let me name some of my favorite 360 titles: Call of Duty 2, Condemned, Elder Scrolls IV, Battle for Middle Earth 2, Battlefield 2, Prey. Get my point?
Now the 360 definitely has a lot of great games coming out in the future. But if Microsoft is pushing their Games for Windows label aren't they shooting themselves in the foot, by making the 360 less appealing. Hear are some of the 360 titles not out yet I'm looking forward to: Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Alan Wake, Kane & Lynch, Shadowrun.
With Halo 2 coming out on PC, will the 360 hold onto any of their big licenses? How long will it be till we see Gears of War PC?
LordMinogue @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:48PM
to #12 0_o
I play on a 20" Toshiba SDTV, like the vast majority of gamers. What makes you think all 360 owners are upper-class pricks? I'm a high school senoir from a middle-class family, by no means can I afford a gaming PC or High-Def TV.
My PC is a 1.8ghz p4 donated to me by a friend when he upgraded last year. I use a game consol so I don't have to worry about my PC specs.
If I ever NEED this "True HD" stuff, I'll use a VGA adapter and my PC monitor (a 1080p Sony LCD bought used).
Frankly, I think surround sound is a much more effective investment. I put together a sweet little setup for less then a new monitor.
Mediaddict @ Oct 22nd 2006 9:22PM
@ O_o/ LordMinogue:
Interesting, I'm also a HS senior from a middle class family (cicra $75,000 annual income) and we were able to find a pretty good deal online for a Samsung DLP. It's an amazing replacement for our 31" Sanyo SDTV.
Einhanderkiller @ Oct 22nd 2006 7:22PM
I was considering getting a 360 to play this game, but now (if it really does come to the PC, that is) I won't have to. :D
E6600 @ 3GHz, 7900GT (580/1600), P5W DH
Einhanderkiller @ Oct 22nd 2006 7:23PM
...and 2GB of RAM at 4-4-4-12, DDR-666 (to get a 1:1 ratio).
Abyss_of_Borg @ Oct 22nd 2006 7:56PM
I was actually gonna buy a 360 for this game. Sure Gears of War looks awesome but Mass Effect is what I really want. There is a serious lack of good Scifi RPGs.
darko82 @ Oct 22nd 2006 9:16PM
All valid points on both sides, but there's another thing to consider - game price. Third party 360 titles are $60 and I just saw in today's circulars that Ultimate Alliance is retailing for only $40 on current gen and PC. That's one example of a $20 mark-up for next-gen console titles and they are not moddable like the PC versions. Hell, I just picked up Oblivion for the PC last week for $35 ($40 at CC with a $5 coupon). If you can save $25-30 on PC releases, the savings start to add up.
DarkXaero @ Oct 22nd 2006 11:25PM
People here are saying that they dont wanna spend $1200 on a new PC so they did rather play it on 360 but what they need to know is that people with $1200 PCs dont want to spend $400 on a new console when they already have a great PC.
lionzub @ Oct 22nd 2006 11:55PM
This is amazing news! I was actually considering a Xbox360 for this game. But if it's coming out for PC DVD-ROM... that's like my dream come true! Got to love Bioware :)
Moogle @ Oct 23rd 2006 12:33AM
GeForce 7600 gt: $135
Mobo w/ Ath64 3700: $145
1 gig PC3200 RAM: $80
Old case, hard drive, cd/dvd drives, etc: free/sunk cost
Total: $360
That's a fair bit better than the last upgrade I did half a year ago, and I can run Oblivion at the same or better quality than the 360 version. No frame rate issues or anything.
People have this weird idea that you have to buy the top of the line components to play games. My experience says $300 every year or two will let you play everything as it comes out at respectable quality, Shorter life-cycle than consoles of course, but if you're talking about games porting from 360, you won't need an upgrade, since the 360 won't improve either.
Well, you have to be able to install a motherboard and plug in keyed color coded cables, or at least know which 12 year old in your neighborhood to hire for $10.
ProfessorJay @ Oct 23rd 2006 1:07AM
Don't forget that any AAA title PC Game is likely to be a Vista/DX10 title. God (er Bill Gate$) only knows what a decent rig is going to cost when that ships...in 2010 (natch).
Lefty @ Oct 23rd 2006 1:07AM
bioware stated there are no plans to make this for the pc right now. at best it would be a year or more from the 360's release befor it hit pc's. either way as long as people get to play it more power to them.
and if it did get released it would be a vista game. once vista launches all ms published games would be vista games. thats a given as ms is trying to converge the 360 and pc gaming in one. many games will release side by side for both systems and online will be playable against each other. shadowrun is the first game out for live anywhere in janurary.
and either way ms is making money thats their goal
mocax @ Oct 23rd 2006 1:48AM
Why's LordMinogue replying to himself in #4?
Ben Serwa @ Oct 23rd 2006 4:27AM
Yawn. Where's KOTOR 3?
rpg_gamer @ Oct 23rd 2006 10:53AM
It's ok that Sony's frozen out. Sony has Lair, Heavenly Sword, and a few other exclusives for the PS3. BioWare has always been a PC/Xbox game producer, but they're building a DS game now.
kunikos @ Oct 23rd 2006 11:58AM
Bioware has decided to make certain game lines 360 only so they can wear Microsoft money hats. Dragon Age is the only thing to look forward to from them, unless you haven't played Jade Empire (which is starting to seem a little dated).
Leron Holmes @ Oct 23rd 2006 1:20PM
Another reason to not buy a 360. Just about every game 360 has you can buy on 360, what a rip off. Good thing I have my PS3 pre-ordered and payed off already.
Leron Holmes @ Oct 23rd 2006 1:21PM
I meant just about every game you can buy on 360 you can buy on PC.
Nikola @ Nov 20th 2006 2:51AM
I come from serbia. We don't have a market for x360 games, and i don't even know where i could buy a x360. I am a passionate KOTOR, BG2, .. player. It annoys me,(very much) that i have to wait, usually for a year to play a game on my PC. I know why the game producers ship the games for PC and X360 the way they do, but i am also sure that they could ship them at the same time, and let the people choose.