Crytek turns back on PC exclusivity, cites piracy
by Jason Dobson 
{ Apr 30th 2008 at 11:00AM }
The comments were made as part of an interview with Croatian magazine PC Play, during which Yerli stated that "I believe that's the core problem of PC gaming, piracy ... It was a big lesson for us and I believe we won't have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future." He added that while the company will continue to create games for the PC, these titles will not be released solely for that platform.
Of course, this brings into question not only the oft-rumored PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports of Crysis, but also the game's planned trilogy of sequels. While Yerli wasn't asked as to the fate of subsequent games in the Crysis canon, he did comment that bringing Crysis "as we have seen" to consoles would be "impossible," and that the game would have to be "largely changed" to be brought to either the PlayStation 3 of Xbox 360. We continue to dream of playing the game from the comfort of our couch, though Yerli's remarks that the company's focus "is not linked to bring Crysis to consoles" has a single high-def tear running down our cheek.
[Via Team Xbox]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ninjakamster @ Apr 30th 2008 11:03AM
I'm pretty sure he said/hinted in the interview that Crysis would be PC exclusive though.
DWells55 @ Apr 30th 2008 11:07AM
"I believe that's the core problem of PC gaming, piracy"
----
Or perhaps it's the fact that Crysis was not advertised in the media, the game had unreasonable system requirements for the visuals it provided, the PC gamer install base is smaller to begin with, and the game was an utterly mediocre shooter anyways.
Seriously, I enjoyed playing it, but it was nothing special in terms of the gameplay. The graphics were good, don't get me wrong, but it also struggled to maintain 30FPS on an 8800GT and 3.2GHz Core 2 Duo. Even so, it didn't look *that* good.
Dustin Frazier @ May 1st 2008 8:34AM
I don't think piracy killed this game. It was the loads of people criticizing it even though they never actually played it. It was the jealous pricks that cried because it wouldn't run on their five year old graphics card or their brand new but equally shitty card (ATI anything/8800gt). A game as awesome as Crysis gets released and all people can do is shit all over it. Bought it, beat it, loved it. One of the best shooters of all times. The multiplayer is also loads better than many other games that people go crazy for round here. Only thing better is Half Life.
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 30th 2008 12:19PM
Yeah, the game suffered from "hardware hype".A lot of people don't realise that,even on Medium, this game looks better than a majority of AAA titles.
FOXHOUND @ Apr 30th 2008 12:28PM
I have to agree with the above...
» High System Requirements(for the average PC user)
» Little-to-no advertising outside of PC/game mags and G4(if that)
» Speaking of the ads/reviews - most emphasized playing on high end settings for the 'full experience'
» The game was released during a flood of FPS games saturating the market
A receipe for a PC game's sales disaster. Personally speaking, I was still somewhat interested in the game until I had read this.
syco @ Apr 30th 2008 12:42PM
I guarantee you the number of PC gamers that can afford the sort of upgrades it takes to play Crysis is dwarfed in comparison to those that will see it is not worth the money and just play a different game. I play TF2 all the time on my Radeon X1650 at 1024x768 all max but textures. I can even play Bioshock at 800x600 (all max. Low resolution with all effects on is always better than high resolution with low effects).
However, I will be making a moderate GPU upgrade (currently considering 9600gt) to run Bioshock and TF2 at my CRT's 1280x1024 in the next several months while I save up some money. Will I be able to play Crysis after the upgrade? Maybe. Probably not at 1280x1024 all max. Will I care? Not at all.
Dracula Jones @ Apr 30th 2008 1:10PM
I built a new system shortly after the game came out and met the requirements, so it was a sort of "I guess I have to" purchase.
The game is just plain not very good. It's a below mediocre shooter, and its visuals are not that much better than something like COD4 or Gears of War. There was a lack of artistic definition because of the push for realism... everything looked pretty blurred together (which is not to say blurry). It just felt completely generic.
So, yeah, blame piracy.
Alex @ Apr 30th 2008 1:29PM
I didn't think it was that goode either.
Pretty, but mediocre.
Alex @ Apr 30th 2008 1:30PM
I didn't think that it was very good anyway.
As you say, mediocre. Pretty, but mediocre.
The invisibility part of the suit made it too easy anyway.
DWells55 @ Apr 30th 2008 2:53PM
"It was the loads of people criticizing it even though they never actually played it. It was the jealous pricks that cried because it wouldn't run on their five year old graphics card or their brand new but equally shitty card (ATI anything/8800gt)."
----
I certainly hope you aren't implying that I'm one of those people. However, since you cite the video card I mentioned in your example, I'm assuming you are.
First of all, I played Crysis the entire way through. I even waited for the first patch to come out before I played it. I wasn't that impressed - it was a pretty standard FPS.
Next, the 8800GT is an excellent card. I got it when it was released (after Crysis came out) and at that time it was the fastest card available other than the 8800GTX. My 8800GT runs UT3 maxed at 1440x900 at 130FPS and is currently having no trouble maxing out RBS Vegas 2 at 1440x900 and 4xAA. So it's certainly no slacker of a video card.
Oh, and I like nVidia as much as the next guy, but saying that all ATi cards suck just makes you look like an idiot - especially with the HD 4800.
GreyFox @ Apr 30th 2008 4:24PM
@Dustin Frazier:
Best of all time?
*makes stroking motion*
The single player is barely 6 hours long on hard (not normal) mode. The system requirements ass pound all but the highest end PC's into playing it on low settings. The story is a generic but somewhat interesting adventure with cookie cutter characters that are blatantly taken from Predator. And the multiplayer is pretty good but nothing special.
The game is a glorified tech demo for the new CryEngine and charging $60 for a 6 hour long adventure through cliché-land is not fair to the PC player that has the choice between buying that or the Orange Box for $50.
DangerMouse @ Apr 30th 2008 11:07AM
So the high specs and mediocre gameplay had nothing to do with it?
Ninjakamster @ Apr 30th 2008 11:08AM
Yeah, a lot of people are saying the graphics are great, the gameplay is meh, that its just a glorified tech demo.
I actually really enjoyed both aspects of the game myself, though I couldn't see it in its full glory what with only a C2D and "ghetto" 7900GT. : )
I'll be waiting for the sequel/s
DrNicodemus @ Apr 30th 2008 11:10AM
Yeah, I'm sure the poor sales weren't at all fueled by the game's insane system req's. I could buy an entire console for the cost of the video card that it would take to run Crysis at low to medium settings.
I have no doubt that piracy hurts PC game sales, but, don't act like it is the main cause that your game tanked when your game is really and truly aimed a pretty narrow market to begin with - PC gamers with very high-end PC's.
copa @ Apr 30th 2008 11:10AM
Has Steam distribution proven effective against piracy? Or do people find cracks for that as well?
copa @ Apr 30th 2008 11:11AM
And also, wasn't Crytek boasting that they had moved a million copies of Crysis?
I never believed that number, but you can't have it both ways. Either you are doing insane sales numbers, or piracy is killing you.
KeenCommander @ Apr 30th 2008 11:30AM
Steam is just as thoroughly cracked as everything else. There is no effective deterrent to piracy other than making games that are actually worth buying.
el serpiente @ Apr 30th 2008 1:54PM
What's worth buying when you can get anything for free?
mattf @ Apr 30th 2008 11:10AM
Once again piracy is the scapegoat, when making a product that has very little appeal (due to absurd system requirements) is so obviously the real culprit.
Ted @ Apr 30th 2008 12:37PM
Everyone likes to say piracy is a scapegoat, but it's a real issue. Saying that 'Crysis was an unpopular game anyway' is beside the point, since they are speaking in generalities about developping games on the PC, not just 'Crysis didn't do well so we're going to blame piracy and put it on consoles'.
Although if piracy really is such a huge factor (which I think it is, to an extent), they should just release their games on steam. The fact that they haven't used all the options for combatting piracy suggests to me that they might have other motives for going multi-platform.
nerrrrrrd @ Apr 30th 2008 11:12AM
waaaaaah everyone download my game waaaaah. actually i dont know anyone who bought or pirated this game to be honest. maybe people are tired of upgrading their rig for every new game.
Erwos @ Apr 30th 2008 11:12AM
So, to everyone blaming the specs for poor sales: what's the last big selling PC game that came even close to competing with console sales?
StuScotsLazyEye @ Apr 30th 2008 11:17AM
I consider The Sims to be a PC title although it has some console ports. I don't even want to start thinking about how many copies of that game have sold.
Or are you talking a game that has both a PC port and console port (like TF2, for example)?
Erwos @ Apr 30th 2008 11:23AM
The Sims 2 came out like four years ago. I was looking for something a bit more recent.
JonFitt @ Apr 30th 2008 11:42AM
Yes, but The Sims is still selling. It just broke 100 million copies of the game or expansion packs.
There are only 7.9 million Xbox360s out there.
Every single owner would need to buy nearly 13 Halo 3's or Halo 3 plus 12 retail expansion packs to match that. (Map packs *might* count if you want to be generous to the little consoles.)
koehler83 @ Apr 30th 2008 11:14AM
Console sales = 4-5 times PC Sales
PC system cost = 4-5 times Console cost.
Yeah.. it must be piracy, I see absolutely no other correlation here.
Jonah Falcon @ Apr 30th 2008 11:50AM
Ding, ding, ding! You win the kewpie doll.
Meatball @ Apr 30th 2008 2:50PM
My PC cost about 650 dollars and I can run Crysis on high.
illmunkeys @ Apr 30th 2008 11:14AM
...or the fact the game wouldn't run on my mostly average PC? One does not upgrade a PC to play a game that amounts to an average shooter with good graphics. For examples on how to sell a PC game, see Stardock.
Dirt @ Apr 30th 2008 11:17AM
While a load of crud.
The reason no one bought it was because no one had the specs to run the dang game. Most of us still have old P4 2.4Ghz machines and X1300 cards still. This is why games like WoW sell so well, they work on ancient machines.
Developers take note! Time to code to the metal again, much like back on the Amiga days, you need to squeeze all you can to get your engine going. Toss some assembler in there if need be. Hell, do the entire game in it.
Haggard @ Apr 30th 2008 11:40AM
Well, some recent games I've played on my fairly average gaming PC have given amazing graphics for the amount of resources they use.
CoD4, The Orange Box, Gears of War and BioShock all run very well on the PC.
Crysis and Supreme Commander however both have to be turned down to fairly crap levels to get them to run stably (and Supreme Commander can be limited by your CPU anyway, no matter how low you turn the graphics).
LuckyEMS @ Apr 30th 2008 1:44PM
waaah my PC cant run it on my shit old graphics card waaaah
shut the fuck up and get a system
oh btw my system can run this on high and it was £250 ($500)
Brennan @ Apr 30th 2008 11:17AM
its the huge requirements needed to run Crysis on max at 60 fps n even the newest hardware can barely run it past 30 fps, unless u want to spend a lot of money to get past 40 fps.
that is why the sales r low because hardly anyone can run the damn game. They shouldnt be blaming not only piracy but themselves for not making a game that doesnt even let u put everything to the max, the game has been out for how long? Geez. Makes me wonder how they even ran the game on their own computers while working on it.
ratman @ Apr 30th 2008 11:29AM
Told you so. Whether you will accept that its piracy or not is up to you. Bottom line is unless you are The Sims, WoW, or Valve the PC market is not the place to be releasing your AAA mega titles. Mainstream gaming is moving to consoles. Deal with it!
Liquidmark @ Apr 30th 2008 12:25PM
Freakin SIGNED!!!
poke50uk @ Apr 30th 2008 11:33AM
demo'ed it.. disliked it.. genertic FPS... like there isnt already enough of those around! warned friends aganst it
Jonah Falcon @ Apr 30th 2008 11:50AM
I didn't get Crysis because I don't own a Cray supercomputer.
Tyler Jones @ Apr 30th 2008 12:00PM
I lol'ed
t_m @ May 1st 2008 11:03PM
I own a cry super computer... but I can't get crysis until I upgrade my graphics card.
(And nvidia still haven't released the Crysis Cray beta graphics drivers)
SinHarvest @ Apr 30th 2008 11:56AM
MMOs(wow) owns the PC market now. Personally the only thing i play on PCs is MMOs.
globones @ Apr 30th 2008 11:57AM
PS3 port, and only a PS3 port. You will not find Crysis on a 360. Check yo self fo you wrecks yo self.
eldee @ Apr 30th 2008 11:58AM
Newsflash: there are pirates on consoles also. Maybe he should just get out of the software/game development biz altogether if he wants to avoid pirates completely.
Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ Apr 30th 2008 1:25PM
Piracy on consoles isn't even close to as high or as easy as it is on a PC (With the exception of the PSP). On a PC you can find the game, download it and a crack, and have it up and running in a couple minutes. With a console you have to go through the whole process of installing a modchip, then finding good disc media that will play fine on your console, then finding and downloading the games, and then burning them at amazingly slow speeds so that they are stable. I'm not trying to justify Crytek and their whining, because if the game is good it will sell. Look at Sins of a Solar Empire for an example of that.
tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 30th 2008 2:00PM
Not to mention starting with this generation once you mod your console you can't take it online otherwise you get banned. Just another reason why it's not worth it for consoles.
eldee @ Apr 30th 2008 2:36PM
That's not actually true. A small amount of sleuthing will reveal that piracy on current consoles is actually easier than ever. Hell, they don't even have to solder mod-chips in the 360, it's just a USB dongle. As for the claim that going online will get a pirate banned, that's not true either- the mods pirates are using nowdays are smart enough to go into stealth mode to avoid detection by the console's master server.
I'm just saying- the guy is crying about the PC world being a quagmire for piracy, but it's just as bad on consoles if only for the fact that consoles are cheaper and there are more people with them than people who own gaming-viable PC's. Most of the people pirating PC games are pirating casual games like PopCap, Reflexive Arcade, etc.. Generally speaking people with the money for decent gaming rigs will also shell out for a game so they can play it online also.
Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ Apr 30th 2008 4:56PM
It might be easier to mod consoles now, although I disagree, you still have to solder stuff on the Wii and the PS3 hasn't been modded yet as far as I know. The thing is though pirating on the PC is millions of times easier then on a console. On a PC you click download and your done. I only know one person that mods consoles and plays games on them, I know about 30 people that pirate PC games.
ratm @ Apr 30th 2008 12:00PM
Over one million sold copies and it's apparently not enough?
Evan @ Apr 30th 2008 1:28PM
A million copies is not exactly a hit compared to 12 million copies of GTA San Andreas or 8 million copies of Halo 3. One million copies merely puts Crysis' sales on the level of games like Sonic Heroes, Dynasty Warriors 3, or Sly Cooper.
tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 30th 2008 2:03PM
Not anymore. As time goes on, there are more and more people in the world and gaming is becoming bigger and bigger and more expensive (on the development side) every year so selling a million is nothing nowadays. Hell, the first 50 cent game got 1.5 million.
PipSqueek @ Apr 30th 2008 12:03PM
Lets blame piracy to cover up a bad commercial decision.
You release a game with specs so high that 90% of PC users can't play it. And then the one's that can (me included) find out that behind the admittedly gorgeous graphics, it's a below average, linear, repetative, dull FPS.
It's not rocket science that it won't make back it's budget.
Crysis = the Heaven's Gate of PC games.