I Am Alive creative director Stanislas Mettra has plainly stated that PC piracy makes the financial viability of the game on the platform uncertain. Ubisoft previously announced the downloadable title was only planned for consoles.
"We've heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them," Mettra said to IncGamers. "But are these people just making noise just because there's no version or because it's a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?"
Mettra continued that if 50,000 PC players buy the game it's not worth the cost of putting a team of 12 on the project for three months. He continued, "It's hard because there's so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games that we have to precisely weigh it up against the cost of making it."
Since I Am Alive runs on the Splinter Cell: Conviction engine, it could be ported to PC, but it's pretty clear that Ubisoft's relationship with PC players has become contentious, bordering on combative. It wouldn't be surprising if I Am Alive comes to PC some day, but it'll take longer than the standard one month delay.
Reader Comments (210)
Posted: Nov 26th 2011 11:02AM Mcmax3000 said
@Terical - Ubisoft isn't losing a cent in making this decision.
The possibility exists that they could be making more money if they did not make this decision but they aren't losing anything.
Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams but they stand no chance whatsoever of going out of business because of this.
Reply
The possibility exists that they could be making more money if they did not make this decision but they aren't losing anything.
Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams but they stand no chance whatsoever of going out of business because of this.
Posted: Nov 26th 2011 7:01AM VolcomStone32x said
Wow Ubi. You're just hurting yourself in the long run.
Honestly, piracy isn't as bad on the PC as you think it is. It's usually done by 10 year olds with crap PCs and no money to purchase the game for their Xbox/PS3. So they try to download the PC version to get their fix, but since their computer is so archaic and crappy, they can't even play it. As a result of that, they go out and eventually buy the game.
Don't get me wrong, there are some people with awesome rigs who pirate games, but those guys aren't the majority of "pirates"
Honestly, piracy isn't as bad on the PC as you think it is. It's usually done by 10 year olds with crap PCs and no money to purchase the game for their Xbox/PS3. So they try to download the PC version to get their fix, but since their computer is so archaic and crappy, they can't even play it. As a result of that, they go out and eventually buy the game.
Don't get me wrong, there are some people with awesome rigs who pirate games, but those guys aren't the majority of "pirates"
Posted: Nov 26th 2011 6:39PM Weiji said
It's cool, my Xbox is modded.
Posted: Nov 26th 2011 7:10PM Ganon255 said
And nothing of value was lost.
Posted: Nov 27th 2011 3:20AM asag said
I've been a PC gamer since the days of the 286, and have owned pretty much every major console, and I think both developers and gamers are to blame.
I've bought 2 copies of SC2, but can't play during server downtime, yet my friend with a pirated copy can?!? Same goes with Wowz. Yet, if I hadn't downloaded cracked versions of Starcraft 1, Diablo 1 or 2, I would've never bought them legitimately later on. Same goes for Half Life 1 and 2. But for everyone game I legitimately buy, there are 2 cracked versions that I don't.
Sometimes Crackers get thrown in the mix. Many were looking foward to Skyrim, Razor1911 released the cracked version before the retail version even came out. Damn, it's hard not to click download.
I've bought 2 copies of SC2, but can't play during server downtime, yet my friend with a pirated copy can?!? Same goes with Wowz. Yet, if I hadn't downloaded cracked versions of Starcraft 1, Diablo 1 or 2, I would've never bought them legitimately later on. Same goes for Half Life 1 and 2. But for everyone game I legitimately buy, there are 2 cracked versions that I don't.
Sometimes Crackers get thrown in the mix. Many were looking foward to Skyrim, Razor1911 released the cracked version before the retail version even came out. Damn, it's hard not to click download.
Posted: Nov 27th 2011 3:48PM Kamui Zero said
Piracy exists with all consoles, the Xbox360, Wii, and PS3 being the easier than PC because it relies on one-time modifications to the consoles and not the games, Most of the time Xbox360 gets games weeks before release.
PC, on the other hand, everyone is scared of PC Piracy, for it is most harmful because they are tyrannical monsters!
(at least that's what idiot game companies say so)
PC, on the other hand, everyone is scared of PC Piracy, for it is most harmful because they are tyrannical monsters!
(at least that's what idiot game companies say so)
Posted: Nov 28th 2011 2:19AM loblaw said
Since the explosion of Indie game publishing, a lot of us who have been gaming for years have come back around to realizing that games are a creative medium and that there is / should be a relationship between developers, publishers, and those of us who buy and play games. Treat us like crap by making us beta test your unfinished work, gouge us on prices, and then outright insult us with crippling DRM or even boneheaded statements like Mettera's, and we won't even bother with you anymore. I've got a limited amount of time to play games, and guess what - the market is flooded with great titles. You have to sell me on why I should spend my precious downtime on yours.
CD Projekt made loads of cash on The Witcher 2, not by treating its audience like children, but by simply releasing a solid product that speaks for itself. What has Ubisoft done lately to convince us they even remotely care about gamers as anything more than sources of income?
CD Projekt made loads of cash on The Witcher 2, not by treating its audience like children, but by simply releasing a solid product that speaks for itself. What has Ubisoft done lately to convince us they even remotely care about gamers as anything more than sources of income?
Posted: Nov 30th 2011 4:31PM Patricio87 said
Plants Vs Zombie was on Steam and I bought it. It's rude to assume everyone will pirate a game.
Posted: Nov 30th 2011 8:56PM Weiji said
Ubisoft makes crap games with horrid DRM. Yeah, no one will ever buy your games.
Posted: Dec 31st 2011 9:47PM 2012ISHYGDDT said
Why doesn't Ubisoft just make some more DRM? I'm sure that will solve the issue and bring more sales in.




