Imagine the world’s best pizza restaurant - stay with me here - where they served the world’s best pizza. All of your friends have been there and told you how amazing the pizza is; how delicious and creamy it is. How the tomato sauce is so fresh and tasty that you’ll never want another type of pizza from anywhere else ever again.
Now imagine being told by the head chef himself that your pizza will take a year to cook. Not for any other customers at the restaurant, just yours. Would you even still want it once 365 days had passed?
Obviously, with talk of their new project reaching fever pitch (Grand Theft Auto VI, surely?) I’m using this ridiculous analogy to talk about Rockstar’s crazy release strategies (At least I think I am? Who’s up for a Food-Debate spin-off site?) for huge franchises like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar has a long-running track record of releasing its games on consoles first before making a PC port, often making us wait years for a slice of that gaming goodness. And whilst there are some positives to this, we think it’s time Rockstar stops the madness.
First of all, it feels like Rockstar has a grudge against PC players (Maybe daddy PC once left to go get a pack of cigarettes and never came home to baby Rockstar, but one can only speculate). While the PC ports of Rockstar’s games have always been met with the same, if not better, praise as the console versions (usually increasing online player count and adding certain PC-only features like GTA 4’s custom music channel) they always seemed like features that could be in the base game already. To my mind there’s no reason that a PC port would take that much longer. Many other games that are just as expansive and detailed were released at the same time on consoles as they were on PC, like The Witcher III.
So why has Rockstar not caught on like everyone else? Aside from making more and more money from people buying multiple versions, as this article explains, I really can’t think of many reasons! But for the sake of a debate let’s break it all down and look at some numbers for Rockstar’s last 3 games they released to both console and PC:
Console: April 2008
PC: December 2008
Wait: 8 Months
Console: September 2013
Next-Gen console: November 2014
PC: April 2015
Wait: 19 Months
Console: October 2018
PC: November 2019
Wait: 13 Months
So GTA 4 took eight months to come to PC, RDR 2 took just over a year. Those are almost and I mean almost acceptable when the games are such high quality. But GTA 5 took nearly two years to come to PC! Granted they did re-release the game for next-gen consoles at the time, but why did it take another four months after that to port to PC?
That’s not even mentioning the fact that the first Red Dead Redemption game never even made it to PC! Maybe Rockstar thinks it’s too late now, but I certainly have very fond memories of the Undead Nightmare DLC: shooting zombies’ faces and taming the great horse of war. Come on Rockstar, PC players are people too!
Maybe Rockstar wanted to see how long they could make PC players wait before people started complaining and PC sales were lost. If they really did learn from their mistakes when it came to Red Dead Redemption 2’s year-long wait then hopefully the next game won't have us twiddling our thumbs quite so long, though I doubt it very much. Another reason for Rockstar might be the all-popular debate around piracy in video games as it’s notoriously easier to pirate games on PC than game consoles which could certainly affect Rockstar's sales.
Okay I’m feeling a bit negative now and this is supposed to be a debate after all, so let’s try and look at some positives that come out of waiting:
The first one that comes to mind is patches and bugs. After waiting at least a whole year you have the benefit of all the major bugs being fixed, some still make their way through to PC but at least most of the big ones are patched out by that time.
You also have more time to upgrade your hardware; with consoles offering affordable tech-in-a-box, as a PC player you can constantly upgrade your rig to stay well ahead of the curve and enjoy a better looking and performing game. A entire year is a long time to save up and make sure you can at least play the latest Rockstar game with the minimum requirements, or push even further beyond the recommended specs if you're after the premium experience.
Whatever the reason, when GTA VI is inevitably announced it’s safe to assume that PC players will be waiting at least a year until there’s a port for them. But for now we have to remain content that our pizza will take a long time to cook, or we can steal a slice from one of our neighbours, but let’s face it: it’s not the same as having your own pizza.
What do you think? Should Rockstar release their games at the same time on both consoles and PC? Or is the wait worth it? Let us know what you think!
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PC Specs
Never have brought a later PC release of a game & never will because there is always something just as good if not better on the horizon.
PC Specs
I think games should be released at the same time, but as long as Rockstar makes more money by delaying PC releases, they probably won't change anything.
PC Specs
True
PC Specs
Today we have far more interesting titles than GTA... so no thanks and we won't miss it.
PC Specs
As much as this is true, sadly people buy brands not products and GTA's brand is wildly popular sadly... :/
PC Specs
Be careful what you say GTA has always looked at the other games & upcoming, and made those the games to beat, its the best selling game series for a reason.
PC Specs
The reason being that they were (one of)the first, all the 2000s controversies that gave them free global marketing and made kids want to play it as it was the game to be banned for kids or even overall... gta has been mediocre since after san andreas with many of the garbage game design practices starting in GTA SA.
PC Specs
Is there anybody who really likes having to wait while others have fun? I experienced this With MHW Iceborne and it really sucked the fun out of the game for me. I'd rather have all versions release at the same time but I'm not sure if game devs would be up to it.
PC Specs
Here. I couldn't care less about anybody else. I play for myself. Even if I get the game 30 years later doesn't/wouldn't change a damn thing.
PC Specs
I wonder how your so confident that youll play the game after that long if maybe in 1 year youll be dead? or youll have no time because other more important things will have to be done like kids and etc
PC Specs
If I don't get to play a game big whoop, but the principle stands, it doesn't matter when I get to play a game, 2 weeks before it's released ot 30 years later, it makes no difference to me and I give even less fcks who played it before or after me.
PC Specs
Lets be honest we do not want another UBISOFT Downgrade do we? Watchdogs and Division reveals were blow my brains out cause thats beautiful! not just the visuals but also the animations and its fluidity what we got was well... the less said
PC Specs
the better. Instead with rockstar we get a game thats truly enhanced for PC! sure optimization needs to be worked out but its not just a Basic port its a true effort to enhance so that our PC's can truly shine (and melt in the process) JUST
PC Specs
LIKE CRYSIS. Unlike other publishers who release games that just flat out suck on pc!!! with a few Exceptions that do not suck!!! sure waiting almost 19 months is stupid 6-7 months is fine and truth be told many games I just wait for a coup
PC Specs
Couple of months heck Shadow of the Tomb Raider I still havent purchased and thats only cause I know That if I wait long enough I can get the complete edition of the game for dirt cheap rates during the next Steam Sale. REALITY OF PC GAMING
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PRE ORDER THE GAME: its most probably gonna suck with some ****ty dlc thats gonna be free later anyway
LAUNCH MONTH: well your BETA testing the game filled with bugs after paying full price for it
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BUY IT A FEW MONTHS LATER: You know what your getting
BUY IT A COUPLE YEARS LATER: You get the entire game at a discount!!! sure the online community might be a bit smaller but if it still has one, that means its a good one!
SOME GAMES YO
PC Specs
YOU HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO BUY IT LIKE RDR2 or F1 20XX on day one but those are well and truly the exceptions. Dont get caught up in the HYPE TRAIN be smart spend less and have fun dont follow a God Damn TREND!!! just to stay relevant!
PC Specs
I still want Bully 2 before GTA 6..
PC Specs
Same. Bully is my favourite R* game ever.
PC Specs
First of all i think there should be an option for vote " I dont care" because i would fit in that category. In past 4-3 years i no longer rush through main stories and be done with the game. I pick carefully my game catalog and just enjoy the whole experience, side quests, activities, main story etc. So im here now with huge list of games that i will play and i dont really care when these games such as gta 6, cyberpunk will get released.
PC Specs
Great article.
PC Specs
I haven't even single dipped on any Rockstar game!! :P
PC Specs
I'll wait for PC release and a discount, unless it's very good game and I know I spend hundreds of hours playing it, then I pay full price.
PC Specs
same F1, Battlefield, Crysis, Red Dead Redemption 2 (for story mode+ online is a bonus) are the ones for me
PC Specs
I mean I'd be happy if they stopped treating their developers as 2nd class citizens first but yeah okay
PC Specs
I think it's the devs treating everyone else as 2nd class citizens. There's so many issues that plague gta online that they never bothered fixing but when there's something that works for the players more than them it's patched quickly
PC Specs
The decision to patch out exploits to Gta Online isn't the decision of your rank and file game developer at Rockstar. It's a management directive to them to make sure that such exploits are patched out to keep microtransactions flowing, just like making the employees crunch is a management directive.
PC Specs
A senior developer is still a developer. Now I don't know what the QA department over there does but it still boils town to either them failing to spot gameplay issues or to the senior devs not doing anything about the issues they "know" of
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I'm not suggesting that a dev trying to make a living is deliberately doing a half assed job but it's still up to their dev department to fix those issues
PC Specs
Most of the time the QA department likely is spotting all those issues we all see. Spotting them/prioritising them/fixing them is a different matter entirely though.
The fact remains that 99% of employees at Rockstar can't dictate which exploits/fixes are prioritised.
PC Specs
I agree and I'm never going to blame your average dev for this but it's still up to that team to fix those things and in that team there's people calling the shots, unless the company told them we only want u to work on the next content dlc
PC Specs
Considering the years it took Bayonetta, Vanquish, FF9, 10 & 12 and Enslaved to arrive on PC, a 12-20 month wait for yet another open-world game that ultimately probably won't be that different, gameplay wise, to the last one doesn't really bother me. And if the game is a "classic masterpiece" then it won't matter at what point in time I get to play it as it shouldn't be outdated 2 years later.
PC Specs
Yeah but that's the thing GTA V was already outdated when it came out in 2013 as in many ways the gameplay and AI were downgraded from GTA 4
PC Specs
Just goes to show that "classic" and "masterpiece" gets thrown around way to much when describing new AAA games these days.
PC Specs
Absolutely, reviewers usually review to please people's expectations with sequels and games as a whole which have a positive or negative reputation
PC Specs
I can't find anywehre in this article or the linked article with the words classic masterpeice... Where are you getting that from?
PC Specs
He is talking about GTA V being dubbed a masterpiece when it released in 2013... or any other rockstar game post 2004 really.
PC Specs
Well might they have more with consoles. For me personal i do not care much. GTA V is a nice game but when you play it much its get boring. And Red Dead Redemption is not my type of game. Sure when they come with GTA6 will think about it.
PC Specs
I bought 3 copies of GTA V - X360, PC and PS4. Good for them :D
PC Specs
Same, except PS3 instead of Xbox
PC Specs
I really wonder why you would do this. Only thing I can think of is if you play multiplayer with lots of friends that have different consoles. I'd never buy a game twice (except that I did with Gran Turismo 4, because the DVD was damaged, luckily the game then only costed 20 euro instead of 45)
PC Specs
If 6 doesn't come out at the same time on all platforms I will consider alternative ways to play it, what can I say...
PC Specs
Preorder your game right now or buy .ex edition and u will have the possibility to play 5 days before the official release of the game! A 2 months later 20% discount or more.
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Its almost ironic that most of the PC gaming community treats console gamers like a 3rd grade citizen and then complain about being treated as 2nd grade if it happens from a couple to few devs.
PC Specs
Somehow the PC gaming community is right in this. For example: The consoles are holding things back. Imagine that kind of optimization for PC. We know that PC hardware could be way more powerful (not only at launch, especially after 5 years). At least we get the optimization like in GTA 5 and then we could play it even on low end PCs. I don't mind waiting for a year to play, at least it will be somewhat more bug free and optimized.
PC Specs
i disagree with you, the PC community is far more kind to everyone than you realize.
PC Specs
So all the guys spamming things like "pc masterrace", "consoles are trash", etc. are just 1 guy actually, and the rest of the pc community is comprised of understanding people would never do such things. Good to know
PC Specs
Theres always gonna be "those" kinds of people in every circle, but yea the overwhelming majority of PC gamers are more open-minded to things then whats described.
PC Specs
Most of the time those people are joking because it's kind of a meme at this point. Or they are people who are being sarcastic, or think its makes pc gamers look bad. But sometimes it's just some asshole. And something we all need to remember, sometimes any asshole online is just some literal kid. Like 12 years old or something.
PC Specs
I think Rockstar is just as money hungry as EA,Activision,Ubisoft etc. (or even more so) and part of that it because of Take-Two Interactive. I'm 100% convinced that they will always release their games on Console and make us PC players wait in order to buy it after a year.
PC Specs
They always try to excuse themselves saying that they need more time to polish the game for PC or make the graphics better, but seeing as how GTA4 and RDR2 Launched on PC it's pretty clear that this is definitely not the motive. That would be making us buy the game twice or with the next gen jump even 3 times .
PC Specs
The publishers are for sure. The problem is that there is either not enough people on the development team or that the time budget is too small. It has always been the case in the gaming industry. With stuff like DLC, lootboxes etc, there could be more budget for the games, but I haven't seen a wow improvement really, it only gets worse (especially mobile games, as they're all the same)
PC Specs
It's time for Rockstar to stop making generic, brain-dead, time wasiting going from one side of the map to the other 80% of the time games, PLEASE. Rockstar and Ubisoft both.
Unless it's a racer with good arcady or sim or inbetween driving mechanics.
Don't treat your customers like brain-dead idiots(not that we aren't, but still, makes for a better game).
PC Specs
GTA V and Red dead 2 is where i go to do brain dead stuff... i would like that to continue. i need a game where i can get my frustrations out
PC Specs
Fair point.
PC Specs
No, it's fun to free roam. That's why it's popular.
PC Specs
Yeah no... that's why Ghost Recon failed, that's why the crew failed, that's why no man's sky failed(initially I heard it's gotten infinitely better), that's why FO76 failed, that's why Mafia 3 failed... Dead island Riptide.
Moving alone isn't enough, unless it's a racer or a parkour game with actual challenge to the whole moving around the map, not a big one, but there should be obstacles and ways to not succeed, but obviously not fail as you are just free roaming, basically fail the mechanics of the game, but with a tiny insignificant consequence. If I make any sense.
PC Specs
But playing COD (same game every year) isn't brain-dead
PC Specs
When will the stigma that every CoD is the same go away... it hasn't been the case since 2011. At this point each CoD game from each studio is it's own being using the Call of Duty name for marketing reasons. They have different map design, different mechanics, different visuals, different everything on top of having different styles of campaign and just in general the game design is different. The only thing in common they have is that they are Shooters and are called Call of Duty and they have kill streaks... that's about it. Also have you checked CoD MW 2019, it's fanstastic.
Sure to the unexpereinced person it looks the same, because it's a shooter, and you move and shoot and there are killstreaks and they share a first name, but this is where all familiarities end.
PC Specs
Also I rarely buy CoD at full price anymore and I don't buy each and every one, apart from CoD MW 2019 which was too excellent not to buy at full price, the last CoD I bought at full price was CoD BO1, they get cheap within 3 months after release. It's also why shooters are my least favorite genre.
PC Specs
i think you will come further by saying: but playing FIFA(same game every year) isn't brain-dead
PC Specs
I don't play FIFA so I can't say much on it, but from the little I know they do change and add mechanics there too.
PC Specs
from my experience all they do is add a new game mode every 4 years, change the stats slightly and add micro-transactions... all which in my opinion can be done with a little update. and don't go say BUT BUT BUT IT'S BUSINESS! IDGAF it's a sketchy business model and it shouldn't be allowed
PC Specs
My room mate is a fifa buff and he said that in FIfa 2019 they screwed up the ball physics and in 2020 they completely demolished them while making characters be less responsive and shots less consistent, IDK if it's true, but according to him it is.
And I'd never say that it's a business as an excuse, infact it's the opposite. Businesses are there to satisfy customers, they shouldn't release a product that isn't different enough or improved enough.
Case and point AMD, Intel and Nvidia, Zen2 and Zen3 are pointless if you have Zen1, everything after Sandy bridge is pointless, unless you need more cores and we in 2019 had worse performance per dollar for GPUs than in 2016.
PC Specs
Or in CoD Multiplayer games: CoD WaW, CoD MW3(even though it's MW2 without crap, polished and actually good, I'd prefer if MW2 didn't exist and MW3 did), Infinite Warfare, all the mentioned CoD games have a multiplayer that is a slightly tweaked version of the previous game in the cycle or from the previous cycle.
But again Infinite Warfare has great multiplayer, while Bo3 had crap multiplayer, because Infintie Warfare has great maps and great balance and no loot box weapons and BO3 has all those negatives.
MW2's multiplayer is garbage, MW3's multiplayer is what MW2's multiplayer should have been.
So in reality, with more research the clone games come out as better.
Bo1's multiplayer is also derivative of MW2's multiplayer, but it's very different mechanics and design-wise.
PC Specs
FIFA changes a lot but it's pretty much invisible from the outside looking in! Microtransactions are in of course, but they haven't really changed much this entire generation. As far as sports games go, none I've played are as feature rich as a FIFA game, tons of modes to play. I normally buy it every 2 years though, double the difference
PC Specs
If GTA VI will be released on PS4, Xbox one it will be a fail. Rockstar should aim only on next-gen consoles PS5 ,XBOX X Series and PC.
PC Specs
Well GTA 5 was released on last gen when the current gen was months from release, and that sold very well.
PC Specs
Gotta double dip to make all of the money
PC Specs
i DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA FAIL. CONSOLE USERS ARE IDIOTS. (not all)