To be honest, SG has/had a lot more going for it for a PC port
- The hype we generated for the Breast Cancer and IGG Crowd funding created a crazy amount of free marketing for SG across pretty much every gaming site.
- SG and ASW popularity in terms of demographic is pretty much reversed. SG is mostly popular here in the west while ASW's titles are mostly popular in Japan. This is important because from my understanding among small Japanese developers, PC Gaming isn't as big in Japan.
- To be honest, I'm not really sure we actually have a smaller fan base at this point. I mean we without a doubt have a smaller competitive scene. But after the Breast Cancer and IGG funding, that SRK poll where we somehow managed to beat BBCP for Fighting Game of the Year even though we're probably less than 1/3 the size of the BB competitive community and now these sales numbers, I'm starting to think we might actually be on par with ASW games in terms of overall fanbase.
- $15 price tag really isn't something to downplay in my opinion. I've seen people spend similar amounts on games during Steam sales that they either never end up playing or play once and never play again just because it was a good price.
I wouldn't say that the only thing that would convince me that Xrd would sell well is Xrd selling well but rather you really haven't given me a reason to think it would. The closest example you've given me so far is KOF XIII but then again, the PC version of KOF XIII had the very big plus of an online that was actually good. This alone made it worth buying the game a second time, especially if you don't really have a local scene for the game. In short though, my goal here was only ever to make you realize that a PC port isn't necessarily going to sell well.
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- You still think this will only take 3 months to get done
- You somehow think only programmers need to get paid
- You think all it takes to break even is selling 2000-2500, a ridiculously low number that literally almost any game can meet
Yeah, I'm just going to skip this point. This does explain why you're so confident that a PC port would sell well. Man, that was really bothering me. Glad, to finally understand that one.
Also, I wouldn't say I'm overestimating the work load. I would say this is my realistic expectation from being the top tester on several games for 2-3 years, my computer science education, my experience and knowledge of game programming and my experience from being a full time programmer for a year and counting. You just underestimate work loads and don't have a a good understanding of how easy it is to fall behind schedule in software development in general because of unexpected issues A-Z.
I wouldn't say they're in a different position at all really. As was seen with the whole Konami Def Jam fiasco, capital can be gotten by loans from the bank if need be. Knowledge of 360 and other platforms would have to be learned but it was no different for ASW in the beginning either. ASW making money off the 360 version of their games also wasn't 100% necessary. At the end of the day, it's important to look at the overall picture. If the PS3 version's profits covered the losses, then everything would have still been fine. A much more realistic analysis of why there is no longer a 360 port of their games: Weak sales + lack of resources now that they have to split their resources between BB and GG as well as the P4U games = 360 port not worth the trouble.
Again, you place too much emphasis on install base size. Maybe if Xrd was releasing now, I could see your point but by the time Xrd releases around fall/winter, the PS4 will probably have an install base of 10-20 million, which is a respectable amount to start getting solid sales and why a lot of the big games start to appear a year after the release of the console.
I don't believe Sony benefits from exclusivity because in order for it to be worth the effort in the first place, the game either has to A) Sell considerably more on their platform(s) so they can at least make up the money they used to pay people off in royalties or B) Get people to buy PS4s. It's pointless to do this for A) because the reality is that ASW games already sell their majority on Sony platforms because the games are mostly popular in Japan where 360 is dead and Europe usually opts to import on PS3 instead of waiting 6 months to a year for the localization and ASW games don't sell that much to begin with. And B) doesn't really feel like it needs explaining. I feel like it should just naturally follow at this point why I don't think it'll sell a significant amount of PS4s, especially when there's going to be a PS3 version.
Anyway, I'm pretty much done with this conversation now. There's no real point to this discussion since I honestly don't really care if there's a PC or 360 port of the game. If it was up to me, ASW games and SG games would sell millions, be on all platforms and rival Capcom fighting games. I'm just trying to get people to be a bit more realistic in terms of their outlook. This wasn't a bad conversation. You made analysis and you even tried to do your research. You just need to be more thorough and more thoughtful with your analysis. Well, it's been fun. Sorry for derailing the thread a bit guys ;.;
