In a highly competitive game like League of Legends or Starcraft, if such ports were to happen, they would need to be developed with extreme care. In FFXIV: ARR’s raiding community, for example, some console players are looked down upon slightly due to the fact that the game plays a little smoother on PC and allows macros to be created. The issue of competitiveness also needs to be considered. This takes more developing time and effort, naturally. Game developers have to essentially dial back on some UI/control options to ensure both sets of players are able to have the best experience possible when a game is created with both console and PC systems in mind. PCs have more customization options that generally allow them to be more flexible and adaptable gaming machines. Some games are designed to be more easily played using PC controls while others suffer a bit performance-wise when played on a console as opposed to a PC. Part of that answer lies with the issue of the game’s platform/control system. After all, communities are built from the actions of players, but not without the tools to do so. A game like FFXIV: ARR, for example, uses both platforms to pull players together for PvP matches, raids, and dungeons, letting players group together and build communities. Instead of continuing to segment gamers to either PC or console, why aren’t game developers focusing on making games available across multiple platforms? Online multiplayer games, especially, are perfect for cross-platform treatment. Diablo III, SMITE, Final Fantasy XIV, and Warframe are the ones that generally spring to mind first, but I think this list should be much longer. Other online games have also seen success across multiple platforms. A few months ago I wrote about the success of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and how the console port helped save the game in more than one way. Even MMORPGs have been successfully ported over to consoles. With the largest selection of games we’ve ever had to choose from and the coolest technological capabilities gamers have ever seen, there’s one question that often comes up after the recent success of a game like Tom Clancy’s The Division-why aren’t more online games made available to both PC and console systems? The tech’s certainly there.
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