Crytek: PC A Generation Ahead of Consoles

By Kevin Parrish
published

Although the PC is a generation ahead of the consoles, multi-platform games will suffer limitations on the PC due to console hardware restraints.

In an interview over the holidays, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli stated a fact PC gamers already know quite well: the PC is a whole generation ahead of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

While that's a big “win” for PC gamers in the PC vs. Console dispute, the victory comes with a price: developers are primarily focusing on consoles, holding back game quality of the PC versions.

"PC is easily a generation ahead right now,” he told Edge Magazine. “With 360 and PS3, we believe the quality of the games beyond Crysis 2 and other CryEngine developments will be pretty much limited to what their creative expressions is, what the content is. You won't be able to squeeze more juice from these rocks."

He went on to add that hardware limitations of the current console crop isn't the only factor keeping multi-format games locked down to a certain level of quality on the PC. He pointed to the less-than-spectacular revenue PC games generate when compared to what consoles rake in.

"I generally think it's still developers' mentality [that is to blame]," he said. "A lot nowadays don't consider PC a big issue any more; their [sales] expectations are nowhere near what they are for the console versions. Until the PC market creates comparable revenues, companies are not going to spend enough on the PC SKU of a game."

Does that mean Crysis 2 on the PC would be a better game were it not for consoles? Yerli admitted that the “creative expression” of Crytek has been limited due to their prevalence. However he also admitted over two years ago that PC gaming piracy had literally forced the developer to go multi-platform. Ultimately, if Crysis 2 on PC suffers from console-oriented limitations, it could be due to piracy.

"We are suffering currently from the huge piracy that is encompassing Crysis," said Yerli back in april 2008. "We seem to lead the charts in piracy by a large margin, a chart leading that is not desirable. I believe that's the core problem of PC Gaming, piracy. To the degree PC gamers that pirate games inherently destroy the platform. Similar games on consoles sell factors of 4-5 more. It was a big lesson for us and I believe we won't have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future. We are going to support PC, but not exclusive anymore.”

Crysis 2 is slated to hit the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 22, 2011.

Kevin Parrish
141 Comments Comment from the forums
  • terror112
    Maybe if the game was worth spending $60 on....
    Reply
  • fonzy
    Prove it then Crytek!...seriously when are we going to see another game that will push the graphics envelope for the PC?The PC community is getting sick of ports.
    Reply
  • dokk2
    First things first , copyrighted games are available from ALL platforms , not just the PC, IF the game in question is popular enough you can bet dollars to doughnuts that it has been copied, bottom line , you cannot build a lock that someone else cannot pick,, quote , I built a machine that only an idiot could screw up, and guess what ??? end quote ...:)And anyhow what is stopping them from writing for the PC and then porting to other platforms, seems that it would be a lot easier to down grade for consoles etc, than to go the other way for the PC >>>:)
    Reply
  • adamboy64
    In terms of graphics, sure. PC Hardware is updated more often than consoles.
    Reply
  • Haserath
    *sigh* If only you could buy a gaming PC for $199, the market wouldn't be so small since many of the gamers are below 18(thus very little money) or won't justify $600+ for gaming when the comp will become worthless in a few years. Instead we have Intel gouging prices along with Windows 7. At least we have AMD for cheaper processors, but there isn't a free OS that will provide a good gaming experience.
    Reply
  • TemjinGold
    So wait, he's complaining that because graphics has hit a wall, developers might actually have to make games that aren't just pretty? ;)
    Reply
  • ultameca
    I also agree that cost is an issue...

    when crysis came out only rich people could enjoy it and we are just getting to full playability with what.. the next generation of GFX cards to come out in 2011...

    sure you can take 3 gfx cards and crossfire/sli but people like me can't afford to buy even one high end card.

    you can't release a game that only 5% or less of the community can afford to play and expect it to do well, that's just insane...

    I don't even think you could max it out back then with those older cards and nvidia was charging over 500 bucks if I remember per card... ouch...
    Reply
  • while piracy didnt help, the big problem was that it was released ahead of its time, most pcs could not play the game at medium+ quality. Essentially making it a niche game, yet it sold several million copies anyway. At its release, there was no computer on the planet capable of playing it at max details, and it cost a fortune to try to come close. (I tried) Crysis was the big benchmark game chart to look for in any new videocard review for ages.
    Today an average game pc can do crysis at high detail, but gaming graphics havent really progressed since then. My gaming PC idles playing most new games.
    Reply
  • Simple11
    dokk2First things first , copyrighted games are available from ALL platforms , not just the PC, IF the game in question is popular enough you can bet dollars to doughnuts that it has been copied, bottom line , you cannot build a lock that someone else cannot pick,, quote , I built a machine that only an idiot could screw up, and guess what ??? end quote ...And anyhow what is stopping them from writing for the PC and then porting to other platforms, seems that it would be a lot easier to down grade for consoles etc, than to go the other way for the PC >>>
    As far as I am concerned, PS3 can't play hacked/ripped games.
    Reply
  • tpi2007
    Crytek is just a dishonest company. They gained all the popularity a PC ONLY game gave them, which enabled them to go on and have the necessary resources to build an engine that can run on THREE PLATFORMS and now they start hinting that the PC version will be sub-par...

    Crytek, if you don't push another milestone with the PC version, I will surely NOT BUY IT! You can have all the Nvidia logos on the game (don't you receive a good sum from them too ?), but I won't buy a top of the line Nvidia card to play a game designed for 5 year old, DX9 7900GT-like hardware, which is what is inside a PS3, the most powerful of the two consoles.

    This is completely dishonest and the same kind of thinking behind EA (Crytek's publisher) that got Crysis patches for only the first six months and is still the buggiest game I have ever played.

    And that silly argument "Ohh Crysis is one of the most pirated games.." YES, but it's still one of the best selling games! It's natural! Chinese also copy Mercedes and BMW designs, because those cars sell well!

    Now that they got rich from Crysis and all the accolades they won in the industry, they just want a quick buck out of the consoles. This is how they thank PC gamers.

    Think about it: how much money and resources do you have to have gained in previous years to be able to make an engine that runs on two entirely different platforms such as the Xbox360 and (the admittedly difficult to program on) PS3 and adding to that the PC version ? Think about it. If they had focused on the PC version the game wouldn't have been delayed, would it ? But they have so much money and are expecting so much money, they can actually afford that, what do you know?

    And more: a modern PC is TWO (at least) generations ahead of a console. Only if you factor in the average, then you could say it's just a generation.

    Crytek carefully avoids this because making comparisons to a platform (PC) that can play a game with better visuals at medium settings with a budget CPU and a budget HD4670 or 9600GT than a 5 year old console is not good publicity.
    Reply