“No Witcher 3 Without Consoles”, Says Developer

CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwinski admits in a recent interview, that the only way the Witcher 3 was possible was because of console sales, and that the game couldn't have been released without a downgrade in visuals regardless.

[Psychotica]

I wonder why would there be a need to downgrade the PC version because of the consoles? Just have separate builds of the game where the PC version isn't downgraded.

[jv1991]

Cause without the consoles this game wouldnt be this big

[NuggetsOfGod]

They made the game look similar on all platforms to keep downst.

The witcher looked great but the devs should have been honest with pc gamers ever step of the way.

I'll get the witcher sooner or later.

Star Citizen is still a game not even possible on ps4/bone and that's great!!

Apus + open world = 22 - 33fps in the digital foundry witcher video.

These consoles are so damn weak. Is it even two years yet?

If mods can make this as intended I have hope for the witcher 3.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

That's not not possible on console apparently lol

[nucky64]

12 disagrees for jv1991???.....it's obviously very difficult for the pc fanboys to accept the truth.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Nugget- Not sure where you heard Star Citizen isn't feasible on PS4 and XONE...

Not sure where you heard that lie.

https://forums.robertsspace...

...its some of the lowest specs for pliability thus far this gen next to Evolve, Evolve needs only a HD 5770 to play as its minimum.

Star Citizen is an amazing concept, but its running on Cryengine 3, its not running on some engine that just can't be done on PS4 or XONE and its specs sorta reflect that it doesn't really take much to actually run it. Compared to AC Unity, Witcher 3 etc.

Mind you.....that is stating that AS IS, you don't know what they will do to the console version soooooooo I've never heard "not even possible" in the realm of PC before in terms of consoles.

The minimum would have to be like some Titan card lol. Even then, clearly they could just scale back if they really wanted to.

I don't even get the whole "thats great" bud, if its on PS4 and XONE, its not really hurting the PC version....

I like what Star Citizen is doing too for the PC crowd as I own a gaming PC, but it getting ported later on is pretty much a given. I don't think it even makes sense to not port it as it doesn't even need to be Chris Robert's team that does the port. I don't really think a Cryengine 3 mod can't be ported to PS4 and XONE, that is just a bit too overzealous.

Again, love the concept, but you very much will see that game on PS4 and XONE. They can very much do both. We've yet to see a PC game come out with some crazy requirements that deem it "not possible" on console.

[Army_of_Darkness]

@nuggets "Star Citizen is still a game not even possible on ps4/bone and that's great!!"

LOL! Just watched a few videos of it and yeah.... It's Definitely possible on the PS4.
But I can't wait to see your reaction once it happens ;-)

[starchild]

Developers need all three major platforms these days in order to have the best chances of getting a sufficient return on their investment. This isn't a matter of consoles being more important than PC, the way some people are making it out to be. Developers need the PC just as much as they need the XB1 or PS4. That's why you're seeing nearly every third party game appearing on the PC these days.

[Tzuno]

Because without the consoles sales would be small on PC due to piratery, consoles are not broken yet, just yet.

[Jedislayer]

It would cost more money for them to do that, they already stated that they couldn't afford the game without consoles. why would they waste their time making a separate build for the pc? IT would cost them more money.

[jhoward585]

Its because the memory management between PC and console are very different. Hint: There's virtually hardly any loading time on all platform for a reason. Though, I want to say more but I don't want to start a fan war.

[RocketScienceLvlStuf]

I've been saying this for ages. It's good that a developer has admitted it.

Without consoles AAA gaming would cease to exist and PC fanboys need to get that into there heads.

Consoles bring in tons of money. Money that gives game developers larger budgets.

[Utalkin2me]

You really think without consoles, AAA games on the PC wouldn't exist? WOW, is all i can say. This is the comments that we get now a days with young kids that have played exclusively on consoles. They don't realize ID software, Epic, Valve, Blizzard etc. Have survived exclusively on the PC platform for decades putting out AAA games.

But, the consoles are a great market for PC developers too. If you can get your product out to more people then you have better chance to make more money.

[mkis007]

Utalkin2me-

Terrible example as every one of those devs have put out console versions of their games.

[JazMac34]

Your logic isn't really sound as without consoles, I wonder where the majority of the console player base would go...

[someOnecalled]

Without console you would be gaming on PC or not at all so therefore there would be AAA games there are AAA PC exclusives now. How dumb are you console fanboys.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Utalkin- "s. They don't realize ID software, Epic, Valve, Blizzard etc. Have survived exclusively on the PC platform for decades"

...no they didn't. I've been gaming since the early 90's on both console and PC and your dead wrong bud, stop spreading misinformation.

Look at the releases bud,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Doom a year after coming to PC ,released on Sega 32x, a year after NES and PS1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Year after that, Sega Saturn, N64 and Quake 3 was on the Dreamcast too soooo

Diablo, on PS1.

Valve lolz, HL1, CS, TF2, HL2, all its dlc L4D, Portal (you pay your respects by spelling dat WHOLE NAME OUT)

In terms of Epic...I mean bud, Out of 4 Gears Games only 1 is on PC, Unreal out of 10 years, on 2 were not on console.

Many of those developers have NEVER been ONLY PC...I don't know where you heard this whole "decades" from. They very much banked on a console version funding the rest of their games. They need money and PC gamers ALONE couldn't just keep funding some of those larger games.

The PC market back in the day could rival the console market, but that was put to rest when PS1 came out and did 100 million and it was clear they need to have console versions of many PC titles.

Some titles can stay afloat on PC only, but many, many AAA titles just can't. They either get eaten alive by the cross plat games ie Witcher 3, AC Unity, or can't go above certain specs based on a return rate they wouldn't see. ie they can't make Titan cards a minimum.

Not saying they wouldn't exist, merely saying its not really smart business. ie who makes AAA PC titles that NEVER end up on console ever?

You sorta answered your own question too

"If you can get your product out to more people then you have better chance to make more money."

....ie that justifies the meaty PC titles they release, knowing they are bring it to console...ie they where NEVER JUST going to make it ONLY on PC as they just can't afford to.

@Logical- http://www.mcvuk.com/news/r...

Not sure what you mean....the game hasn't released, Star Citizen is actually a better example to show that PC AAA Exclusives only seem to be with crowd funding and even that does't really rule out a PS4 or XONE port. ie Elite Dangerous. Focusing on the PC version for them is a great idea....doesn't mean it won't be on PS4 and XONE. I would legit slow down on that assumption as it very much can get ported down the line.

If it does.....doesn't that sorta disprove a lot of what your talking about? I mean Star Citizen's specs are not even as demanding as some of the titles we've already seen on PC, PS4 and XONE. soooo

[JasonKCK]

Witcher didn't need console to get started. PC doesn't need console, console needs PC. Hell that's where all the games are made. Half the devs who make the games people play are PC devs.

[GUTZnPAPERCUTZ]

When you compare the 2013 build to the final release, sure it's been downgraded, but if the 2013 version came out for PC, maybe 8% of PC gamers would be able to run it at a decent frame rate.

The game looks great, people need to stop complaining!

[Magicite]

Its being heavily pirated on PC, just liked W2 and pretty much any great game.

[aLucidMind]

The PC market also isn't quite as big as the console market, which has a bigger effect than piracy does.

[kraenk12]

Oh yeah, just make the team twice as big and make two different versions of the game. That's exactly what they weren't able to do. It's ridiculous to complain about a downgrade on such a perfectly great looking game.

[MilkMan]

Do we really have to have this discussion EVER again. These guys just told you the hardcore facts about the economics of modern triple A game development.
Lets move on and be happy you got such a great gift this year.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

I'm telling you consoles are the only thing keeping the triple a gaming industry alive even though mobile and indie have hurt it a lot.

If consoles do eventually kick the bucket I just don't see these big games with high tech graphics still being made as much. The droves of casuals are needed to fund these games and if they don't have consoles I see more of them going to mobile exclusively instead of PC.

But of course I don't think consoles will ever die at least I hope they don't. The first console manufacturer that sets a cloud platform as their main console will be the first to die out.

[JonnyBigBoss]

You have no idea what you're talking about.

[jfcdoomblade]

Does it matter when the game is as good as it is?

[Hasswell-NeverCold]

Well then, thank you consoles.. TW3 is a great game. =)

[WizzroSupreme]

Well, the game's no worse for wear. All's well that ends well!

[masterfox]

bu...but...bu....PC gaming makes millions or gazillions of dlls it even surpass consoles easely<-- Well thats what some PC gamers said

So the witcher III shouldn't have any problem going exclusive and selling well right?? right ?

[Persistantthug]

Um.......

Console Master Race?

:P

[MasterCornholio]

More potential sales = larger budget.

Is basically what they said.

[Seafort]

And without the PC there wouldn't even be a Witcher series in the first place :)

As usual the consoles come in at the last hurdle and try to take all the glory.

It's a big game for a small company so they needed a multiplatform release but The Witcher 3 would have been made regardless if it was just on PC but it wouldn't have been an open world masterpiece without the extra money from all platforms.

They developed Witcher 2 just fine on PC and that was no small game so I don't see why they couldn't have done Witcher 3 in the same vein.

[The_Sage]

The Witcher 2 was on Xbox.

[Gohadouken]

Quite honestly , while thanks and props should be given to the pc community .. whatever the reasons behind it , the game didnt sell as much as it could and should ... and certainly not as much as it already did on the 3 current platforms .

I remember that something as mediocre and average as Dragon Age 2 was even outselling it .

Console gamers dont have better tastes and logic , so it's not my point . But it's clear it has a better chance of being more profitable faster as a multiplatform release

[-Foxtrot]

Well maybe you guys can release the first two on the PS4 and Xbox One

Witcher - PC

Witcher 2 - Xbox 36 and PC

Witcher 3 - PS4, XBOX ONE and PC

Seems a bit strange to release a third game in a franchise when some people might not of played the others as they wern't on their system of choice.

[Seafort]

Tough.

The Witcher series started on PC and the first Witcher will always remain PC exclusive due to the engine involved.

Enjoy what you've been given as you probably won't be getting a trilogy remake at all on consoles.

[-Foxtrot]

"you probably won't be getting a trilogy remake at all on consoles"

LOL

We'll see

"The Witcher series started on PC and the first Witcher will always remain PC"

Oh...you're one of those PC guys

[cfc83]

In other words witcher is primarily a console game now. Spiffing.

[Roccetarius]

Unfortunately yes, they've shown their true face.

[cfc83]

Why should they wave goodbye to tens of millions of euros just so that high rig pc players can annoy everyone online ?

[Gwiz]

It's all about budgets,if you compare this with Ubisoft for example LOL,release game for consoles and just make a PC port available that will run like shit and leave it like that.

While they made a ton on consoles,yeah the console market really shows how it has to be done.PC originated team comes in and does it properly.Thank you consoles,dafuq outta here.They realize that satisfying both sides is good for them to continue.

R* is probably the only one that invested a lot of time in the PC version.

[Manubiggs]

CD Project have been very open and direct from the very beginning of development. Anyone upset about this can go get a refund -- you are the one losing out on an amazing gaming experience. Also reviews were out well in time for anyone to return pre-orders.I don't get the rage.

[Roccetarius]

Have you been reading the same press releases as other people? They've been dancing around the issues ever since 2014. Open and direct my arse.

[Manubiggs]

Any game footage that you see for a game that is 2 - 3 years from release is NOT represantive of the final product - because the final product does not yet exist. It is a representation of what they will try to achieve - in this case I think it is a beautiful looking game (sure, it is not as beautiful as what we saw at E3) but more importantly it is one of the best RPGs of all time (and I say that only after 30 or so hours). Why waste time arguing and being furious over the difference in graphics when you could be playing the GOTY right now at this moment instead?

[DimensionalSound]

Console gamers are working-class gamers. We drive the industry.

[Pandamobile]

Does that not make PC gamers the privileged upper-class of gamers?

[Gwiz]

If that's not peasantry i don't know what is,lol.

[DimensionalSound]

They're the 1% haha.

Also, I don't understand the disagrees my comment got lol. Console game sales are what drives the industry, that's an indisputable fact!

[Dario_DC]

Say whatever you wanna say, consoles is where the REAL MONEY is!

[Roccetarius]

And the graveyard of technology.

[Dario_DC]

The tittle says everything you need to know man...
Dislike as much as you like but in the end, it's not pc gammers buying keys from 3rd world countries for 20$ a pop or using those steam sales 1 year after the game's out that make money for the developers!
It's the console players paying 70€ for games!
Console gamers put food on the developers tables and that's it.

[Pandamobile]

So what you're saying is, because you guys get ripped off more, you're more responsible for putting food on developers' tables?

You realize that the margins that developers receive from a $40 digital PC game are about the same as a $70 retail console game, right?

[Dario_DC]

Since when PC gamers pay 40$ for anything? Besides Steam takes at least 30%! Com'on man... I'm not even mentioning pirating!!
CD Projekt Red said all when they said "NO WITHCER 3 WITHOUT CONSOLES"!!! Damage control that!
The market is changing! It's going away from AAA to mobile and consoles are the only thing keeping it from going to mobile 100%!
Without consoles all PC gamers have is MOBAS and kickstarters! Where's your Star Citizen? Keep paying for the next goal post bro!
You better star thanking console gamers dude without them you've got sh**!

[Pandamobile]

Wow, you really don't seem to understand much of anything.

I could break all the dumb thing you just said down for you, but even that would probably go right over your head.

Maybe next time.