Rage: two-thirds sales to be on console

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 13 June, 2011

id staff have to play using controller first.

Legendary first-person shooter developer id Software predicts two-thirds of the sales of upcoming game Rage will be for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

That leaves around a third of sales for the PC.

"Roughly," Todd Hollenshead, co-owner and CEO of id Software, told Eurogamer.

"I'm not in the sales forecast business, and I don't want to be making projections for the company on the basis of that. But if we're just going to do napkin math, that's as good as any.

"Maybe it's 70 per cent among the consoles and 30 on the PC, or maybe 75, 25. But we're still talking two-thirds plus of the sales being on PS3 or Xbox 360."

Rage, an open world, post-apocalyptic shooter from the team behind Doom and Quake, launches this October.

The developer made its name on the PC, but times have changed, and so has id.

Now, games are made with the consoles front of mind to ensure those versions are up to speed.

"In game development, you have to tailor your gameplay to where you expect people to play it on," Hollenshead revealed.

"So, while we're developing Rage on the PC, we forbid anybody from playing it on a keyboard and mouse until we've played it first on a console controller.

"We pull the keyboard and mouse out and put in a USB 360 controller, even on the development staff. That's not just the testers."

Porting to console from PC is old-world thinking, according to id.

"That was the way we did it in the past. Ultimately, we learnt that's not the way you should do it.

"We had the discussions early on with Rage about what platforms we were going to go on. If we're going to expect one third, one third and one third of sales to be across those three platforms, so that means two-thirds of our sales are going to be on console, we're going to make sure we have that gameplay feel tight first."

Tom went hands-on for Eurogamer's Rage preview.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 11 months ago

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  • darkmorgado #1 12 months ago

    So basically they're expecting each platform to sell roughly equal amounts of the game.

  • dr_zoidthrob #2 12 months ago

    So, hang on a sec... 3 platforms, 1/3 each... Seems fair really.

  • IronCladChicken #3 12 months ago

    Interesting that they felt the need to point this out? - Does anyone care as long as it's fun to play?

    [Edit] : Lol... why the negs? - Okay then; Video Games are all about ego, noone gives a crap about gameplay - They just want to feel their system is the best - That better?
    Edited by IronCladChicken at 13/06/11 @ 17:17

  • mukki #4 12 months ago

    Still wish they had stuck to their original September release date... Bah

  • Graveland #5 12 months ago

    This is one I'm keeping my eye on - it looks like a blend between Fallout 3, Stalker and Bioshock. Good stuff!

  • stoopidgreg #6 12 months ago

    Fair enough. It pretty hard to mess up mouse aim anyway, unless you're Bohemia Interactive.

  • darkmorgado #7 12 months ago

    @Graveland

    Actually it looks more like Borderlands than anything else.

    Which isn't a bad thing.

  • CaptainQuint #8 12 months ago

    Suck it up, pc boys.

    [Morpheus]Welcome to the Real World.[/Morpheus]

  • aphex187 #9 12 months ago

    @CaptainQuint The only people to be sucking it up will be you and the console boys and their inferior version, how many discs is this coming out on the 360 again? LOL!

  • Platinum_2011 #10 12 months ago

    I think you might be a bit to optimistic with those PC numbers considering you keep showing your middle finger.
    I'll make sure i won't forget.

  • Darren #11 12 months ago

    I don't care if the split is 99:1 in favour of the consoles so long as I can play it on the PC... with an Xbox 360 controller! :p

  • Zander #12 12 months ago

    Can't really blame them. All ID are doing here is trying to balance the gaming experience and be mindful of the audience. That is much better than sticking to what you know and hoping it works.

  • SuperFanBoy #13 12 months ago

    It's a bit weird to dump both consoles together, but I guess it's all about the controls. Both Xbox 360 and PS3 have an identical control method, while the PC is radically different with the keyboard&mouse combo so I can see the point he's trying to make. Even so, I think Hollenshead could have worded his opinion a bit better, since the PC folk are quick to embrace those loyal to the platform and even quicker to ditch those who they feel give them no respect. Anyway, if the game is good I'll probably buy it for PC as I have a pretty beefy system, if not I'll wait for a rental or price drop on the console versions.

  • BloodSaint #14 12 months ago

    @CaptainQuint
    Sorry to tell you but I won't be 'sucking it up' because even though Rage isn't developed for PC first, I'll be playing with my DX 11 and Ati Cross Fire graphics, super fast AMD Phenom x 6 processor while unfortunately you will be playing it on your inferior console, with the need for disc change, rough chuncky graphics and long load times. Good Game fool.

  • Haloboy #15 12 months ago

    *Plugs in black wireless 360 windows controller*

    Ok, I'm ready. Wow that was easy.

  • Zander #16 12 months ago

    I really don't understand the "my system is better than yours" chat that goes on. Just play the games... although I am jealous of anyone who can afford a top end gaming PC.... I once knew that feeling :-(

  • munki83 #17 12 months ago

    It makes sense since. If about 2/3rsds of your players are going to be playing on a console design it with controlers and auto-aim in mind. However lets hope they dont forget to add good pc controls and UI.

  • Ryboy #18 12 months ago

    So two thirds of people will be playing it wrong. Nice.

  • munki83 #19 12 months ago

    Its not that they are plying it wrong. They are just not using the best control scheme.

  • Inmediasress #20 12 months ago

    So that means that the PC version will be unplayable console port?
    I believe it is not where you expect the sales but where you decide the sales to be.
    This article is perfect example of this because they basically say this will be a console game, we want it to be a console game and not a PC game I say again just to be sure we want it to be a console game not a PC game.
    This is like trying to educate people to don't buy it on the PC we want it to be on the consoles like if they want to engrave it in peoples minds.
    If they start out like this of course it will sell better on the consoles especially if you directly want to piss of PC gamers and then they won't buy it. Then you can wagle the piracy excuse and the next time it will be console exclusive.
    This is what people would call a set up to go console exclusive whitout serious PR damage.
    I expect Doom 4 to be a console exclusive from this and because they set Rage up to fail probably deliberately they'll have an excuse to do so.

  • JoeBlade #21 12 months ago

    Hmm, wouldn't it be more sensible (from any point of view, business included) to simply ensure the game works well on all supported control schemes rather than focus on just one?

    What he's saying frankly sounds an awful lot like a preemtive apology for lazily ported keyboard+mouse controls. Not exactly good marketing that, would've been better not to make any statements about it IMO.

  • Tyrhinis #22 12 months ago

    Piracy isn't a problem on PCs, it's just that the games aren't made for PC any more! PC gamers aren't willing to pay for ported console rubbish, so when they pirate it for a demo, they find out the menus don't work with a mouse and they return the game. At least Valve will never make console games!

    ..... wait, Todd Hollenshead didn't mention piracy? He just said that the game will sell less on the PC than the consoles (put together)? So they're concentrating resources where they might get sales, like a sensible developer, and not getting massively flamed because they try to explain underperforming sales on PCs with piracy or DRM-FUD? This is a very unusual article for the PC section. I'm cancelling my subscription.

    Please note, this comment contains large quantities of sarcasm and deliberate mistakes, for instance the entire first paragraph. Take care when commenting and look both ways when crossing the road.

  • DrStrangelove #23 12 months ago

    I think he meant: two-thirds on X360.

  • bf #24 12 months ago

    So using a controller not designed for the intended platform is new-world thinking? A 360 controller as a reference point for a FPS on PC makes me want a demo before even considering purchase regardless of price.

  • DrStrangelove #25 12 months ago

    I have a great idea. How about trying to make the controls as good as possible with a pad, and at the same time for PC, also trying to make it as good as possible with mouse/key? Just too crazy an idea maybe, don't know.

  • StooMonster #26 12 months ago

    Tyrhinis: underperforming sales on PCs

    I wouldn't call a third of sales on PC "underperforming", I would say it's pretty darn good.

  • mortiz666 #27 12 months ago

    You'd think id have the resources and people and spend time making sure controls are tight across all platforms rather than having to focus on one.

    Anyway, given id have been making the same game with a different lick of paint since 1993 I'd assume they'd have the keyboard and mouse controls pretty much ace'd by now.
    Edited by mortiz666 at 13/06/11 @ 11:58

  • nickal47 #28 12 months ago

    Is xbox lead console platform for this?

  • coolbritannia #29 12 months ago

    I doubt pc sales will reach 30%. 20% at the very most, more likely 14%.

  • CaptainQuint #30 12 months ago

    Heh, it's so easy to stir shit up here...

    So many willing recipients of the big wooden spoon.

  • DiamondIce #31 12 months ago

    @BloodSaint
    I bet people are very impressed with your PC tech.

  • Destria #32 12 months ago

    @twinberettas

    15% ignores digital distribution, which is huge on PC.

  • mortiz666 #33 12 months ago

    I think STEAM sales must be at least those sold at retail, if not more.

  • Nephirion #34 12 months ago

    This is in fact good news for PC gamers, with the focus on console they can't possibly blame the PC for low sales due to piracy. Infact it could highlight that console piracy is significantly higher by proportion to PC. ID has always been about PC and pushing their tech forward, now they are just another games developer for the console masses.

  • Silvervein #35 12 months ago

    As long as the game is ok and mouse/keyboard works fine, they can playtest it using three dildos strapped to a pineapple for all I care.

  • Rack #36 12 months ago

    @Haloboy.

    Not yet, have you written an X-padder script for it yet? Decided how to handle the unsupported triggers? I'm afraid there's a lot more hassle in store.

  • MisterHands #37 12 months ago

    Isn't that "porting to consoles is old-world thinking" the exact opposite of what Carmack was saying at E3?

  • apoc_reg #38 12 months ago

    "So, while we're developing Rage on the PC, we forbid anybody from playing it on a keyboard and mouse until we've played it first on a console controller"

    Utter dicks, why say that in an interview? Console guys couldnt give a crap but it will piss off all PC gamers. Stupid


    Edited by apoc_reg at 13/06/11 @ 13:28

  • Lord_BeeJee #39 12 months ago

    Well than fuck you id.

  • swelt #40 12 months ago

    This sounds like good judgement from id. I'm a PC gamer, but I recognise the commercial realities here, and also the practical limitations of console controllers. If a user interface isn't designed from the ground up with limited buttons and dpads in mind, it'll suck horribly. That really isn't true in the PC world, where I have a whole keyboard full of buttons that I can customise.

    What I wholeheartedly expect from any id game is that I will be able to do that customisation on the PC. I expect to be able to pull down a console and fiddle with stuff, and I know that I won't be disappointed (not least because they told us that's exactly how to get into the editor).

    I'm sure that there are some games which are 'shoddy console ports', where you can't do the things you expect with the PC interface, but that is NOT the same thing as designing the game interfaces to work well within the constraints of a controller.

  • shellyc #41 12 months ago

    It would be pretty stupid of them to not test for an intended platform now wouldn't it?

  • TSYNDMonkfish #42 12 months ago

    They make everyone play with a controller so no one feels bad about getting owned by mouse/keyboard players duriing testing..

  • azix2 #43 12 months ago

    This is a bit sad to hear. I feel like the guys who did bfbc2 did the same thing and thus the game didn't quite feel right on PC. From the way control moved it felt like it was made for a joystick. They should at least do some PC play to make sure they don't mess up the tightness of that. before its too late. If it doesn't feel right, their PC sales wont match up

  • juche #44 12 months ago

    It's like they're just begging me to pirate this game instead of buying on PC. I should be thankful in a way, articles like this make my decision whether to buy, wait, or pirate very simple. In this case I figure it saved me $50.

  • Lord_Gremlin #45 12 months ago

    Good points. Consoles come first. I think... I'll go with PS3 version.

  • LyR #46 11 months ago

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/306...