PC crowd "more open" to weird games

By Robert Purchese Published 29 July, 2010

Than 360 owners, says Zeno Clash dev.

Zeno Clash developer ACE Team believes PC owners are "more open" to weird game concepts.

Speaking to Eurogamer, co-founder Carlos Bordeu said that may have been the reason Zeno Clash struggled on Xbox Live Arcade.

"I don't know whether it was because most people had already played Zeno Clash on PC, or that the console game launched a year later, but we definitely had much stronger sales on PC than on Xbox 360," Bordeu revealed. "It hasn't sold nearly as well."

"Zeno Clash was definitely weirder than most games, and it would be absurd to think that didn't put-off some people.

"PC players are maybe more open to trying weird games - games that aren't so mass market," he added. "But I don't know that I'd put it as harshly as PC gamers are smart and console gamers are stupid."

Bordeu accidentally let slip that "maybe we might get a nice surprise later this year when we might have some sort of price promotion [for Zeno Clash on XBLA]". Maybe I shouldn't be saying that," he quickly added, "as it's not confirmed."

He went on to point out that Zeno Clash had "extremely good" sales in Russia, where everybody is mad.

Zeno Clash is a brutal first-person brawler that caught attention for its strikingly original world, where trees, bushes and architecture bulge with Gaudi-like charm - not to mention its unusual cast lead by hermaphroditic central character Father-Mother. The game remains a staggering achievement for a team with a core of four (and at most seven contributors).

The original PC release of Zeno Clash happened in April 2009. The game was enhanced with co-op among other things for Xbox Live Arcade a year later. Dan Pearson assessed the PC game and Christian Donlan appraised the XBLA version.

Chilean dev ACE Team is currently hard at work on Rock of Ages, a tower defence-style game that involves rolling a boulder around a map trying to destroy rival settlements. More on that, plus the status of Zeno Clash 2, later.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (60) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • GamerG #1 2 years ago

    Because games are cheaper /thread

  • hiddenranbir #2 2 years ago

    Because consolers are a more simple folk. Chortle chortle.

  • Pastici #3 2 years ago

    As soon as I get some points this is going to be bought, along with puzzle Quest 2. How much is it in steam? Also, was it even in one of those crazy Steam sales?

  • Adi-C #4 2 years ago

    I dunno, most games i would call weird are japanese, and thus are on consoles eg. DS. All the cooking, dating, walking the dog games and shit.
    Edited by 1 at 05/08/10 @ 17:24

  • steve1979 #5 2 years ago

    As soon as this hits 800 points i'll buy it. Simple as that.

  • Vyggo #6 2 years ago

    Shame, this is a cool game and perfectly suited for console-controllers.

  • ZuluHero #7 2 years ago

    "I don't know whether it was because most people had already played Zeno Clash on PC"

    Bingo! At least us weirdos did :)

  • machinesoul1 #8 2 years ago

    The fact that it wasn't very good may have been a factor in 360 owners not taking the plunge after playing the demo, it was for me.

  • Doctor_What #9 2 years ago

    Flower on PSN is weirder as a game concept than Zeno Clash.

  • mfnick #10 2 years ago

    I want it but I dont buy any games at 1200 points. Simple as. Especially when said game can be picked up with a box, disc & everything on PC for £8.95 as highlighted by the Zavvi ad on this site.

    I'll be more than happy to buy it once it hits 800 points.

    Edited by 2 at 29/07/10 @ 14:29

  • MiniAmin #11 2 years ago

    One of my favourite games, loved it.

  • TeaFiend #12 2 years ago

    Or the fact the story is terribly short and there is not a terrible amount of replayability? If your game is over the magic 1000MS barrier it needs more to it than "It looks pure dead weird man".

  • Retroid #13 2 years ago

    It was a year later and I'd already had the chance to buy it for PC at a fraction of the ~$15 it was asking for on XBLA.

  • Vortex808 #14 2 years ago

    Personally, since about tekken 3 i just don't dig fighting games much. Although i did like Batman:AA so maybe that's not completely the case. I am more than happy to try 'weird' games if they appeal to me.

    Edited by 1 at 29/07/10 @ 14:29

  • Fab4 #15 2 years ago

    They'll play anything...as long as it validates the huge cash outlay ;)

  • FanBoysSuck #16 2 years ago

    Proper 360 pad support on the PC version please! The lack of changable key bindings for certain actions make this game unplayable for me :(

  • Toothball #17 2 years ago

    I played this really weird game once about this guy in dungarees. He broke blocks with his head, jumped on turtles and whenever he ate a mushroom he grew to twice his size! How weird is that! Sadly it was on a console, so I don't think many people played it.

    Oh, wait...

  • bad09 #18 2 years ago

    "It is for high budget HD titles and anyone who says other wise is kidding themselves. "

    / goes back to 1080p HD "dead" gaming laughing at Mickey and "HD" consoles

    Hey don't worry Mickey I fell for "HD consoles" at first to.
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/10 @ 14:54

  • taurus82 #19 2 years ago

    I'm a PS3 owner and I love the weird games (Linger In Shadows, .detuned, Noby Noby Boy, LocoRoco), I'd say push weird-envelope as far as their imagination will allow.

  • ZeroAX #20 2 years ago

    um yes they are. Anyone who knows anything about PC gaming's history knows that.

    This is the platform that has tycoon games about anything, a simulator about everything, and has had over the years all genres appear on it.
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/10 @ 16:10

  • NunianVonFuch #21 2 years ago

    Game was all right. Think it's more that it was seen as cheap on pc whilst on 360 it was priced as "Premium XBLA" for 1200 points which is always going to be a barrier for people.

  • Machetazo #22 2 years ago

    This game made its reputation on PC, then a port after the fact, attracts disappointing results. They ought to have been developed/released closer in tandem. There was too long between, and too little marketing buzz remained for the console release to have made much of a splash. I'd be surprised if there wasn't also a recognition disadvantage.

    I know that I read plenty of comments from people weighing up, trying to "get" the game, before deciding whether they would buy it, or not. Add in the 1200 MSP, and feedback calling in to question the value, and I think that's pretty much a closed case.
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/10 @ 15:19

  • sonicyoda #23 2 years ago

    I think it's mainly down to 1) the accessability of having any game you want at your fingertips and 2) the brilliant deals that steam run. I have 2 mates with high-end gaming PCs and 360s. You can tell by their 360 collection they're all about first-person shooters but their PC collections are a completely different story. People are more willing to take a chance on something at the right price.

  • sneetch #24 2 years ago

    @Mogs
    Then it's true. PC gaming is dead!!!!!!!!!!

    /Uninstalls Steam and cries.

    I'm organising a graveside vigil for PC gaming, bring your own candle. We'll all get through this together. :(

    mickey2010 is a funny man.


  • Kami #25 2 years ago

    Then it's true. PC gaming is dead!!!!!!!!!!

    /Uninstalls Steam and cries.

    PC Gaming has been dying for years, and years, and years, and years. It's still here, there are still free games out there which are brilliant, cheap games you can buy for very little money, indie games and - oh of course - Steam, with it's regular and automatic updates to games, it's willingness to compensate when things go wrong... that's before we mention Cataclysm (which will be awesome, I should know because I'm in beta), The Old Republic and The Elder Scrolls Online, which I want more information on NOW Bethesda, you reuined years of my life with Oblivion so I need to know how many more years of my life you intend to rob me of... oh, and DC Universe online and a few other MMOs which are looking tasty!

    Couple this with games recently like Torchlight, Dragon Age: Origins (Which has mod tools so the userbase can keep it going long after the DLC demand dries up), Mass Effect 2, the remakes of Monkey Island, Sam and Max, SBCG4AP, Left4Dead, Half Life 2 Episode 3 coming soon which won't be crap I am sure and remastered games like Resident Evil 5 which play as if they were born to be played on a PC (Though I still want Sheva to die a horrible horrible death)...

    If this is what dying is like, then that's perfectly fine with me, because I won't be forced to forget about backwards compatability next generation will I? :p

    note; To answer the topic though, I am more open to weird games, but I like weird and experimental games. If you get the price point right, I'm sure console users will lap it up, but it's got to be good and it's got to work. That's kind of important, because there's still a bitter feud over control pads vs keyboard and mouse (which will never be resolved I'm with the keyboard and mouse crowd). It's easy to say "It's not selling well on XBLA!", but there's a lot to do when you port a PC game to a console, and vice versa, and it's not always for the best...

    Sorry Dragon Age XB360, we're looking at you...
    Edited by 2 at 29/07/10 @ 15:37

  • metalangel #26 2 years ago

    I wonder if it's because there's not as many hateful 14 year old PC gamers as console gamers to dismiss anything that's not CoD as "gay"?

  • darth_paul #27 2 years ago

    funny thing... if you look at it, the consoles are the ones who "died". they have turned into pc's. you have an operating system, you can install games on it, patches

    the pc just keeps reinventing itself. its far from dead, and as an open platform, will always exist. the consoles, on the other hand... and now with onlive/gaikai... hmmm

  • Kami #28 2 years ago

    Possibly, though I can assure you I've experienced just as much of that in Left4Dead and L4D2. It's inescapable really... of course, it can be quite pleasurable when you're screwing over others and waiting for the reaction. Does that make me a bad person?!

  • miiiguel #29 2 years ago

    Bought it; played it; completed it, loved it. I don't know who this "console crowd" is, and I don't realy care.

  • lucky_jim #30 2 years ago

    I like weird games. I just didn't get on with Zeno Clash for some reason. I liked the tone and art style and all that, but the game itself felt a bit unresponsive and "squishy" to me so I didn't buy the full version. It's a shame because I really wanted to love it, I'll give it a chance if it's ever XBLA Deal of the Week but I suspect the controls didn't do too well out of the transition from PC to console.

    Darwinia's poor sales on XBLA is far more unfair than Zeno Clash's fate imo.

  • Acrid #31 2 years ago

    Stick it on PSN for £5 or so and I'll buy it.

    I like weird stuff, except for when they poo on each other, thats a bit too far

  • ZeroAX #32 2 years ago

    ah I love it when console fanboys actually dare to mention exclusive FPS games when it comes to comparing PCs to HD consoles.

    Really? That's like comparing the Wii to the 360 about platform games just because the 360 has a few XBLA games and Banjo Kazzooie.

  • cristoflanga #33 2 years ago

    Viva Chile mierda!!!! cough, cough.

  • bad09 #34 2 years ago

    @ mickey2010

    Er I have a 360 and PS3 right next to the PC I never use them :) but then personally the exclusives on the consoles these days are incredibly weak in terms of my own personal taste (with the possible exception of LBP2 when it hits).

    Oh and in your little list there I see no SSF4 or RDR, they only two games not on PC (yet!) I would cut my dick off for.

    Most consoles probably are in the bedrooms if live is anything to go by, still on my 42 inch TV the "HD" consoles 'ain't freakin' HD compared to my PC :)

  • miiiguel #35 2 years ago

    Another freakin cat fight...

    PC! Consoles! 360! PS3!


    argh!!!!!!!!

  • Deckard1 #36 2 years ago

    I'm a console gamer and I like weird games. I just thought Zeno Clash was shit. Poor gameplay and the "weirdness" was too forced.

  • Dirtbox #37 2 years ago

    Console gaming is dead.

  • sneetch #38 2 years ago

    I always find it a bit funny when people declare that PC is dying when consoles "die" every few years. The new games front on the Gamecube, PSOne, and the first Xbox is a bit quiet now, isn't it? ;)

    Edit: TBH the PS2 is a bit quiet now too, really.
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/10 @ 17:26

  • Sharzam #39 2 years ago

    Well i dont know if weirder is the right one. I think more 'varied' as PC land is the very defination of open anyone can make games with any ideas regardless of whether or not they sell (case in point freeware).

    So were used to seeing and experimenting, where as consoles are a very controlled enviorment where most of the time only things they think will sell are even produced. Which means there are less 'what if' games.

  • monkeywithnoeyes #40 2 years ago

    pc gaming isnt dead.. it's just surviving off the back of consoles.

  • the_mtfr #41 2 years ago

    So how about releasing the PC version of the enhanced Zeno Clash? I'd buy it.

  • Turambar #42 2 years ago

    "bu..bu..but the russians bought it! "

    Given how rampant piracy is in Russia this is actually a pretty big deal.

  • randyronald #43 2 years ago

    Zeno Clash is definitely one of the better brawlers out there, in terms of how the Final Fight/Streets of Rage template has evolved into 3D. But I don't know, it's fun but I'm just not sure the genre itself lives up to the beautifully surreal art style of the game. You could really feel the confinement of being restricted to arena based combat when you've got these sprawling skyboxes teasing you with environments worth exploring. In that sense the game was a little disappointing for me. Maybe ACE could go on to make an RPG, a genre I feel is better suited to their vision?

  • Pinewood_Groves #44 2 years ago

    It costs too much. Simple as. Otherwise I would have bought it, BECAUSE it is weird.

  • xenoss #45 2 years ago

    Because 360 fanboys and halofags are stupid, or kids with under developed minds. PC gaming was where it's at until the world was taken over by morons, around 2000 and 2001.

  • Nephirion #46 2 years ago

    PC - The thinking mans platform ..... and lets not forget PC Gaming happily dying since 1985 ....

  • Janyamik #47 2 years ago

    The fact is that you are (as consumer) more open to downloable games as there is no single bazar. Simply as that: you can buy games from any part of the world, like in music. And some of this games are bizzare, strange or different. (and I love it, despite of good and not so good experiences, I love it)

    It is not a question of platforms, is just the freedom of buying a game from any developer: big AAA or a new developer. That is why spend more time gaming in PC: I can buy what I want from where I want. No place for better or worse, like many people manage in their thougths: just f-r-e-e-d-o-m.

    Swedish adventure like Carol Reed series -six games until now- are only availabe in this format. Download -another game-, or Simon The Sorcer 5, neither in retail (at least in my country). I feel free in this aspect.

    Thanks to internet and digital distribution services there is no borderlands for consumers which simply look for another kind of gaming propositions. Very interesting article, btw!

    Edited by 3 at 30/07/10 @ 10:04

  • Meho #48 2 years ago

    Anyway, interesting to see that the platform that reportedly suffers rampant piracy in the country that suffers rampant piracy actually sold more units than a downloadable console version of the same title.

  • UncleLou #49 2 years ago

    It is for high budget HD titles and anyone who says other wise is kidding themselves.

    I am sure Blizzard are worried sick on their way to the bank with the Starcraft 2 sales money.

  • ReaperOscuro #50 2 years ago

    Its all very good his justification, but did they even promote and market it decently for the xbox 360? If the audience isnt as keen on weird games surely they would of picked it up during research. You know what they say: "a good worksman never blames his tools".

  • SYS64738 #51 2 years ago

    @ mickey2010

    "btw BAD09 most gamers play their games in a bedroom/spare room, on 720P 40inch or less tvs, so whats the advantage in these high pc resolutions people allways quote"

    Simple - You'll get a bigger "P number" (TM & Copyright SYS64738 2010) that can be used as an e-c0ck, such as (a random example of) 1080 or more.

    Oh and more detail and less jaggies as well I s'pose

  • sonicgoo #52 2 years ago

    A 'pc is dead' thread in Starcraft 2 week? Silly people!

  • randyronald #53 2 years ago

    @ mickey2010

    I have a 32" 720p TV and I do tend to crank the resolution in games even higher if my system can afford it as it does tend to shrink the UI, thus allowing me to see more of the game environment. Granted, this doesn't make a huge difference in first person shooters like Half-Life 2 but for MMOs where there are buttons and readouts all over the freakin' place, it makes a difference :)

  • Number1Laing #54 2 years ago

    Whenever a late PC port bombs on that platform, everyone rushes to say it's because of the fact that, well, it's a late PC port. But when a late console port bombs, it's because console gamers are dysfunctional or something? No, the reason Zeno Clash struggled on XBL was because it was a late (super late) PC port that arrived with no fanfare.

  • azix2 #55 2 years ago

    "But I don't know that I'd put it as harshly as PC gamers are smart and console gamers are stupid."

    I would. LOL.

  • Slipstream #56 2 years ago

    Heh, I think it might just be that the PC crowd are more open to games in general, considering there is a distinct lack of.

  • IronCladChicken #57 2 years ago

    PC gaming will never die while people still use PC's.

    Up until very recently it was considered a separate market to the console scene...

    Throughout the eighties and nineties, the console games and computer (see Speccy, C64, Amiga, PC, etc) games markets were completely separate.

    It's only been for the past few years when publishers attempted to treat all systems as a single category that the perception has changed.

    It doesn't seem to quite work.

    Edit: Spelling and such
    Edited by 1 at 01/08/10 @ 15:36

  • Slipstream #58 2 years ago

    It's only been for the past few years when publishers have attempted to treat all systems as a single catagory that that perception has changed. It doesn't seem to quite work.

    I agree and I feel it's because it's only the bigger publishers that that release games multi-format.

  • alcides #59 2 years ago

    Maybe it's because I never fucking heard of it before right now?

  • Transcendent #60 2 years ago

    This boring and pretentious game would have fitted better as Wii shovelware. PC gaming truly is dead when developers like these are the only ones defending it.