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Ubisoft says that MS & Sony are 'pressuring them' into 30FPS on PC; Phil: Not true

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
I already have, it sounds like total bullshit even if UBI did say it.
Whew, good to hear.

I mean, MS and Ubi have already been caught doing shady shit or lying over and over and over, but because this particular theory sounds like total bullshit to you (despite some evidence supporting it), my fears have been completely eased. Thanks RetroStu!
 

10k

Banned
Anybody can say they're a lurker and confirm this. :p

Ubisoft will just deny this happened anyway.

Ubisoft is pulling off a Killer Instinct Ultraaaaaa Combo with their PR since May lol.
 

R_Deckard

Member
I already have, it sounds like total bullshit even if UBI did say it.

100818-g4Gb51sohk3w.gif
 

Portugeezer

Member
Anybody can say they're a lurker and confirm this. :p

Ubisoft will just deny this happened anyway.

Ubisoft is pulling off a Killer Instinct Ultraaaaaa Combo with their PR since May lol.

Maybe he provided bish with a recording, lol IDK... (probably not)
 

Swarna

Member
I was reading a book earlier and it was bang-on about needing people needing stronger evidence if they want to be convinced of something they don't want to be convinced about. Just kind of interesting to see it in action.

If this is true it's probably only a recent thing or MS/Sony hasn't had much influence in this regard. I say this because the few titles that were locked at 30 FPS seemed to be a result of devs ignorant to PC expectations/low budgets. No need to really worry or care unless Ubi or someone else actually starts locking games at 30 FPS...
 

Omnipunctual Godot

Gold Member
What I would really like to know:

1. What kind of pressure is being exerted upon developers/publishers, ex., What are the requests? Are threats being used by the console holder? Etc.

2. Which console manufacturers have applied pressure to publishers for parity, and for which games?

3. Does one console manufacturer participate in this practice more frequently or to a greater extent than others?

If Sony really is intentionally contributing to a culture of dumbing-down the PC performance of games, as a PS4 owner, it would disgust me, especially since I have never heard even a rumor of Sony trying to throw its weight around to force performance parity with other platforms. I am somewhat less surprised to hear Microsoft involved in a practice like this, because it was already heavily rumored. Regardless, any company involved in deliberately holding back a version of a game because it would run better on another platform should be held accountable for such a despicable action.

I do not have a gaming PC, but it should not matter. Such a practice is toxic to gaming, and it needs to end immediately.
 

RetroStu

Banned
Whew, good to hear.

I mean, MS and Ubi have already been caught doing shady shit or lying over and over and over, but because this particular theory sounds like total bullshit to you (despite some evidence supporting it), my fears have been completely eased. Thanks RetroStu!

Did i kill your grandmother in a past life or something?
 

UrbanRats

Member
But please everyone, don't take this too seriously, as my fellow student said on reddit, it could have been simply implied or misinterpretated.
They were "only" two engineers, they may not know everything about the so-called "pressure". The one thing they did talk about most, is that there are lots of hardware restrictions.

That's why i would've liked a transcript or video.
It's hard to determine context with a 2nd hand account.
 

Conduit

Banned
"But it gets better: the Game Architect said that they always try to aim for 60FPS, but due to "limitations", they have been settling at 30FPS for their latest games. He continued, saying that console makers are pressuring them into doing the same thing on PC. The Game Architect continued, saying that Ubisoft reuses as much code as possible, which could explain the similarities between a few of their games."

Mark Cerny : "We really do not dictate to game creators what sort of experience they need to create. So, if their vision has to do with incredibly detailed graphics that perhaps can't be done 60 hertz or 1080p, that's perfectly fine, that's what they want to make."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Ke3HsV299cY#t=138
 

Einbroch

Banned
Hmm, a person who posts in the PC Master Race subreddit makes a claim that the consoles are being naughty with no proof outside of the fact that they came to his school.

Yeah, smells like bullshit.
 
I believe it.

Collusion is a very effective and centuries old business tactic. These are socipathic corporations we're talking about. Nintendo did worse in their heyday.

Sony, MS, Nintendo aren't your friends, guys, which is why fanboyism is so funny to me.


again, the amount of people who own both a gaming pc and a console is so small compared to the general gaming population.

not only is it worth it, it wouldn't even make any sense. do you honestly think one console manufacturer went, "oh this game runs above 30 fps on pc we might lose a lot of sales on our platform"?
 

RetroStu

Banned
I don't understand this. Aside from a few PAL markets, PC sales of AAA games don't really affect console games.

Its not like a PC gamer is going to think "oh the PC version isn't any better than the console version so i think i'll go and buy a new $400 console and get that version instead".

Think guys, come on.
 
Good point. The huge amount of losses they make with their traditional PC software devision must have pressured Andrew House into destroying the PC.

What is your point? You don't think people buying the PC version of multiplat games costs Sony money? You don't think people sticking with their PCs costs them console sales?
 

Bessy67

Member
MS should be asking for their money back from the AC Unity co-marketing deal. All they've gotten out of it is a PR disaster.
 

ypo

Member
they have been settling at 30FPS for their latest games. He continued, saying that console makers are pressuring them into doing the same thing on PC.

he implied that MS is making them lock the framerate on PC too".

These 2 quotes seems to indicate he used "console makers" as a general statement and only points to MS being the one who's enforcing it.
 
What I don't get: Why force a 30 fps limit in when you offer additional graphics options at the same time? Why do it so halfheartedly if you want to go for parity?
 

ItsTheNew

I believe any game made before 1997 is "essentially cave man art."
Story after story of shady shit going on, public slip ups, massive partnerships and subpar versions for technically superior platforms...yeah it's probably nothing, right?
 

NolbertoS

Member
Seems ParityGate is not just a small tidbit rumour. Don't know why Ubisoft is being very candid about telling kids the truth or not about forced 30fps and sub 1080p. I can see a whole new can of works opening up for developers now, bumping the moneyhat price to make there games at 900p for MS consoles now, ad they're in a position of controlling demand now. Watch MS now have to literally moneyhat every developer to keep tr resolution the same. Regarding Sony, Sony doesn't have much at stake in the PC market. Can't think of a reason why they would force 30fps on most developers.
 

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Did i kill your grandmother in a past life or something?
Sorry, didn't mean to sound so dickish, and I'm sorry I chose your response out of the hundreds of others expressing similar sentiments in similar threads to pick on. I just find the level of evidence demanded by some people to be unrealistic. I mean, people are allowed to judge companies however they want based on the available information and tailor their purchasing habits accordingly, but I'm genuinely surprised at the number of people willing to give the benefit of the doubt to organizations that do unpleasant things all the time.

Don't get me wrong. I still doubt that any "pressure" by MS or Sony is significant and going to make any tangible difference. I just don't think the very idea should be immediately dismissed as preposterous or "total bullshit". This type of backroom dealing goes on all the time in other industries, even consumer-facing ones. Why would the videogame industry be somehow exempt?
 

R_Deckard

Member
But please everyone, don't take this too seriously, as my fellow student said on reddit, it could have been simply implied or misinterpretated.
They were "only" two engineers, they may not know everything about the so-called "pressure". The one thing they did talk about most, is that there are lots of hardware restrictions.

And I think this is the issue, there is no way this would be as easily said if true.

very easy to be misunderstood especially if this suits a pre-conceived mindset (not you footmax)
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
What is your point? You don't think people buying the PC version of multiplat games costs Sony money? You don't think people sticking with their PCs costs them console sales?
I'm just having a laugh about your conspiratorial wording.
 

UrbanRats

Member
Its not like a PC gamer is going to think "oh the PC version isn't any better than the console version so i think i'll go and buy a new $400 console and get that version instead".

Think guys, come on.

Except all those people who go "well i'll get it for ps4/Xbone then" as soon as they can't max out at 60fps on their PCs of which there are a bunch even on GAF.
 

entremet

Member
again, the amount of people who own both a gaming pc and a console is so small compared to the general gaming population.

not only is it worth it, it wouldn't even make any sense. do you honestly think one console manufacturer went, "oh this game runs above 30 fps on pc we might lose a lot of sales on our platform"?

But that's not how business use collusion exclusively. It's not just for big threats.. They use it to stamp out any upstarts, no matter how small they appear to be.
 

UnrealEck

Member
There's no way any of the three will admit to this. Ubi will 'clarify' it and Sony and Microsoft will just deny it flat out.
 

Footmax

Neo Member
I replied only to confirm that the conference DID take place, because I don't like to read that some people are doubting it or even my school's existence (that is what convinced me to reply in fact), but things go REALLY too far here, it was just a one-hour conference to show us engineer's jobs at Ubisoft, and because the engineers may not be experts at speaking in a conference, things they said can be easily misinterpretated.
 

mdubs

Banned
Even if this was true, there is not a damn thing anyone can do about it. It can't even be protested (unless people plan on burning their consoles or something lol)
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Maybe Ubisoft tries to throw console makers under the bus to excuse their bad PC ports?

It's possible. Either way, the bottom line is this: if you don't like a PC game being locked to 30fps or lacking graphical featurers it should have then don't buy it. Your gaming dollar is your best way to vote in this industry. Whether MS or/and Sony are sabotaging the PC gaming scene, or whether Ubisoft is making excuses for their lackluster PC ports, if the 30fps games don't sell but the better ports do then executives will get the message loud and clear.
 

Falcker

Member
I was reading a book earlier and it was bang-on about needing people needing stronger evidence if they want to be convinced of something they don't want to be convinced about. Just kind of interesting to see it in action.

It goes both ways, people wanting something to be true will require no evidence or make up evidence to conform to their wants.
 
Sorry but who is footmax and why would his word carry any more weight than anyone else with no proof?

Yeah, I'm confused about this too.

I replied only to confirm that the conference DID take place, because I don't like to read that some people are doubting it or even my school's existence (that is what convinced me to reply in fact), but things go REALLY too far here, it was just a one-hour conference to show us engineer's jobs at Ubisoft, and because the engineers may not be experts at speaking in a conference, things they said can be easily misinterpretated.

You don't sound so confident in your claims anymore. Can you confirm anything specific that was said?
 
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