Developing for PC vs. all other platforms

Game Dev Tycoon
#1

I’ve gone bankrupt twice, and finished a 30-year game once.

Obviously, the experience gained through my first two runs helped with the third, and for the third, I also started using the wiki for combinations.

But one other thing I did differently in my third run is to -exclusively- develop games for PC.

I’m curious about people’s thoughts on this strategy.

As far as I remember, PC never has the highest market-share, but it’s usually pretty high, relatively; normally just a couple of percentage points below whatever console is at the top at the time. I think the biggest gap in market-share I’ve seen is some console being around 20% and PC being around 15% (I could be wrong about this).

But on the upside, starting dev costs are extremely low (5k), you don’t have to buy a license, and it’s the only platform that sticks around forever.

Why bother developing for consoles at all?

For my next game, I’m considering giving consoles another shot, but I’m wondering if that’s even worth it. My last game (end score was ~33m), it ended shortly after I got to the third office (well, second, if you don’t count your garage as an “office”) and I barely got to finish my third engine just in time to make one last Large game.

I’m hoping to get there much earlier on my next game, and I’m not convinced developing for consoles will help me with that.

What are some of the benefits to developing for consoles instead of PC? Is there anything beyond the market-share?

#2

Most of the time because consoles have a higher marketshare, good console games will make you more money. But they lack the long life of the PC so every couple of years you have to change the platform.

And then you have multiple consoles some of them might not be as popular in the long run, and then you have to invest in the license for that console which in the early game is pretty hefty.

#3

I mostly develop for PC but there are some reasons why you might not want to.
–Working for a publisher, obviously
–When Gameling’s market share is quite a bit higher at the beginning
–For Medium and Large games, the license cost isn’t actually that high
–Consoles provide boosts to certain genres, like Action. Developing an Everyone Action game for Xbox 360 will do slightly better than a Mature Action game for PC (if I recall, don’t hold me to it).

#4

The PC is basically for people who want to play it safe.

#5

Consoles tend to do well out of AAA action titles. I tend to alternate, I’ll do a Race or flight sim on PC, an action game on a console, then an RPG on PC, then perhaps a small handheld game, then adventure on console, then rinse and repeat. Seems to work for me.
Biggest money spinners have definately been on PC though - Over a billion on one RPG MMO with an expansion pack, 400 mill from a single (9.75 rated) Race sim.
Just get a licence for one or other “brand” if you don’t have much cash. Back in the day software houses stuck to one console for just that reason - they couldn’t afford to develop for more than one!

#6

Thanks for your input, everyone.

I started a new game and played around with consoles a bit this time around, but I can’t say I was impressed by how well they did.

The main benefit to consoles, I guess, is for getting publisher contracts.

I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to make a game for a console when I’m making my own, but when I’m looking for contracts, I’ve found it’s worth it.

By the time you’re taking contracts from publishers, the license fees don’t matter much anymore, but early on, it seems like a waste of money.

Anybody have success stories with early consoles while still in your garage?

#7

I made all of the money i needed on gameling and MMOs