Bungie's Destiny

[PsychoPere]

The official reveal of the new Bungie series Destiny is set for this Sunday, February 15.

While Bungie has, of course, been as tight-lipped as they often were in the past about Halo, there's been plenty of speculation about what little has been revealed so far. There have also been a few leaks already - an internal blog written by an Activision developer; a press packet featuring some story and world details, as well as some concept art (which prompted Bungie to release some concept art on their own); and just today, pre-order promotional materials.

We already know for certain that it's a first-person shooter; that it will feature some sort of significant online component; that it will be a series of at least four games to be published by Activision; and that this first game will be released at least initially on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The games journalists I follow on Twitter who have already seen the game seem to be pretty excited about it, so I'm eagerly looking forward to the deluge of information this weekend.

[PsychoPere]

Naturally, IGN (and other gaming websites) has lots of coverage online now that Bungie has officially revealed the game.

• Quick FAQ
• Concept Art Analysis (video)
• Feature article

[Venardhi]

That is Molyneux-level hypesterbating right there. Call me when I can see some of this "revolutionary" game in motion and not just a couple shots of environments and people walking.

[Kelthaz]

Hey, this sounds really cool. I've always wanted an MMOFPS and I really think th --

IGN FAQ wrote:

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No PC version?

Nope. Bungie consistently referred to Destiny as a “console shooter.”

Uh, why?

Bungie wrote:

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We made the game run without a mouse and keyboard. And now nobody plays shooters the way they used to play them before Halo 'cause nobody wants to."

...

[Owain Taggart]

Kind of shows how clueless they are. If they think nobody's playing them with a mouse and keyboard anymore, they couldn't be more wrong. They've been under MS's spell for too long.

[Robert Maxwell]

Well, I guess "we just don't want to make a PC version" wouldn't play as well in the press. They'd rather look arrogant than lazy.

[backstept]

Kelthaz wrote:

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Hey, this sounds really cool. I've always wanted an MMOFPS and I really think th --

Uh, why?

...

wut

I . . . They're seriously missing out on a huge opportunity if they don't bring it to PC. For a franchise they hope to spend 10 years on . . . I'd rather upgrade my PC every few years than play on a 10 year old console or have to buy a whole new console a few years later.
We're so close to the next console generation that I think 360 and PS3 versions of destiny will be nearly pointless.

[Jax]

Interesting concept but seems the only way the game will achieve its potential is to go on next gen consoles and also PC would be so much better.

[Robert Maxwell]

backstept wrote:

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wut

I . . . They're seriously missing out on a huge opportunity if they don't bring it to PC. For a franchise they hope to spend 10 years on . . . I'd rather upgrade my PC every few years than play on a 10 year old console or have to buy a whole new console a few years later.
We're so close to the next console generation that I think 360 and PS3 versions of destiny will be nearly pointless.

double wut

It's not people will stop making games for the 360 and the PS3 the moment their successors come out. Games will keep coming out for those systems for a few years yet. The PS3 came out in late 2006 and there were still decent titles coming out for the PS2 into 2010. So, it makes sense that they would support the current generation and the next. Just a question of whether the next gen versions will be unique enough to make the upgrade worthwhile.

[FPAlpha]

backstept wrote:

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wut

I . . . They're seriously missing out on a huge opportunity if they don't bring it to PC. For a franchise they hope to spend 10 years on . . . I'd rather upgrade my PC every few years than play on a 10 year old console or have to buy a whole new console a few years later.
We're so close to the next console generation that I think 360 and PS3 versions of destiny will be nearly pointless.

PC is heavily burdened by software piracy whereas with consoles it's very hard to pull off.. you can try and chip your console but chances are high that sooner or later your console will get banned when you go online (thus not being able to play games like Destiny).

Add this to the big (and nearly confirmed rumors) that both Sony and MS will implement a feature that will lock a game to your console and suddenly the console market becomes a safe bet.

Jax wrote:

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Interesting concept but seems the only way the game will achieve its potential is to go on next gen consoles and also PC would be so much better.

It will be one of the hot titles for the next gen consoles.. maybe a bit too late to be a starter title if the PS4 and 720 go on sale for christmas season but it may well be a title that will push both consoles much like Halo did for the XBox.

Naturally they can't confirm they're developing for the next gen because both companies haven't made the official announcements and i bet the NDA's are quite strict but the tech may be locked for a year now to allow developers to produce games for the initial release.

PC is more powerful but it's also way more expensive and at times more difficult to program/debug for because of the infinite hardware/software combinations possible.. i believe Bungie will concentrate on the consoles as they're easier to program for and a safer business decision.

Personally the concept sounds very intriguing but at this stage it's more hype than anything. Molyneux's name already came up and the current news about Destiny just reek of his style.
I like Molyneux games very much but none of them even remotely approached the capabilities he boasted about. However i have faith in Bungie.. they developed one heck of a cool universe with Halo and created one of the most iconic videogame character ever so i'm positive that the creative part of the game will be amazing.. how game design and functionality will end up is anyone's guess but at worst it'll be a good title to occasionally waste a few hours on.

[PsychoPere]

FPAlpha wrote:

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Naturally they can't confirm they're developing for the next gen [...]

Bungie actually has confirmed that this first game will be on "future generation technology."

[BigFoot]

^ Yeah but that's different than saying "Coming in 2014 for PS4 and Xbox 720".

I know it's all just semantics, but from an NDA POV it's quite different.

[Owain Taggart]

Robert Maxwell wrote:

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Well, I guess "we just don't want to make a PC version" wouldn't play as well in the press. They'd rather look arrogant than lazy.

Thing is, being in the gaming business as long as they have, they really should know better than to be making statements like that. FPSes on consoles have gotten better, yes, largely due to better and more accurate gamepads, but there is still a rather large portion of gamers who wouldn't even think of playing FPSes on them, as PCs is where most of the hardcore gamers congregate, and where professional gaming leagues were born. It strikes me as an ignorant statement for them to make. Even now though, there are enough differences between PC FPSes and those on consoles, and I guess what they really want to do is a console FPS and continue more along the lines of what they've created with the Halo franchise than create a PC style FPS.

[Chris3123]

Kelthaz wrote:

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Hey, this sounds really cool. I've always wanted an MMOFPS and I really think th --

Uh, why?

...

I'm pretty much a console-only gamer myself, and even I know that statement is BS.

Anyway, an interview for Eurogamer seems to indicate that Bungie might still be open to the possibility of a PC version:

Bungie COO Pete Parsons wrote:

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"We would absolutely love to be on the PC. If you talk to the people upstairs, we play it on all platforms. So, stay tuned."

Eurogamer

Take that as you will.

[Venardhi]

FPAlpha wrote:

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PC is heavily burdened by software piracy...

Piracy for MMOs is nearly non-existent. What would be the point unless someone puts up a pirate server for people to play on? That isn't exactly something you can just grab off the pirate bay.