Knocking off Games for Windows
I was in GameStop several hours ago picking up Ubisoft Montreal’s Far Cry 2 for PC (a game I have been anticipating to an unusual degree for the last eight months), and I saw something on the rack that caught my eye. Besides the fact that GameStop even had a PC section that was on a wall-mounted rack rather than just a ramshackle endcap, I mean.
From the checkout line, I noticed the game on the right, Shattered Suns, which from a distance appeared to be Games for Windows-branded; compare the front panel strip with Petroglyph’s GFW-branded RTS Universe at War. Though Games for Windows Live has failed to make even the slightest splash, I’m an advocate of the broader GFW initiative, which aims to standardize various elements of PC gaming in useful ways, so I wandered over to check it out.
As you can clearly see up close, developer and publisher Clear Crown Studios (a small local outfit, as it turns out, just south of San Francisco) simply listed itself and the game title at the top, using the same layout, color scheme, and a similar font to the Games for Windows strip.
That a studio would do such a thing struck me as bizarre on two fronts: that it didn’t simply enroll in the GFW program, which as far as I’m aware is completely free to developers and has the potential of getting your game some Microsoft co-marketing, and that Clear Crown apparently believes GFW is widely-known or ubiquitous enough that some sales would be coaxed out of this ploy.
As it turns out, the game—also an RTS—released to pretty conclusively poor reviews and my curiosity didn’t blossom into a purchase. So the tactic (”Games faux Windows”?) didn’t help the button line today, but they say no publicity is bad publicity.
Update: As my Idle Thumbs colleague Jake Rodkin reminds me, participating in Games for Windows is only free in the sense that it doesn’t involve royalties or fees to Microsoft—obviously the time and effort involved in implementing the standards must be factored into development time and budget, which is not necessarily feasible for all teams. My point was simply that Clear Crown felt the program’s cachet was worthwhile enough to try and create the impression of participation, but if it really considered it of value, it could have enrolled fully—and if not, just left the fake branding off entirely.
Tags: bizarre, clear crown studios, games for windows, gamestop, pc gaming, shattered suns
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Getting GFW certified means you have to meet certain requirements (see the list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_for_Windows ), which isn’t ‘free’ in terms of budgeted development time, especially if you’re a small developer. The list is obviously nowhere near the requirements of, say, an XBLA game, at least according to that Wikipedia page, but it’s still time and energy that you don’t actually *need* to expend when developing a PC game, and is probably extremely easy to cut from the budget if your budget isn’t very big. I hope standardization of the GFW-variety becomes prevalent enough that it’s no longer deemed easily cuttable, or not worth budgeting, but I can see where they’d be coming from.
It’s probably a little bit of a double edged sword (albeit a small boring one), especially for the smaller folks — we’re probably not yet at a point where being GFW certified will make or break a sale, but that point might not be reached until more people can be bothered to do it.
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Yeah I understand what’s involved with GFW certification; I’ve talked to a lot of developers about it, and I understand where a developer is coming from who simply doesn’t have the time, budget, or inclination to participate. But that’s different to where these guys are coming from, which is trying to create a kneejerk impression that their game DOES adhere to these standards, while it actually doesn’t. I don’t see it really helping them in any tangible way, nor does it help the impression of GFW (although I suspect nobody will confuse the branding after more than a few seconds of inspection).
October 24th, 2008 at 5:10 am
horrible reviews? but “Shattered Suns is unlike any real-time strategy (RTS) game you’ve ever played, loaded with revolutionary new features and strategic depth.” how can this be? noooooooooo!
that’s pretty funny though. it’s almost like they’re hoping the ensuing copyright infringement lawsuit they will be soon be hit with will boost sales. dare i say that this is probably one of the ballsiest ripoffs since “limbo of the lost” - if only for the fact that no one actually played “limbo of the lost” while “shattered suns” is flagrantly advertising their theft on the cover.
October 26th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Im thinking they just ran out of ideas for box art
October 27th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
At least they didn’t improvise their ESRB certification.