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Could Doom 3 be a Xbox Exclusive?
acehole writes "Doom III, id's latest and greatest in the realm of first-person shooters, may be coming out as an Xbox exclusive... if Microsoft has its way." This story is very brief, has no real evidence, and should be treated as entirely speculative. I'd be sad if Doom 3 required me to use the X-Box's controller. It's just not right without a mouse!
But this rumor isn't that they are buying id Software, it is that Microsoft wants Doom 3 exclusive to the Xbox. It would be no small coup if it happens, either.
This happens ALL the time in the console world. Sony is particularly fond of this tactic, paying off companies like Square and Eidos (Tomb Raider) so that these companies' games will be released first for the Playstation/PS2 and 6-months later if at all for competitors' systems.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that Microsoft has already engaged in this practice with Konami for Metal Gear Solid 2:Substance. Just now is the game being released for Playstation 2, yet it has been available for the Xbox for a long time.
Having not pried into the numbers of this field which are what ultimately determine whether any of your or my points are valid, allow me to offer a converse assertion.
Porting costs can be very high. Each additional platform Doom3 goes on will require (1) rewriting potentially large chunks of graphics code, if not other things if it turns out some things have to be squeezed a little extra to fit inside the console; (2) perhaps more expensive, extensive play testing to confirm the new hardware doesn't cause strange new problems; (3) creating a production line for creating media and packaging; (4) negotiating with stores shelf-space for an additional title; (5) providing tech support for yet another platform.
You seem to assert that for every additional platform the game is available for will mean more incoming revenue. Whether you meant this or not, it is not the case. Many people have multiple platforms -- XBox and a PC, PS2 and a GameCube, etc. Once more, some people may buy a new console simply for the newst, hot game out. And Doom3 will be coming out with a rather large amount of fan fare. If these two groups are a significant portion of the purchasers of Doom3, you start seeing diminishing returns very quicly -- perhaps even after supporting only two platforms (e.g. Windows and XBox)
Further, the game is already going to run in a Windows environment, doubtlessly. This means that XBox will be the easiest to port to, both because of a minimal amount of code rewrite being necessary and because the mostly stock hardware means that not as much XBox specific testing would be necessary.
You like splinters in your crotch? -Jon Caldara
Umm... id Software games have always been OpenGL based. Seeing how the XBox only supports Direct3D, and I don't seen why John Carmack would waste the time porting the entire codebase to Direct3D.
It would be smart for Id to sit on Doom 3 until the XBOX port is done because they will still be making money, cuz Microsoft is paying them, AND during that time, they can tweak, fix bugs, and add more polish to the PC version of Doom 3. It would be bad to delay the game for a long peroid of time, but if it is just a few months... Microsoft is basically paying them to add more polish to the PC version of Doom 3.