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The Problems With Porting Games
mr_sifter writes "There's a large lexicon of monosyllabic, four-letter words for describing something you don't like — but only PC gamers use the word 'port' with such a fervent degree of repulsion. Common complaints about console ports include meager graphics options, dodgy third-person camera angles, poorly-thought-out controls and sparsely distributed save points. In this feature, Bit-tech talks to developers of games such as Dead Space, Red Faction and Tales of Monkey Island to find out why porting games between the three major consoles and the PC is so difficult. Radically different CPU, graphics and memory architectures play their part, as do the differences in control methods and the rules Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo set about how games should work on their systems."
PC = Personal Computer.
It does not, nor has it ever meant "Personal Computer with Microsoft Windows Operating System installed".
In fact, Atari and others had created many personal computers before Windows even existed. IBM also had put out personal computers prior to this. The Apple I actually was released in 1976, fully 5 years before IBM and Bill Gates got together to discuss creating an operating system for the IBM PC.
The first paragraph wasn't about Windows ports... it was about PC ports, many of which just happen to be Windows ports.
Many games I see come out in Windows, Mac, and Linux all at the same time (PC games, that is). Some even come out on a console at the same time as on various PC operating systems.
Games ported from game consoles, on the other hand, work from highest market share to lowest. Windows is the highest market share, so the most money is made from porting to this OS. Some companies find that there is a sufficiently large market in the Mac portion of PCs to port their game to that, and make some additional money. Linux generally gets the shaft because of it's very small market share in the PC gaming industry. It's simple economics. It costs money to rewrite the game so that it works on other hardware - why spend that unless you will get a good return on profits from that market?
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Damnit, my car has a USB port, let me use my goddamn arrow keys to steer my car!