We’ve known about Red Dead Redemption 2 for a few days now. We know Rockstar Games is making it and that’ll arrive sooner, rather than later. In fall 2017, people will be able to head off into the sunset on their PlayStation 4s and Xbox Ones. Now, given that we’ve only just, just , learned about this game, do you think the port begging has begun?
Well, there’s already a petition on Change.org to bring this game, which we haven’t even known about for a week, to PCs. So yeah, I’d say the Red Dead Redemption 2 begging is in full force.
The thing is, it shouldn’t be. A game that we’ve wanted for a long time has finally been announced. We’re finally going to be getting Red Dead Redemption 2 . Shouldn’t we savor that feeling for a little bit, rather than immediately demanding we get more of it?
I mean, it’s not like Rockstar probably isn’t already thinking about Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC. This is a company that likes money. It’s already made over $500 million on GTA Online microtransactions. It ported GTA V to every viable platform. It’s rereleased its older Grand Theft Auto games on new consoles and mobile devices alike. We’ve even seen the original Red Dead Redemption come to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This is a company that is totally fine with letting its games spread out across systems.
It’s just that Rockstar doesn’t do that all at once. This is a company that doesn’t rush. Take L.A. Noire . It came to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 2016. Its PC version wasn’t released until November 2016. That’s six months later. And, by the way, that was the Complete Edition of the game, so waiting paid off. GTA V came to PS3 and Xbox 360 in September 2013. It didn’t show up on the PS4 and Xbox One until November 2014, and only appeared on PCs in April 2015. Rockstar makes PC ports happen, but takes its time to make sure they’re done right.
Think about some of the recent PC versions of console games we’ve seen in the last few years. You know, the ones that try to be out at the same time as their console equivalents? Do you know what that gets us? Games like Mortal Kombat X , Batman: Arkham Knight , No Man’s Sky, DOOM, Batman: The Telltale Series, and Quantum Break. Even games with less egregious issues, like the PC ports of Mafia III, Bioshock: The Collection and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided , have major problems that aren’t present in the console iterations. Do you want this to happen with Red Dead Redemption 2 ? Is immediate confirmation of a game coming to PC that important?
Yes, the original Red Dead Redemption has never seen a PC release. Yes, Rockstar could decide to do the same thing with Red Dead Redemption 2 . However, we’re in a different time, and Rockstar seems like it has grown as a company. It brought GTA V to PCs, when the time was right and it was assured it could focus on the game. Instead of port-begging, how about appreciating the fact that this game actually exists? Let’s rejoice in what we will receive, for the moment, instead of pleading for more.