Whenever a console starts doing well, the inevitable happens. People start port begging. They don’t care about anything except having a game that is not already on their system on that platform. Sure, it is flattering to see such attention, but more often than not it is unrealistic and annoying. People really need to start thinking before they beg for ports, because it gets ugly when they realize the thing that probably will not happen will definitely not happen.
With Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 making their recent Switch debut and Bayonetta 3 on the horizon, people have been begging for ports of the installments that did not appear everywhere. Which is understandable, since Bayonetta was a multiplatform game. But even after Hideki Kamiya , the creator, took to Twitter to explain that Nintendo and Sega hold the rights to the second two games and want them only on Nintendo platforms, people don’t seem to listen. Port begging is not productive here. Bayonetta 2 will only be on the Wii U and Switch and Bayonetta 3 on the Switch, because Nintendo has a heavy investment in them.
Monster Hunter: World is another example. This is a multiplatform game. It is on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and eventually the PC. That should be enough for people, right? No, because we keep hearing from people who want it on the Switch too. Except Haruhiro Tsujimoto, Capcom’s COO, has said it is not possible because of various conditions that would keep the game from working on the hardware. He did not rule out Monster Hunter completely for the Switch, but just that this one entry can not get a port. But again, people are so focused on what they want, that they futilely port beg for something that can’t happen.
In some situations, the port begging timing is off. The Red Dead Redemption series is a prime example of this. Until it showed up on PlayStation Now, people were begging for a PC port of the original Red Dead Redemption for years after it would have been viable. It wasn’t going to happen, but they annoyed everyone anyway. With Red Dead Redemption 2 ahead, the same is happening, but in reverse. People are port begging for a game that is not done. Everyone knows that Rockstar Games does not release PC versions of games until after the console versions, if at all. This is a situation where people should ask after it launches, not before one of the major releases of the year.
And we can’t forget the port begging in cases where there are obvious exclusivity deal. This can apply to many different games: Dead Rising 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider , and most recently Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. The first two are games that were originally Xbox One exclusives. About a year after their appearance, they ended up getting ported to other platforms like the PlayStation 4 and PC. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is one that is still a PlayStation 4 exclusive for now, but everything indicates it will bust onto every platform once its deal is up. In situations like these, where it is obvious the games are headed elsewhere eventually, people need to chill on the port begging and be patient.
We all know we love games. We want to play them on as many platforms as possible. But we have to understand that exclusives happen. We can not be salty, just because we can not always get what we want. And we should not be overly annoying or whining. Be patient and polite, not someone obnoxious who insists every game ever has to appear on your favorite system. Respectably express interest when it is actually possible, and accept things graciously if it can not happen.