PC/Mac versions may be on the way out.

[Kelani]

I just noticed something unpleasant on wikipedia’s Rovio page that I don’t remember seeing previously. On the Rovio Game Listing, it shows which games are available on each platform. For mobile, each game says Yes or TBA, but the last four releases (Go, Epic, Stella, Transformers) have a big NO for PC/Mac. According to that table, the only 2014 release with a PC version was Juice Cubes.

If that chart is accurate, I think PC/Mac versions of new games may be a thing of the past. Keep in mind, I haven’t found anything to back that theory up, but given that trend, the layoff announcement, and that PC/Mac sales probably account for under 1% of total revenue, dropping those platforms wouldn’t surprise me. From a cost-savings perspective, it’s probably a great idea. I do think they’ll probably provide updates for the handful of current games that are still maintained, though.

I asked what the source was for that content on the wiki. If I get a reply, I’ll update.

Topic

[waimea]

I completely understand Rovio’s reluctance in creating PC versions of those mentioned games, as they are revenue generators with the iOS and Android platforms. I also think this is the reason behind PC not getting either of the last two SW2 updates (which I must admit makes me quite sad). But Rovio is a for-profit business, and I can see their reasoning in not spending creative resources on PC with no real financial gain. I just hope they continue to include PC in their non-revenue producing updates.

[burpie]

Perhaps there’s a workaround. It looks like Genymotion can run Android versions of AB games on a PC or Mac for free and, unlike Bluestacks, with a working webcam for scanning in Telepods. I haven’t tested this myself (I don’t have a webcam or Telepods) but if anyone feels like tinkering for an hour or two…

• Install Genymotion on a Mac/ PC: http://www.genymotion.com/
• Connect to the Google Play Store. Click here for instructions.
• Install AB games (If you can connect to the Play store to install stuff, you can probably also connect to the Play Store to purchase power-ups, gems and whatever else Rovio is selling.)
• Test if the Angry Birds games run well. Can you steer in AB Go!, can you load Telepods, etc.

If all of this works, it should also be possible to copy/ paste any progress from your mobile device into the Genymotion environment.

[Kelani]

@burpie Nice! Hopefully someone will try it out. I may even give it a try. If it works well, I’ll whip up a little tutorial. I have no telepods, but can definitely check the other things you mentioned.

[Les Toreadors]

@kelani, I have discussed the issue of PC versions for future titles with Rovio before and my findings were pretty much as you concluded.

There’s a huge problem with piracy on the PC platform, as well as easy availability of cheats and hacks that make it a poor platform. Lack of in-app revenue aside, the presence of communities who indiscriminately destroy any chance of fair play (case in point – Bad Piggies Road Hogs) have caused the Developers to look kindly towards the more controlled gameplay experiences featured in the newly released titles.

The issue of multiplayer and desire for fair play, of course, plays a big part in games like GO.

As much as I would love to have GO on the PC as a cartoon Need for Speed parody, I don’t think this is much of an issue to me, as an avid PC gamer and (old time) mod developer as there are a great multitude of other immersive, physics-heavy games available for the PC. And it would be difficult for Rovio to shift development priority from casual, fun games to the kind of seriously epic big-budget PC games we take for granted these days.

Also, high performance tablets (or even older iPads and Gtabs on the resale market) are easily available these days for a much smaller investment than a few years ago, and arguably, for the casual gamer, high end mobile apps like the latest 3D Rovio titles are more enjoyable than dealing with established PC gaming trends and issues (such as being put down as a “noob” immediately after joining a game, forum or community).

We are civilized animals, and warmly welcome “noobs” on Piggy Island in the interest of mutual goodwill and peace amongst various animal species, except pigs :)

I did put in some heavy feedback regarding the PC being a really nice platform for content development in Bad Piggies like non competitive sandbox games, and I can do a lot of stuff using a PC that I would loathe to contend with using greasy fingers on a small screen. So I hope we’ll have a small niche market for “serious” PC games that can sell themselves in the long run without need for in-app revenue.

But in the meantime I’ll just launch random junk into orbit in Kerbal Space Program whist playing Angry Birds Stella on a tablet waiting for the next staging event. Best of both worlds! :)

[Kelani]

@les-toreadors Those are some great observations, and you make some good points. :)

My assumption was due to the relatively small customer base and lack of IAPs, Rovio corporate released a few PC titles to test their market viability. At the time, they had more money than they knew what to do with, and could afford to try such an experiment.

I have to disagree with you about Rovio caring about fair play. I’ve seen no evidence to support that, other than a few scores removed on Game Center. Case in point, the Rio double-counted bonus birds bug (DCB). This was reported back in 2012 and affects all Rio levels on all platforms. Back in April, with help from fenikus and SweetP, I isolated the cause, and discovered how the bug could be exploited, allowing anyone to get any score up to the maximum supported by the code. Here’s a screenshot from one of my tests (the real high scores max out at 50-60k):

In May, I sent a detailed report to Rovio, which explained the exact cause, trigger, timing, and everything they needed to know to fix it. An admin helped us put the report in front of the proper Rovio contact. Despite numerous follow-ups, we’ve never gotten so much as a reply, and though three major updates have since landed, the exploit still exists. If Rovio doesn’t care about a ticking bomb that’s plagued Rio for years, even after we do most of the work for them, what do they care about?

I think @burpie’s emulator suggestion will be the new reality for us. Bluestacks works, but it’s a pain to deal with a third platform. I still hope someone will develop a good iOS App Store-integrated emulator for PC someday. I know it’ll probably never happen, but Apple’s nothing if not monopolistic, and surely they’re exploring other ways to get us to drink the Apple kool aid. So, who knows?

It’s funny, despite all my complaining about the wait times for AB PC updates, what bugs me the most is seeing Bad Piggies stuck in its current state. All it needs is one more update to fix the annoyances, and it’d be as close to perfection as any game I’ve ever played. :)

[Les Toreadors]

@kelani, with ref. to my extensive discussions regarding pork and bacon matters over the last two years – there are issues with game design and coding that interfere with fixing the issues the communities have pointed out.

And also on the PC debate – it seems each release platform has its own fair share of challenges that need to be surmounted before each update / game is ready for mass proliferation, so there is some logic there in shortening the supply lines to better support the quality mobile gaming market.

All in all I don’t think it hurts anyone – hi end tablets are becoming easier to find and much more affordable than just a couple years ago, and Android 4.4 even has video recording capability (requiring Android SDK usage, but nevertheless functional) for the benefit of content producers.

I just have one bit of curiosity though – There are a number of very good tablets out there in the market now running Windows 8.1. There’s the MS Surface Pro series which is great, plus a number of tablets that come with Win 8.1 installed instead of Android. The lack of a PC port of the latest Rovio titles, IMO, is a sad thing as these Win 8.1 “tablets” are, for a lack of a better term… awesome. Who doesn’t like being able to install PC apps on a tablet? Pity there’s no GO and Transformers to go along.

[Kelani]

You make a good point about the Win 8.1 tablets. I can only guess Rovio didn’t consider their market share high enough to port those games to it. Since that seems to have changed for Plunder Pirates, It’ll be interesting to see if that’s a trend, or just a one-time thing.

[Les Toreadors]

Knowing how corporate marketing think tanks work, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rovio has some trick up their sleeve to make sure they don’t lose out.

It’s easy for us to criticize but we don’t have access to the latest publisher/developer priorities. Once they’re able to sort out their goals and get over the usual lead time to implementing new directives, the developers of Angry Birds can move fast and deliver many pleasant surprises indeed. (As evident in the surprise launch of Bad Piggies 2 years ago, and the current blitz with Stella & Transformers).

What we can’t rely on is consistency though – To date there is still no idea if there is a Pig Game sequel (squeal!?) or not so hence some discussion to repurpose Pigineering to broaden its scope and make up our own pig content, as I’m doing with the Stella reviews.

[Mixx]

Pen that in as confirmed – I just asked them about an update for ABSW2 since its still incomplete, and this was the response from Johan at Rovio suppot

“We have decided to discontinue development on Angry Birds and Bad Piggies PC games to focus on providing a better experience for these games on mobile devices. Digital PC games will no longer be available for purchase or download. Additionally, these games will no longer receive updates.”

so bury them…they are done and frankly so am I on a piece of crap corporate money grabbing company. Screw ’em

[Barbbjb]

Thanks for the update, Mixx. That is so sad! Would love to send them an email just to express my displeasure, not that they care, but maybe just to get it off my chest. Guess it also wouldn’t do any good to get a petition going to them to change their minds.

In the meantime, any idea of other PC games?

Barbbjb

[Les Toreadors]

I appreciate the info likewise @mixx. I find it quite absurd the fan communities have had to rely on rumors all along to confirm this. This is the first time I’ve seen an official statement on the matter.

[Kelani]

Wow. Thanks for the post @mixx I think this is the first time I’ve predicted the future and actually been right about it. Wish I wasn’t, though.

“We have decided to discontinue development on Angry Birds and Bad Piggies PC games to focus on providing a better experience for these games on mobile devices. Digital PC games will no longer be available for purchase or download. Additionally, these games will no longer receive updates.”

cc: @admins

[Kelani]

Guess we’ll have to get started on those Bluestacks tutorials. That’s what I’m going to use, I think.

[Barbbjb]

@kelani Ok, I’ll bite, what is/are Bluestacks?

[Kelani]

@barbbjb Basically, it’s an android device emulator for PC that lets you download and run Android apps. There are several of them, and all are kind of a pain to setup and use. Also since all my scores are on PC and iOS, it won’t be easy to transfer them, but if we want to keep playing the new updates/games using big screens and mouses, this is pretty much the only way to do it that I know of.

Here’s the website: http://www.bluestacks.com

or check burpie’s post about Genymotion a few posts above.

[Barbbjb]

@kelani—Thanks, darn I was hoping that was a new fabulous game. Oh well.

[Kelani]

@barbbjb Well no, but it can give you the ability to play a lot of fabulous new games! :o)

[Les Toreadors]

Bluestacks being an emulator will require a decently specced PC to run the more demanding games. I can run Bad Piggies on an old-ish laptop, but not even confident at running Angry Birds GO. Also it takes some time for new games to be made available for Bluestacks.

[waimea]

re Rovio no longer updating any PC games……I have no words. At least none that can be printed here. To say I am disappointed would be the understatement of the world.

[Kelani]

@waimea Same here. :o( I do get it. It makes perfect financial sense, but that doesn’t mean I’m not growling like your big cat avatar would.

What really upsets me is abandoning the updates. What is it now…8 months we’ve been waiting on Short Fuse? Every time I see a Coming Soon! screen, it’s gonna look like a giant middle finger to me.

I’m trying to get some confirmation for this, and I’ll post a new thread when I do. I’d love to report back that the email came from a misinformed staffer, but I don’t expect that kind of miracle. :)

@les-toreadors I haven’t tried GO on an emulator, but everything else has run OK on my oldish (2008-2009) laptop. Good thing about PC: there’s always something you can tweak to improve performance.

[AMslimfordy]

We are currently investigating this further. Will update when we hear more.

[waimea]

Thanks @kelani and @amslimfordy for following up on this. It does keep a very slim hope alive.

[Barbbjb]

@mixx You know something else. I noticed in the answer they gave you there was no mention of MAC. Whenever we would hear anything it was as if they were joined at the hip—Mac/PC or PC/Mac. Now it’s just PC. Wonder why.

[Kelani]

@barbbjb When I looked into it previously, Mac seemed to be in the same boat. High development costs, even lower % of the customer base. I’d expect this to affect that platform as well.

[Barbbjb]

@mixx Thanks that’s what I would think also, just thought it was strange he didn’t address that in your inquiry.