The Battlefield franchise has moved on from its PC roots, and I don’t imply in design or focus.
“The Battlefield franchise is, effectively, a console series now. If you were to choose a version to buy today, the one with the biggest number of players would be the one to get.”
Perhaps since its inception, the Battlefield collection has all the time referred to as PC house. Before the rise of consoles, Battlefield video games have been largely thought of one of many perks of proudly owning a PC for the stellar multiplayer sandbox expertise no different shooter may provide, actually not on consoles.
Sure, DICE made Battlefield video games for consoles on the time, like Modern Combat, however they paled compared to the true factor: the PC model. It wasn’t till the developer took a little bit of a break and got here again with the Bad Company off-shoot, a brand new sub-series the place the only objective was to determine how you can make this sort of recreation work on a console.
So a lot so, in truth, the unique Bad Company by no means got here to PC. The sequel, Bad Company 2, did launch on consoles and PC, after all, however by that time issues had modified endlessly. It was now doable to play a stable Battlefield recreation on one thing aside from a PC.
Battlefield three adopted this pattern, however not like Bad Company 2, the sport was a conventional Battlefield numbered sequel, not a aspect venture with low participant counts and watered-down mechanics. Battlefield three suffered from the identical drawback the pre-Bad Company video games had: the concept that consoles may solely handle an inferior model of the primary occasion.
Nothing, nonetheless, might be remembered in fairly the identical approach Battlefield four will. It’s the sport that – for the primary time – was similar throughout PC and consoles, old-gen not included.
Battlefield 4 was the sport that introduced 64-player matches to consoles, the full-fat Battlefield expertise you would beforehand solely get on PC. We noticed it once more with Battlefield Hardline, and now with Battlefield 1.
Knowing all that, I by no means thought I’d truly see the day when PC could possibly be in the identical place PS3 was final era; the platform with the bottom participant numbers in a Battlefield recreation.
I’ve been visiting BF1 Stats because the launch of the Early Enlister version of Battlefield 1, and although PC numbers have been behind each consoles, issues may have gone both approach at launch. Well, launch got here and went, all platforms gained extra gamers, and but PC stayed on the backside.
At the time of writing, PC at the moment has 134,484 gamers on-line, in comparison with 194,876 on Xbox One, and a whopping 261,921 on PS4. Peak numbers for the earlier 24 hours inform an analogous story. PS4 has the lead with 298,223 gamers, adopted by 212,048 for Xbox One, and simply 136,594 on PC.
In reality, on Saturday, October 22, at some point after the official launch, the variety of energetic gamers on PS4 was at one level very near the mixed complete on Xbox One and PC, at a powerful 346,726. PS4 numbers are much more spectacular while you realise they symbolize house owners of the complete recreation solely, and never a mixture of EA Access subscribers and paid clients.
PC by no means bought near reaching 200,00zero energetic gamers, not even peaking at that. Player numbers in multiplayer video games usually go downhill following the launch rush. Changes can and do occur down the highway, certain, however usually talking, the very best these numbers may get is on the primary few days of launch.
There’s a little bit of a distinction in peak hours throughout PC and consoles, too, which may point out the area the place every platform is well-liked. PC is normally extra energetic within the afternoon to late-night hours European time, whereas it’s nearly the reverse on PS4 and Xbox One.
Considering how well-optimised the PC model is, and the very fact it’s essentially the most steady a Battlefield recreation has been at launch, I can solely conclude the numbers symbolize a basic pattern amongst gamers, somewhat than a Battlefield-specific case. It’s doable PC gamers who grew up with older iterations merely moved on to a platform that requires much less repairs.
Or maybe the PC market has modified to the purpose the place AAA video games simply don’t promote in addition to they used to. I may blame it on the $60 worth, however I’d think about a lot of these enjoying on PC didn’t pay the complete worth, simply as a result of sheer variety of choices out there exterior the Origin retailer.
“I never thought I’d actually see the day when PC could be in the same position PS3 was last generation; the platform with the lowest player numbers in a Battlefield game”
Isolated from this comparability, these PC numbers aren’t low in any respect. It doesn’t take lengthy to refill a 64-player server, and also you’d be exhausting pressed to not discover energetic servers for any of the sport modes, so there’s no fear there simply but. Online communities for a lot of Steam video games handle simply positive with a lot decrease numbers, so it’s not remarkable.
It’s additionally exhausting to say what number of PS4 and Xbox One gamers will follow the sport past the three-month honeymoon, in comparison with their PC brethren. Both consoles have misplaced extra gamers than PC since launch already, and with two Call of Duty games on the horizon, and Titanfall 2 having launched final week, shooter gamers on consoles are positively spoiled for alternative this 12 months.
I’d be mendacity if I mentioned these stats didn’t take me without warning. The Battlefield franchise is, successfully, a console collection now. If you have been to decide on a model to purchase right this moment, the one with the most important variety of gamers would little question be the one to get. Unless you’re a mouse+keyboard participant, during which case you might really feel a bit dissatisfied.
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