Volition: PC still worth investing in

Saints Row: The Third and Red Faction: Armageddon developer Volition is convinced making PC versions of its multiplatform games is still worth the time and money required – despite the threat of piracy.

Indeed the THQ-owned studio takes an interesting approach when making PC titles: "Let's make a game that's worth stealing, and then we'll worry about making sure they don't."

That's according to Volition studio manager Eric Barker, who told Eurogamer that the PC versions of Red Faction and Saints Row look "beautiful".

"Some people say PC is dying. Some people say PC is the future," he said. "PC is the most variable, because it depends on what you've got under the hood.

"For us, the key thing was making sure the PC version was done in-house."

The PC ports of Saints Row 2 and Red: Faction: Guerrilla were both created by external studios - and suffered quality issues.

For their follow-ups, however, Volition decided to bring PC development duties home – and Barker reckons PC gamers will reap the rewards.

"You should see [the PC version of Red Faction: Armageddon], it looks absolutely beautiful. If you've got a great graphics card it looks fantastic. We definitely believe PC games are great and if they're done right and done well by a studio, they're phenomenal.

"There's a lot of debate and discussion. I can't predict the future, but I'm really happy with how Red Faction: Armageddon looks on PC. It's beautiful."

In recent months some high-profile games, including Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2, have suffered leaks and popped up on torrent sites ahead of release.

THQ's own Homefront was also available to illegally download ahead of release.

But Volition isn't too bothered about piracy. "I don't think [piracy] is something at the forefront for us," he said. "First and foremost, we want to make sure we're making a game people would want to pirate. Let's make a game that's worth stealing, and then we'll worry about making sure they don't."