PC crowd "more open" to weird games
Than 360 owners, says Zeno Clash dev.
Zeno Clash developer ACE Team believes PC owners are "more open" to weird game concepts.
Speaking to Eurogamer, co-founder Carlos Bordeu said that may have been the reason Zeno Clash struggled on Xbox Live Arcade.
"I don't know whether it was because most people had already played Zeno Clash on PC, or that the console game launched a year later, but we definitely had much stronger sales on PC than on Xbox 360," Bordeu revealed. "It hasn't sold nearly as well."
"Zeno Clash was definitely weirder than most games, and it would be absurd to think that didn't put-off some people.
"PC players are maybe more open to trying weird games - games that aren't so mass market," he added. "But I don't know that I'd put it as harshly as PC gamers are smart and console gamers are stupid."
Bordeu accidentally let slip that "maybe we might get a nice surprise later this year when we might have some sort of price promotion [for Zeno Clash on XBLA]". Maybe I shouldn't be saying that," he quickly added, "as it's not confirmed."
He went on to point out that Zeno Clash had "extremely good" sales in Russia, where everybody is mad.
Zeno Clash is a brutal first-person brawler that caught attention for its strikingly original world, where trees, bushes and architecture bulge with Gaudi-like charm - not to mention its unusual cast lead by hermaphroditic central character Father-Mother. The game remains a staggering achievement for a team with a core of four (and at most seven contributors).
The original PC release of Zeno Clash happened in April 2009. The game was enhanced with co-op among other things for Xbox Live Arcade a year later. Dan Pearson assessed the PC game and Christian Donlan appraised the XBLA version.
Chilean dev ACE Team is currently hard at work on Rock of Ages, a tower defence-style game that involves rolling a boulder around a map trying to destroy rival settlements. More on that, plus the status of Zeno Clash 2, later.
