Last week, Rockstar Games officially announced that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released in autumn 2017, without any information on a PC version. However, Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, believes that the PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 will come eventually as part of Rockstar's "brilliant marketing."
No Announcement For A PC Version Yet
The hype for the sequel of Rockstar Games' open world Red Dead Redemption resurfaced last Oct. 20 after Rockstar released the official trailer of its sequel. The tweet, shown below, stated that the game will be available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Watch the Trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2, coming Fall 2017 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems. #RDR2 pic.twitter.com/ghKbEIJSqa
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) October 20, 2016
The lack of a PC version for Red Dead Redemption 2 harbored negative feedbacks from PC gamers and caused an ongoing petition signed by over 10,000 players. After all, PC gamers still are spiteful since the original Dead Redemption never had a PC version too.
In an interview with GamingBolt , Michael Pachter stated that "the keyword here are right now," referring to the announcement of Red Dead Redemption 2, which said that there is no PC version arriving "right now."
Rockstar's Marketing Strategy
In his statement, Pachter used GTA 5 as an example, as it was released for different consoles in different periods of time. He recalled that it was initially announced for the PS3 and the Xbox 360, then ported to the PS4 and Xbox One in June 2014, two years after its initial release. The PC version of the game only came out in 2015, several months after being ported to the fourth-generation consoles.
Pachter said that Rockstar's method of "bleeding out information about their games" works. He said that the announcement is a diversion being made to direct the conversations to them. He said that this strategy is brilliant because it actually works.
"This announcement, for instance, coming the week Battlefield is launching, and then the trailer coming the week before Titanfall 2 launches... I think they'll have another trailer around when Call of Duty launches, because they want to dominate the headlines. They are brilliant marketers, and they're right. Here we are, you know talking about Red Dead Redemption 2, which is coming out in a year, and not talking about all the games that are coming out this week. So, they're smart."
Whether or not Pachter's opinion on Rockstar's marketing strategy is true, Rockstar Games has shown that delaying multiple console versions is a good tactic. Remember how GTA V earned more after having a PC version and an Online feature?
Wait For What's To Come
Last Oct. 20, PlayStation announced its partnership with Rockstar in the creation of Red Dead Redemption 2. John Koller, Vice President of PlayStation Brand Marketing, said that "Hand crafted to take full advantage of PS4, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America's unforgiving heartland. The game's vast and atmospheric world will also provide the foundation for a brand new online multiplayer experience." This partnership granted the PS4 players exclusive rights to early access upon the game's release.
Even though PC gamers are still on the edge of their seats for further announcements, it is comforting enough that Red Dead Redemption 2 will happen, and that Rockstar Games will continue one of the best open world games.
