Will consoles ever get AAA space combat game?

The last time consoles got any AAA ones - so not only well-received but also with a lot of publicity and good sales - was between 2000 and 2003:

Colony Wars: Red Sun in 2000 for the PS1

Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (which I happen to own for my GameCube) in 2001

and its sequel Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike in 2003...

After that, the genre on the consoles had become all but dead.

The only 3 space combat / sim games last gen received on consoles were fairly niche titles on Xbox 360:

Star Trek Legacy in 2006, PC/360 multiplat (its 360 version got decent 7.2/10 on GS, and I happened to play it briefly)

Project Sylpheed - a 360 exclusive made by some Japanese studio and published by Square Enix / Microsoft Game Studios - a space combat game which apparently sold quite well in Japan (but not outside of it), that was also 2006 (and 2007 rest of the world)

and a 4 year old port of a PC game that wasn't even a big commercial success in the first place, DarkStar One (but the game itself is apparently decent, I've played it briefly on my PC back in the day)

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Personally, I want 'em back! Colony Wars was as much console-defining as far as PS1 was concerned as Resident Evil, Gran Turismo, Wipeout, Tekken 3 or Formula 1 '97!

But we will probably never see any of these games ever again. There won't even be any port of a PC game of such kind, let alone something console-exclusive.

There's not really a demand for them these days, probably not since star wars games. there's not really a huge demand on PC either as far as I know

no market on consoles

Probably not and that's what I keep my PC for.

Its not Call of Duty or Battlefield so nope, no interest there

Lol at best we'd get space shooting sections like in Halo: Reach or Halo 4.

Out of interest, has PC gotten any awesome ones in the past decade or so? I've only really played X Wing and Tie FIghter :P

looks like the kind of game meant to just goof off with non-gaming friends and family

It has had somewhat of a resurgence lately, quite a few indie space shooters came out last year and there's many more coming.

There's not much demand for these games anymore. And even if a good X-Wing-esque game came out, it will not live up to the reviewing standards of games these days. Games nowadays must be more than just a cockpit/3rd person flying and shooting game

Coolio. I'll try find some to check out.

That's not quite true. Games like Ace Combat Assault Horizon (2011) managed good to great reviews.

I do agree it couldn't just ape what games from 10 - 15 years did though.

Wasn't there a new space indie game that got popular with kickstarter?

Forgot the name, but looked awesome

too bad there is no market for those games anymore.

i basically have to rely on people modding old games to get my space-y fix.

it is pretty sweet that there is a dedicated fanbase that keep ramping up freespace 2 and the like and producing new content year after year.

also for you guys that have not discovered space rangers 2 yet get your shit in gear and buy it.

it can't be more than a few bucks by now.

Star Citizen? That's not coming to consoles.

I think it's another one of those genres that developers have just decided nobody wants anymore even though there's clearly some demand for them. A Star Wars one could easily sell well on consoles, you've got the easy marketing because it's a Star Wars game and it would look pretty amazing too.

Controller's suck for first person view space flight sims IMO.

Nothing like holding an actual flight stick. I still remember the one I had in the 90's for me PC.

Star Citizen's record breaking kickstarter has shown that interest is still there. Apparently there's still hope with Strike Suit Zero headed for consoles, but that's an indy title and I'm not crazy about the basically gundam-esque quality of it.

Sony and MS need to embrace more PC specific genres. Release a first party k/m setup and flight stick.

Unless DICE's Star Wars Battlefront gets AAA and keeps the Space Combat, I don't see it ever happening.

When will the PC get one that isn't 10 years old?

Star Citizen is not proven... already late.... and has ridiculous requirements (obviously unoptimized, but I BET it won't go down much, if at all).

I don't think Space Sims are going to work properly on controller . Will have to be greatly downgraded to a level when it'll feel aracdy .

Star Citizen DFM is going to be revealed tonight , will be live streamed . Episode 1 of Single Player campaign is targeting Q4 2014 release and Full release of it is going to take place Q2 2015 along with the release of final Beta of Star Citizen itself .

Why is that exactly? It just seems like the kind of thing that people would go for. Flying through space blowing shit up, what's not to like? That kind of stuff is popular enough in movies, so why is there so little interest with regard to games?

It's not an interesting, or in demand type of game. Best left on pc

But last good ones on PC are also from the early 2000's.

Has Space combat ever been popular in the recent years? IIRC, those games often see the purchase of peripherals to construct a virtual cockpit as the optimal experience.

X3, thats all you ever need.

Yes Star Citizen.

Looks very promising.

I don't believe it for a second tbh.

Wasn't the dog fighting already revealed on a stream? when will we be able to try it? or is this about revealing the "playable" build?

What time?

I dont think they would sell that well on consoles.

Too much thinking involved for consolites.

Same goes for strategy games

I don't think so. The audience is not there.

@MonsieurX: too much begging for pc panhandlers.

I don't get the point with this thread,butthurtdone74

People saying that there isnt enough demand on consoles need to remember the reaction from console gamers to the No Mans Sky trailer.

Probably not anytime soon, but you just reminded me how amazing Rogue Squadron looked back in the day. I wonder how good an HD remake (not just port) of it would look.

Nope, Factor 5 is dead and sims like X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter and Wing Commander are too complicated for console gamers. I'm just hoping that Star Citizen revitalizes the genre on the PC.

@Salt_The_Fries:

Check out Strike Suit Zero. It's more or less what you're looking for, but it also heavily involves mecha, so it's kind of like a cross between X-wing and Gundam.

As @Cloud_imperium already said the DFM for star citizen will be revealed at PAX East and via live stream later tonight (or 1 AM GMT). Here is a link to the stream for anyone who is interested.

@MBirdy88:

Star Citizen is anything but late, it's only been in full development for just over a year. They are actually still building the staff levels (around 237 people in Studio's in Mexico, USA, Canada and UK working on the game at the last count)

They didn't release the DFM alpha in December because Chris Roberts is a perfectionist and would not put out a bug ridden mess (typical early alpha code). Instead he held it back for C.I.G. to build their own Netcode infrastructure and PvP game modes. In other words he didn't think the early build in December was fun.

Tonight's reveal at PAX East is the first showing of a playable build, they have around 2000 backers coming along to a live event. Hopefully we'll get the DFM in the next couple of weeks.

@MBirdy88:

This ^^

And DFM will be ready for download within 3-10 days after this reveal for players . Squadron 42 (Standalone , Story driven Single Player Campaign) is coming out in Q2 2015 (full version) . Before full release , it will be released episodically to backers . It contains 50 missions + intro , much like Wing Commander , story is affected by decisions you make throughout your journey .

Frankly , I don't care when Star Citizen is about to be completed . They can take as much time as they want . I (among a lot of others) is much more excited about Squadron 42 , which is gateway to Star Citizen for me . It is also prequel to Star Citizen , so it makes perfect sense to play it first . Those who will complete it before Star Citizen release , will get bonuses in PU .

Citizenship is not a right, it must be earned

or forged

@GarGx1: Dude ... Elite Dangerous development was started BEFORE 2008 . Star Citizen development began in late 2011 . Elite Dangerous alpha was 300+ dollars for backers and now it is 100+ dollars for new comers . Star Citizen is most cheapest AAA title out there . It have two games , a single player game and open world MMO . You can get both of them only for 30 bucks and take part in alpha of both games for 40 bucks . Visuals are also leagues ahead of Elite Dangerous and Lore of the universe + orchestral soundtrack is nothing but epic . It is amazing , how far they've come within an year and half of full production .

For me it is very impressive . Also keep in mind that , releasing DFM on existing Cry Engine netcode could waste resources , so I'm glad that they delayed DFM to have proper back end for multiplayer . Game industry needs same kind of approach to make better games , instead of pulling another BF4 .

Best space combat game of all time is a console exclusive (Star Fox 64)

@Salt_The_Fries: Colony Wars was the shit. Psygnosis is dead unfortunately. I can still remember when they flew me out to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho to preview their Pro 18 World Tour Golf game some many years ago. Got to stay in a very nice hotel and play on the Coeur D'Alene golf course. I miss those days. G-Police was also a great game. Seems we'll have to wait for Star Citizen before we get another great space adventure.

The sim community likes peripherals. I know I wouldn't want to play Star Citizen without a great joystick. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Halo Reach, bam!

X Series ( latest iteration aside that is ) especially terran conflict ,Elite dangerous and eve online

i hope so. i think the controllers are good enough for a decent space combat game in the same vein as freelancer.

honestly, if ms/sony/nintendo had a really top notch exclusive space combat sim - i'd give their console very serious consideration.

@MonsieurX: b-b-but wow won goty in '04.

BAHAHAHA!

The SC DFM stream has been delayed for a bit but it should start soon. Here is a link to the stream.

Officially stuck in a loop,butthurtdone74

I thought Starhawk was decent.