Was Red Dead Redemption’s Potential PC Transition A Mistake?

The Red Dead franchise, a series of Western action-adventure games, made quite splash as one of Rockstar Game’s most successful titles in 2010. 

With a total of 2 games based around the outlaw protagonist, John Marston, players fight to rescue Marston’s family after the government takes them hostage. This crude attempt at justice requires you bring down your old gang members in exchange for the safety of your wife and children. 

After 4 years the sequel to the franchise, Red Dead Redemption, has been released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the game has recently appeared on the Windows Compatibility Center with a listing indicating “PC.”

What is the Windows Compatibility Center?

Microsoft’s creation of the Windows Compatibility Center puts the power in the hand of the users. Essentially, the Compatibility Center is a hefty official list of the most popular apps and devices and their hardware compatibility.

Anyone can access this list and consequently vote positively or negatively whether the app or device will function correctly on the different versions of Windows. The products are selected solely by Microsoft, while the viewers get to decide at his/her own discretion. 

So, Red Dead Redemption showed up on the list?

Not only did the title make it to the tally, but was obviously listed as a PC video game. 

Could it have been a mistake?

There’s a considerable chance that reviving a 4 year old game via PC is a dream that most game developers and publishers would laugh at. There’s no real, identifying reason to move the game to PC, especially after such a vast gap of inactivity. 

Some may even argue that the game did not have a big enough impact to be revisited in the first place. 

On the other hand, it actually does make a bit of sense…

A convenient aspect of the controversy is that Take-Two Interactive, the Red Dead Redemption‘s distributor, is scheduled to release the financial results of the game tonight.

Going hand in hand with the financial information release, Rockstar Games is also holding a financial call tomorrow. 

In 2012, the Red Dead franchise has sold over 13 million units including the standalone add-on Undead Nightmare. That kind of success could be reason enough to move the Western adventure to the PC. 

Important to note is that Rockstar is following a PC transition trend, moving Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3 to PC, with a lot of public speculation centered around GTAV making the evolution as well. 

It seems that Rockstar Games knows exactly what its doing regarding PC progression, which makes all signs point to Red Dead Redemption‘s listing being a highly intentional marketing move.