Tribes: Ascend has been tearing up the free to play scene on PC for the last few months, leaving console gamers curious if they would get a taste of the fast-paced action on their preferred platforms. Unfortunately, the short answer is no; Tribes: Ascend won't be coming to console in the foreseeable future.
In an interview with Gamasutra, Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris explained that while the game was initially going to be multi-platform, once Hi-Rez opted for a free to play business model, that changed things dramatically. Free to play on console is nothing like free to play on PC. On PC, the microtransaction-fueled game economy can be implemented without much to-do but doing the same on home consoles is not quite so simple.
With a team of just 15 designers and developers dedicated to Tribes: Ascend, doing an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of Tribes: Ascend just wasn't in the cards at this time.
"We do not have any plans for Tribes on console at this time," said Harris. "The way it went is that we wanted to do the free-to-play model, and there wasn't a clear path to that on consoles early on. Based on that, we optimized the game around the strengths of the PC, and specifically a keyboard and mouse control. Once we decided it'd only be on the PC, we optimized around speed, a quick turn radius, and things that are optimized for PC game controls."
So, alas, if you're an avid console gamer looking to get some Tribes: Ascend action, you'll just have to dust off your mouse and keyboard and check it out on PC. Trust us, it's worth it. Whether you're a console junkie or a PC supremacist, jump on over to our Tribes: Ascend forums to discuss the game!
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