RPGVault has posted Developer Roundtable #5 on the subject of developing CRPGs on both PCs and consoles. Since it's very likely that Fallout 3 will be developed crossplatformy, I figured it was pretty relevant. Here's what Raphael Colantonio of Arkane Studios says on the subject:
The first one is a matter of audience. I certainly don't want to trigger a 'definition of RPG' war, but I would think that the RPG culture on console is very different from the one on PC. In addition, the PC players tend to be more hardcore and demanding in terms of depth. So, the type of RPG must suit both audience segments, which is a fairly tough challenge and will require specific attention and adaptations according to the platforms; for example, PC gamers would kill you if you dare offering them save points instead of unlimited save games. Another example is that console players are probably used to a faster rhythm than their PC counterparts; there must be something new every two seconds. And PC players are more prepared to dealing with more complex controls than console players.
The second point is that the technologies are never quite on pair between PC and consoles, nor do they base their strengths on the same points. Consoles tend to concentrate their efforts on rendering power, while PCs have lots of
RAM and storage capacity (A LOT MORE RAM), so the ways to program for the two types of machines are not the same at all. And perhaps most of all, one must make sure that the cross-platform game doesn't requires too much RAM. Otherwise, the console simply won't be able to handle it. So, this also means that you have to adapt your gameplay fundamentals on the PC to deal with it.
Now, everyone try to imagine how Fallout's combat would work with an eight button console controller instead of a mouse and keyboard.
