A new Rollercoaster Tycoon is coming to mobile and PC . This may or may not be a good thing. I've got my concerns , largely based on the type of games Atari are interested in (as revealed in a recent revenue report ). But, as unappealing as the mobile version's trailer looked, we don't yet know any solid details about the PC release.
Now, Atari have at least confirmed that mobile and PC versions will be distinctly different. "We can't share that much, but [PC] will definitely be a completely different game," Anthony Chien, Atari's senior director of marketing, said in an interview with Digital Spy .
"There's a lot of diehard RC fans that want a PC experience, they want all different sorts of things," Chien continued.
"It's trying to deliver as much as we can. First is the mobile version, then it's the PC experience. I think a lot of people are vocal about wanting to see the PC version first before the mobile, but our strategy is mobile first."
The mobile version won't be free-to-play, but will still utilise some of those systems. In particular, an energy mechanic, in which the player will have to pay in-game currency to alleviate the wait for new rides and attractions. For reference, our microtransaction round-up positioned energy bar systems as one of the most unpleasant ways to disadvantage players.
We don't yet know how "completely different" the PC game will be, but do know that it's billed as an "online multiplayer experience". Atari have at least confirmed that it won't be using Facebook as its platform.
The RCT4 saga gets stranger in regards to who's working on the games. According to Pocket Tactics , Atari claimed that series' creator Chris Sawyer was part of the production team - a statement that's corroborated by Digital Spy's interview. Weirdly, though, Sawyer responded to PT's questioning by saying, "I have no involvement with the creation of Atari's newly announced RCT games," which sounds like a pretty definitive declaration.
