PC Support Dropped

I can understand not launching Battlegrounds on PC and AppleTV, the gameplay mechanics are definitely hard if not impossible to make work on those platforms, but what I don't understand is - why not just let the new characters appear as Toybox-only for the time-being? Particularly in the case of Baloo, who is only Toybox by design!

How is it impossible? Can you explain?

Battlegrounds is primarily geared towards in-person multiplayer. There is no online multiplayer. I suppose the single-player "storyline" and "challenge" modes are possible on those platforms, but the fact that in-person multiplayer is not available on PC or Apple TV kind of rules out the main draw of the playset, doesn't it? There are only five levels in the storyline and I think 25 challenges.

But, this should not preclude the use of the new characters on those platforms.

I agree, which is why I asked JV in January how they would solve the problem. He said BG was coming to AppleTV.

To go along with the budget cut mindset, it's also not as easy as "make them Toy Box only," as the update to play as them would still cost Disney money, as the server space for the update isn't free. It's very possible that the amount of money to put the update out for PC/Mobile/Apple TV wasn't offset by the profit from the figures for those consoles.

I'm in the camp that says Disney really should suck up any loss of profit, (if that really is the reason for dropping mobile), in order to keep support of these platforms at least until the end of 3.0's cycle. To dump on your fans, especially after only a few months (in the case of Apple tv) royally stinks. As for not having the new characters in the toybox on those platforms, there is really no excuse as that is a minimal amount of effort dev wise. In fact, if this years data was unencrypted like 2.0's I would do it myself.

@vynsane "...but the fact that in-person multiplayer is not available on PC or Apple TV..."

Not true. That's only the case on the PC. The Apple TV does in fact support multiplayer. Not only can you play with the standard two-player multiplayer that all other consoles have, but you can actually play with up with three people on the Apple TV system (you can pair two MFi game controllers, plus the Siri remote acts as a controller) so you can play Battlegrounds with up to three people on the Apple TV (if Disney wanted to support it, which clearly they don't).

^ Interesting, my mistake, sorry. I read somewhere that it didn't support multiplayer.

Yeah we just couldn't have 4 players. My family and I had just bought a second controller for Battlegrounds.

I am returning it today.

People don't realize the Apple TV is a console version. It is not iOS. From what I am finding the technology is there. We were just way behind on the bug squashing. It hasn't received an update since December... Which was before most of us got our device (released in October I believe). It's not the Apple TV that is the problem. It might be Apple, DI, or lack of players but not the box.

And we should have known that before BG was released, and definitely before today. Because still no official word other than "Not at this time but we are re-evaluating".

Watch out WiiU... You're next in line.