Red Dead Redemption 2 was finally released for PC earlier this month, nearly a year after it was first released for PS4 and Xbox One. It has had a rough launch, but a few patches and fan mods will turn it into the best way to play RDR2. But while most of Rockstar’s recent games have found their way to PC, eventually, there are still a few games that are missing PC ports.
Red Dead Redemption
Released For Xbox 360, PS3 | 2010
The big one. Of all the games that Rockstar has never released on PC, this is easily the most bizarre and frustrating. I can only imagine what a proper PC port of RDR would look like. Then I imagine the mods and I weep that we still don’t have this game on PC. Maybe one day fans will take RDR2 and mod in the RDR1 campaign. But they shouldn’t have to do that. Come on Rockstar, fix this wrong and bring John Marston to PC.
Red Dead Revolver
Released For PS2 and Xbox | 2004
The original Red Dead also deserves to make the leap to PC too. Sure, it was ported to PS4, but I want a full-on PC port. I feel like a lot of folks haven’t played Revolver. Which is a shame. It might not be as big or epic as RDR1 or 2, but it has its own charm and also was the origin of stuff like Dead Eye.
Midnight Club 3
Released For PS2, Xbox, PSP | 2006
The Midnight Club series has always seemed like the red-headed stepchild of Rockstar franchises. Even after multiple releases on various platforms, it never seems to be a series Rockstar is heavily invested in. The first game only came to PS2. The second game, however, came to Xbox and PC too. But then Midnight Club 3 and its follow up, Midnight Club LA, skipped PC again. Over a decade later it seems Midnight Club 3 and LA are both stranded on old consoles. And the series doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon.
The Warriors
Released For PS2, Xbox | 2005
It might seem wild, but The Warriors is one of Rockstar’s best PS2-era games. Its fighting system is still fun to go back to all these years later and the attention to detail Rockstar included made it clear they REALLY loved the original film. The Warriors is also a strange game. It’s a licensed game based on a cult classic film from the 70s. And The Warriors is also not on PC. It has been ported, like Red Dead Revolver, to PS4. So there is an easy way to play it in 2019. But a PC port would be wonderful and would help expose this game to a bunch of people who might have skipped it a decade and a half ago.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Released For PSP, Nintendo DS, Phones | 2009 (ios 2010, Android 2014)
I love Chinatown Wars and I hate that over 10 years after it first came out, there isn’t a great and easy way to play this game on my computer. I’ve tried Android emulators using the copy I bought back in 2014. They just don’t cut it. I know folks have emulated the PSP version on PC, but that never looks good enough. I want a true PC port of Chinatown Wars. The game is great, a return to the classic GTA top-down style, but using new tech and gameplay innovations. And the drug dealing system is almost its own separate and equally fun game. It is wrong that this damn game is stuck on phones and handheld consoles only.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories & Vice City Stories
Released For PSP, PS2, Mobile Phones | LCS– 2005, Phones 2016 | VCS 2006
It is strange that these two GTA games never made the leap to PC. All other 3D era games, like San Andreas, made the leap to PC. And even the newer GTA games, eventually, got PC ports. But these two games, both side stories that reuse assets and maps from Vice City and GTA III, seem to have been forgotten. In the case of Vice City Stories, it seems like Rockstar has truly forgotten about it. While Liberty Cities Stories eventually was ported to phones in 2016, VCS has yet to even make it to mobile phones. So it seems unlikely either will show up on PC anytime soon.
Thrasher: Skate And Destroy
Released For PS1 | 1999
This is a pipe dream, but I think it would be cool to get this game officially released for anything beyond its original PlayStation 1 release. It was a different take on the skateboarding game, which had been popularized by the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. It was grittier. Harder. Bloodier. It wasn’t as popular or fun as THPS, but it would be nice to see it return on GOG.com or Steam. Until then you can always emulate Thrasher.
There are probably a bunch of different reasons for these games never getting ported to PC. Lack of fan interest, too expensive, too much work, etc. But maybe, just maybe, some of these games will get the PC ports they deserve. Freeing games like Chinatown Wars and Red Dead Redemption 1 from old consoles is a great way to better preserve them and to allow fans to even improve them, making them better to go back to all these years later.