PCG: Why this new direction?

JC: I would say that there is this sense of trying to figure out what to do with PC gaming. Historically, id Software has been a PC gaming company, with consoles a secondary business that happened later. And even though the PC doesn't get the focus that it used to, in many ways our hearts are still there, and we'd like to do things where the PC is the appropriate platform. [We'd like to] do something that really speaks to the future of where the PC can be superior to consoles.

Obviously, we have examples like World of Warcraft that show how the PC can be viable and vibrant in its own way. But in terms of first-person shooters, if you look at something like Crysis and say that's the height of what the PC market can manage, I don't think that's necessarily that exciting of a direction for the PC to be going in the future. With Quake Live, we hope that there's an opportunity for people who've never played shooters to give this a try, and with that, the potential of actually growing the PC gaming market. I still have a lot of a faith in simple gameplay formulas - it might not be the game that everyone plays for three hours a day to be the best at, but it's something that offices, dorms, and schools across America can have fun with.