> first examples I am aware of are 2003: Deus-ex Invisible War and 2004: Thief - Deadly Shadows, where the PC port is deliberately gimped due to being developed

> first examples I am aware of are 2003: Deus-ex Invisible War and 2004: Thief - Deadly Shadows, where the PC port is deliberately gimped due to being developed for console IIRC the first "Watch Dogs" game had deliberately downgraded graphics on PC compared to the previews and it was later found that changing a value in some config file would not only return the better looks but also lead to a boost in performance.