Are You Put Off PC Gaming...

[thom_cat_]

Just use steam and it'll tell you if your game can't run on your computer...
Consoles are just low end PC's. Like the 360 is a cut down computer.
And console gamers are getting the shit ripped out of them with game prices.
You don't get custom content either

 

[9of9]

I'm curious. "I can't afford upgrading every year..." where does this come from? Is there a government mandate requirement that states that, if you have a gaming PC, you are obliged to keep it up-to-date every year or else face a fine (jail sentence?)?

At any rate, looking at this practically, the only reason, I believe, to upgrade a PC for the past... what, two? Three years? Has been Crysis. There really haven't been any games at all since then that have pushed the graphics on PCs beyond that since.

Moreover, as most games do indeed get ported across the X360 and PS3, as well as getting released on the PC... I'm pretty sure that pretty much any computer from three years ago that was state of the art then, can play pretty much any cross-platform releases that come out now at least at the same quality as a console.

Probably my main reason why I've never seen much point to owning a console is because there's just never enough console-exclusive titles that I care about. Everything I want to buy, for the most part, I can play on the PC with better controls and better resolution.

Recently, I've found myself in the position to get a free PS3 with backwards compatibility, so I've been enjoying that. I got myself Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet and Guitar Hero: World Tour, which I'm quite fond of. But I haven't actually bought anything else for it for the past six months, there are very few console exclusives that actually seem worth playing - the ones you do get, tend to be incredibly generic or excessively violent shooters like Killzone or Gears of War, which I'm frankly getting incredibly bored of. Probably the only reason I see at the moment to have a console, aside from the Team ICO games, is Heavy Rain coming out 2010.

 

[masterjiji]

Neverwinter Nights 1, don't know about the second one, and Supreme Commander. but dont let your computer fall asleep on Supreme commander, or it will wig out and youll have to remove the battery. least, thats what it did to my vista laptop!

 

[Jandau]

I want to make it clear that I am coming from the angle of someone who is not a PC gamer, someone who doesn't care about PC gaming, someone who only wants the occasional PC game.

Yes, I got that impression. However, that doesn't change anything I said. PC gaming is neither particularly expensive nor complicated if you know what you're doing. If you don't know, then consoles are a safer bet. However, I'd think that today most people would have to know computer basics simply for work and such...

1) Many times there is a problem with the game itself. And the fact is, there are so many things that must be required to run a game that soon it becomes tiresome to bother getting them in place.

Specify? I install games, they work. Every few months I roll on down to NVIDIA's webpage and get new drivers. Once a week I clean out my computer of trash and run a virus/spyware check. Keeping a PC in good working order is not particularly time consuming and I've been doing it since I was 12 years old. What is it that poses a problem to you?

2) It was a family computer, something that wasn't designed with gaming in mind. And this brings me back to my point - I don't want to spend money on things to upgrade my computer to run games that need stupidly high end computers to run

Family computer or not, what I said still stands. It was likely overpriced (or perhaps really cheap). As for not wnating to upgrade your computer, that's like saying you want to play Killzone 2 on your PSX. If you don't have a computer capable of running games, you won't run games, just like need a current gen console to run current gen console games. I'm not quite sure what your complaint is here...

3) Yet again, I honestly can't be bothered to spend hours configuring my computer to run the game. That is a chore, gaming is/should be fun. I WANT the simplicity of being able to play a fantastic game at any time, and I don't have much technical knowledge, and I'll admit that.

What hours?

There is no chore. I'm sorry you have trouble with PC operation. As I said, stick to consoles. Your question was if we were put off by PC gaming's complexity and price. My answer is that there isn't a price problem unless you create one and there isn't any complexity if you posess basic knowledge. If you don't, then go with a console.

Personally, I can't justify the price of a console to myself. I need a PC anyway for work and such, so spending additional money just to be able to run a few exclusive games seems like a waste to me. I've been playing around with computers my whole life and have learned enough to maintain one in good working order with minimal effort, so I don't see it as a "chore".

I understand where you're coming from. You have a PC and want to play PC games on it, but they don't work because your PC is crap. But you can't really blame the PC just like you couldn't blame a PSX for not being able to run PS3 games...

 

[fix-the-spade]

If I did happen to get Half Life, GMod, Counter Strike, etc., is it difficult to run Half-Life? Because my dad has a newer computer, and I was hoping to start playing Half-Life on it, but I wanted to know if it's going to be a *****.

Gmod is a source Engine game, so it might be hard to run on old ahrdware, on newer computers it should be fine.

Half Life 1/Counter Strike/Team Fortress Classic/ Day of Defeat all run on the Quake engine, which is about as well established and stable as you can possibly get.

Getting them to run smoothly shouldn't be hard on any computer.

 

[Jirlond]

Im all for the too much cost - not enough lifespan criteria.

Im pretty much like this guy:

Consoles have a much longer lifespan and are competing with pcs on many of the brand pc games i.e. team fortress, COD.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

... because of the incredibly high costs? Or the fact that there's a chance that a game wont be able to work on your system? Because I sure as hell am.

I'm honestly scared to buy any PC games because of the fact that it wont work on my PC. I have a year old Vista (not a great start) which is already starting to look slow on the Sims 2, let alone 3 or any other game. Unless you're a PC gamer with a properly equipped computer, chances are most games wont run very well, if not at all.

The fact is, console gaming is safe - you know where you're at, and that with a slight performance and graphics reduction it will work 100% - unless there's a lazy developer, but that's beside the point.

Also, as a slight side note, can someone reccomend some good games that will run on lower-end PCs - I really want to play games on my PC, I just don't have the money!

Are you put off by Console gameing...
... because of the incredibly high costs? Or the fact that there's a chance that a game that you might not be able to run in the next generation or it gets damaged and you have to buy it again? Because I sure as hell am.

I'm honestly scared to buy any Console games because of the fact that it costs too much. Sure console gaming is safe, but only for the current generation, but you pay through the teeth for games.

The fact is, I can buy two new PC games for the cost of one Console game. Also, as far as replayability goes, PC games have mods and multiplayer elements that Consoles are still lagging behind a fair way.

/end role reversal
Do like what I did there?
PC gaming has a lot of misnomers.

Cost being the biggest one. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to buy a new computer every two/three years. Upgrades only need to be done one every three or four years and if your paying more than $300(AUD) then your doing it wrong. The biggest problem with cost is you need to not buy a pre-build computer and you need to have an idea of what you are talking about OR know somebody who does.

Game crashes still happen but it is very game dependant. These things are getting better. The only game I have that still does this is L4D which is recieving a backlash for this exact reason. Basic computer literacy negates the rest.

Will the game run on your system? Easy question, easy answer. Know your computers three basic stats; CPU, memory, graphics card. Then, when your go buy the game, check the back of the box. Is your comp stats better than the minimum system requirements?

I payed $2000 (AUD) for my current system this year. It is an I7 set up for easy upgrades in the years to come. It will only require one memory upgrade and one graphics card upgrade (I intend to spend no more than $600) and it will not require replacement for at least seven years. PC games cost on average $60 (new and old, mostly through steam). Compare that cost with a console system costs over the next seven years. A tie or PC win?

 

[Pellucid]

You can build a PC that will run any game that's out or that will come out in the next year for about 350 bucks American.

 

[IamQ]

I perfer console controlls.

 

[freiheit]

I'm getting put off by the game crashing and unsolved issues and the fact that well... They seem to mostly be un-interresting unless you're into RTS or FPS... Which I'm not that much, or at least not so much that I wouldn't be satisfied with what I already have on console.

I have to say though, system requirements was never much of a big issue. Do downgrade to windows XP, if your computer isn't all that great to start with, vista will make it significantly worst, it takes a LOT of juice. If you bought vista and don't have xp, you should be aware that you're allowed to downgrade, just call them and make the arrangements if you want to be legit, or simply get someone else to instal it for you if you're in a hurry because they are a bit slow at it and more or less willing.

 

[AbuFace]

I'm seeing two recurring themes that people cite as reasons for getting put off of PC gaming: Cost and Tech Knowledge

Cost: This is misnomer that is exacerbated by companies such as alienware and Dell (yes, I know Dell owns AW). Alienware markets decent gaming systems at incredibly inflated prices, and Dell releases 'normal' PCs with horribly crippled graphics. If you buy the individual PC parts from places like newegg.com or zipzoomfly.com, you can get a solid PC gaming tower for around $600 (not including the monitor/speakers/mouse/keyboard - those components don't need to be upgraded every time.)
Back in May, Tom's hardware did a system builder marathon and put together a PC and ran it through several benchmarks [http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2310.html] The result was a PC that could handle even juggernaut titles like Crysis and Far Cry 2 rather well. Some mild overclocking pushed performance up 20% further still. The cost of this machine? $600
Another thing often mentioned is the "constant upgrading", which is completely false. Yes, if you want to run everything at maximum graphics all the time, you will be upgrading fairly often, but most people are ok with turning a setting or two down to "medium" when needed. A good video card can last 2-4 years before it needs to be upgrading, and even longer for other components. If you still think PCs are too expensive, keep in mind the myriad of other things PCs can do, such as browse this very forum and read this very post.

Tech knowledge requirement: Computers are often seen as intimidating beasts, powered by the tears of frustrated users and magic. Really, this is just fear of the unknown - basic hardware knowledge is not that tough at all. Software knowledge can be a little more tricky, as that's what users directly interact with on a computer so it's more important to be capable with software rather than the hardware. A lot of people in this thread have mentioned having to fiddle with hours on their computers to fix glitches and bugs and crashes and who knows what else. This probably isn't so much as there being a big problem with peoples' computers as it is users just not knowing how to fix them. I'm a pretty savvy PC user and I haven't had any game mysteriously not work that didn't take me more than ~15 minutes to figure out.
Now, if you're just not interested in learning about PC hardware/software but still want to game on a PC, there are lots of places on the web where you can ask for advice. I'm sure there are many users on the Escapist who wouldn't mind giving some advice or answering questions, such as myself. I love talking about PCs =D


PCs by nature offer a level of flexibility and content control that just doesn't exist on the consoles. This is most easily seen through the plethora of user-created content, such as mods and skins for various games. Another strong example is the console, where you can change variables used by the game engine to achieve amusing results. For example, have you ever tried having 150 zombie hordes in L4D? Made a spell in Oblivion that paralyzed everyone in 400 meters, or increased your speed by 7000? Or better yet, used the console to spawn a critical NPC that had gone missing, so you can continue with the game? I love having these options open to me, so I will almost always prefer to game on the PC. The only game that has ever been released on both console and PC that I opted for the console version was halo, because the PC port was pretty terrible.

Of course, if you prefer the feel of a control in your hand, your couch on your back and the TV across the room, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't ask everyone to accept and love PC gaming, I just ask that you don't dismiss PC gaming for reasons that are based on public opinion rather than fact.

 

[Gerazzi]

If you know what ypour system's like then you don't need to take chances with games working. And incredibly high costs? Not really. I've had this PC for about 2 years and it was under £500. Games are cheaper than console ones too.

So don't be put off.

Try Diablo II.

This, Diablo II is a masterpiece.

I use my other computer for gaming.
Fallout 3 runs like a dream on the thing.

If you make your own computer the cost isn't nearly as much.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Its control scheme and the fact that I've wasted around 150 in games that won't work on my comp. So Xbox for now.

 

[Tyranicus]

I just wish you unwashed console masses(quoting yahtzee)would realize that you wouldn't have consoles if it wasnt for the microprocessor.

 

[Renset]

I agree with the original poster compleatly. I'd love to play more games on my computer, but simply don't trust that they would run to the same performance that they would if I bought them for a console.

This is the same reasoning that my friends have, so even if I was to upgrade my computer, and use it as my main gaming system, I would be unable to play with them, which is alot of my reason for playing games anyway.