Misunderstanding PC gaming

[DoPo]

Anyway, you may be unsurprised to hear the client was Games for Windows Live (I had no choice!)

Why am I not surpri...wait

Unrelated to the reply, but in my initial post I forgot to mention my previous computer. Custom built and would spontaneously break down completely every 6 months or so. It's golden moment was when ScanDisk deleted a file it needed to start up.

Hah, last week Windows decided to wipe my whole partition (not the windows one). And I do blame Windows - it detected a problem with the Master File Table for the NTFS on my E: partition (corrupted $UpCase file, if you're curious), then ran chkdsk and wiped the MFT and thus the whole partition. And the only thing I did before any corruption is restart the computer. Somehow Windows managed to power down without properly writing everything back to the disk and thus corrupted it. It's the first time ever I've seen or heard of that happening. Luckily, while I did store important stuff on E: it doesn't get much usage unlike my other two partitions (one being windows and the other one which has my pagefile), so I recovered nearly everything (sans some stuff I didn't really need) thanks to EaseUS Data Recovery - that software is boss, it even managed to restore the directory structure. I don't know how but it managed.

 

[Signa]

Okay, slightly off topic question, but the OP mentioned resolution and it got me thinking. I've never really monkeyed around with resolution and pretty much always used the same one. How taxing is resolution when playing games on PC?

Ideally, you want to use the resolution that is your monitor. However, depending on your hardware, that may be a bad idea. High resolutions are one of the most taxing things you can do to your system. If you don't have the specs for it, it's going to run really slow.

Depending on the game and scenario, stepping down just one notch of your resolution options could bring you an extra 20FPS easily, even if both have the same fidelity settings. Personally, I've got the hardware, so I'm always running 1920x1080. When you're that high, you don't need to impact your FPS with other bells and whistles like 16x Anti-aliasing. AA is good for removing jaggies, but there really aren't any at 1080p.

 

[likalaruku]

New computer + graphics card = Same price as a Wii U (about $350-$430). Some come with cards.

Replace card in 3 years. Replace computer in 6. Less if you're tech savy or only use your compy as a console.

Never buy a PC game new. Wait half a year for a reduce-priced boxed set with included DLC, expansion, & all the bug fixes.

Emulators = PC plays every consoles games.

I play consoles AND PC, but I don't associate consoles with MMOs or user-made mods. To be honest, I have very tiny hands & find gamepads unpleasant & uncomfortable to use for more than an hour. Why can't they make them smaller & make the buttons out of soft rubber?

I guess game library wise, my favorite consoles where the Playstation & the Nintendo DS.

 

[Adon Cabre]

[h4]PC = Cheaper[/h4]
Console gaming is more expensive; but there's always a trade off with PC. While everyone gets to enjoy the brilliant Bioshock Infinite, PC users can't play the more experimental Beyond: Two Souls, or the just as exhilarating Last of Us. So many Journalist sites awarded the Playstation 3 exclusive Journey with "Game of the Year" for a reason.

Your point is moot. Console gamers don't get to play FTL. They don't get to play Crusader Kings or Total War. They get no strategy games. They get no MMO games. They get no management games. They don't get Dota or LoL. They don't get old school RPGs.

Also...no modding on consoles.

[http://gamemuse.net/destiny-bungies-new-fps-unveiled/]​

Current Gen Consoles serve hundreds of classics, go shopping on the PSN, its where I downloaded Final Fantasy VII. Also, most classic purchases that I've made are old console exclusives anyhow.

And as for Console MMO's.

[li]Destiny[/li]
[li]Dust[/li]
[li]Final Fantasy XIV[/li]
[li]Diablo 3[/li]

Those are just the big ones.​

[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-23-final-fantasy-14-a-realm-reborn-out-on-pc-and-ps3-this-august]​

Final Fantasy XIV will be an incredible game now that SE has to meet SONY's standards, unlike EA who just dumped off their sham of a product (SimCity) because they didn't have the oversight of SONY or Microsoft to check their greed.

Not only that, but it was SONY's Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy X that really opened me up to the contrast of narrative styles that gaming could not only perform, but actually nail down to near perfection. There's something about exclusives, a consistent crispness, that really pushed me over the edge.

[HEADING=3]I'm Not a Fanboy of Any Console, or PC[/HEADING]

I'm a fan of the best titles, and the most diverse and quality-type happen to be on the Playstation. You can't help but admire the Last of Us and envy that experience, or even the more experimental Beyond Two Souls -- these titles just look too damn good to pass up!

Crysis 3 "Amazing Graphics,
Boring Execution"​

[h4]What Are We Looking For?[/h4]
I want more than just a beautiful shooter, and awesome indies; I want expensive titles with crisp mechanics, amazing creativity and solid characterization; I want titles where publishers are asked to push the envelope. There's always going to be a Bioshock Infinite, but most 3rd party titles, like the recent Fusion are tossed around the market and ruined by the need to pander to every genre. Team TRICO, Quantum Dream and NaughtyDog do not have that ball-and-chain. SONY wants their exclusives to all be different, and that's what I reward with my $.

I Guess I Am
Missing Out​

Not only that, but most average PC's can handle basic indie titles should the impulse ever hit me, so I really get the best of both worlds. But to go all out PC, and like I said, the trade-off is just too great.

[HEADING=3]Modding[/HEADING]
It's a nice advantage, that is, for people with time on their hands. This is something that I'm jealous of, because I can't add stuff to Fallout 3, but the trade-off of never playing Uncharted, or the upcoming Last of Us just does not suffice.

There's a whole library of awesome games that PC Purists will never experience! Not in this current generation, or in the next one.

all pics have links​

 

[RaikuFA]

Plus if problems do arise online forums and IT assistance from the companies will help you.

Uh, nope, I couldn't play Amnesia and when I contacted Support for both Steam and the devs they both ignored me.

 

[Do4600]

$700 is too high.

I don't know where you get your money but around these parts we work very hard for it. And $700 is just WAY out of my price range.

An Xbox 360 at launch was $300, if you have xbox live and you've had it since launch the total price tag is $790. The costs are comparable one just requires more financial planning.

 

[KungFuJazzHands]

[h4]PC = Cheaper[/h4]
Console gaming is more expensive; but there's always a trade off with PC. While everyone gets to enjoy the brilliant Bioshock Infinite, PC users can't play the more experimental Beyond: Two Souls, or the just as exhilarating Last of Us. So many Journalist sites awarded the Playstation 3 exclusive Journey with "Game of the Year" for a reason.

Your point is moot. Console gamers don't get to play FTL. They don't get to play Crusader Kings or Total War. They get no strategy games. They get no MMO games. They get no management games. They don't get Dota or LoL. They don't get old school RPGs.

Also...no modding on consoles.

[http://gamemuse.net/destiny-bungies-new-fps-unveiled/]​

Current Gen Consoles serve hundreds of classics, go shopping on the PSN, its where I downloaded Final Fantasy VII. Also, most classic purchases that I've made are old console exclusives anyhow.

And as for Console MMO's.

[li]Destiny[/li]
[li]Dust[/li]
[li]Final Fantasy XIV[/li]
[li]Diablo 3[/li]

Those are just the big ones.​

[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-23-final-fantasy-14-a-realm-reborn-out-on-pc-and-ps3-this-august]​

Final Fantasy XIV will be an incredible game now that SE has to meet SONY's standards, unlike EA who just dumped off their sham of a product (SimCity) because they didn't have the oversight of SONY or Microsoft to check their greed.

Not only that, but it was SONY's Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy X that really opened me up to the contrast of narrative styles that gaming could not only perform, but actually nail down to near perfection. There's something about exclusives, a consistent crispness, that really pushed me over the edge.

[HEADING=3]I'm Not a Fanboy of Any Console, or PC[/HEADING]

I'm a fan of the best titles, and the most diverse and quality-type happen to be on the Playstation. You can't help but admire the Last of Us and envy that experience, or even the more experimental Beyond Two Souls -- these titles just look too damn good to pass up!

Crysis 3 "Amazing Graphics,
Boring Execution"​

[h4]What Are We Looking For?[/h4]
I want more than just a beautiful shooter, and awesome indies; I want expensive titles with crisp mechanics, amazing creativity and solid characterization; I want titles where publishers are asked to push the envelope. There's always going to be a Bioshock Infinite, but most 3rd party titles, like the recent Fusion are tossed around the market and ruined by the need to pander to every genre. Team TRICO, Quantum Dream and NaughtyDog do not have that ball-and-chain. SONY wants their exclusives to all be different, and that's what I reward with my $.

I Guess I Am
Missing Out​

Not only that, but most average PC's can handle basic indie titles should the impulse ever hit me, so I really get the best of both worlds. But to go all out PC, and like I said, the trade-off is just too great.

[HEADING=3]Modding[/HEADING]
It's a nice advantage, that is, for people with time on their hands. This is something that I'm jealous of, because I can't add stuff to Fallout 3, but the trade-off of never playing Uncharted, or the upcoming Last of Us just does not suffice.

There's a whole library of awesome games that PC Purists will never experience! Not in this current generation, or in the next one.

all pics have links​

Meh, your point about exclusiveness is still kinda moot. One reason that a lot of us PC Purists are PC Purists is because we have absolutely no interest in all those "awesome" console-exclusive games. I don't care about JRPGs. I don't care about Naughty Dog games. I don't want to play Shadow of the Colossus. I never get the urge to sit down for a round of Tekken Vs. Whatever. My gaming needs are perfectly fulfilled by what the PC can offer.

The same can be said for Console Purists. They've got no interest in strategy games or MMOs. They don't care about FTL. Whatever they're partial to is satisfied by the console market.

My predilection for PC gaming comes down to three personal factors: cost, ease of access, and genre availability. Console gaming offers me none of those, which is why I haven't played a console game in almost ten years, and it's why I will never spend money on consoles and console games.

 

[romxxii]

I recently watched the new zero punctuation about Next gen consoles, and in the comments below the video it seemed like a lot of people didn't understand how PC gaming actually works.
Zero punctuation:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7417-Next-Gen-Buyers-Guide?utm_source=latest&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all

These are the two that i find the most annoying.

1. the cost of a pc is too high and you have to constantly buy new hardware.
- you can buy a pc for $700 and be able to play almost every modern game at highest settings(excluding crysis 3 and games similar to it) with decent resolution plus any retro game, including console games from gamecube, ps1, gba, genesis, snes, nes, n64, etc.
- My computer is only slightly more expensive(add $100) is nearly 2 years old and i can still play farcry 3 at high settings with good framerate.

Ok, this is what I find disingenuous about most of the "cheap PC" apologists: you keep mentioning max settings, without truly qualifying it. Answer me this, if you will:

1) When you say "Max" Settings, what "settings" are included?
a)Do you include Anti-aliasing/Anisotropic Filtering?
b)What about ambient occlusion and tesselation?
2) When you say "good" framerate, do you mean 30fps? Because for a lot of enthusiasts, that's laughable. I myself can't game in anything under 50, and that's pushing it. I'd prefer a consistent 60, but because of my 144Hz monitor, I aim for the hundreds.
3) Speaking of monitor, what's your take on "decent" resolution? Because I game at 1080p, and that's not even the worst: some have 1800x1440 monitors, others have triple-display setups. Are we talking about a dinky 17" monitor that does 1440x900?

 

[Adon Cabre]

[h4]PC = Cheaper[/h4]
Console gaming is more expensive; but there's always a trade off with PC. While everyone gets to enjoy the brilliant Bioshock Infinite, PC users can't play the more experimental Beyond: Two Souls, or the just as exhilarating Last of Us. So many Journalist sites awarded the Playstation 3 exclusive Journey with "Game of the Year" for a reason.

Your point is moot. Console gamers don't get to play FTL. They don't get to play Crusader Kings or Total War. They get no strategy games. They get no MMO games. They get no management games. They don't get Dota or LoL. They don't get old school RPGs.

Also...no modding on consoles.

[http://gamemuse.net/destiny-bungies-new-fps-unveiled/]​

Current Gen Consoles serve hundreds of classics, go shopping on the PSN, its where I downloaded Final Fantasy VII. Also, most classic purchases that I've made are old console exclusives anyhow.

And as for Console MMO's.

[li]Destiny[/li]
[li]Dust[/li]
[li]Final Fantasy XIV[/li]
[li]Diablo 3[/li]

Those are just the big ones.​

[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-23-final-fantasy-14-a-realm-reborn-out-on-pc-and-ps3-this-august]​

Final Fantasy XIV will be an incredible game now that SE has to meet SONY's standards, unlike EA who just dumped off their sham of a product (SimCity) because they didn't have the oversight of SONY or Microsoft to check their greed.

Not only that, but it was SONY's Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy X that really opened me up to the contrast of narrative styles that gaming could not only perform, but actually nail down to near perfection. There's something about exclusives, a consistent crispness, that really pushed me over the edge.

[HEADING=3]I'm Not a Fanboy of Any Console, or PC[/HEADING]

I'm a fan of the best titles, and the most diverse and quality-type happen to be on the Playstation. You can't help but admire the Last of Us and envy that experience, or even the more experimental Beyond Two Souls -- these titles just look too damn good to pass up!

Crysis 3 "Amazing Graphics,
Boring Execution"​

[h4]What Are We Looking For?[/h4]
I want more than just a beautiful shooter, and awesome indies; I want expensive titles with crisp mechanics, amazing creativity and solid characterization; I want titles where publishers are asked to push the envelope. There's always going to be a Bioshock Infinite, but most 3rd party titles, like the recent Fusion are tossed around the market and ruined by the need to pander to every genre. Team TRICO, Quantum Dream and NaughtyDog do not have that ball-and-chain. SONY wants their exclusives to all be different, and that's what I reward with my $.

I Guess I Am
Missing Out​

Not only that, but most average PC's can handle basic indie titles should the impulse ever hit me, so I really get the best of both worlds. But to go all out PC, and like I said, the trade-off is just too great.

[HEADING=3]Modding[/HEADING]
It's a nice advantage, that is, for people with time on their hands. This is something that I'm jealous of, because I can't add stuff to Fallout 3, but the trade-off of never playing Uncharted, or the upcoming Last of Us just does not suffice.

There's a whole library of awesome games that PC Purists will never experience! Not in this current generation, or in the next one.

all pics have links​

Meh, your point about exclusiveness is still kinda moot. One reason that a lot of us PC Purists are PC Purists is because we have absolutely no interest in all those "awesome" console-exclusive games. I don't care about JRPGs. I don't care about Naughty Dog games. I don't want to play Shadow of the Colossus. I never get the urge to sit down for a round of Tekken Vs. Whatever. My gaming needs are perfectly fulfilled by what the PC can offer.

The same can be said for Console Purists. They've got no interest in strategy games or MMOs. They don't care about FTL. Whatever they're partial to is satisfied by the console market.

My predilection for PC gaming comes down to three personal factors: cost, ease of access, and genre availability. Console gaming offers me none of those, which is why I haven't played a console game in almost ten years, and it's why I will never spend money on consoles and console games.

Rev3Games's "Game of
the Year" Video​

[HEADING=1]You're absolutely right[/HEADING]

My own interests verge toward the cinematic Beyond Two Souls and emotional Last of Us titles that are yet to come out. Those are the reason why I chose SONY's Playstation 3 platform. Whether it's Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XII or Uncharted 2, I like a well-rounded, crisp story, and so I'll follow that road with whomever it lies.

"Final Fantasy X Gave Me Control,
After Spinal Surgery Took It Away"
by Tina Amini
​

I want titles that are not only fun, but that convey a human experience in such a way that only this medium can divulge [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEs33aWkX2Q]. Those games, and with the exception of Miyamoto's legacy (Mario), transcend time and teach the next generation the potential for such a craft.

I'm not particularly drawn toward indie, unless it's giving a much more meaningful experience, like Journey. (Speaking of which, I love listening to people who love to speak about their craft [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S684RQHzmGA], it's inspirational, I guess.)

I have never had an interest in strategy games, because those aren't what will sell video games to a generally skeptical public; and MMO's have never peaked my interest; but I guess that revamped Final Fantasy XIV just might have me dip my feet into that genre again.

[HEADING=1]Back to the Forum Thread[/HEADING]

PC gaming is possible, but it wouldn't come close to conveying the breadth of this industry. The diversity in Console gaming -- Fighters, Racing, 3rd POV shooters, FPS shooters and everything else and in between -- shows that this industry would be offering a pretty shallow experience and a predictable volume of titles if it weren't for consoles.

 

[The Lunatic]

I think at this stage in the console cycle, you're being a little bit silly if you think consoles are up to par with PCs.

The coming generation will be interesting.

However, given consoles are just striving to be weak PCs with restrictive operating systems, you may as well just stick to the PC at that rate.

Naturally, a lot of people desperately desire comfort in their choices to stick to the consoles, and that's fine, if you enjoy it, you should stick with it.

For some, it's mobile gaming, for others it's social gaming, nothing wrong with consoles, and I don't think any reasonable human being actually thinks less of people who prefer something else.

However, there's enjoying something, and then there's just being a bit silly, if you honestly believe that consoles have any bonuses against the PCs, then, yeah, you're just not being realistic. Sure, there are exclusives either side, and yeah, it's a silly system all around, but, factually speaking, there's just a vast technical advantage which the PCs have over the consoles.


The consoles will catch up, and they'll fall back behind again, those who want to be at the forefront will be so, and will pay to be so. Those who are less interested in the "Bleeding edge of gaming" that's also completely fine.

 

[LetalisK]

[HEADING=3]Modding[/HEADING]
It's a nice advantage, that is, for people with time on their hands. This is something that I'm jealous of, because I can't add stuff to Fallout 3, but the trade-off of never playing Uncharted, or the upcoming Last of Us just does not suffice.

There's a whole library of awesome games that PC Purists will never experience! Not in this current generation, or in the next one.

Emulators no longer exist? I'm not condoning piracy, but console exclusivity isn't a "thing" to PC gamers.

I have never had an interest in strategy games, because those aren't what will sell video games to a generally skeptical public

PC gaming is possible, but it wouldn't come close to conveying the breadth of this industry. The diversity in Console gaming -- Fighters, Racing, 3rd POV shooters, FPS shooters and everything else and in between -- shows that this industry would be offering a pretty shallow experience and a predictable volume of titles if it weren't for consoles.

Again, you have absolutely no basis for this claim. You have no way of proving that these games wouldn't end up shifting development to the PC if PCs became dominant. And even if you did manage to prove that, you would then have to prove that no other unique type of game would fill that spot, thereby reducing the "breadth" of gameplay. Just because a particular platform is the preferred platform for a genre doesn't mean it could only ever be on that platform. Though I do find it interesting how you dismissed strategy games, MMOs, and the indie scene right before going on to talk about the variety of console gaming and PC gaming's supposed lack of variety.

 

[predatorpulse7]

Since we are getting in this whole PC-Consoles debate on price range,I have to say that PC gaming on the whole isn't really that expensive if you look at it long term. It's merely a stereotype that stems from the uber nerds of the PC gaming community that like to get extremely expensive hardware for their PC to build "supermachines".

I bought(not built, bought) my PC for roughly 750 dollars back in early 2009. It's mid 2013, 4 and a half years later and the only hardware change I've made was to get a 200 dollar graphics card in 2012. So I invested roughly 1000 bucks in hardware and I doubt that I will change ANYTHING in my rig in the next 3-4 years or so since I run most games on high with no issues(1000 bucks in hardware that will last me a good 8 or so years if not more while running 90% of games on high settings doesn't sound that bad). And the games are usually cheaper than their console equivalents, sometimes even half price, with better looking graphics(for the good ports at least) and strong mod support from the community, which really tends to extend the life of particular games.

Console gaming might look cheap at first glance, with you shelling about 300 bucks for the machine or so but people don't factor the big screen TV and the fact that console releases are goddam expensive. As a member of the "pc master race", when I go and check out games at the local store I cringe at the 50-70 dollar price tag for most games on the shelf for console releases(even more for the special editions) whereas PC releases tend to be at least one third cheaper and their price seems to go down faster as well. Heck, as a gamer period, I cringe whenever I see ANY game over 50 bucks, most of the stuff I buy tends to hover around the 30 dollar mark or less so it blows my mind to think that there are people who pay 60 bucks or more on a semi-regular basis so they can play on their "cheaper" machines. And services like Steam or GOG are so easy to use that even my sister would have no problem with them and she's hardly skilled with a PC. Uplay and Origin are crap though, that has to be said.

If you buy four console games per year day one, you already spent about 240 bucks(or more), almost the price you paid for your original console. Add that over say 4 years and you're hitting the 900 dollar mark on games alone. That's a lot of money and I know quite a few people that buy a hell of a lot more than 4 games per year(though not always DAY 1 releases of course) on consoles. And with 900 bucks I could buy a s**tload of games on the PC, whether new or old.

While in the end hardware+games might make the PC a bit more expensive than consoles, in the long run the overall costs are actually pretty close depending on your gaming habits. The difference certainly isn't "hundreds or thousands" of dollars as some pundits put it. I won't even mention the advantages the PC has, which come into focus now even more now that consoles have decided that for the next gen they are gonna be low grade PC's(without the advantages of PC's),annoying the hell out of you just so you can access your games, have no backwards compatibility and aspire more to be TV's than gaming devices.

We are supposed to be the "PC master race" but where I come from it's the rich kids that have consoles, not the other way round. I suppose it's because we think about the pricing of games(cause we want to buy many games in the conceivable future), not the initial investment. Considering that we have prices in Euros, it makes the console games even more expensive.

 

[endtherapture]

There's a whole library of awesome games that PC Purists will never experience! Not in this current generation, or in the next one.

There's a whole library of awesome games that Console Purists will never experience. Not in this current generation or in the next one. Your entire big point can just be applied to vice versa. Good luck ever playing a Total War game on a console.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

anyone thing water cooling is worth it?
noise vs cost

Well, are you going to overclock the PC? Or do you have problems with heat? If not, I wouldn't really put water cooling for the noise alone. Well, if I have lots of spare money, I might, but I don't. Alternatively, I'd probably do it for the challenge, though it still needs money. If you're bothered by the noise, you can get silent fans and new heat sinks (also, make sure you clean the PC, too) - that should be cheaper.

I've an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, and NZXT case fans, not that noisey, just a friend keeps going on how amazing n quiet water cooling is. the only noisey fan I really have is on my Power Colour 7770 HD

 

[Adon Cabre]

[HEADING=3]Modding[/HEADING]
It's a nice advantage, that is, for people with time on their hands. This is something that I'm jealous of, because I can't add stuff to Fallout 3, but the trade-off of never playing Uncharted, or the upcoming Last of Us just does not suffice.

There's a whole library of awesome games that PC Purists will never experience! Not in this current generation, or in the next one.

Emulators no longer exist? I'm not condoning piracy, but console exclusivity isn't a "thing" to PC gamers.

I have never had an interest in strategy games, because those aren't what will sell video games to a generally skeptical public

PC gaming is possible, but it wouldn't come close to conveying the breadth of this industry. The diversity in Console gaming -- Fighters, Racing, 3rd POV shooters, FPS shooters and everything else and in between -- shows that this industry would be offering a pretty shallow experience and a predictable volume of titles if it weren't for consoles.

Again, you have absolutely no basis for this claim. You have no way of proving that these games wouldn't end up shifting development to the PC if PCs became dominant. And even if you did manage to prove that, you would then have to prove that no other unique type of game would fill that spot, thereby reducing the "breadth" of gameplay. Just because a particular platform is the preferred platform for a genre doesn't mean it could only ever be on that platform. Though I do find it interesting how you dismissed strategy games, MMOs, and the indie scene right before going on to talk about the variety of console gaming and PC gaming's supposed lack of variety.

[HEADING=1]back to the thread[/HEADING]

SimCity Is Broken,
And It's Not Just the Servers
​

[HEADING=3]And When Publishers Answer to No One?[/HEADING]

You would think that freeing a company of the big bad Console market would make triple-A titles more intuitive to a wider audience. Not so, because now they don't have to meet the standards of Microsoft and SONY's quality management. They can put out whatever they want, and in what ever condition they like. Take it or leave it, but remember, it's a PC exclusive.

"12 Things I Learned
From the Steve Jobs
Biography"
​

[HEADING=3]It's All About hardware; or actually, how no one cares[/HEADING]

Why do you think Apple is so big? Because no one cares how anything works, as long as it works. Not to mention that building a PC is as sexy as a spoiled apricot. I can't say anymore than what the past 15+ years and 3 console generations has told us -- that just like the Smartphone, consoles have gotten more and more popular.

also.

[HEADING=3]PC games don't make Money! #Piracy #Crysis 3 [http://thenexusnews.com/crysis-3-pirated-over-70-thousand-times/853607/][/HEADING]

Even the studios who created Witcher 2, and which was pirated 4.5 Million times [http://www.gamespot.com/news/the-witcher-2-pirated-45-million-times-cd-projekt-6346876], are heading over to the console. So publishers port to the PC, but they make their money on the backs of the consoles.

And this is why the variety of games will be even greater for Next Gen; because PC developers of Indies and larger budget titles will finally be able to make some $.

 

[oliver.begg]

ahh the piracy debate.

intresting point, if you consider piracy a lost sale, then console has it worse, as the biggest cause of certified lost sales is gamestop.

you know those 5USD cheaper used games, that the developer get no revenue from, that are offered and pushed instead of new, that the same as a lost sale. except a torrent =/= a lost sale, the person may buy it later off steam for MP, while a used game = lost sale since someone would have to be a idiot to buy it twice

so console actualy have a 2 BILLION dollar piracy problem with gamestop alone, but of course only PC has lost sales issues

also a intrest if old blog by intel
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/09/22/gaming-piracy-separating-fact-from-fiction

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

ahh the piracy debate.

intresting point, if you consider piracy a lost sale, then console has it worse, as the biggest cause of certified lost sales is gamestop.

you know those 5USD cheaper used games, that the developer get no revenue from, that are offered and pushed instead of new, that the same as a lost sale. except a torrent =/= a lost sale, the person may buy it later off steam for MP, while a used game = lost sale since someone would have to be a idiot to buy it twice

so console actualy have a 2 BILLION dollar piracy problem with gamestop alone, but of course only PC has lost sales issues

also a intrest if old blog by intel
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/09/22/gaming-piracy-separating-fact-from-fiction

interesting article, loved this point

?IF PC Games Piracy really were 90% then that?s like saying the following:
◦The real PC Unit volumes should be 2.4 billion units/users/subs!
◦Or.. that?s also presuming that instead of .43mu Far Cry 2 units sold Ubisoft is saying that 9-10x that volume was pirated? For a total of 4.3 million units? Really?
◦Same goes for Assassin?s Creed 2 for example. Applying the same logic then is like saying 2.5 million units were pirated on the PC.
◦Yet.. this isn?t feasible since again as we noted earlier in order to see those kinds of numbers pirated you?d have to make the top 5 list on the TorrentFreak list. Which Ubisoft doesn?t.
?Let?s stop picking on Ubisoft for a moment and apply this logic to some other games we know have performed really well on the PC that have exceeded 5 million units.
◦We know at least 5+ million Skyrim units have sold through on PC. Does that mean that there are 50 million pirated copies out there? After all? 90% of the PC Gamers are supposedly playing pirated copies of the game ? right?
◦What about Battlefield 3? Another PC Games title that?s moved somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 million units. So.. now we have another 50 million BF3 pirates!?
◦How about Diablo 3? We know it?s moved, or will move north of 7 million units. So apparently there are also another 70 million pirates? They surely can?t all be playing these games at the same time can they?

i do wish people wouldn't bring piracy to the table in these forums as to give open honest answer could get you a warning

 

[Araksardet]

I agree wholeheartedly. I owned a 2008, 800$ laptop and was still playing new releases in 2012 (Skyrim, Prototype 2, Total War: Shogun 2, Mass Effect 3). The only game that really made it chug was Trine (1 & 2). Sure, the games didn't all run on max settings, but I don't need max settings to enjoy a game.

I've never been able to justify purchasing a console to myself, especially not a new one. Part of the reason is that I don't own a TV, so I'd have to buy that, too; part of the reason is that it takes much, much longer for games to become as cheap as they do on Steam sales (really looking forward to this year's Summer Sale!).

Mostly, though, it's the simple fact that I have always needed a PC anyway. So I could buy a console, a TV, and then spend 500$ on a crap laptop with an integrated graphics card that only does word processing and ancient or simplistic games - which I will have to upgrade every 3-5 years anyway - or I could spend a few hundred more on a capable PC that can run modern, cheap games for years to come. It's always been an easy decision for me. Plus, strategy games are what got me into gaming all those years ago, and they are poorly represented on consoles.

Granted, it's a lifestyle thing. I can see how it might be better for some people to go the console-TV route, if they already watch TV and don't actually need a PC in their lives.