PC Gaming is Cool And All... But...

[Treblaine]

Modern consoles (and even it appears, the Wii-U) are not capable of Hardware tesselation.

The Xbox 360 can do it just fine and plenty of ATI cards could also do it for years as well. Of course neither has really been used in games, but the capabilities have been around for a while. So wake me when it actually becomes a major part of most games, not just a technical curiosity used by only a tiny handful of games.

-unlicensed platform mean developers can release games without a fee, Minecraft collects 100% of revenue.

This is the one big advantage PCs have, no question.

-higher competition per system. GoG, Steam and now Origin compete on one PC while Xbox locks you into XBLA there is only detached competition with PSN

Meanwhile Steam games are locked to Steam, allowing them to do price fixing and kill the used game marked, leading to the console version of Orange Box for example actually being cheaper then the PC version.

Steam in general is also heavily overpriced, so is GoG and Origin. The only thing those services have going for them are their sales, their regular pricing just sucks, its most of the time cheaper to order stuff right from Amazon.

-Far more flexible controls with mouse + keyboard but also more importantly gamepad, or wheel, whatever appropriate

And half the time that stuff fails to work. For example with gamepads you basically have two kinds of games these days: The new ones, that require an Xbox360 gamepad and do not support older gamepads (due to lack of XInput driver) and the older ones that only support old gamepads properly, as the official Xbox360 DirectInput drivers are so shitty that they allow no configuration and merge the triggers into a single Z-axis, making them unusable for most games.

Now of course there are workarounds, custom drivers, XPadder and a whole lot of other hackery, but getting a usable configuration with non-standard hardware is often more effort then it is worth it, when it is possible at all (can't turn a mouse driven UI into one tuned for a gamepad).

Consoles are far less flexible, but they actually have a default configuration that is consistent across all games and just works without any need for tweaking.

-games 100% install makes them far easier to patch and follow major ongoing updates like TF2's continued evolution

100% install also means that it takes forever to get to actually play the game you want to play, also add in layered DRM for extra fun. Nothing better then having Steam games require GamesForWindows on top.

-Modding is a major creative force that has kept CS alive and strong for 12 year now,

And aside from CS players nobody cares. As nice as modding sounds in theory, the actual number of useful mods is rather slim and essentially getting smaller and smaller as games get more complex. Doing a level for Doom1 that was similar in quality to the original wasn't that difficult, doing one that competes with stuff seen in modern games, not so much.

Right now PC seems to be the only platform actually making progress, it's been 6 years since Xbox 360, graphics have moved on a LOOOONG way since then.

And yet all you get are shiny tech demos and no actual games. And that is where the crux is, you can proclaim all day that a modern $1000 PC is technically more powerful then a console, but the sad fact is that this $1000 PC essentially boils down to playing the exact same games as the $200 console. It might get more resolution and anti-aliasing, but not actually different games.

Tesselation has only been actually demonstrated in Games runnign via Direct X 11 that NO CONSOLE can support.

Examples of this:

-Crysis 2 on PC - with the latest graphics patch THAT I HAVE ALREADY SHOWN YOU!
-Dirt 3
-Metro 2033:

And I think you'll find its easier to get a gamepad to work on PC than to get a mouse to work on Xbox 360.

Steam games are locked to Steam but nothing stops me from buying games from Origin and using that service. One machine, multiple competing stores.

So I mainly buy during Steam sales... so what? I have amassed over 100 games for on average £3 each. The most overpriced game on Steam is STILL cheaper than buying a console game on the high street. Portal 2 is now only £20, last time I saw the game NEW, it was £29.99. Yeah, you can find bargains for console games online, but that is cherry picking you can do the same searching for Steam games on sale.

(Console version of Orange Box is so cheap because: it is a shit version of the game, no one even wants the used copies)

The mere presence of modders is so important as it holds developers to a high professional standard, they must beat the gifted amateurs.

Look at modern Warfare 3, now look at MW2. If it was possible to mod MW2 then it would have been modded to include such already for free, but they want to charge another $60 for it.

#1 a capable gamign PC does not cost $1000, more like $500
#2 a console costs way more than just $300, more like $500
#3 If it is better, then IT IS BETTER you cannot dismiss:
-DOUBLE the framerate
-3x the resolution
-Wonderful mouse aim
-Much higher texture/shader quality

All these add up to make a hughe difference. I play my PS3 and PC on the same computer monitor, and even great games like Uncharted 2 are made to look horrible by comparison with PC. Wonderful art design, pacing and presentation let down by a stretched 720p image, inadequate framerate and unwilling controls. You can see in the design where compromises had to be made.

 

[Nomad Warrior]

ITT: People comparing a machette to a swiss army knife. The two may share a few common purposes, but are none of the like. PCs can do just about anything, while a console is a dedicated machine designed to connect man to fantasy by way of thumbs. Granted your mums desktop PC from 2006 she uses for office work will never run crysis even on low, it's a sure fire if you buy a console. However you are in a pickle if you need to type a 500 word essay up to hand in tomorrow and all you have on hand is a xbox 360. One is designed to entertain, the other is customisable to serve as you see fit. And how well it serves depends on how well you design it. My gaming rig has CPU power totalling 21.6Ghz (6 core @ 3.6Ghz each), 8GB ram and 2TB of HDD space. I can play crysis, proccess and re-render a full length movie and transfer gigs of data over the network all at the same time. If I want to play in bed, sit on the couch, take a game to a friends place or involve more than one player on the same machine, I'm screwed.

So in reality, I chose both. Nothing beats either one.

 

[shadow_Fox81]

i'm in games for the art and call me old fashion but if i had to spend hours installing a poem, then continually upgrading it so i could read the poem i'd be pretty disenchnated with the poem in question. Especially if i needed to be contintaully online to read it, and if it was old (what good poems arn't) i would be told your PC is now too advanced to run this poem go buy a newer one which assuredly is less good and will give the poet more money.

Yep seems pretty silly from where i'm siting

but for those months when i'm gripped by multiplayer fever i sit in front of my console for a while before i realise, wait i have a PC.

 

[Cridhe]

Console, PC.

Ain't nothin but forks and spoons. There are things eaten with a fork, things eaten with a spoon, some things can be eaten with either, but no real conflict amongst silverware.

EDIT: Goddamn, you people and your sporks. From now on, when I tell this analogy, I'm gonna mention every utensil I can think of.

Best... analogy... ever. I honestly wish all the angry interweb trolls would see it this way rather than insulting each other over who's god is the right god.

 

[cybran]

It's my opinion that creating an argument based on the arbitrary differences between the two is like starting an augment on whither Superman or Batman is better. Why does there need to be an argument? Why can't we just be happy with it. What drives such a silly feud? I don't understand this at all. On a side note, I appreciate your opinions and idea but starting any thread that attempts to discuss the issue always ends in tears, unfortunately.

What drives the feud now, is the issue of developers making the majority of their games for consoles, and leaving the PC gamers behind with a Console-port version of the game.

I agree, consoles are ruining PC gaming indirectly... and thats what im mad about.

 

[Araksardet]

I don't understand why people say PC gaming is expensive; I've always found that, in practical terms, it's the opposite. Sure, it might be expensive if you want top-notch graphics (I know there are 2,000$ computers out there), but in my experience even relatively low-price computers that are a few years old are fine for gaming. I can play Mass Effect 2 without problems on a 3 year-old laptop that was only 700$ when I got it, no special modifications and no extensive shopping for the best cheap gaming rig.

Yes, 700 is more than whatever a console costs but - I fear to ask this - don't most of us have computers *anyway*? That's been the main reason I've never owned a console. I already have a computer that can do games (for internet, study and work purposes) - why spend a few extra hundred on a console and ANOTHER few hundred on a television (yup, no TV here) just to be able to do what my PC can already do?

EDIT: Come to think of it, consoles are better for sit-in multiplayer than PCs, where you basically need one PC per person, which sucks. But for me at least, that's not worth the extra hundreds.

 

[King Toasty]

While PC do have a slight graphical superiority over consoles, it's not worth the upgrades. For me, at least. If you have the constant cash and patience to DO that, all's the better for ya. Also, I grew up on controllers, specifically PS controllers, so the PS3's where I'm at.

Overall though, there really isn't a massive game-changing difference between the two. Except PCs can do RTS.

 

[King Toasty]

Ye really are a dense one now arnt you. I dont need to do spreadsheets, word processing, video editing, photoshopping, web design, video encoding, video broadcasting, game design, 3D modeling, power point presentations, databases, heavy statistical calculations since I dont do any of that hence I dont need a fucking pc.

From that it's pretty clear you are a child. My mistake for thinking you had any value. You said give you one reason why a PC is a necessity, not stating specifically for you. I made the mistake of thinking you were making a nebulous statement about the necessity for PC's. For actual productive members of society, a PC is very useful and often needed. For someone like you, it's pretty clear you have no desire to actually be of use other than acting like a jackass.

Wait your calling me a child and writing all of that? I was not origionally talking to you so its no wonder you have no fucking idea what I was talking about when I made that statement. You jumped into the middle of a fucking discussion I was having with somebody and now you are insulting me because you didnt know what was going on?

Also your saying im not a productive member of society because I dont do my work at home? Are you fucking mental or something?

My god, you two are trying to out-condescend each other. It's sickening to watch.

 

[scott91575]

Ye really are a dense one now arnt you. I dont need to do spreadsheets, word processing, video editing, photoshopping, web design, video encoding, video broadcasting, game design, 3D modeling, power point presentations, databases, heavy statistical calculations since I dont do any of that hence I dont need a fucking pc.

From that it's pretty clear you are a child. My mistake for thinking you had any value. You said give you one reason why a PC is a necessity, not stating specifically for you. I made the mistake of thinking you were making a nebulous statement about the necessity for PC's. For actual productive members of society, a PC is very useful and often needed. For someone like you, it's pretty clear you have no desire to actually be of use other than acting like a jackass.

Wait your calling me a child and writing all of that? I was not origionally talking to you so its no wonder you have no fucking idea what I was talking about when I made that statement. You jumped into the middle of a fucking discussion I was having with somebody and now you are insulting me because you didnt know what was going on?

Also your saying im not a productive member of society because I dont do my work at home? Are you fucking mental or something?

It's pretty clear from the way you responded to not only me but everyone else here you are childish. If you want a one on one conversation, try using PM if you don't want others to respond.

 

[Irriduccibilli]

I'm just happy I got all three major gaming platforms (Xbox 360, PS3 and a high end gaming PC), but honestly, I couldnt care less which platform I play multiplatform games on. I play racing games, Assassins Creed games and console exclusives on console because I find them better on consoles, and other games on my PC. PC's got the advantage with game mods, and consoles got the benefit of a, possible, longer lifespan and no need to upgrade certain parts. Honestly it's a win win, and does it really matter wether people want to play games on their Xbox, PS3 or PC, why not just enjoy the damn game instead of yelling at each other about which platform to play it on. This whole console war seems really childish to me.

 

[EvilPicnic]

I used to be a solely PC gamer, and now I'm solely a console gamer.

The change was because a) I wanted to separate my work and play (which is hard when you do both on a PC), and b) PCs just take up so much time and fiddling with to get right.

It's not about one being better than the other, it's a lifestyle preference.

 

[Nomad Warrior]

Wait...what?
I'm always playing Platformers/Fighting/Racing games on my couch with a controller. There's no difference between a PC and a Console there, it's only in your mind. Both are "boxes full of hardware" and you can set them up wherever you want, however you want...

Unfortunately my "box of hardware" weighs (feels like) half a tonne, is as tall as my torso and neally twice as wide.

You can play with a console using a PC monitor sitting at a desk if you want, you can connect a TV or other display device to your PC just as easily.

While I have the technology, the space and furniture is what I lack. And the wireless 360 remote is already a attachment of my PC, however the 26 inch LCD looks small from my bed to be of any great use.

I've also been playing games like Trine, Bionic Commando Rearmed or Street Fighter 4 just fine with friends, I turn on my SANYO PLV-Z800 projector....

The games me and my friends are more into are sadly not availible in split screen.
My system may be nice, but that is about the extent of my luxuries.

"Taking a game to a friend" also couldn't be any easier than remembering your Steam Login and basically always having your entire video game collection with you, everywhere you go.

A very interesting point, assuming every friend has high speed internet access and a PC for games.

It would seem you've done all the things I would have done if I owned my own house. Untill that day comes though, I have to keep my PC in the saftey of my own room. The people I live with atm couldn't be trusted around a netbook let alone my pride and joy of gaming. When the day comes however, all these things are on my todo list. I envy you good sir.

 

[Puzzlenaut]

Just to point out, cross platform gaming will never be truly balanced because the precision of mouse and keyboard is too far ahead of controllers to keep it balanced.

I wouldn't say there's much in it at all -- I play on the PC with my gamepad and can quite easily keep up with the average player in FPSes. It might be I'm just fucking awesome, but really I think its just to do with the fact that it doesn't matter that much.

Obviously, for a good RTS you need a mouse, but for anything else I can't see how gamepad/mouse+kb affects your game overly much.