PC Gaming - The Inconveniences

[TelHybrid]

There's the age old argument over choice of platform that will never subside. A common aspect of PC gaming that tends to be a barrier to entry is the need to upgrade. The need for better hardware.

I consider myself a PC gamer primarily, but dabble in consoles for the exclusives and some other reasons. My PC is running pretty old hardware, but can run pretty much everything. (AMD Athlon X2 6000, ATi HD4890, 4GB DDR2 800mhz RAM). It's a common misconception that you need to spend loads on a computer and upgrade it every year to be able to enjoy PC gaming.

I'm not aiming to get into an argument so much about that point. What I would like to target is the PC games that actually do make the player need to get the latest and best hardware. The games that are poorly ported, poorly optimized. Is it the fault of PC gaming as a medium that these games will not run on reasonable hardware? Or is it the fault of the developers?

That's the main advantage of consoles. One standardised piece of hardware that will run everything with the shared logo. Would PC gaming perhaps benefit from some form of standardisation?

 

[sh1v3rs]

I do strongly agree the main advantage of consoles is the standardised hardware - From the compatibility view.
But on the other hand, the current generation of consoles is 7 years old, thus to todays standards it is 'old', and here's the advantage of pc gaming systems: you can develop and play games for the highest current hardware. The only problem with this is that it destroying our bank accounts, eliminating our wallets and eating all the money we hid in our matrasses.

So, to answer your question: no PC gaming does not need standardisation, we've got consoles that are standardised. But yes, I like the standardisation of console hardware. (Semi-contradictions. Semi-contradictions everywhere.)

 

[Tom_green_day]

The main reason stopping me is the way you always need new computers for newer games. My computer is only about 4 years old and it can only play minecraft (on fastest settings) and team fortress 2... Barely.
Also I like having my PC on while I console so I can watch YT and use Facebook and stuff.
My third point is gonna sound kinda sad, but it also applies for music and why I buy CDS instead of downloading from iTunes. I recognise they still produce them, but I rarely see physical games for PC, usually you have to download them. I like having an actual game with a case, maybe a manual etc. To me it's just part of the game.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well that is the thing, standards are a system of agreed upon terms from all parties while consoles are a system of forced terms controlled by one corporation.

Problem of course is where there is freedom there is variety, so while nearly everything you get on PC is still in some standard or another there are so many that you just can't cover it all, even a simple audio player needs to know a list of encodings as long as your arm before it's half decent.
And just as corporations love to lock it all down with consoles there are huge pushes to drown out competition with closed standards on PC, Microsoft and Nvidia being the predominant hustlers when it comes to gaming.

So the whole ordeal is at odds with itself, if you want a fair system then it needs to be open to all ideas, but when it's open to all everyone will take their own route.
Maybe in a couple hundred years our greed and cutthroat nature will be put aside and we will be able to honestly work together, but until that time it's all about baby steps forward and watching out for corporate traps.