Thoughts on the PC gamer "master race"

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

Not to mention the community isn't made up of 7 year old children screaming into their mic.

Instead PC fanboys are 20 year-olds elitist d*cks who spend most of their time telling people they don't know (and themselves) that they're better than everyone who decides to play games on a platform they don't own.

I've heard this term thrown around quite a lot, and I must say, I see no evidence supporting the phrase. I am a console gamer first and foremost, but I play a lot of PC as well and there is no difference. The community is the same, the games that are considered good are good on both sides (generally) and both the keyboard-and-mouse control and gamepad control can be equally accurate and frustrating. Who came up with the idea of PC's being inherently better and who actually believes it?

I 100% agree with you, but this thread's just going to turn into a flame-war. They are too many people on this site who have too many self-esteem issues to admit that they're just being stubborn arseholes to people who choose to live life in a different way to them.

 

[poleboy]

I think the idea that console gaming is somehow cheaper than PC is flawed - console gamers all pay the same price (if you buy new), but PC gamers differ wildly in setup and hardware. It's next to impossible to calculate an average of what a PC gamer spends on their habit, because no two PC's are the same unless they are brand new and bought from the same retailer. Sure, a guy who only buys alienware laptops to play high-end games on the go is a bigger spender than most console players - but a guy like me, who has a 4 year old PC that's only recieved a gfx card upgrade and a few crucial replacements and playing mostly free or semi-free games is spending a lot less than your average console gamer.

 

[StriderShinryu]

If there were a gaming master race, wouldn't it be the gamers who played on both platforms? After all, there are some games you can't play on the console, and there are some games you can't play on the PC, thereby rendering both platforms equally limited, with the only way to overcome this limitation being the ability to play on both.

This be the truth. The only "gaming master race" (which was a joke/insult to begin with) is the one that actually considers *gasp* the games themselves to what's important. You can find well designed quality games on all platforms and the "best" system really just depends on what games you personally enjoy.

 

[Broderick]

In terms of hardware and limitations, PC comes out on top. However, for people who do not have the money(yes I am aware making a gaming computer doesnt cost as much as people think) consoles are a better choice. A lot of people also enjoy the pnp aspect of just puting a disk in the system and playing, instead of waiting for the game to download(to those people, they are impatient, it generally takes less than an hour and you only have to do it once, however, all the power to them).

Some people just like controllers more than a keyboard, and in that case, im pretty sure there are controllers that you can plug into your computer =P. Some games just control better on a console(the bioshock port was just terrible).

I am primarily a PC gamer nowadays, I did grow up playing on consoles, and I still plug in my N64 or Gamecube to play some Zelda. People do need to get over themselves with the superiority complex some people seem to have(on both "sides"), I mean seriously...its freaking video games and the people who play them, not the Allies and the Axis powers here. In the end, regardless of what you believe, it doesnt matter.

 

[zehydra]

I do believe PC gaming is inherently better, but I understand that it's usually much more expensive.

 

[Stall]

Instead PC fanboys are 20 year-olds elitist d*cks who spend most of their time telling people they don't know (and themselves) that they're better than everyone who decides to play games on a platform they don't own.

They don't act like that unless you are a console gamer. At least PC gamers are generally nice to people within their own community, unlike console players who are pretty well huge dicks to everyone.

I 100% agree with you, but this thread's just going to turn into a flame-war. They are too many people on this site who have too many self-esteem issues to admit that they're just being stubborn arseholes to people who choose to live life in a different way to them.

See another post I made in this thread, and a few other posts as well. You can have an opinion on which you LIKE better, sure, but you can't deny that PC is the objectively superior platform. That's all there really is to it. PCs win on almost every single criterion you could judge a gaming platform on; thus, they are the superior platform. It's quite simple arithmetic.

It's like comparing a Honda Civic and a Lamborghini Murcielago. Sure, you might like the Civic better, but it's pretty gosh darn silly to say that a Civic is a better car than a Lamborghini.

 

[AdeptaSororitas]

Eh, to each their own. I prefer Consoles mainly because I don't have a million dollars or decades of spare time to make an epic gaming pc, so when I play PC games the graphics are inherently worse.

How are the 90s treating you? Well, I hope. Listen, you haven't had to spend "a million dollars" on a gaming PC in years. That's a silly myth that has been perpetuated for far too long. Hardware costs at an all time low when you and factor in the extended length of this console generation, then PC gaming is cheaper than it ever has been. You can easily spend 400-600 and make a rig that will play every game for the next couple of years on high. You could make a rig so powerful that frightens young children with $1000.

Yeah, you did have to spend thousands of dollars to make an "epic gaming PC" in the 90s, but not anymore. I'm tired of this tired myth getting brought up every time there's a thread about PC gaming. Just... stop. Seriously. It's not current to think you have to spend an exuberant amount on a gaming PC anymore.

I don't mean to pick on you in particular, by the way. You just happened to be the first person I noticed who mentioned the whole "a gaming PC is stupid expensive". It's just this silly myth that really rubs me the wrong way... I guess it's a pet peeve of mine.

You need to learn what a Hyperbole is sir. Yes I know it doesn't cost a million dollars but a thousand dollars is still a crazy large amount when I can get ALL THREE CONSOLES for the same or cheaper. I understand the price can be pretty low if you do it yourself or you know were to shop. I however just got a new laptop, and I have no interest in figuring out the technicals on how to upgrade a pc. Also, the most recent generation of consoles has been out for a loooong while, so it isn't as though they are a lot to invest in. Plus I know that everytime I pop a new game in it will play. PC's have issues all the time, they can get viruses or software can corrupt. It's messy business.

And no, no level of self satisfaction matters to me, it is just annoying when people brag about "Oh I was XXX hours upgrading my PC so now I can run REAL LIFE on higher graphics"

Nothing personal to you sir, it just frustrates me that people assume I can drop 1000 bucks on a new PC when i can barely pay for college.

 

[zehydra]

They're dinosaurs who refuse to go extinct despite its inevitability.
Some might manage to evolve into birds, but those that won't, won't last,

PC gaming is here to stay, because PCs are here to stay.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Why are you idiots still going on about this? There are a million threads about this and every single one has some idiot claiming PC gaming is dying, consoles are better etc all of which is countered with proof refuting their claim.

Until people arguing the console side can give some non anecdotal, objective proof, shut up. Until then, accept the fact that it's only your opinion.

 

[zehydra]

I do believe PC gaming is inherently better, but I understand that it's usually much more expensive.

It's only as expensive as you want it to be.

It also largely depends on whether or not you're getting a laptop or desktop. But you're right.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Tweaks, mods, hardware, overclocking.

We're more invested in our games.


Also we're just better people.

 

[Broderick]

snip

Bad bioshock port? Please explain?

While this is kinda subjective, the aiming and controls were quite awkward. Granted, im sure there is mouse sensitivity option and most likely key binds. I havent played it in a while so I cant remember if there is, I coulnt be asked to play the game anyways, I think I had too high of expectations for the game, and when I actually played it, it was well...dissapointing.

 

[Fenn]

I've heard this term thrown around quite a lot, and I must say, I see no evidence supporting the phrase. I am a console gamer first and foremost, but I play a lot of PC as well and there is no difference. The community is the same, the games that are considered good are good on both sides (generally) and both the keyboard-and-mouse control and gamepad control can be equally accurate and frustrating. Who came up with the idea of PC's being inherently better and who actually believes it?

You're joking right? PCs are not constrained by outdated hardware for one. In addition to this, do consoles have any sort of modding community whatsoever? The primary reason games like CSS are still hugely popular, is because gamers are allowed to create their own fun with mini games servers, zombie mod servers, etc, etc. Also, try playing a true RTS or MMO on a console, you simply can't, the controls are too simplified. "and both the keyboard-and-mouse control and gamepad control can be equally accurate and frustrating." There's a reason you people need auto aim in your FPS', it's because two thumb sticks are nowhere near the control for a mouse and keyboard.

To add on to this, there is literally nothing a console can do, that a PC cannot do equally well if not better. You've seen no evidence to support the claim of the PC being the vastly superior system? Well let me asking you something, have you been in a car accident, or some other physically damaging event that caused you to lose the abilities of sight and hearing?

 

[Stall]

You need to learn what a Hyperbole is sir. Yes I know it doesn't cost a million dollars but a thousand dollars is still a crazy large amount when I can get ALL THREE CONSOLES for the same or cheaper. I understand the price can be pretty low if you do it yourself or you know were to shop. I however just got a new laptop, and I have no interest in figuring out the technicals on how to upgrade a pc. Also, the most recent generation of consoles has been out for a loooong while, so it isn't as though they are a lot to invest in. Plus I know that everytime I pop a new game in it will play. PC's have issues all the time, they can get viruses or software can corrupt. It's messy business.

Wow. Nice job cherry picking my post. Did you not read the part where I said you can easily drop 400-600 dollars on a gaming PC and be set for the next few years? It was THE ENTIRE point of my post! You TOTALLY cherry picked my argument! That's a classic logical fallacy! That's just low, man.

I was hoping that saying a PC costing 1000 dollars would "frightens young children" would show the excessive of such a price. Alas, it appears that it did not. I believe that it is never the fault of the reader for misinterpreting an author's intent, so I apologize for you not understanding that, but it is with no doubt the fault of the reader for cherry picking the author. It's just inexcusable really.

If you need the point driven home one more time, then here: you can easily spend 400-600 dollars (perhaps even less) on a gaming PC that will easily play most games on medium to high for the next few years.

 

[omicron1]

I think the primary difference is a matter of complexity. PC games have much wider control schemes, they're generally deeper (esp. with various "deep" genres that don't really translate well to consoles), there's a much wider back catalogue, and it is (let's face it) a good bit harder to get started with PC gaming than with console gaming.

Thus, the PC player believes himself to be more hardcore (and quite possibly rightly so, if the wargaming population is included in the reckoning) than the console player in much the same way that the console player believes himself to be above the casual player. (including, ironically, the new generation of Facebook "gamers" on the PC) It is in every sense a matter of aristocracy, of setting oneself apart from the "common folk" by nature of one's temperament - in this case, the ability to wring enjoyment from inherently tougher activities. It mirrors the Rennaissance era of "high culture" complexity and "lowbrow" entertainment - the former intricate and detailed to the point of stiltedness; the latter simple and immediately mindless, but nonetheless great fun.

Neither side is superior, je pense, only different - but when the interests of one side are overlooked by the market in favor of the other, then strife quickly follows. It is undeniable that the "aristocracy" has been largely passed over in favor of the "commoner" in today's videogame market, which is bound to make the "aristocracy" a bit miffed...