Why have consumers forgotten about computer gaming?

[Faeanor]

Spoiler

Because you can't play this on a PC.

Hasbro Online has really upped it's game recently.

OT: Ever since I got a computer from this century (and even before that) I've always preferred computer games over consoles. I feel like consoles do a really good job on some games, because of the way the controls are setup. Fighters, 3rd person adventure games, and platformers are all perfect for the controller. But when it comes to an FPS, it's physically impossible for it to be better a mouse and keyboard setup. I know some people will say that they like a controller more than keyboard mouse and that's fine. We can make ports and some exclusives for you guys. But the computer just sorta does it all, why would we want to take a little box with limited functionality over the do it all machine?

 

[Shintsu2]

Spoiler

Because you can't play this on a PC.

Wouldn't that be a benefit? XD

To all the console fanboys in this thread that I saw from glancing - wow.

1) Gaming on a laptop is a no. Laptops are underpowered unless you buy a really nice one and then they cost too much. Who cares about gaming on the go anyway? I don't.

2) Building a gaming computer is so much better than buying a game console. I can do so much more than a PS3 or 360 on my computer. Like tweaking the graphic settings so it runs good and looks good. Games on the PS3 and 360 commonly lag and hang up - I can't upgrade their graphics cards or change the settings. They're destined to stay slow if the devs didn't make the game better (And they never do - I have some old games that are still slow and hang up. GTA IV still has problems loading stuff in time, the old classic GTA problem of stuff looking like it's floating in mid-air or of textures not getting detailed when you get real close - then it catches up).

3) Whoever was talking about pirating is an idiot. I wouldn't recommend, advise, condone, or support any pirating. This is what hurts the PC gaming community. You idiots, stop stealing the games and pay for them unless you want all the games to be console only. It is considerably harder to pirate games on a console I'd imagine given the way they read discs. PCs can all read the same disc. So by being cheap and immoral and uploading it and such you make sure the game devs get no kickback from the PC version that they so regularly release patches for. This is mostly applicable to mainstream games like Call of Duty and such - MMOs are decidedly PC based but even they are beginning to show up on consoles. If people keep it up it'll soon be to where PC games will be nothing but MMOs and RTSes with all the other genres on game consoles.

4) Mods. Game consoles have no mods. Ever. If they do, you pay money for them. On the PC mods can come out at any time and are almost always free (Unless Steam gets ahold of them and forces you to pay money for them then). Mods can make something totally different. Just look at Half Life...so many games came from that basic game and they keep coming out all the time.

Honestly I built my computer myself over a year ago at a total cost to me of $800. I can play most games at max or near max resolution at 1920 x 1200. If I wanted to play games at max settings on a 2560 x 1600 monitor (30" display) then I'd need to spend $300 or so on a GTX 275 - done. And you know what? I can sell my old video card that still works fine! So there's a discount on my new card! If something breaks - *GASP* - I can fix it myself! I'm not FORCED to send it to Microsoft or Sony and bend over when they tell me the cost or void the warranty trying to fix it myself or getting "some dude" to fix it.

In the history of computer gaming (Which I've gamed on computers since at least 1994-1995) I have never had a defective anything. The only thing that failed on me was my video card that I put into my current system - but the company that makes it paid to replace and ship to me and now I have a new one that works fine. I'm out the cost to ship it to them and that's it. By contrast, my original PS2 stopped working several times and I had to lubricate that optical eye mechanism several times and ultimately had to send it to Sony to get it fixed. My Xbox now hates reading discs and takes several minutes to decide if it will play them or not and then sometimes it won't and I have to restart and try again. My 360 I bought at launch, a few short months later RRoD. Fixed for free, so I'm all good - couple months later RRoD again. Fixed for free but had to pay shipping. Okay, now it's good. Several months later, my disc drive won't read any discs now. Had to pay $90 to repair plus shipping. So far it still works but it's really noisy...Sony fanboys don't get excited, my PS3 is even worse (IMO). The PS3 only broke one time, but it WASN'T EVEN A MONTH OLD. The power supply just totally fried in it. No storms, no power surges, nothing - it just went out for no reason one day. I couldn't backup my hard drive so I lost all my saves. That was the most infuriatingly disappointing repair I've had - especially considering the cost of the PS3 and how new it was (And I bought the PS3 Sep. 2008 so it's not like it was an old one or something - it was the MGS4 package deal with the 80 GB hard drive and B/W compatiblity).

So to tally it up bullet point style,

PC repairs (Over a period of 14 years):
-Video card (Free repair)

Console repairs (Over a period of 8 years):
-Optical eye on PS2 multiple times (Free repair)

-Optical eye replacement on PS2 (Free repair via Sony)

-Xbox 360 RRoD #1 (Free repair)

-Xbox 360 RRoD #2 (Free repair, not free shipping)

-Xbox 360 Disc Drive failure ($90 + shipping)

-PS3 Power supply faliure (Free repair)


What's sad - my SNES, NES, N64, PSX - all those old consoles still work fine. It's these new ones that are breaking...really pathetic if you ask me. My computer rarely ever gives me more than an occasional silly problem that is easily remedied. Mind you that the PS3 repair wouldn't have been free if it hadn't been so new.

I like consoles for what they are - cheap easy to pick up entertainment (THAT I CAN RENT - this is the hugest reason I like consoles, I can't rent PC games). PCs are where the best entertainment is for me though. Funny that some of you are complaining about the options that PCs offer you where that is their benefit. Like complaining there are too many options to choose on a new car...

It's a difference in mentality too - console gamers are usually far more casual than a PC gamer. There are exceptions but it's a generally correct thing to say consoles are more casual than PC.

I'm all for people who like consoles to just keep playing them, but don't act like they're better than PCs because they're far from it. PC graphics exceed console graphics, are upgradable, versatile, and multifunctional (In a much better way than consoles are). There's no reason why anyone has to be exclusively one or the other...

 

[joshthor]

I would if i could but my brother threatened to beat the crap out of me if we ever got a windows machine. HE punched me pretty hard just for mentioning it.

your brothers a douche....

 

[Gmano]

Well, I seem to remember a report that included a statistic on an incredible gap between the sales of Video Games and Computer Games.
Guess which is outnumbering the other?
This isn't a rant against "Console 'Tards", but why do so few people go for the Computer games?
Personally, I think the determining factor is in the Children and Christmas. "Them kids want an X-station, right?"
Not "They want a computer game, right?". Maybe Computer gaming is for a more mature crowd, or that video games sell both consoles AND games, the latter of the 2 at an outrageously large price, whereas computers sell games from different companies to the hardware developers, and the 2 rarely go hand in hand.
What do you think?

Who buys PC games? they are free all over the internet.

Also, why would I buy a Gaming PC, when I could just go an buy an xbox for much, much less. And I can play that thing with 3 other people!

 

[shadow skill]

Diminishing return on investment over time. It's simply not worth it for many people to get into the upgrade rat race for PC games. Especially when the latest and greatest (Usually a shooter.) requires a computer from the future to be able to run it well. Sometimes even a new OS is required as well. Besides what really exciting thing is going on in the PC game market aside from the massive contraction? What game has come out that really says to everyone "This is PC gaming." in a positive way? What we have had in the past two and a half years is Crysis the game that says "This is PC gaming the land where we release games the majority of the gamer market on the platform cannot even run; unless they shell out close to 400USD for the GPU alone, then we will pull a stunt with Direct X 10 features only being available on Windows Vista. (Unless you use a hack.) But wait we're not done it is a game you all have seen ten million times already because for all of this amazing power at our disposal we only know how to make shooters with it."

Is it any wonder that now that the graphics gap has narrowed between consoles and PC's that the PC market has contracted when you think of what games end up being the standard bearers for the platform?

 

[Uncompetative]

Spoiler

Because you can't play this on a PC.

But when it comes to an FPS, it's physically impossible for it to be better a mouse and keyboard setup. I know some people will say that they like a controller more than keyboard mouse and that's fine. We can make ports and some exclusives for you guys. But the computer just sorta does it all, why would we want to take a little box with limited functionality over the do it all machine?

The control scheme of Goldeneye 007 on the N64 is superior to the control scheme of any PC FPS that uses mouse and keyboard.


Goldeneye is different from most console FPSes in that its control scheme is equivalent to mouse-look. About the only downside is that you cannot turn around as fast as with a mouse. This is more than balanced out by greater comfort for the left hand - as there are no awkward WASD or RDFG key groupings to have to constantly return three fingers to (after momentarily moving off them to hit some other key for another gameplay purpose) and causing mistakes, claw-hand and wrist cramp in the process. The modern gamepad supplies a second analogue stick, so you are no longer stuck with only having digital input over your movement and you can sneak and run with aplomb.

It is sad that Goldeneye's control scheme was not more widely imitated (there were other N64 Bond games and Perfect Dark, but that's it).

Rather than have the burden of turning/tilting towards your target (as in Halo, etc.) you would hold the left shoulder button to enter Aim mode and displace the crosshairs away from the centre of the screen - which was their default location when you were running & gunning. The D-pad (you could use two analogue sticks if you had two controllers to plug in...) would no longer do the equivalent of WASD "move", but control lean and crouch (or zoom the sniper rifle if you were holding that). This led to a gameplay where you would run to some cover and then lean around its edge to take a precise headshot with Aim. There is no way in which this was inferior to mouse-look aiming.

All of this is a moot point as PC's (including my Mac Mini) can support the Xbox 360 gamepad and most next-gen console games fail to implement this control scheme for no reason that I can identify. So, my point is that you shouldn't criticise console hardware, but console software developers for not making control schemes that have been proven to be superior to mouse and keyboard in the past.

Your final question seems to be based on a misconception that people are rejecting PCs for consoles. Many, like myself, have both.

This thread seeks to understand why consoles are more popular for gaming than PCs (even when consumers own both). Well, apart from the compelling console exclusives, or tendency for PC versions to be released far later, then need patches for non-standard graphics cards and bog the consumer down with annoying DRM, even though some consumers own both a console and a PC their computer is only good enough for surfing the web and word-processing. Anyway, it soon becomes easier to make a firm separation between one thing for work and another device for play - and thereby avoid the distractions of a whole bunch of unplayed Steam games sitting on your hard-drive just a quick click away, when you know you ought to be doing some real work. The console typically involves a change of posture (couch with no desk, big TV and sound system), maybe even a change of location (different room with subdued uplighting) and represents a reward for all that time spent on the computer.

Finally, not everyone is technically-savvy enough to build and maintain their own Windows box.

As to cost, I had to replace my 360 after 3 years (it was replaced twice under warranty) and I initially felt miserable about it until I calculated that the entertainment I had received from it averaged out at 30 pence/hour. This was very good value for money and I hadn't finished all of my 360 games, so I bought a 120GB Elite, which at the cheaper price will work out a 20 pence/hour. This turned out to have a Jasper motherboard (12.1 Amp), which runs much quieter and cooler - and is expected to be less prone to RRODs. Installing games makes it quieter still.

I've nothing against PC gamers, I'm happy they are happy... except, a lot of them aren't happy as they keep bleating about console-tards.

 

[TheBarefootBandit]

Here's why I don't buy any new computer games anymore: My PC is from 2006 with a video card that does not support SM3.

My PC is the same. It just about handled WOW way back then... It ain't gonna survive on game a these days.

 

[Theissen]

Because you can't play this on a PC.

Is that Failo? The very much overrated game for Xbox?

I'm an innate PC gamer and I couldn't care less about consoles. I like upgrading my PC, though I don't do it often. Also, the possibilites with a PC is much better.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

PC gaming requires a PC with THE POWER OF A MILLION CANDLES! Errr... I mean PC's... (Cookie for reference). Also, console controls are easier to work with.

However, I've recently been getting into PC gaming. Heck, got L4D on PC yesterday, a game I had vowed to get on console.

 

[AlphaOmega]

PC gamer representing.

Hardware isn't that expansive, mods rule. but it takes a certain type of person to enjoy tinkering with your setup.
And honestly, I enjoy mouse+kb and my chair over a couch and being far away from your screen, in the perfect world everything would co-exist but yeah...

 

[KamachoMcSagget]

Because it costs money to pimp out a computer

 

[You_have_a_name]

I use an xbox because most of my friends have one, i prefer a controller for all genres other than RTS but i don't really like them anyway, when im on my xbox i like to use my laptop for; msn, the internet, itunes and other things at the same time if i was playing on a pc i would have to choose between playing a game or using all the other things i just listed

 

[Bobzer77]

Because it is way too fucking expensive to update your computer for new games. In the long run, if you buy the same amount of games for the 360 and the PC, and you have to pay for the 360 but not the PC, than the PC gaming will still cost a lot more because of needing to upgrade your PC.

I built my current p.c around the same date the Xbox 360 was launched, It cost me around ?400 (the beauty of self assembly = ] ) and ran pretty much everything on high (with better graphics then the consoles (not that I care about graphics or anything ) ), it served me well until last week when I spent ? 150 on a new graphics card (ati 5770) and can now once again play everything on max. (although admittedly I did get a free new processor)

Not: this is not a P.C is greater then consoles huh huh post, it just annoys me when people say P.C's cost a tonne and from the looks of your post your using it to try and defend the 360 even though the op wasn't trying to start a war against it.

 

[Valiance]

People think they need to update their computer when I'm sure there's countless games from pre-2004 that they could play and enjoy.

I could list countless, but it's not worth it.

I laugh at idiots who say "gaming computer = 2000 dollars" when I spent less than 350 on mine, the only upgrade I've purchased was a 50 dollar video card on sale, and I can play DoW II, Mirror's Edge, Fallout 3, etc, etc, all fine. I haven't played many new games, but remember, these games are much newer than my 1.8ghz dual core.

Even Crysis is playable with lower resolution.

To be honest, the only games I really play much anymore are when I come across a gem like Trine or Braid, and just playing Quake Live and WoW in the meantime. But any source-engine game runs practically perfect, which is enough entertainment for most PC gamers these days.

snip

Do you really have trouble returning 3 fingers to your 'home keys' after "pushing another button for a gameplay purpose?"

You do realize that 90% of games allow you to remap the controls?

And that the default keys are usually right around WASD, suc has QERF, Ctrl, Shift, Space, etc?

I have to remap everything to ESDF since I play with that instead of RDFG, but I can understand why people wouldn't want to play with either, but there's always a way to enjoy it, hell, buy a USB gamepad.

 

[ender_dio]

I have always played consoles over PC until last summer, when I got a better PC.

Now I play between my ps3 and my PC. My PC i primarily use for fps and rts, and my ps3 for everything else.

The problem is, in 5 years, a new console can come out, and I will need to spend 600 bucks on it.

Unfortunately, that means that the expected level of PC system requirements will rise sharply and I will need to upgrade that.

So, I can either spend 600 for a new console, and play my games on that. or 600 for a graphics card, 500 for a processor, or 1500 for a whole new computer.

I can't do afford to keep a PC up to date. Meanwhile a console will always be able to play those games no matter how good the graphics are

 

[end_boss]

Way back during the Nintendo vs Sega console wars, I was happily playing games on my PC. For the longest time, I identified myself primarily as a PC gamer. But that all changed because of the PC gaming industry's own egomania. The problem with the PC is that it's upgradeable, so not only do game programmers have a far looser sense of limits and restrictions to work with, but eventually it got to the point where a lot of games took pride in the fact that nobody owns a system good enough to play their game. Even if not that extreme, games will always try to outdo the other, and will require steadily increasing system specs so that the computer will become obsolete quite a bit sooner if you don't keep pumping more money into it.

 

[Flames66]

Buying a console means you don't have to upgrade until the next-gen comes out. So all you have to worry about is buying games and enjoying them. If you had a PC then you have to worry about what settings you can run the game at, will I get a good frame-rate at these settings, do I have the room to install this game on my HDD?

It's just a hassle. PCs require maintenance and upgrading, consoles don't. People are dumb and want easy mode.

Plus, most genres are more fun to play with a controller than a keyboard.

I disagree with this last part. Simple controls are fine on a controller but anything more complex (such as RTS controls or menu systems) are often difficult and frustrating to use.

 

[Marowit]

I build my own PC's for gaming, and they usually are for less than $1,000. Though it's easy to do, it's intimidating for a lot of people so what's their alternative? $3,500+ on a pre-built rig from some company that's going to give you crap support and over charge you.

In short - I think the real issue is the cost of staying current with PCs. It's simple to pick up a 360. It's less simple to build your own computer, and it's absurdly expensive to buy a computer for gaming made by a company.

 

[Kiutu]

I bought my 360, poppised a game in, and played. Thats why people like consoles.
Cant just plug in and play on a PC.
Consoles are much easier and cheaper and easier to learn. A controller has just enough buttons. When playing a PC game its alot of random guessing it seems, and its akward.
No need to install games on a console, nor spend a load to keep it up to date.
PC gamers just think in terms of power, not accessibillity, and is part of why they annoy me since their ego's get in the way too much.