Why so little PC gamers compared to console gamers?

[PettingZOOPONY]

Console also has a lot more retail. I have yet to see anyplace that solely sells computer games, they are usually tucked into a corner, down the stairs, and past the water fountain.

Steam only sells computer games! Kidding aside most legit PC games are sold digitally if steam stardock and D2D along with sprocket and all the others would actually release their numbers they are way above storefront sales.

 

[Contun]

Consoles are really easy if you simply want to enjoy a more casual gaming experience. This is really appealing to parents looking for something for their kids or people just wanting to sit down and play every once in a while with their buds. Consoles are also a good choice for people who have just starting gaming.

While Consoles may be easier to get into, PCs are better for the full gaming experience.

 

[octafish]

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Have you ever considered that when it comes down to it alot of people simply prefer the selection of console games. Those that you listed the only one that interests me the slightest that I cant really get on consoles is RTS games. I dont give a rats ass about shitty mods, and yes every single one iv seen is shit, doesnt add anything worthwhile, and is a waste of space.

Im a console gamer because they have pretty much everything I want, and the pc has nearly nothing that im interested in. One choice has about 10-15 games, the other 100+ that I like, its a pretty easy decision to make. If you cant understand that people have different tastes in games and gaming devices its you who is pretty fucking stupid.

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Hey, one PC gamer to another, can we drop the "stupid" thing? I've known plenty of otherwise-intelligent people who just couldn't really wrap their heads around the ins and outs of building and upgrading computers. One friend of mine is averse to building PCs because her one attempt at it resulted in a burned-out CPU- and she's employed as an accountant for a major airline and makes about three times as much money as I do.

Remember that there are auto mechanics out there who think you're an absolute moron because you don't know how to tear down and rebuild your car's engine.

Look, the point was that people own different consoles for different exclusives and PC gaming has exclusives that are worth owning a PC for as much as Halo on the 360 or Uncharted on the PS3 or ummm something on the Wii. If you don't care for the exclusives you probably won't buy the console, but you can't discount that there are games that are exclusive that have appeal, and some of it pretty wide ranging appeal.

re: Mods. Mods made Fallout 3 playable for me, tweaking the difficulty, decreasing the XP gained, and making it a more traditional Fallout experience. I couldn't imagine going back to vanilla Fallout 3. Oh and getting rid of GFWL, how did I manage before that?

I'm not saying console gamers are stupid, and I'm not talking about building PCs I'm talking about getting games to run on them. Perhaps I should have said people are too scared to try and understand troubleshooting a PC. Really I have never had a problem (that wasn't caused by GFWL) playing games on my PC. I just patch them up and if the devs have done their job they just work. Sometines there are minor tweaks to be made in the OS, and optimizing graphics settings, but it isn't hard at all. I guess I shouldn't have said stupid, scared is more like it. Cost may be a problem but I see Cloud computing and the next generation of single die CPU/GPUs like Sandybridge and Fusion pegging that back significantly. Cloud computing if properly implemented will spell the end of console gaming.

 

[ICanBreakTheseCuffs]

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idk,probably because of mainstream advertising and the embarrising amount of LAG in pc games than consoles though I'm not saying that consoles don't get lag

 

[Heatray]

Because you have to be Hugh Jackman from Swordfish to know how to use a computer. If I installed a game and it doesn't run, I'd have to reconfigure my bios, defragment my hard drive, install and update a new video drive, back check my sound card, clean my registry, and then call tech support because none of that worked only to have them tell me to do all of that and more shit that doesn't even work.

Or I could just say fuck it and play Xbox.

 

[Pingieking]

Your right it can do alot more like download movies and music and also do a hell of alot less when it comes to playing games. I really dont like people bashing consoles for no good reason at all.

I understand your view, but to say that I (or most reasonable people) bash consoles for "no good reason" is quite unfair. I just provided plenty of reason as to why I bashed the console. Those reasons may not apply to you, but then again you're not the one bashing consoles. No need for the hostility against console bashers.
On another note, to say that the PC can do a lot less in terms of gaming is a biased view (especially because I can actually argue that the PC can do more in terms of gaming). The PC has more exclusive games than any console, and a large portion of console games are ported to the PC. You just don't seem to see them.

 

[esperandote]

It takes knowledge to build/buy/mantain a gaming PC, consoles are easier for parents a little kids.

 

[archvile93]

Smaller install base equals less potential profits and greater risk resulting in less games.

 

[Worgen]

its because the knowledge required to be a pc gamer is much higher then a console one, or at least its perceived much higher. Building your own comp requires a bit of tech knowhow and more then a little research into parts if you want it to be a good rig. having someone else build you one... can be expensive although not really much more then a console and doing things on a pc requires more knowledge then the console does

with a console you just put in a disk and it either plays or its broken, with a pc you need to install it, maybe crack it if it needs the disk or the drm doesnt like something on your comp and then dl updates for it. No part of that is hard but it if youve never done it before then it can be a bit overwhelming I guess

personally I like the ability to trouble shoot my system and fix it if its broken but Im weird

 

[L-J-F]

Yeah but how many games do Console gamers typicaly buy a year? 20 games is over $1000. Personally I buy about 6 games a year, all online, and all non-mainstream titles, so it costs me about $200-300/year.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

One reason why I'm hesitant on switching to PC gaming is because aside from proper PC maintenance, installing a graphics card and RAM (and the bimonthly dust removal), I have no real hardware-related experience nor do I know anyone who does. If I wing it, I might destroy something expensive and I'd hate to have to buy it again.

 

[archvile93]

Smaller install base equals less potential profits and greater risk resulting in less games.

in what? the PC? the PC has plenty of games.

Yes, but not as many as consoles, and that's even including the shitty ports (note: not all ports are shitty, just some). In regards for this, I'm still pissed at game developers not making their games on PC, especially Bungie and Epic. At least I still have Id, for now.

 

[Nimzar]

How many people play WoW?

 

[Merkavar]

i think it just comes down to laziness. pc gaming seems to take a little bit more effort. as in actually installing games(not really the case now as alot of console games install stuff), patching the games, upgrading a video card ever now and then. its seems that little extra effort can drive people away from pc gaming. i prefer pc gaming over consolse for alot of games.

like fps i cant understand how anyone plays them on a playstation. the joysticks arent sensitive enough or too sensitive. i just tap the joystick on my ps3 and it moves the aimer from slightly to the left of an enemy to slightly to the right. but on my pc i can decide which eye of the enemey i want to aim at.

but 3rd person games always seem to be better on a consoles and alot of newer and popular games seem to be 3rd person like assassins creed, gears of war, deadspace