The End Of PC Gaming?

[Seob]

PC gaming will stay.

 

Think about all the hardcore simulator games like Flightsimulator. Don't think it's possible to have it running on a xbox360 / ps3 with multiple screens and special hardware.

And the RPG base is still very large in pc gaming.

[Video]

There are some games that I did, and continue to like on PC, but there is the whole "better than console" myth. First of all, a console has a control interface that I can deal with. Most games, even PC games, don't use any more buttons than an equal console game...so why is there very little, or half assed support for controllers on PC?

 

Take Morrowind for example. One of my favorite modern games (sorry, I think it's better than Oblivion, even with it's worse graphics) The computer version is the one I picked up and played first, and fell in love with. The draw distance was ass (though that didn't change for the console) b ut the one thing that I really didn't like, was the controller (or lack of) support. For real, I could play with the mouse, and keyboard (which is what I eventually did, just to save time swapping controllers) or I could use...2 Game pads (one USB, one game port) just to get some of the options onto a simpler controller, the keyboard for the hotkeys (the like 3 times I used them) and the mouse for moving around. Yay, what fun

 

But then, the X-box came out. I picked it up, and what looked like the same (button/stickwise) controller on the X-box, as one of the ones I tried on the PC, managed somehow to get ALL the controls to work. I think they even gave you a few hotkeys with the dpad or something.

 

Why go through the agrivation? If a games on the PC, or the Console, get the console one. Yeah, I know, Mouse and keybaord are so superior that's why so many controllers exist for computers, and so few keyboards and mice (and support for) exist on (insert console here)

 

But...there's also the graphic thing. The computer could do much better than the console...Could...that is, if I go out and piss away $200-$400 for a new graphics card (assuming that's ALL I had to do, at this point, that involves buying an all new motherboard, processor and memory, so I couldn't get away with it that cheap) And what do you get? Slowdown, tearing, or simply missing bits of graphic data? Ok...well... Maybe some people do enjoy putting more time into upgradeing their machines than actually playing the game, to them, well, that's great. But average joe gameplayer isn't going to give a rats ass about taht. Just buy a console, you'll get top of the line (maybe not absolute pinnicle, but top of the line none the less) graphics, and none of the hastle of "will this game work with my (insert part here)

 

Top that with, well, the whole copy protection. It's not as big a thing now as it was befor consoles got hard drives, but back then, I could load a game onto the Hard drive and....still have to have the disc to play the game...Huh? Ok, I kinow I can copy the disc to the HDD, and simploy have the computer redirect there to play the game, but then I have the game on the HDD twice.m As I said, not as big a deal now, as any console has drives, but seriously, PC could have won on convienance by not requireing the disc. The game companies are actually loosing there (as I said, no problem bypassing the thing, just inconvienant so their not actually forceing sales or anything) I really feel like a criminal playing computer games, because honestly, your forced into working that way. I have no problem with useing the disc, but have the game load a temp file to the HDD, and use the disc like a console, don't require me to use up 4 GB of HDD space, and still have the disc.

 

Also, patches. Now, as I said, HDD on consoles, so...But still, I haven't seen much in the way of any games released on consoles that out and out don't work. I've picked up a LOT of games on the PC that wouldn't untill you got a giant patch (oh, and the days of useing a 14k or less modem to fix it) Consoles, there's no excuse to have anything not work, so you can count on the games working.

 

All that said PC's do have something (though, again, console HDD"s are eating into it) and that's emulation. I can play a perfect SNES port, and keep my SNES stuff stored away, that's great. It's pure processor run too, so no sound or audio driver issues to run with. Fully supports controllers, but hey, why not? But then again, at this point, the consoles can all do this too, and on newer systems, tehy again work better.

 

So, anyhow. As far as PC gameing going away, it never will, totally, as for duying, it died a long long time ago. For me, Doom was the last great PC game, and it took a good ten years befor it was released in a good comparative console format (though IMO, the Jaguar was even better and it was around the same time, I think)

 

The big names are all pulling out of the PC market, mainly cause the money's not there, and piracy is a big problem (but I explained that up there anyways.. There will always be small names on the PC, cause they will have the ability to not pay liscensing fees, or heck, anything else, but they'll always have higher piracy rates too, if their games are worth a damn.

 

I'll continue to enjoy a very few PC games for years to come, and enjoy having a single place to play all my old systems (other than my 2600, I don't keep anything hooked up anymore) But for modern stuff, the PC will never be a primary (or secondary, or trimary....etc,etc,etc) system for me.

[Seob]

We'll the piracy issue isn't a pc problem anymore. I see more and more people buying development cards for the nintendo DS. So the pc isn't alone anymore on this.

True piracy on the console's are old, snes diskdrive!, and the mod chips on the newer cd based consoles. But since Nintendo has found a new group of gameplayers piracy on the DS is getting bigger and bigger.

[Reaperman]

There are some games that I did, and continue to like on PC, but there is the whole "better than console" myth. First of all, a console has a control interface that I can deal with. Most games, even PC games, don't use any more buttons than an equal console game...so why is there very little, or half assed support for controllers on PC?

that's where I get hung up too. Back when I pc gamed (early 1990's), it WAS a superior platform in almost every way--granted it was an expensive platform. These days all of its advantages have been replaced with 'issues'. Now I think PC gaming can be classified as an inferior platform in as many ways.

 

The biggest advantage to leave is the advanced graphics with far higher color count and resolution. This was what drew both gamers and developers alike to the platform back then. And for problems, The biggest problem to pop up was graphical chop, no matter what kind of graphics card is used.

[AtticGamer]

Besides, Windows resource consumption, errors and pop up boxes can ruin a game for me.

[nathanallan]

As for me, PC gaming won't be going away. Lots of good points have been brought up, but one has been missed: Who builds XBoxes or PS3's? Not me, but there are lots of people out there that can build a PC up effectively and have it running for years playing all kinds of games. The modern consoles will probably be around a long time, too, like the classic consoles have been, but they're just not that upgradeable when compared to the PC. When you consider emulators for the classic consoles, the gaming value increases for PC's.

 

Nathan

[Underball]

they Said the same thing when the first Playstation came out.

 

Didn't happen then. Won't happen now.

[classicgamingguy]

Perhaps it's "dead", perhaps not. But overall I find myself enjoying PC games to this day. I'm a big fan of action/RPG games, and Titan Quest (plus it's expansion) is dominating my time right now. I still play the "older" PC games (Unreal Tournament GOTYE, DOS-related games, Dungeon Siege, etc.), but of course without upgrading, my PC won't run the current crop.

 

I'm VERY reluctant to upgrade (again), as the PC is about 3 years old and not really worth it. I can't afford to buy a new PC, so this one is my gaming machine. I mean, I CAN upgrade the computer some more (more memory, better video card), but at this time it's not an option financially.

 

The emulation factor is great for preserving your collections, and the many DOS games of old are still good bets for plenty of hours of entertainment.

 

Steve

[atarian63]

PC gaming will stay.

 

Think about all the hardcore simulator games like Flightsimulator. Don't think it's possible to have it running on a xbox360 / ps3 with multiple screens and special hardware.

And the RPG base is still very large in pc gaming.

Those are the games I dont play so I dont use my PC for gaming at all. O.K. maybe a quick emulator or flash but that's it. Consoles rule! Especially for arcade games!

[+HammR25]

It really depends what kind of games you like. Racing simulations aren't nearly as good on consoles as they are on the PC. That won't change for the foreseeable future either.

[atarian63]

It really depends what kind of games you like. Racing simulations aren't nearly as good on consoles as they are on the PC. That won't change for the foreseeable future either.

You have a point I solved this with sitdown arcade racers, though not as good graphically, they make up for it with the seat sound and feedback.

[Fort Apocalypse]

PC Gaming as long as there is no alternative to keyboards (for communication). Think of Infocom. Has any console game come close to it? NO! Even with microphones and voice recognition, is any kid going to want to say things into it, or will they be too embarrassed? PC Gaming takes games to a much deeper level than they get with console games, for the very reason that computers exist- they are meant for doing more than just games, so their input is different than the simplest thing that could possibly work to satisfy the normal gamer, thereby providing more human interface that is more complicated for the game developer to take advantage of in their games.

 

IMO, text adventures BLOW AWAY most games of today for this very reason.

[shadow460]

I all but stopped PC gaming when support for 3Dfx stopped. It wasn't that I thought all games should run on 3Dfx hardware, it's that I wondered why I should go out and buy more and more expensive hardware to keep up with the current PC games.

There are some PC ports that I feel are superior to console ports. Let's look at my current rage, Final Fantasy 8. The PC version has sharper graphics, doesn't necessarily need a disc (there are five), has the Chocobo Qorld mini game built in, and has some limited support for a PS1 style gamepad. Not bad, for sure.

The PS1 version has NO controller lag. Oh, wait, I can take Chocobo World with me, too! That means I can play through it on the go like it was meant to be, instead of being tied to the computer. Hmmm...

Which is superior? Neither, really, unless I can hook the PocketStation to a Dex Drive and transfer data that way.

 

It's funny, though. I have acquired three video cards since my Voodoo 5. I paid $150 for a Kyro II, I pad $20 for a Radeon 7000 as an upgrade to that, and I was given a second Voodoo 5. I still have the Voodoo 5 cards, but I don't have the other cards anymore. Oddly enough, both Voodoo 5 cards are still in use! Why pay for more when I don't need it?

[JimmydelaKopin]

PC gaming hitting the bricks?

 

Not as long as there are fans of solitaire , "Shanghai", and Diner Dash.

 

Okay, maybe some of teh hrdkor gamerz will hit the bricks and go to consoles...but you know what I say?

Good. Don't le the door hit them on their asses.

We're talking about games. You know, fun-time down-time activities.

Oh, they can't do their massive army strategies on their computers any more?

Two words for them: Games Workshop. Go play Warhammer or 2ndEd Minis or Heroclix and leave me and my Zuma the fuck alone, you l33tsp33kng fucktards!

 

Gaming on the computer has always been about one simple thing: fun. Whether it's arcade ports or simple text-based games, home gaming on the computer has done its best to emphasize fun first...not always with good results, granted, but they tried!

Now we have teh hrdkor gamerz who want their "morpugs" (thank you, Yahtzee! ) and their "fips"--and no glitches and superb graphics and why they hell don't they just buy a console and do an net linkup and leave me the hell alone with my Popcap games?

 

Popcap games--for real computer gamers, not "gamerz'!

"The preceding was an unpaid endorsement of Popcap games. The opinions therein are solely the opinions of darkdri--I mean, JimmydelaKopin, and do not refledct the opinions of the Cult of Lain in any way."

Oh, do be quiet, Dsikette.

Edited August 10, 2008 by JimmydelaKopin

[games-video]

PC Gaming as long as there is no alternative to keyboards (for communication). Think of Infocom. Has any console game come close to it? NO!

 

I can even think of Infocom ON a game console:

 

 

just kidding, btw, but it's quite a good game

Edited August 10, 2008 by games-video

[Gregory DG]

just kidding, btw, but it's quite a good game

I was gonna say... that diary looks might familiar...

[gospeedde]

I game on my pc more often than on my consoles because it is better for my favorite type of games (Civ IV, Heroes of Might and Magic, Alpha Centauri, and Spore when it comes out). I tried Civ IV, for instance, on my ps3 and absolutely hated it even though I really like it on my pc. I will admit, though, that good games in this genre are few and far between (hence me still playing Alpha Centauri though it is about a bazillion years old) so it might not be a large argument in favor of the pc.

[Shawn]

Age Of Conan. Werd.

[classicgamingguy]

I've just started Dungeon Siege II with it's expansion pack Broken World. It's a great game, but I'm sure it could be translated to a "modern" console system, I'm just not sure how it would work. Hmm..

 

Steve

[atarian63]

PC Gaming as long as there is no alternative to keyboards (for communication). Think of Infocom. Has any console game come close to it? NO! Even with microphones and voice recognition, is any kid going to want to say things into it, or will they be too embarrassed? PC Gaming takes games to a much deeper level than they get with console games, for the very reason that computers exist- they are meant for doing more than just games, so their input is different than the simplest thing that could possibly work to satisfy the normal gamer, thereby providing more human interface that is more complicated for the game developer to take advantage of in their games.

 

IMO, text adventures BLOW AWAY most games of today for this very reason.

My Wife would agree,she is still a big Infocom fan. SHe looks at my arcade machine much just doesn't get it. To each his (or Her) own.

[carmel_andrews]

The PC games market and Console games market are two distinct and separate markets, the console markets rely on advances in PC technology in order to develop it own leading edge technology, after all console technology as it is is no better/no more advanced then or to PC technology

 

you can liken to comparing the original pc and the atari's/commodore's and apple's that the pc was competiting against, as well as the gaming systems at the time i.e vcs/7800, nes, sms etc etc

[AtticGamer]

Yes but at the time PC was made for work, not games.

 

The C64 was a far more useful computer until MS-DOS arrived.

[classicgamingguy]

One more word to say on PC gaming:

 

The DOS game Starfleet 1: The War Begins!!

 

AWESOME!!!

 

-Steve

[AtariLeaf]

Casual gaming is HUGE in the PC market. Sims 2 recently hit 100 million units and Sims 3 is one of the most anticipated titles of 2009. Not to mention, as some have, the enormous popularity of MMO's on the PC. I think hardcore gamers think in terms of the type of games they play and then translate that into a PC vs. console debate. There is no doubt that FPS, fighting games, etc are more popular and accessible on dedicated machines like xbox but for people who don't enjoy those kinds of games, the simpler pace of many pc games is more appealing. This is why the Wii is so popular. Simpler games that the casual gamer can enjoy.

 

It may go up and down in spurts, but I highly doubt PC gaming ever disappears.