Is PC gaming dying?

Discussion in 'Gamers Hangout' started by Cockles, May 28, 2008.

  1. Ropenfold

    Ropenfold Kilobyte Poster

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    I'm quite nostalgic when it comes to my old PC games, X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, Theme Park, Unreal Tournament, I couldn't imagine them on an console!

    There should definately be a split between consoles and PC though, I used to love the exclusivity. I guess I'll always be scarred mentally by the attempt to port the Original Street Fighter 2 onto the Amiga - I think it was about 12 disks! :ohmy
     
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  2. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Well done:biggrin

    It was one of the best Multiplayer games for LAN gaming because of the rail gun. A gun that can shoot through walls, (bit like the eraser film). It was excellent, shame they didn't have a LAN option in Red faction2:(

    Oooh! i almost forgot to ask...how's the cycling going for the charity event??
     
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  3. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    What about road rash on the sega drive, where you ride a motor bike and use clubs and chains to knock over people off in the race
    - classic game, don't think it was ever released on any other console??:blink
     
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  4. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    Phoenix, you always have a way of saying things :biggrin

    This is a good topic by the way. I myself discussed this on a group on Facebook that I joined. I for one am not happy about how some games that were originally made for the PC say 10yrs ago (Grand Theft Auto anybody?) have now become exclusive to just consoles. Remember when the PS2 first launched and they made GTA 3 to coincide with the release? How long was it til the PC version came out? Anybody?

    And now we have the problem where GTA 4 get released on consoles and in about 6mths we will end up with a cr4p port for the PC. A prime example was Iron Man. I am going to admit that I downloaded Iron Man the game for my PC cos I was not going to pay £30 for it. And good job I did too, cos when I played it, the gameplay was just rubbish, the graphics were not as intense as I was expecting and when I had a butchers on youtube for other versions (Xbox, PS3, etc) I found that the PC version was in fact a port of the PS2 version of the same game!! I stopped playing it, uninstalled it and completely removed the game off my hard drive. Now imagine my frustration if I had parted with £30. It would mean going back to the shop and not being able to get a refund but either a credit note or swap it for another game. Really boils my pi$$ :mad:

    Of course, games like Call Of Duty 4, Crysis, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (and of course 1) and I would also possibly add Assassin's Creed, have all been excellent on the PC. But with the case of Assassin's Creed, that again was a port from a console (whether PS3 or Xbox 360 I dont know) as it was released 6mths after the console versions so there were times where I got a little frustrated with the way the game ran. Call of Duty 4 was by far the best game I have ever played. I still have yet to play Bioshock and will get round to it soon I am sure. Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 were just pure class.

    I myself sincerely hope PC games dont die and I even told a friend of mine when I went to Liverpool that PC games are no longer widely recognised as they use to be since consoles became more and more attractive.

    Like Phoenix says its all based on casual gaming for the consoles. Now all I am waiting for is the PC release of GTA 4 and lets hope it does better than the likes of Splinter Cell (I think it was Double Agent?) and Assassin's Creed. Also when they do Assassin's Creed 2 they want to release the PC version at the same time as the console versions cos seriously it would ROCK big time!!

    So there's my 2 cent :biggrin
     
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  5. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    I thought it was called Road Rage? :biggrin :twisted:

    Anyone remember the first game to feature intense graphics back in say 97/98? MDK? And you played the role of a character simply called Kurt who looked like something out of the Alien movies...now that was gaming revolution :biggrin
     
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  6. Ropenfold

    Ropenfold Kilobyte Poster

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    The was an amiga version but you had to change disks occasionally. Not a patch on the Mega drive version!
     
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  7. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Roadrash was good, Xenon was another good one :D

    .
     
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  8. Cockles

    Cockles Megabyte Poster

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    That's a good point Arronyn brought up about genres. I've always liked my FPS and my RPGs. True, consoles always - in my opinion - held the gold medal for FPS games, and PCs for your more strategy/RPG titles. However, I think recently that has shifted somewhat. I don't know about the quality of the game, but the fact that games like Oblivion and the like made it so big on consoles is swaying me too. I do recall playing awesome old school games like X-Com, C&C and Dungeon Master etc on consoles and thinking they were the nuts, and they worked (for me, anyway) fine on that platform.

    I don't want PC gaming to lose track, by any means. I was playing some of my old stock like Thief and Deus Ex recently and in my opinion they are just as good as when I bought them many moons ago. Just wondering if it indeed time to make the 'shift'
     
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  9. Mof

    Mof Megabyte Poster

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    what i like about pc games is that there is now sites you can go to and download and play free like shotonline golf game and ther are many chess sites evan tea games is good for a laugh consoles dont offer this.

    I think
     
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  10. Ropenfold

    Ropenfold Kilobyte Poster

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    Phoenix's point about interfaces and perhiperals pretty much sums up the difference between a console and a PC in terms of games, it always used to make me laugh when I used to see some crazy overpriced Flight Sim Joystick with no purpose other than a flight sim.

    Maybe its up to games designers to try and incorporate some kind of exclusivity and uniqueness into PC games that end up multiport. My friend has a wii and when a game comes out on the ps3, X Box and Wii, we always want to check out the wii version first, just because its different.
     
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  11. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    I love my PC for games and what holds me off turning to consoles 100% is that I hate using a joypad for FPS's. I think once there is an option to use keyboard and a mouse on a console for a gaming input then that might make me move onto consoles and leave my PC for work only as I think it will probably happen in the future where developers stop producing games for PC. The good side of that is that I would also turn my back on Windows and use Linux as I only use Windows because I'm a gamer (and it's a ripoff).
     
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  12. Cockles

    Cockles Megabyte Poster

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    I gotta agree with you there, I'm not used to joypads, and playing anything that involves using a thumbstick means I'm out of the game immediately
     
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  13. Ence

    Ence Kilobyte Poster

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    We a PC gamer are 2nd class :x GTA 8 months later then consoles.
    I games box is so out of date, for 200quid I could get a xbox or save more about spend about 500 - 600 on a new pc not going mad on spending 300quid on graphics card. It will probley be out of date in a year.

    look as if most PC gamer don't like controls. Can't Imagen playing TF2 with a controller.

    edit: don't know what the online gaming for xbox or other is like, on PC you got 1000 of server with players on them.

    what it like in console world ?
     
  14. Mathematix

    Mathematix Megabyte Poster

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    Awesome thread! :biggrin

    I'm a programmer in the games industry and a PC-only gamer. A lot of truth has already been said by GBL and Pheonix, to mention two. But here are some further points:

    PC Gaming

    1. The capabilities of the tools made to make high-end PC games are, and will always be superior to consoles, given the rate at which PC technology advances.

    2. Game content, like levels, are normally larger and more detailed for the PC platform, audio is likely to be superior, and the variety of games out there vastly outnumber those available for all the consoles put together.

    3. Hardware driver updates are a lot more frequent.

    4. PCs offer both controller and keyboard/mouse control schemes. (Some consoles do as well, but on a PC it's standard.)

    5. Premium PC hardware upgrades fall in price at a faster rate for the performance you get from a console that has likewise dropped in price.

    6. PCs have greater options for media as they can read both Bluray and HD-DVD with an appropriate drive.

    7. PCs are user serviceable if you have the knowhow.

    8. Game prices are generally cheaper.

    9. PCs can be configured to suit all game genres.


    Console Gaming

    1. Performance is consistant across the board. No "will this run on my PC" worries.

    2. Consoles generally always reflect the latest capabilities in gaming technology ('Nextgen' stuff, for instance.)

    3. No chance of hardware compatability issues that you can get with a PC because of things like drivers.

    4. A very healthy online community.

    5. Low initial outlay for hardware purchase.

    6. Doesn't suffer as much from poor game ports.

    7. A lot more attractive exclusive titles.

    8. Can trade in games that your tired of against new/other titles.


    It really comes down to what you want from your machine and games. Only you can make the decision. :)
     
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  15. BosonMichael
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    Not even close. :)

    So let's say you get a console.

    What happens when you have to upgrade the PC? There are things that you do on a PC that you simply cannot do on a console... and the PC is gonna have to be upgraded someday ANYWAY. Then you're out BOTH costs.

    Okay, so what sets a normal computer apart from a gaming computer? Typically, the video card. My video card upgrades typically cost me between $120-$170, and I can sell my old video card for a few bucks - usually from $25-$40. More memory and a faster processor help... but you're gonna need enough memory and processor speed to keep ANY computer going for a few years. Always get the best bang for the buck.

    Just this past weekend, my parents bought two brand new Dells, each of them with:
    Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
    3 GB memory
    160 GB hard drive
    **AND** a 20" widescreen monitor for each...

    ...all for around $580 per computer, after shipping and taxes.

    With the exception of the onboard video (which can be upgraded for $150ish) and onboard sound (which could have been upgraded for $25), this system is quite suitable for gaming for years to come... a computer which you'll need at some point, anyway.

    If you're dying for a console, by all means, get a console. But if you're undecided, you're always going to have to have a relatively updated PC... and upgrading a computer is usually cheaper than buying a good console.

    To top it off, PC games typically cost less than console games, so add that to the potential savings.
     
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  16. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    The console will always be 2nd place imo because of the reasons Mathematix and BM have said, upgrading isn't expensive if you shop around for your upgrades.

    Online gaming on the xbox is good, but its not configurable like PC online gaming. By that I mean you select online and thats it. You dont have servers where you can filter things like in most PC games.
     
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  17. BosonMichael
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    Most FPS games are horrible on consoles, most of which employ auto-aim features.

    Additionally, keyboard and mouse are superior input methods to a controller for FPS games. This has been shown in head-to-head fights with PC and XBox 360 gamers fighting head-to-head - the PC gamers usually trounce the console gamers. Now, unless most PC gamers are superior to most console gamers (which I doubt), it's got to be either the platform or the input method... and I'm gonna guess it's the input method, as the platform itself doesn't suck.
     
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  18. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    I do like controls. They are called, quite affectionately, "keyboard" and "mouse". 8)

    We *can* buy controllers for PCs, and many PC games support them. But most PC gamers prefer keyboard and mouse.
     
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  19. JonGlory

    JonGlory Byte Poster

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    IMO

    Playling with your mates/family -consoles are better

    Online/fps - pc

    My parents (both over 55), had a great laugh playing the wii , they would never dream of playing a pc.
     
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  20. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    Interesting thread and valid points mentioned in all. I'd like to add that both console and PC gaming has it's place however coming back to main point of post is PC gaming dying? I would say there are signs it's not taking precedence when compare to the likes of the console games and the reason being the money involved.

    I think we should not forget that it's innovation and ways of making money that makes a product or company survive and evolve.

    It is also clear that the likes of the Xbox, PSP, WII and PS3 etc are being head hunted by games manufacturers whereas the PC owing to hardware intensity in terms of requirement is making companies shy away.

    On the other hand judging from experience the console games requires less tuition to get on with the action of playing the game but the PC requires skill with the keyboard, configuration and the use of a special mouse or joypad.

    This is not necessarily a set back but can be a deterrent as sometime you just want to get on and play a game and not configure the keyboard or joypad to function a certain way, well this is just my finding and opinion. Cost wise the PC would work out cheaper as games tend to be less expensive when compared to the console games.
     
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