PC gaming is dead?

[erocker]

As far as I know, both Xbox 360 and the PS3 are perfectly capable of doing AA. I'm sure there are many games for either console that use it.

 

[Kreij]

Wait. You guys are arguing PCs vs. Consoles? That's new.

How about all of us PC gamers embrace gamers who use consoles as our fellow gamers and help them get the most out of the hardware they choose to use?

And how about all the console gamers helping the PC gamers in the same way if they can?

Maybe if ALL the gamers banded together to get the best games we could, the devs and publishers would listen a little closer.

Just a thought.

 

[CDdude55]

Wait. You guys are arguing PCs vs. Consoles? That's new.

How about all of us PC gamers embrace gamers who use consoles as our fellow gamers and help them get the most out of the hardware they choose to use?

And how about all the console gamers helping the PC gamers in the same way if they can?

Maybe if ALL the gamers banded together to get the best games we could, the devs and publishers would listen a little closer.

Just a thought.

That would be an ideal situation for the entire industry.

But as long as you have fanboys and elitists, it'll never become a reality.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

How about all of us PC gamers embrace gamers who use consoles as our fellow gamers and help them get the most out of the hardware they choose to use?

Because PC gamers are to console gamers as Mac OS users are to Windows users. The majority always shuns the minority (at least more loudly).

 

[Kreij]

That would be an ideal situation for the entire industry.

But as long as you have fanboys and elitists, it'll never become a reality.

Because PC gamers are to console gamers as Mac OS users are to Windows users. The majority always shuns the minority (at least more loudly).

So maybe here at TPU we can start a trend where we look at ourselves as gamers, not PC gamers or console gamers. Instead of saying, "mine's better", we can say, "here's how to make your's better".

I understand the idea that everyone has personal preferences. But why do we need to needle others instead of helping them? This goes for not only gaming, but also for OS's, programming, applications and the like.

It would be nice if here at TPU we do better and include all our gaming, programming, and computer using friends in our attitude of "we are here to help".

 

[imperialreign]

Just my thoughts on this topic . . .

I think, given another 10 years (plus or minus), we're going to see systems overall become so similar in their capabilities . . .

Look at it like this; the most modern consoles are really just mini-ATX LAN boxes. There's a small form-specific motherboard with onboard CPU, memory, video and sound, a DVD-ROM is attached, and in most cases, there's external storage (HDD), LAN or other network connectivity, and I/O ports.

That, my good friends, is a computer at it's most basic form, and has always been that way, whether we're looking at a current xBox360, or an ancient NES or Atari.

Thing is, as console gamers demand more and more from their systems, consoles have been forced to start taking on more duties that were typically thought of as "PC-only" - high-quality, multi-channel audio; better graphics; internet connection; HDD storage for games, software, media, etc. Even recently, consoles have allowed for games to be downloaded straight to the console's HDD . . .

So . . . at our current rate of "console-modernisation," we can expect to see consoles continue to inch ever closer to a gaming rig. Granted, they'll never be able to overtake a dedicated gaming rig when you look at sheer processing power, but that's another story. As it is, you can guarandamntee that as consoles continue down this path, they'll start encountering the same "issues" that "plague" the PC gaming market . . . most notably, piracy. The first major "milestone" for this is a simple internet connection, and the ability to transfer media from one rig to another . . . and that capability already exists . . . where there's a will, there's a way . . .


The only major "kink" of developing for PCs is the vast differences in user hardware. Consoles have streamlined this problem . . . everyone that owns a PS3 has the exact same hardware configuration. Everyone that owns a 360 has the exact same hardware configuration . . . makes development a lot easier.


All I'm saying is that as we hike down the road - we're going to start seeing consoles start having similar issues to the PC as they become more similar to the PC.

And then what platform are devs going to develop for?




-EDIT-

Regarding kreij's post above, I tend to agree . . . as everything becomes more similar, why differentiate?

 

[Lionheart]

The PC will live for eternity

 

[MilkyWay]

Theres nothing wrong with owning both. PC vs console should be moot i dont think there is an argument anymore, the only difference is that PC's not just a gaming platform and upgrade it slowly for your needs.

For the record i wasnt arguing i was just saying, there is a distinct difference.

I already said but here it is in other terms, the console is a mini pc the closer the 2 get to each other the more they are alike in terms of hardware and software. The software is already almost equal thats what i was trying to say. The only real difference is that you can upgrade a console and sometimes that works in its favour sometimes not.

 

[AltecV1]

Theres nothing wrong with owning both. PC vs console should be moot i dont think there is an argument anymore, the only difference is that PC's not just a gaming platform and upgrade it slowly for your needs.

For the record i wasnt arguing i was just saying, there is a distinct difference.

I already said but here it is in other terms, the console is a mini pc the closer the 2 get to each other the more they are alike in terms of hardware and software. The software is already almost equal thats what i was trying to say. The only real difference is that you can upgrade a console and sometimes that works in its favour sometimes not.

traitor

 

[AphexDreamer]

CONSOLE IS PC

 

[MilkyWay]

OH SHIT NOOOOO!!! i meant you CANNOT upgrade a console.

Now i look like a right fud!

Console is a mini PC, think about this PCs and Consoles lived in harmony years ago so why not today? That puzzles me.

 

[imperialreign]

The biggest reason the PC will never die:

 

[CDdude55]

With each generation Consoles are slowly becoming PC's. But always bare in mind the main usage for a Console is gaming, thats what they were built for. Why would anyone care if its ''not powerful enough'' or the visuals aren't of the best of the best. Consoles have some of the best exclusive titles and they always have some great games each generation to enjoy. If ya don't like it don't look at it.

I just don't get it..whats there to fight about?, the majority of games being released are mulitplatform anyways, everyone knows you can upgrade PC's to get better quality, but then again, whats that got to be with anything, visuals are irrelevant to having a good time.(unless thats what you find entertaining). The whole point of a game is to have fun and enjoy what was made. If we're all gamers, i don't see what there is to complain about.

Just buy the one that you will get the best entertainment out of, buy the one that has the games you want, buy the one that has the entertainment experience that you need.

 

[SummerDays]

This is why pc gaming is DEAD.

I bought a copy of Left for DEAD on sale for $7.50

Looked at the brand new game in the store $45.00.

Same game. One downloaded. The other in a package.

If they can't even manage the price of games in a store that sells nothing but games...

 

[CDdude55]

This is why pc gaming is DEAD.

I bought a copy of Left for DEAD on sale for $7.50

Looked at the brand new game in the store $45.00.

Same game. One downloaded. The other in a package.

If they can't even manage the price of games in a store that sells nothing but games...

That in NO way indicates PC gaming is dead.

Places like Gamestop, EB games, Best buy etc are know for ripping people off and marking games higher then there actually worth.They still sell The Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess for $49.99(its was a Wii launch title).

 

[SummerDays]

Of course it indicates a problem. And the problem has been going on for 20 years. If retailers aren't realistically pricing things, then the games aren't flying off the shelves.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

That's Nintendo. I can't name any game of theirs that is much more than $5 below the original list price. Super Mario Galaxy is the same as Twilight Princess. Ubisoft on the other hand, sold RRR: TV Party at $50 and now it is going for $20. Nintendo must assume that people jumping on the Wii train will buy those older games regardless of their price where Ubisoft assumes that they'll make up the difference in volume.

 

[CDdude55]

Of course it indicates a problem. And the problem has been going on for 20 years. If retailers aren't realistically pricing things, then the games aren't flying off the shelves.

It does indicate a problem with our game retailers, but not the platforms themselves.

Just because a store overprices their games in no way indicates the actual platform is dead or dieing.

 

[lilkiduno]

It does indicate a problem with our game retailers, but not the platforms themselves.

Just because a store overprices their games in no way indicates the actual platform is dead or dieing.

agreeed

Thats why games are now being sold via download. which i like better anyways.... i tend to lose one of the two things, either the disk or the CD Key! :[

 

[Kreij]

Wow ... We're still discussing this?

PC gaming is not dead.
PC gaming is not dying.
The number of PC games on the shelves of your retail store is not an indication of the health of PC gaming.
If the industry felt that PC gaming was dead, ATI and Nvidia would not be producing gaming GPUs.
If PC gaming was dying, games like DA:O and all the new upcoming games would have been stopped dead in their tracks.

We will always see games being produced as cross-platform, as it is in the best financial interests of the developers and publishers.

PC gaming will never die as there will always be someone, somewhere you will stay the course.
As long as there is money to be made by making PC games, they will be available.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Explain why NVIDIA is moving towards Tesla then? NVIDIA is only talking about Fermi's Tesla potential. It's GPU potential is stuck in a side note somewhere. AMD has always chased after the gamers so it's no surprise they are sending the ATI bits down that same path. That could be why AMD has been stuck in a permanent second place though.

NVIDIA could very well think that PC gaming is dying so they focus efforts on Quadro and Tesla.

DA:O is an Xbox 360 title before a PC title. They only release it on both platforms because it takes little to convert it. Proof of this is in how small/simple the maps are (console small, not PC big). Can you name any titles released for the Playstation 3 and PC but not the Xbox 360?

I can't name any major titles that are PC exclusive anymore. Even The Sims 3 and Spore were ported to Mac OS X. The only titles exlcusively for PC are budget ($20 or less) games like 18 Wheels of Steel.

I believe a platform is dead when it no longer makes enough money to warrant cross-platforming a title. It is dying when major exclusive titles are rare.

 

[1freedude]

well, i've never gottin' in on one of these discussions, so nows a good time to start.

My brother-in-law has a Wii, the new PS3, a lappy, and board games. When we go over to their house, we play all of 'em. I never got into the Wii, i just don't like the controllers. This past Sunday, we cracked open GTV, and i played for hundreds of laps. You see, i'm an old gamer, too. Started with coleco-vision, had a little run-in with some commodore64, Atari every single console (and computer, too), NES. Thats where i stopped. I started to get into computer games. The first PC game I beat was the original Myst. It was fun (pull your hair out fun), but my fav was Grand Prix 2. Had the wheel and everything. I couldn't believe the detail of the game. Not necessarily the graphics, but the physics, changing the car around, the telemetry, the analysis you could do.

Playing GTV gave me such a rush, I am seriously going to start racing again, BUT, on my PC.

The way i see it, just having a working computer is a game in itself. Fucking PSUs smokin', fried RAM, konked out hard drives, networking. Don't let me forget overclocking and cooling!

Right now, i don't have a single game installed on my system that didn't come with the OS. The last game i purchased was Myst: The Complete Chronicles of URU, in 2003!

A console got me revved up again, so i too believe we should band together as gamers.

But, PCs allow us a break from mindless action: they force us to use our brains so we can get our rigs running top-notch!

Thanks TPU

 

[phanbuey]

You know I was thinking about it today and THE MAIN reason, I believe, that PC gaming is "dead" in relation to consoles is that there are no good pre-builts out there for gaming.

You can't go to a store and buy a $300 or $400 machine designed around gaming. I can buy a $500 quad core PC but it won't game for ****. OEM's are the reason that PC gaming is the way it is.

Everyone points to piracy and supply-side economics. But honestly, its not piracy. In fact, Piracy would attract people to PC gaming because, at least to some extent, it offers cheaper games. What it is, however, is the complete inability of the 'common' PC to perform as a gaming machine.

If I went to Walmart right now, I could buy any console. But I bet you my left nut (and that is my favorite one too) that you wouldn't be able to buy a single PC that could compete in games with those same consoles. Even though it is entirely possible for HP to build a low-budget game machine that no console could touch.

It is this very reason that PC gaming is relegated to the enthusiasts or the filthy rich. Its a niche market even though it offers the richest experience and the greatest flexibility. Hell, all console technology is a cheap hand-me-down from the PC arena. But because of the complexity, money, and time that it takes to reach gaming nirvana on PC, people turn to consoles instead. Only our demographic watches in frustration as people ooh and aah at a ps3 HDTV screen that looks like **** because it lacks the image quality and smoothness of PC.

If the 'average' budget PC was ballanced towards a better videocard (are you listening AMD/Nvidia?!? f*** you, Dell) it could game better than a console. Then PC gaming would come back to life. As it stands, PC's are not even competing with consoles on the mass market. It's not readily available... and thus, to most people, it is not even an option.

I honestly think that it is supply side - but not from the gaming studios, they are just reacting to market forces. Its supply side from the people who make the 'average' computer. The one that can't get out of its own way, comes preloaded with a shit ton of junk, and can barely render vista chess.

Let me put it this way... everyone who has tried PC gaming, real PC gaming, always talks about how it blew their expectations, how much better it is than consoles.

 

[Zubasa]

As far as I know, both Xbox 360 and the PS3 are perfectly capable of doing AA. I'm sure there are many games for either console that use it.

I am sure they have the function to enable AA, but the problem is can they sustain enough FPS with AA on?
In many games the answer is no :shadedshu

 

[CDdude55]

I am sure they have the function to enable AA, but the problem is can they sustain enough FPS with AA on?
In many games the answer is no :shadedshu

Generally with Consoles you'll see a slight lag. Its not like on PC where everything is like a slide show when AA is enabled and you don't have a good enough system to handle it.

It definitely happens in some consoles games, but its more of a slight annoyance then a real big issue.