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[Altered Juice]

There are so many console exclusives,I don't know how anyone could be satisfied exclusivity with pc.

1.customizable visual settings that can look better than console versions

2.some think that those exclusives are going to hit steam one day because a journalist asks a dev if there will be a port then they subtly sidestep the question like:

journalist post an article about it and pc gamers be like:

 

[Fredrik]

I still play exclusives on console but PC has definitely taken the top spot for the rest, because...

Cheaper games
Free online
60-120 fps in games locked to 30fps on consoles
Scalable graphics settings, no more 20-30fps in any game, just scale it back until the framerate is to your liking
Mods
Best version of multiplatform games and 90% of all games released are multiplatform today
Plug in a controller and it just works, no tweaking anymore

 

[flaxknuckles]

There are so many interesting games that get released on Steam every month I wonder how console exclusives get touted as a bullet point over PCs. Seems like people who spout that ish only play AAA games

 

[Miguel81]

The games :

Wasteland 2
Pillars of Eternity
Divinity Original Sin
Star Citizen
Elite : Dangerous
Mechwarrior Online
MMOs
Console ports (if you like those)

It just does everything. Also, I can at anytime open up Word or Excel and do my work. Or play Youtube stuff while browsing 10 different open web sites.

Oh yeah, then there's the price difference. You can get all new games for much cheaper than in the stores or just wait a little bit and get them for half price during a sale.

Also, do you like a particular console controller more than the other? Buy it and plug it in.

I love them, but they're just as much PC games nowadays. The benefit of also having an "indie", CRPG, and pnc adventure renassaince is the icing on the cake.

 

[Raeshawn]

I have wayy too many games to play on PC where I can only make a list of 10-20 console games I want and over half are multiplat. It seems like consoles only care about the next big game of the month then move on where on PC there's so many choices and new updates to games monthly/weekly.

 

[Zushin]

For me,

1. Backwards Compatibility. I get to keep my games for ever. My library will continue to grow without needing to start from scratch every generation or won't be lost if my hardware fails and is no longer in production.

2. Price. The cost of entry is higher, but in the long term I'll be saving a lot I feel. Especially being in Australia, where prices of new games are ~90-100 bucks new on console vs $37.50 on GMG (Got Shadow of Mordor, Alien and The Evil Within for that just to use recent examples). Of course then you have the ridiculous Steam/GMG/Humble/GOG sales on top of that.

3. Performance. I simply cannot stand 30 fps anymore when I am used to 60.

4. Multitasking. I love being able to alt-tab and check emails, listen to music on Google All Access, look up guides for what I'm playing quickly and easily, etc. If I get around to getting a 2nd monitor it will become even better.

 

[hemtae]

I made the switch awhile ago but the reason back then was because the consoles preformance problems were reaching my limits. Then I found the pc exclusive stuff and that was the reason I stayed PC first into this generation.

 

[Wiktor]

There are so many console exclusives,I don't know how anyone could be satisfied exclusivity with pc.

There's only so much time one can spend gaming though. If PC games fill that time completely they might not be enough left for console exclusives, especially if one wants to play those pc games more than he wants to play console exclusives. I mean, sure..there are some console exclusives I would like to play, but when such console game isn't even in top20 games I want each year there's no point in buying console.

 

[DarkHeartedKill]

For me it was the deals, the fact that I don't have to subscribe to play online on top of my already existing internet bill, the ability to create my own gaming rig, and backwards compatibility. The ability to be able too search things up while remaining in the same area and more precise aiming when playing an FPS was also beneficial. The price is also a huge factor, you can build a decent rig for less than a console and it will last longer than the life of them.

 

[SparkTR]

One of the few places left to play games with actual depth, almost everything on consoles has been too mass appeal and homogenous for a long time now.

 

[KillerKlown]

I have always been a PC gamer outside of owning the NES and SNES first when i was young. What truly hooked me into pc gaming was the Commodore 64, it was so glorious. Everything about it was mind blowing to me as a pre-teen. Everything from floppy disks to having to know how to start the games to my first flight simulator on it. Then came IBM pc's and Wolfenstein 3D/DOOM.

I will just say that every reason given in this thread goes for me as well about pc gaming. I will say though that i miss the days that games came out on pc first and exclusive all the time. Everything seems to be made for console first which is honestly disheartening.


EDIT: I really dislike that MS and Sony charge console gamers a high feed to use their services to the fullest extent, i would never pay to use a service to play online games, get access to demos etc...I'm spoiled by the open nature of PC gaming.

 

[grandwizard]

The overlong console generation last time around probably caused one of the bigger migrations to PC. You had $60 games in 2013 that looked and ran like complete trash on consoles when you could easily put together a PC on the cheap that would run circles around them. Those people who jumped in at that point got used to cheap Steam prices, backwards compatibility through upgrades (free remastered editions!), better control options, better framerates and IQ, not having to pay for online play, wider game library (RTS, mmos, grand strategy), etc and stuck around.

 

[Durante]

I love them, but they're just as much PC games nowadays. The benefit of also having an "indie", CRPG, and pnc adventure renassaince is the icing on the cake.

For me it's the other way around. The console ports are the icing.

 

[mrklaw]

I don't consider myself switching to PC, more adding it to the party.

 

[Gipsy Danger]

I switched because it works out cheaper for me, I prefer having choices, 60/1080 and PC exclusives are the shit. I still have consoles but they rarely get played except for exclusives.

 

[Ahzrei]

I switched because I was jealous of mods, and the PC's were becoming so much more powerful.

I stayed for steam sales and GOG and the wonderful freedom that PC gaming can offer.



(I then bought a PS4 because Bloodborne, and a Vita because of NeoGaf and am now officially not on any 'side', I just love games.)

 

[samurai1226]

Switched to High-End Pc last year. Reasons:

Image Quality
Cheap digital game prices and sales
One and PS4 not able to bring 1080p60 standard
MMOs
Steam Family Sharing
Mods
No paid subscriptions for playing online
You can do a lot of more things with a PC (rendering videos, photoshop, etc)
Configurable FOV in many FPS, i dont like the 60-70° FOV of many console shooters

I bought an Xbox One, but its only used for exclusives like Destiny or Halo MCC later this year

 

[Karl Hawk]

I like having the options to change my PC gaming performance (I can always have 1080p/60FPS if I want to). I like cheap games sales on Steam and GOG.

And free online. I'm still upset about PS4 online paywall.

Chat Communication are far superior.

I can use my PC for other stuff (Web browsing, digital painting, etc..)

I was thinking of quitting PC gaming, but after I played WoW (My first MMO and addicted to it), they pulled me back in. I'm now loving PC gaming more than I used to.

But to be honest, I ain't leaving my consoles behind. I bought PS4 since launch and I'll play it along with my PC for the remainder of this generation.

 

[Danj]

Built myself a badass mini-ITX gaming PC last year and now I get multiplatform games on PC because a) cheaper b) better performance. There are still a few games that do not come to PC though, like Vita niche titles, and console-only titles like Destiny and GTA5 (though of course the latter is now finally getting a PC release, which I will double dip on).

 

[alstein]

Last-gen I was PC mostly, this gen I will just PC

reasons:

1) I refuse to just pay for online access. That was the final straw. The increased costs of PCs compared to consoles- once you factor in a few years of online access it almost evens out
2) The games I enjoy most in the genres I enjoy most, they're getting PC ports at least now
3) generally better value for money
4) I have little interest in most console exclusives
5) better performance

That said, the amount of PC switches is probably much higher in an enthusiast community like GAF than it is with your generic gamers, so consoles will thrive this gen.
I just hope Japan takes note of the increase in PC gaming in the West for Japanese games- particuarly Falcom.

 

[The Red Wizard]

Mod support
Games often perform and/or look better
Perpetual BC, or nearly perpetual
Emulation
I can do more than play games so it'll always be connected. I'll have to pack away my 360 or PS3 to make room for a PS4 thanks to the lack of BC
Games are cheaper
A huge range of controller options

 

[Big-E]

Went from pc gamer in my early years to console only during middle school which later changed to a mixture of both during the PS360 generation and now I am PC only again and am happier than ever. PC is cheaper in games, runs everything, more media capabilities, and the big kicker now is that it seems that the PC gets every single console game that is not 1st party exclusive anyway so there is no point for me to own a console anymore. I might pick a s PS4 or something down the road when it is dirt cheap and want to play the 1st party games that are good.

I also went from having a gaming laptop to switching to a mini-itx pc and couldn't be more happy with that decision.

 

[CyanideFuse]

All these have probably been mentioned a load of times already but:

• A huge back catalogue
• Being able to tinker with settings to get the performance I want
• Mods
• Sales and bundles
• Control scheme - KB/M or controller
• Subscription-less online gaming
  
  Spoiler

  [*]Anisotropic filtering!

 

[elhav]

Steam.

 

[Ikuu]

One of the main reasons I continue to stick to the PC is how cheap the games are. FIFA 15 is £20 cheaper on PC, and I can get most games for £20 or less. £50 for a new game is just far too much in my opinion, and I think I've only spent £40 on around 3 games in the past 5 years.

 

[jfoul]

I need both.

I've been a console gamer since the early 80s, and also became a PC gamer in 1998 when I taught myself how to build desktops. I have owned almost every console up until this generation. Right now, I'm PC, PSN+, PS4, PS3, PS2, PSVita. I'll eventually buy a WiiU when the new Zelda releases.

My backlog is ridiculous right now because of cheap steam games and PSN+. I always have something to play, but I'm overwhelmed.

 

[Feindflug]

The idea of console exclusives is laughable to me. Every single day I come across several interesting games that will never come to console. Rock paper shotgun is a constant reminder that pc is where all the creativity is.

It may sound laughable to you but experiencing Bloodborne, Bayonetta 2 or Forza Horizon 2 can't be replicated on PC as games like Company of Heroes, Divinity & Civilization can't be replicated on consoles.

"Making the switch" sounds weird to me as it doesn't make sense to stick to one platform at least for me. I have a decent PC rig for multiplats and indie games, a Wii U for Ninty games, I'm getting a Xbone next month for Sunset Overdrive & Halo: MCC and a PS4 in February for Bloodborne...every one of those purchases was/will be done based on the software I want to play. Limiting yourself on a single platform sounds crazy to me.

 

[Duster]

I haven't made the switch yet (happy with PS3 and the handhelds for now) but it's looking more likely that I will use a PC as my my system as consoles have pissed away most of their advantages while the PC has fixed many of it's issues.

The biggest one being I can set up my NES and every game is a complete experience I can play just as I would have 20 years ago. Or I could buy more original carts for it off ebay or from a car boot and play those (assuming the seller was honest), or I can be the one selling them for stupid amounts of money.
Now with online features creeping into SP games, DLC, patches, magic clouds and hardware that's less likely to last I won't be able to do that with recent systems, too many games are essentially disposable.

I should want a WiiU but Nintendo have pissed me right off with the region locking, their new 3DS and part of their online service going down, there will always be a Last Story weapon or Layton puzzle unavailable to me (plus some other issues). Sony Too for shutting up their online shop on the PSP.
Then there's things like new online paywalls or microtransactions in (overpriced) full price games on top of that. Plus there are far fewer non-Nintendo console exclusives that appeal to me these days.

Now PC seems like the best option, or maybe the least worst as I don't see it as the utopia some do but if nothing else there's at the least there's linux and GoG.
Many of the same issues apply but it seems like there's more chance of me being able to play my games in the future even if that's down to fans allowing that, sure the same can happen on consoles (eg Mariokart Wii) but when I'm gambling I like to play the percentages so the PC seems a safer a bet.
I'm not happy about being unable to sell my games but nobody is going to want to buy borked console titles long-term anyway.
Plus I already have the same issue on consoles as most of the games I buy these days are digital-only indy titles, if it wasn't for me preferring to play those on my Vita I would have bought a new gaming PC already.

 

[GhostTrick]

Because PC is a better platform in every aspects. Sure, it requires more efforts, but in the end, it's also a better experience.


First of all, you have a unified ecosystem across various hardwares AND form factors, thanks to Steam.


It's pretty simple: You want a desktop PC ? You can do it. You want a console formfactor ? You can do it. You want a laptop ? It's also working. Heck, you can even get it on a handheld/tablet form factor now.


If you're not looking for performances or graphics, you can get a cheap machine and enjoy a vast library. You're okay with console level of graphics ? You can get a similar priced hardware and enjoy the same kind of experience. You prefer a higher framerate and resolution ? You can have it too.


Online exprience is also a better one. No paywall, enjoying cross game chat and a great community system.
Prices are cheaper, hardware isn't region locked.


You can enjoy a vast choice of controllers: Xbox, PS, Nintendo... even wheels, arcade sticks, and flight sticks.


As for the library, there's no generations, so you can enjoy backward compatibility with nearly every generations. And I'm not even accounting emulation with that.


I grown up with consoles, and always hated PC. I couldn't simply play on that. But since I build my own 5 years ago, it's just my main platform now. I also think Steam is a major point of making PC gaming an enjoyment. Last generation, I still played on console because of Japanese games... but now, even that is moving onto Steam.


I think that PC and Steam will be important for the market in the future, because we won't have to depend on manufacturers choices for hardware or the way to play.

 

[GhostTrick]

1.customizable visual settings that can look better than console versions

2.some think that those exclusives are going to hit steam one day because a journalist asks a dev if there will be a port then they subtly sidestep the question like:

journalist post an article about it and pc gamers be like:

Well for now... that's really happening. Remember about MGS or Final Fantasy ?

 

[CadetMahoney]

Cheaper on PC, runs better, and i'll have my games for far longer. In 10 years my PS3 won't be hooked up, but in 10 years I'll have a PC. It's the ultimate backwards compatibility

Cheaper games, far superior, faster loading times etc. mods. . .

*New Jersey Accent: da werkks

 

[Roshin]

I've been playing games on PC since before the dinosaurs, but when I think about it, I've always had a console of some sort as well. Consoles come and go (today it's a PS4), but the PC remains.

 

[en0s]

One of the few places left to play games with actual depth, almost everything on consoles has been too mass appeal and homogenous for a long time now.

This is the reason I made the "switch", it was in the late 90's
going from console games to stuff like Xcom, Master of Magic, Warcraft, Might and Magic, Baldur's Gate, etc. was the most mindblowing experience I've had in my gaming life and will probably not be replicated again.

I still have the ps3 for exclusives, I'm thankful I got to play Red Dead, Dragon's Dogma and Demon Souls. Those are very few though compared to PC exclusives.

I'm also more of a "backlog" gamer, I tend to play games on my own pace and not get hyped on the hottest new release. PC gaming tend to be cheaper with my purchasing style

 

[edgewalker]

Last gen, I was mainly a ps3 gamer. I finally built a gaming PC a couple of years ago and after experiencing the benefits, I have not gone back to consoles ever since. Steam, cheap digital games, mods, flexible control schemes, free online, graphics, 60 fps are all factors that contribute to better value for your money overall.

 

[conman]

1) Similar upfront cost as new consoles, but with better, more versatile, and upgradeable performance
2) No online gaming sub
3) Much larger game library
4) Fewer non-PC console exclusives
5) Game sales (Steam, GoG, Humble, etc)

 

[RVinP]

You are playing a game on the PC, suddenly you feel an urge to browse the net for walkthroughs, post game screen shot on facebook after some modification or just general purpose multitask; all the while playing games most of the time and you can switch back instantaneously just by pressing ALT+TAB.

Apart from the PC being an All Purpose Computational device with Keyboard and Mouse input, I can't see any other major reason.

Other Minor Reasons (which I assume)
.Steam Sales
.Skyrim Mods
.Dota 2
.Humble Bundle Sales

 

[Parexion]

I made the switch to PC a few years ago because building my own PC and upgrading it every once in a while is fun, the games can be a lot cheaper, changing settings is fun and there's no online subscription except for MMO's.

Also, mod support is awesome and there is backwards compatibility with most old games. I have games from the early 2000's and games from 2014 ready to play whenever I want on Steam.

 

[Woffls]

Not switching, just adding PC back to the party. What eventually drew me back was the Steam library I have built up over the years, and that the platform is looking to be a lot more competitive this generation.

Also, my old PC's motherboard died and I thought seven years was a good run. Another important factor for me is backwards compatibility, and being able to play RollerCoaster Tycoon on my laptop at Pret is pretty neat.

Consoles are still a very viable option, and running a gaming PC isn't for everyone. It is a lot of hassle compared to a console, especially if you don't know what you're doing, and to some people that just won't be worth the effort.

 

[Durante]

Last-gen I was PC mostly, this gen I will just PC

reasons:

1) I refuse to just pay for online access. That was the final straw.

Yeah, I forgot about this one. I never played online much on consoles, but the idea that I'd have to pay a monthly fee to e.g. enjoy Bloodborne multiplayer is so distasteful to me that it's another reason to stick with PC.

 

[Opiate]

There are so many console exclusives,I don't know how anyone could be satisfied exclusivity with pc.

There are a lot of console exclusives (I assume you're combining "consoles" here in to one SKU), but there are even more PC exclusives.

In the broadest sense, of course I'd like to have access to everything in the world, and have time to tr everything. Practically speaking, of course, that's impossible. I have limited time and limited funds.

For a significant majority of people, the PC will have enough games (and exclusive games) to be satisfactory by itself. That is, even if you just played the exclusives and didn't even try the multiplatform games, you wouldn't have enough time to play them all. The same could be said of consoles; if you owned all the consoles, you likely wouldn't have enough time to add iOS or PC or 3DS to your play schedule unless you no longer need to work and decide to dedicate the majority of your time to playing video games.

 

[Nymerio]

There are so many PC exclusives,I don't know how anyone could be satisfied exclusivity with consoles.

 

[Opiate]

There are so many PC exclusives,I don't know how anyone could be satisfied exclusivity with consoles.

Let's say I play 12 games a year. That's quite a lot; the average attach rate of the PS3/360 was 10ish, so I'm going well beyond that average.

If I owned a PS4/Wii U/Xbone (or even just a PS4/Wii U to keep it simple), I'd already have so many games to play that I'm not sure why I'd need a third/fourth platform to supplement it.

Yes, you are missing out on great games if you don't have a PC. You're also missing out on great games if you don't own an iOS device, or a 3DS, or a Vita. In practice, very few people have enough time or money to play everything, so if you already have a Wii U/PS4, the fact that there are awesome games available on other platforms may not be meaningful if you already have more interesting games than you can buy anyway.

 

[Forkball]

PC exclusive these days are certainly not as flashy as big AAA titles on consoles. However, you will be surprised at how engrossing these titles can be. I've put more hours into games like Dota, TF2, Chivalry, Crusader Kings II, The Witcher etc. than I have Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, GTA, Halo etc.

PC gaming is a no brainer. There is a remarkable catalog and Steam basically pays for itself via discounts. I'm interested in buying a PS4 but the thought of below 60 fps makes me ill PHYSICALLY ILL

 

[Smokey]

4k

120hz/144hz

Gsync

Triple screen setups

Multiple GPUs

For me I enjoy these parts of PC gaming. I can choose the type of experience I want with the limiting factor being your budget. Want better performance? Look into overclocking your PC. Want to play at high resolutions? Look at what's available in the GPU market.

The ability to customize your rig and do what you want is appealing. Waiting 10 years befoe the next console is terrible and last gen went on for far too long.

 

[Rezae]

For me,

1. Backwards Compatibility. I get to keep my games for ever. My library will continue to grow without needing to start from scratch every generation or won't be lost if my hardware fails and is no longer in production.

Call me overly paranoid, but this is perhaps the biggest factor for me being primarily a PC gamer now. I feel pretty confident that regardless of hardware changes and servers going down, PC gamers will find a way to preserve titles. It also seems like as consoles have grown more advanced, the failure rates are higher, and I really don't trust console servers in the long run when it comes to digital titles.

The overlong console generation last time around probably caused one of the bigger migrations to PC. You had $60 games in 2013 that looked and ran like complete trash on consoles when you could easily put together a PC on the cheap that would run circles around them. Those people who jumped in at that point got used to cheap Steam prices, backwards compatibility through upgrades (free remastered editions!), better control options, better framerates and IQ, not having to pay for online play, wider game library (RTS, mmos, grand strategy), etc and stuck around.

That explains me perfectly. Built a gaming PC in the middle of last gen as I grew bored. It was like a whole new "next gen" experience 4+ years into last gen. Helped bridge that overly long console gen and really dulled the new consoles to me from a technical perspective.

 

[Sword Familiar]

I think the common factor is that they're more willing to spend money on performance and that they're not that interested in the console exclusives.

I realize that if you already have the basics for a PC: A screen, keyboard/mouse, computer case, fan, power supply etc., the initial cost doesn't have to be that steep, and the upgrade costs can be split up since you can buy your CPU, GPU and RAM separately, but I find that it's usually a bit more expensive hardware-wise than the console alternative. I guess the reasoning is that you'll get that money back by buying cheap games on (steam) sales, but the same could be said about PSN/Live sales as well. I guess the freedom to buy your own custom rig is also enticing.

I'm not here to start a console war, but the initial cost is mostly what's keeping me from getting a proper gaming PC. I have a hard time seeing myself playing it exclusively even if I got one though.

 

[Nabs]

Let's say I play 12 games a year. That's quite a lot; the average attach rate of the PS3/360 was 10ish, so I'm going well beyond that average.

If I owned a PS4/Wii U/Xbone (or even just a PS4/Wii U to keep it simple), I'd already have so many games to play that I'm not sure why I'd need a third/fourth platform to supplement it.

Yes, you are missing out on great games if you don't have a PC. You're also missing out on great games if you don't own an iOS device, or a 3DS, or a Vita. In practice, very few people have enough time or money to play everything, so if you already have a Wii U/PS4, the fact that there are awesome games available on other platforms may not be meaningful if you already have more interesting games than you can buy anyway.

Haha, direct that towards this fella: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=131072936#post131072936

 

[Opiate]

Haha, direct that towards this fella: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=131072936#post131072936

Look up two posts: I directed a similar reply to that exact poster.

The same basic concept applies across almost every platform: the number of people who honestly need 3-4 platforms to satisfy their gaming needs has to be vanishingly small. The only time I find people's preferences odd is when they already own, let's say, a PS4... and the second platform they buy is an Xbox One. Those two platforms are so similar, with relatively little marginal benefit added compared to buying almost anything else. It would be like an iOS gamer choosing Android as his second platform of choice; you've got to really hate everything but touch controls for that second platform choice to make sense.

 

[Espada]

Steam has made PC gaming cheap and convenient.
The rise of the 360 Controller as the standard PC controller made PC gaming a lot more viable for a lot of genres.
No subscription needed for online gameplay

I didn't even need to get to the technical benefits of PC gaming over consoles, because these three are more than enough reason for me. Mind you, I haven't switched over but I'm doing much of my gaming on there now.

 

[Dragon]

The idea of console exclusives is laughable to me. Every single day I come across several interesting games that will never come to console. Rock paper shotgun is a constant reminder that pc is where all the creativity is.

Your post is laughable to me. RPS is a PC centric site so yeah duh!

There are so many PC exclusives,I don't know how anyone could be satisfied exclusivity with consoles.

As other people said that's assuming time isn't a factor. As a big Japanese game fan, the support on Steam is pretty sparse. I'm glad to see it's getting better and Japanese companies seem to be figuring it out better.