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[Version 3.0]

All I know is PC has super duper backwards compatability, and it sure as shit beats the 'standards' of the consoles.

Whoa, hold on a minute. I have a pile of games that won't run on Windows 7 or in a virtual machine on it, either. I'm actually in the middle of re-building some older hardware into a dedicated '98 and another XP box. GLQuake doesn't run on late SP XP or 7. I wanted to play the original You Don't Know Jack recently, after the new one came out, and found out it won't run on 7 or in a virtual machine. Hell, some recent games, like GTAIV, don't run on 7.

I can have any game I want running on any of my 16 consoles in seconds. I don't have to re-install them, re-patch them, figure out which compatibility mode or VM is necessary to run them, or find "equivalent" remakes or updates to run them. I don't have to figure out where my saves are and how to make them work with a new install.

Backwards compatibility, my ass. Getting old games to run on a current PC is a huge headache if it can be accomplished at all.

 

[Grayman]

Whoa, hold on a minute. I have a pile of games that won't run on Windows 7 or in a virtual machine on it, either. I'm actually in the middle of re-building some older hardware into a dedicated '98 and another XP box. GLQuake doesn't run on late SP XP or 7. I wanted to play the original You Don't Know Jack recently, after the new one came out, and found out it won't run on 7 or in a virtual machine. Hell, some recent games, like GTAIV, don't run on 7.

I can have any game I want running on any of my 16 consoles in seconds. I don't have to re-install them, re-patch them, figure out which compatibility mode or VM is necessary to run them, or find "equivalent" remakes or updates to run them.

Backwards compatibility, my ass. Getting old games to run on a current PC is a huge headache if it can be accomplished at all.

Use nQuake (ezQuake engine) for Quakeworld and darkspaces or something for single player.

GTA IV and the Episodes ran fine in 7 x64 for me.

I have always had really good luck just putting games in and having them work or knowing what to use to make them work easily.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Really?

Rarely works? As most of the time something fucks up?

Metro 2033 worked perfect.
Velvet Assassin worked perfect.
Never Winter Nights 2 (Kept crashing, had too google it to fix. Terrible game btw)
Soldier of Fortune: Platinum (Old game I know but, I had to google to get it working)
Priston Tale (Had to spend 2 hours googling and never found a solution so I ended up coming up with my own just to get past the update screen)
Asda Story, (Turns out any game that uses the Pando Media Booster software, which many free MMO's use, simply don't work properly and I've never found a fix)

Those are all the pc games I've tried to play in the past month. 2 worked without problems and 4 did not (actually many mmo's don't work due to pando)

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

or knowing what to use to make them work easily.

That's the problem. They should just work or at least there needs to be something, like maybe on steam, that automatically sees you have a specific game and can take you to a page with a list of issues and fixes. Sure, I can go to the website of the company that made the game but, I'm not going to a website for every freaking game I have a problem with and filter though drivel posted by s bunch of pimple faced tards that go off subject and never come to a conclusion. It would be much easier for me to just right click on Steam right there on my computer and get help.

 

[Version 3.0]

Use nQuake (ezQuake engine) for Quakeworld and darkspaces or something for single player.

Exactly what I'm talking about - new software designed to make old software work. You can find topics dedicated to debate over which one reproduces the game most faithfully. Ridiculous. And of course, there are hundreds or thousands of old games that don't get the kind of attention Quake gets to keep it working.

GTA IV and the Episodes ran fine in 7 x64 for me.

The game very specifically says it runs on Vista or XP only. Google "GTA IV Windows 7" and have fun reading all about which compatibility mode or VM you should use to run it, and all the errors, crashes and performance problems people have to deal with to make it work.

That's not what I call "super duper backwards compatibility". That's bubble-gum-and-chicken-wire, cross-your-fingers-let's-hope-this-works backwards compatibility.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Yeah I don't get it either. Potential driver issues that aren't really that prevalent, omg I might have to use google and put in a little effort to fix it.

Complete console malfunction? Entire online infrastructure crippled at the hands of hackers? Yeah sure, okay, I don't mind that, it's out of my control so at least I don't have to worry about fixing it!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go play LA Noire and hope it doesn't overheat the console for which it was specifically designed.

Completely missing the point. Unbelievable.

 

[Version 3.0]

That's the problem. They should just work or at least there needs to be something, like maybe on steam, that automatically sees you have a specific game and can take you to a page with a list of issues and fixes. Sure, I can go to the website of the company that made the game but, I'm not going to a website for every freaking game I have a problem with and filter though drivel posted by s bunch of pimple faced tards that go off subject and never come to a conclusion. It would be much easier for me to just right click on Steam right there on my computer and get help.

Actually, Steam does a really good job at making 'real' Steam games headache-free. But that doesn't help me get a SpaceOrb 360 and Descent up and running on a W7 box.

 

[Brofist]

So after 19 pages the conclusion is big screen and comfy couch. Guess we can wrap this up until next time.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Actually, Steam does a really good job at making 'real' Steam games headache-free. But that doesn't help me get a SpaceOrb 360 and Descent up and running on a W7 box.

I loled (^___^)

 

[Grayman]

That's the problem. They should just work or at least there needs to be something, like maybe on steam, that automatically sees you have a specific game and can take you to a page with a list of issues and fixes. Sure, I can go to the website of the company that made the game but, I'm not going to a website for every freaking game I have a problem with and filter though drivel posted by s bunch of pimple faced tards that go off subject and never come to a conclusion. It would be much easier for me to just right click on Steam right there on my computer and get help.

You mean like the steam forum for every game with sticky threads? For example http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=584085

The few DOSbox games I have booted up on steam worked fine right away but DOOM and Quake specifically I never ran from inside steam because I wanted the newer engines.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

So after 19 pages the conclusion is big screen and comfy couch. Guess we can wrap this up until next time.

Well, it did take me a lot of research and work but, I do have big screen and comfy couch with a wireless controller and 7.1 surround sound for PS3, Xbox360 and, PC.

So that isn't the issue the issue for me.

 

[Dreamgazer]

So after 19 pages the conclusion is big screen and comfy couch. Guess we can wrap this up until next time.

why do people keep ignoring "JRPG" when it is mentioned?

 

[EDarkness]

My problem with PC gaming is that there are too many variables as to whether a game will run or not. If you have all the right pieces, there can still be cases where the game constantly crashes, game won't load, etc. Just looking at the Witcher 2 thread is exactly why I stopped playing games seriously on the PC. I like to just put in a disc, it starts up, and I begin playing.

Don't get me wrong, I still play some games on my PC. Mass Effect, for example. But overall, I've pretty much switched over to console for most of my entertainment. Hassle free is the way to go.

 

[Rahxephon91]

My problem with PC gaming is that there are too many variables as to whether a game will run or not. If you have all the right pieces, there can still be cases where the game constantly crashes, game won't load, etc. Just looking at the Witcher 2 thread is exactly why I stopped playing games seriously on the PC. I like to just put in a disc, it starts up, and I begin playing.

Exactly my problem. The hassle is almost enough to give up.

So after 19 pages the conclusion is big screen and comfy couch. Guess we can wrap this up until next time.

Yep I guess that's all if you ignore everyones actual problems.

 

[Version 3.0]

So after 19 pages the conclusion is big screen and comfy couch. Guess we can wrap this up until next time.

Actually, what we have is what we usually get: 33% combative, condescending, snobbish posts like yours, 33% ignorant, overcompensatory posts from 'console peasants', 33% trolling, and 1% rational discussion or debate.

Thanks for contributing to the shit pile.

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

Whoa, hold on a minute. I have a pile of games that won't run on Windows 7 or in a virtual machine on it, either. I'm actually in the middle of re-building some older hardware into a dedicated '98 and another XP box. GLQuake doesn't run on late SP XP or 7. I wanted to play the original You Don't Know Jack recently, after the new one came out, and found out it won't run on 7 or in a virtual machine. Hell, some recent games, like GTAIV, don't run on 7.

I can have any game I want running on any of my 16 consoles in seconds. I don't have to re-install them, re-patch them, figure out which compatibility mode or VM is necessary to run them, or find "equivalent" remakes or updates to run them. I don't have to figure out where my saves are and how to make them work with a new install.

Backwards compatibility, my ass. Getting old games to run on a current PC is a huge headache if it can be accomplished at all.

DOSBOX and Google fixes everything in about 2 minutes. Also, GOG/Steam will do most of the work for you if you buy from them.

why do people keep ignoring "JRPG" when it is mentioned?

This is valid, but current-gen consoles aren't exactly bursting with good JRPGs.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

So after 19 pages the conclusion is big screen and comfy couch. Guess we can wrap this up until next time.

No. After 19 pages there have been a shit ton of reasons listed by people on why they don't PC game, some valid, some maybe not. A bunch of the good reasons have been ignored, and voila, your comment.

 

[Version 3.0]

DOSBOX and Google fixes everything in about 2 minutes. Also, GOG/Steam will do most of the work for you if you buy from them.

Funny, 2 minutes after Googling, I'm reading just as many troubleshooting queries as success stories. This is exactly what I mentioned above: what you have to go through to get old games working. I didn't say it can't be done. I've done it countless times.

And I do buy from GOG. Love those guys.

 

[Durante]

PC BC is infinitely better than on any other platform. It's even "BC" with non-PC games! Seriously, some games may require a bit of effort to get working, but it's extremely rare to find any game that's impossible to run, over a 25 year period. And that's without being forced to rebuy games.

This is valid, but current-gen consoles aren't exactly bursting with good JRPGs.

They are certainly bursting with them compared to PC. I own 11 HD console JRPGs and exactly 2 PC ones bought in the same timespan (one of which is an indie game). JRPGs are the main reason I keep consoles around.

 

[scitek]

I think the main thing about backward compatibility for me is that the situation has gotten a LOT better in the past few years. It's true games from the 90s and early 2000s might have trouble working properly, but a lot of games now have some modicum of standard support for things like the Xbox 360 controller right off-the-bat. 10 years from now, I think it'll be easier to play something like Crysis 2 on Windows 10 than it will be to dig out and plug back in your Xbox 360.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

but it's extremely rare to find any game that's impossible to run

Worms World Party doesn't want to work on my Win7 x64 system

But yeah, saying that BC on consoles, especially when we're talking about current-gen consoles, is better/more standardized than PC BC is bullshit. If you want to play PS2 games on your PS3 you either need an old PS3 (that you can't buy anymore) or PS2. It's a little bit better with X360, but not all Xbox games can be run on X360 and even some that can be run are extremely glitchy (see: Silent Hill 2).

 

[seeds19]

Im a console gamer for years, recently i made mi gaming pc for 900 -1000 euros, and I feel completed with the console pc combo, i wanna play demon's souls? put mi ps3 on and play, wanna get killed for some dude in BFBC2 put mi pc on and play, i'm console main gamer and i think the pc is the perfect complement.

 

[Grinchy]

I'm OCing my CPU from 2.5 GHz to 3.0 GHz. I am doing it slowly, .1 GHz at a time and making sure I'm stable with 12 hour prime95 tests.

This process numbs my mind and frustrates me to no end. This is why I'm primarily a console gamer.

 

[Sportbilly]

I'm OCing my CPU from 2.5 GHz to 3.0 GHz. I am doing it slowly, .1 GHz at a time and making sure I'm stable with 12 hour prime95 tests.

This process numbs my mind and frustrates me to no end.

Then why do it when you don't have to?

 

[Finaika]

I'm OCing my CPU from 2.5 GHz to 3.0 GHz. I am doing it slowly, .1 GHz at a time and making sure I'm stable with 12 hour prime95 tests.

This process numbs my mind and frustrates me to no end. This is why I'm primarily a console gamer.

This is why PC gamers scares me.

 

[Grinchy]

Then why do it when you don't have to?

This is why PC gamers scares me.

I'm only half serious about this being why I am primarily a console gamer. I don't have to OC my CPU. But I want to because when it comes to PC gaming, I want to get the best performance out of what I have. I am not one to spend a ton of money on upgrading hardware to play newer games.

 

[opticalmace]

I'm OCing my CPU from 2.5 GHz to 3.0 GHz. I am doing it slowly, .1 GHz at a time and making sure I'm stable with 12 hour prime95 tests.

This process numbs my mind and frustrates me to no end. This is why I'm primarily a console gamer.

I would go in bigger jumps personally. Once it gets unstable then dial it back.

 

[Raide]

One of the other reasons I am starting to play more on consoles (Besides my PC being dead) is that I can never finalise what I want in a PC. Between choosing a CPU and what graphics card to pick, I always struggle to finally pick one of them and go with it.

 

[Grinchy]

I would go in bigger jumps personally. Once it gets unstable then dial it back.

I tried just going right to 2.75 and I was having a lot of issues. I tired upping vcore, NB, ect and it just wasn't working. So I decided to dial it down and do it slowly but surely. Maybe I'll do a .2 jump once I'm positive this is stable.

Getting to 3.0 is such a small OC that it shouldn't be an issue for most OCers but my motherboard and CPU seem to both suck at OCing.

 

[Ryuuga]

Yep I guess that's all if you ignore everyones actual problems.

One of which appears to be the misuse of the word "arcane".

 

[isamu]

I think a lot of anti-PC sentiment is ignorance and brand loyalty. And I think this thread has proven that.

agreed 100%

 

[Cheech]

I'm OCing my CPU from 2.5 GHz to 3.0 GHz. I am doing it slowly, .1 GHz at a time and making sure I'm stable with 12 hour prime95 tests.

This process numbs my mind and frustrates me to no end. This is why I'm primarily a console gamer.

Yeah, even though you explained I still don't get this at all. This is like, "Hey, I hate driving my car, the Chevy small block I dropped in it last week gives me some vibration compared to the original engine, I'm just going to take the bus."

Even if you do the full jump @ 500 mhz, you are still not going to see an astronomical jump in game performance. If you have crappy game performance, you're better off with a GPU upgrade.

 

[Grinchy]

Yeah, even though you explained I still don't get this at all. This is like, "Hey, I hate driving my car, the Chevy small block I dropped in it last week gives me some vibration compared to the original engine, I'm just going to take the bus."

Even if you do the full jump @ 500 mhz, you are still not going to see an astronomical jump in game performance. If you have crappy game performance, you're better off with a GPU upgrade.

I have one on the way. I'm OCing the CPU now before it gets here, and I have a love/hate relationship with doing so because the parts I bought a couple years ago aren't necessarily great for overclocking.

I didn't mean to make this thread about me and my foray into overclocking though, so I will try to end this conversation now :lol

 

[bubnbob]

Nothing keeps me from PC gaming. I just don't feel like PC gaming. A tough concept to understand, for sure.

 

[megalowho]

I'm about 50/50 with my PC/console gaming, have a fairly decent rig. Really depends if I want it on the big screen or not, and also my M/KB setup is currently not very comfortable if I'm trying to play anything highly dexterous for long periods of time. Not bothered to hook my PC up to my TV, I already have a Mac Mini there for media stuff and PC gaming interfaces are usually designed for you to be right on top of them instead of 15 ft away. Of course it's a case by case basis, but that's why I go 50/50. I like them both equally.

 

[MikeTyson]

Recently built my first rig. Been a console gamer all my life.

(get my ass kicked online w/ MoH or BFBC2) - I miss my Playstation and I'll most likely pre order BF3 for that.

 

[Gamble]

This is sadly my everlasting struggle, no rig to run today's PC games comfortable I used to be an avid PC gamer back in the late 90's myself, Opposing Forces, Team Fortress Classic, Diablo 1 and 2, Starcraft, EQ, these all assisted in me procrastinating on many book reports and assignments in middle school and high school. As time went on and PC games evolved I started getting more into console gaming due to lack of a real job at that age and then when I did hit the work force it was WoW and a few strategy games here and there pretty much whatever my laptop/PC would support at the time.....*sigh* I've been off of the MMO and PC gaming circuit all together for a year and a half now but I am DYING to get back in......would anyone like to fund my habit

 

[elrechazado]

pc gaming can be very intimidating.

hell just look at the input devices

KB/M vs Controler.

EDIT: How is this not scary tech talk. Even for Gaf standard.

Every non gamer I know knows how to use a keyboard and mouse, and in conjunction. Conversely, all of them freak out at the idea of dual analogs and "all of these buttons". You have it exactly opposite from reality.

 

[Skenzin]

1. I work in IT so the thought of coming home and sitting in front of a PC doesn't interest me.

(btw PC couch gaming is a forum myth. In real life its even more awkward than using a dreaded controller. Even if you have it setup perfectly you are at huge disadvantage to players that 1 foot away from a 24 and stable flat surface.)

2. The upgrade cycle or basically around when $300 became mid-level and $500 graphics cards x2 for SLI became high end.

3. I dont like MMORPG's and there is little on the PC side that interests me at this time. UNlike say 1982-2004.

4. Every action game seems to have a dead community and the games themselves feel like ports from consoles.

5. EVERYTHING that made action PC gaming great 10 - 15 years ago got refined and ported for the masses and moved to the consoles.

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

1. I work in IT so the thought of coming home and sitting in front of a PC doesn't interest me.

I wonder if people who work at Best Buy can't stand playing console games because they stand around TVs all day.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

why do people keep ignoring "JRPG" when it is mentioned?

Is JRPG the only genre you play? Otherwise I'm not really seeing the point of bringing it up.

I love RTS and FPS but I still have consoles and handhelds.

 

[mr.hands]

1. I work in IT so the thought of coming home and sitting in front of a PC doesn't interest me.

that is really short sighted. I work with people, but you don't see me coming home and ignoring my family because they don't interest me

(btw PC couch gaming is a forum myth. In real life its even more awkward than using a dreaded controller. Even if you have it setup perfectly you are at huge disadvantage to players that 1 foot away from a 24 and stable flat surface.)
(maybe they don't want to compete, but just want to play the next big game (multi platform title) ported to the pc in a higher resolution with a higher framerate and better image quality? )

2. The upgrade cycle or basically around when $300 became mid-level and $500 graphics cards x2 for SLI became high end.
yeah but a console is also $$$$ and the games are more expensive on consoles. plus they don't have STEAM. and I can use a PC for other things, like: creating a word document or browsing the internet. I don't see you do that on a console! (ps3 doesn't count)

3. I dont like MMORPG's and there is little on the PC side that interests me at this time. UNlike say 1982-2004.

well thats really ignorant

4. Every action game seems to have a dead community and the games themselves feel like ports from consoles.

facepalm.gif

5. EVERYTHING that made action PC gaming great 10 - 15 years ago got refined and ported for the masses and moved to the consoles.
that is a big lie and you know it!

so.. can i join the master-race now? ^_^
edit: seriously, I totally agree on your points. I stopped PC gaming after 2004/2005. It feels like that was the end of the golden age of PC gaming for me.

 

[def sim]

Man, that's not even comparable now is it?

edit: at the best buy employee comparison

 

[Drastic]

I used to be a PC only gamer, but am console only now. Three primary reasons.

1) PC gaming would sometimes interfere with my work. An afternoon break to play for a few mins would often turn into hours. When I found myself alone in my office building at 2-3am playing, it was time to quit. Packed up the gaming gear and bought an og xbox, which was just out.

2) Since I'm on the PC most of the day, I want a break from it.

3) Not long after #1, I built a home theater. So, comfy couch plus 8' screen and high quality surround. I do have a pc in the rack, but no games. Keyboard/mouse just doesn't work well in that environment and I've got all 3 consoles for quick and easy gaming.

 

[Stallion Free]

Wait did people really just try to argue that backwards compatibility was as bad on PC?

Fucking PS2 backwards compatibility is better on PC than it is on PS3. That should put things into perspective.

 

[Grinchy]

Wait did people really just try to argue that backwards compatibility was as bad on PC?

Fucking PS2 backwards compatibility is better on PC than it is on PS3. That should put things into perspective.

Oh please...

Go ahead and try to get Megarace to run on a current rig.

Spoiler

of course i'm joking

 

[water_wendi]

Whoa, hold on a minute. I have a pile of games that won't run on Windows 7 or in a virtual machine on it, either. I'm actually in the middle of re-building some older hardware into a dedicated '98 and another XP box. GLQuake doesn't run on late SP XP or 7. I wanted to play the original You Don't Know Jack recently, after the new one came out, and found out it won't run on 7 or in a virtual machine. Hell, some recent games, like GTAIV, don't run on 7.

I can have any game I want running on any of my 16 consoles in seconds. I don't have to re-install them, re-patch them, figure out which compatibility mode or VM is necessary to run them, or find "equivalent" remakes or updates to run them. I don't have to figure out where my saves are and how to make them work with a new install.

Backwards compatibility, my ass. Getting old games to run on a current PC is a huge headache if it can be accomplished at all.

This is madness right here. i have a few hundred PC games installed on my computer (almost to 1TB) and only a handful have given me issues i havent been able to solve in 5 minutes. i imagine if i didnt have 64-bit Windows things would be pretty much smooth sailing because half of the issues i run across are 16-bit installers that cant be run in 64-bit (i get around that by installing to XP then just copying the folder to my main computer).

 

[Salacious Crumb]

What's this nonsense about GTA IV not working on Windows 7 x64?

Everyone of those hours was played on Win7 64.

 

[The Technomancer]

I have over a hundred games on Steam, as well as a plethora of miscellaneous other PC games. The grand totality of messing with external files to get things running that I recall was spending three seconds editing a file in Super Meat Boy to change the buttons. Everything else is "boot->fiddle with some graphical settings for two minutes->play"

Am I rare?

 

[davonaytor]

It sounds to me like PC gaming is something people would need to stick with for quite a while until they 'get the hang of it'. To me (and probably every other long time PC gamer), it is just very simple to fix any issues that might occur when trying to run a game, maybe we have just learned over time all the 'places to look' and reasons for any issues, but for a console gamer trying to get into PC gaming, I can see where there would be problems.

But I honestly can't remember the last time I had any kind of issue running a game. I just skimmed my steam games list, and I have only ever had issues with 2 out of around 200 games, being Bioshock (games for windows live was messing up, so I just googled a way to play without it), and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (EA didn't update the steam version, so I just activated the game on EA's download manager and it updated to the latest version).

Witcher 2 ran perfectly fine with me, around 40fps on high settings, it feels like it's getting a lot out of my hardware (Phenom II X4 955, GTX 470).

I feel like Valve is trying to make it a lot easier for console gamers to enter PC gaming (with ATI driver updates integrated into steam, and that big screen mode announced a while ago).

A lot of the problems I have heard about relate to things like Games for Windows Live, or Rockstar's login thing for GTA4. Programs like these that can potentially stop a game from running really drag down many games. It's obvious that Steam is the biggest digital download service, and the only way I see others being successful is if they don't require any software to run (which is why services like GoG, Impulse and D2D are relatively successful, and GFWL is ignored). But Microsoft is really pushing too hard, and I don't see them removing background processes from GFWL games, which would only frustrate console gamer's playing on PC.

I think the more you play on PC, the harder it is to play console games. A few months ago I bought Assassins Creed 2 for the PS3. It updated to the latest version, but there were horrible framerate issues, and the screen tearing was so bad that I stopped playing. I know the PS3 can do a lot better than that, after playing Uncharted 2, but there's no way the developer will fix any of those issues now, and it's not like I could upgrade the PS3 to make Assassins Creed run better. I checked online to see how many people were complaining about it, but suprisingly, not many were annoyed by it, so maybe it's after playing on PC for so long, video issues stick out a lot more to me.