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[Ulairi]

I think a big hurdle is that the games press tends to ignore PC games all together. If the games aren't covered then it's harder for people to know what content is there.

 

[Secks4Food]

I think a big hurdle is that the games press tends to ignore PC games all together. If the games aren't covered then it's harder for people to know what content is there.

I agree 100%, sometimes the industry as a whole can be its own worst enemy. There is definitely PC centric game coverage out there, but you won't find it on Gametrailers or some shit (unless it's a blizzard game, which also happens to be the most regularly acknowledged PC exclusive developer in this thread, funny how that works...).

 

[Kafel]

- interface (can't stay in my sofa with a pad in my hands and switch easily between the games I want to play)

- installations and setup for every game, have to install every game and try&error what resolution it should be played at, the level of details and options etc

- need to look at config details/upgrades, have to read in every review or boxes what the recommended config to play each game is, might get an unsatisfying feeling if not able to play a game in good conditions

- need to enter keys/stay online to play, shitty DRM

- non standard control method, have to go in the menus to config a controller

- interesting library such as strategy games can only be played with keyboard/mouse, on an office chair and with your nose almost against the screen

etc

 

[IchigoSharingan]

Excessive amounts of tinkering to get a PC game to run?

What is this world I have never known? All the tinkering I do is optional (overclocking), and I've played tons of games.

 

[IrishNinja]

unless you need a special sound or video card

good luck playing good games with integrated graphics.

or if you need computational power stronger than is possible on a laptop

^see above

So yeah, I will blow $1500 on a computer,

why would you do this?

but the smarter purchasing decision is the laptop that you can take to class/work/in-bed/car/where-ever

class, i get. work - i actually have a powerful HTPC i take with me/leave in my locker. bed is for handhelds, car = what is wrong with you.

not the one that requires dedicated space and is sessile. It's a shame that PC game developers don't really take this into consideration.

blizzard and some do, others dont. not every company should base their vision around your low-powered system, man.

 

[cartman414]

- interface (can't stay in my sofa with a pad in my hands and switch easily between the games I want to play)

- installations and setup for every game, have to install every game and try&error what resolution it should be played at, the level of details and options etc

- need to look at config details/upgrades, have to read in every review or boxes what the recommended config to play each game is, might get an unsatisfying feeling if not able to play a game in good conditions

- need to enter keys/stay online to play, shitty DRM

- non standard control method, have to go in the menus to config a controller

- interesting library such as strategy games can only be played with keyboard/mouse, on an office chair and with your nose almost against the screen

etc

Is this a list of pluses or minuses? I don't follow.

Besides, isn't installation supposed to be a good thing, as in, no prolonged disc loading?

I also like being able to load straight from the desktop/frontend whenever I have the opportunity.

 

[delta25]

One thing I've noticed with PC gamers is unless you're willing agree with the general consensus you're almost always met with defensive attitudes, narrow-minded mentality's and absolutely no reasoning to be found.

 

[elrechazado]

One thing I've noticed with PC gamers is unless you're willing agree with the general consensus you're almost always met with defensive attitudes, narrow-minded mentality's and absolutely no reasoning to be found.

What is this supposed general consensus you're referring to? I'd love to see some examples of "no reasoning to be found" also. I'll wait.

 

[Kafel]

Is this a list of pluses or minuses? I don't follow.

really?

 

[TheExodu5]

What is this supposed general consensus you're referring to? I'd love to see some examples of "no reasoning to be found" also. I'll wait.

He failed to provide examples for the specific argument he was trying to make yesterday. Don't even bother.

 

[KaYotiX]

i love PC gaming and console gaming.

Sucks that PC gaming is so expensive though if you want a beastly rig, only drawback that i have with it is that. (i need a new rig again, mine is 3 years old and i cant run most games on max anymore)

 

[elrechazado]

He failed to provide examples for the specific argument he was trying to make yesterday. Don't even bother.

went back and read his contributions....yeah I think you're right.

 

[Stallion Free]

One thing I've noticed with console gamers is unless you're willing agree with the couch consensus you're almost always met with defensive attitudes, narrow-minded mentality's and absolutely no reasoning to be found.

 

[TheExodu5]

- installations and setup for every game, have to install every game and try&error what resolution it should be played at, the level of details and options etc

Uhhh, what?

Steam
Double click to install
Click next
Run game

- need to look at config details/upgrades, have to read in every review or boxes what the recommended config to play each game is, might get an unsatisfying feeling if not able to play a game in good conditions

Sometimes you may want to look on a forum or something to get a general idea of how the game runs, but for 99% of games, this is not an issue. Config tweaking is simply a matter of personal preference.

- need to enter keys/stay online to play, shitty DRM

The vast majority of Steam games do not require any key to enter online. There are a few exceptions, like GFWL games and EA games. Most DRM is painless.

- non standard control method, have to go in the menus to config a controller

Mouse and keyboard is a standard control method. A large amount of games offer 360 pad support seamlessly. No need to enter any config. Just plug it in and it works. Button prompts will even appear as 360 buttons, just like a 360 game.

- interesting library such as strategy games can only be played with keyboard/mouse, on an office chair and with your nose almost against the screen

Keyboard and mouse, yes. With your nose almost against the screen? I sit 3 feet away from my screen, though it's a 32" HDTV. A screen that occupies a bigger field of view is always an advantage, regardless of whether you're playing PC or consoles.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Eh for me it's that I work in front of a computer or server 8-12 hours a day and I just don't really care for tweaking hardware during my off time to make sure that everything is running correctly. Honestly I like the fact that I can just put in the disc and it's running as best as it can.

Now if I change jobs and I'm no longer doing that stuff, then I will absolutely become a PC gamer again.

Also during the time I've had my 360 and PS3, my co-worker has built a new rig 3 times at about 900 to 1k a pop. He just built his new rig about 6 months ago and he already had to spend a lot of time overclocking his video card so that he's happy while playing Witcher 2. At one point he was contemplating buying another card.

 

[kittens]

The mouse and keyboard

Yeah, me too. I'm getting a new PC next week, and I'm absurdly excited to delve into Steam's catalog, but I'm not sure if I could (or want to) get used to using a M/KB. And I'm mostly interested in playing competitive FPSs... Will I get totally destroyed cause I'm using a 360 controller?

 

[TheExodu5]

Yet you read and post in it. Furthermore, you have taken a side (I haven't seen you once call out console gamers for saying blatantly false crap like a $500 video card is a necessity).

Admit the idea of PC gaming makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason and move on.

He's been posting every few hours in this thread under the guise of having just entered it for the first time, trying to hide his agenda. Just ignore him.

Also during the time I've had my 360 and PS3, my co-worker has built a new rig 3 times at about 900 to 1k a pop. He just built his new rig about 6 months ago and he already had to spend a lot of time overclocking his video card so that he's happy while playing Witcher 2. At one point he was contemplating buying another card.

This is really dependent on the person. Your friend is simply a bit of a performance nut. Someone could have spent $1000 3-4 years ago and it would still be running just about everything fine. There are a few exceptional PC games that do demand a bit of a premium: Crysis (at least on High/Very High), Metro 2033 (again, on High/Very High), and lately, The Witcher 2.

I mean, if your friend spent $1k 6 months ago, he has a GTX 460 at the very least. This is enough for a good 30-40fps in The Witcher 2 on High or Ultra. Some people, myself included, are simply more picky than others when it comes to performance. I like being able to run games at 60fps without compromise. If I can throw a few hundred dollars at the problem, and if it will gain me benefit in enough games that I care about, I'll do it. But simply put, this is a bit of an extreme case. Most people are happy enough with mid level hardware which can still run games at well beyond the level of the HD consoles. I mean, 30-40fps in a game that looks as good as The Witcher 2 is nothing to scoff at, and I wouldn't consider that bad performance, considering all of the best looking console games usually run at 30fps or below.

 

[Dog Problems]

Yeah, me too. I'm getting a new PC next week, and I'm absurdly excited to delve into Steam's catalog, but I'm not sure if I could (or want to) get used to using a M/KB. And I'm mostly interested in playing competitive FPSs... Will I get totally destroyed cause I'm using a 360 controller?

Probably, but I don't know how good you are with a controller.

 

[ghst]

Yeah, me too. I'm getting a new PC next week, and I'm absurdly excited to delve into Steam's catalog, but I'm not sure if I could (or want to) get used to using a M/KB. And I'm mostly interested in playing competitive FPSs... Will I get totally destroyed cause I'm using a 360 controller?

you're the kid with his peddlo trike getting moved up a grade to where everyone's old enough to ride BMXs.

 

[TheExodu5]

Yeah, me too. I'm getting a new PC next week, and I'm absurdly excited to delve into Steam's catalog, but I'm not sure if I could (or want to) get used to using a M/KB. And I'm mostly interested in playing competitive FPSs... Will I get totally destroyed cause I'm using a 360 controller?

Yes, you will. I do suggest you learn. It might take you a few days, but you'll get the hang of it, and everything will simply become muscle memory. You'll be amazed at what you can pull off with the keyboard alone.

My 46 year old father learned to play Counter-Strike, having never played a single FPS in his life. It took him a little while, but he's very capable now.

Find a good FPS that you want to play, and just keep at it. I'm confident that after a few days of playing you should be able to nearly match your level with a controller.

 

[delta25]

He failed to provide examples for the specific argument he was trying to make yesterday. Don't even bother.

You need to take a step back and look at what I said instead of jumping to these harsh conclusion based off your your misinterpretations towards what I said.
I still stand by what I've said in regards to PC gaming and having bad console ports most of the time, whether you want to continue to try and sugarcoat it or actually look around instead of having me try and prove something that doesn't need to be proved in the first place, is all up to you.

 

[TheExodu5]

You need to take a step back and look at what I said instead of jumping to these harsh conclusion based off your your misinterpretations towards what I said.
I still stand by what I've said in regards to PC gaming and having bad console ports most of the time, whether you want to continue to try and sugarcoat it or actually look around instead of having me try and prove something that doesn't need to be proved in the first place, is all up to you.

The burden of proof is on the one making the claim. Etc. Etc.

The examples you posted yesterday were not examples of bad console ports at all. They were examples of games that were ported nearly perfectly from consoles (with the exception of Black Ops). The thing is, a lot of PC gamers like to bitch about console ports, as they'll often call them "dumbed down". If that's your criteria of bad console ports, then you have no claim to make whatsoever.

 

[plc268]

Probably, but I don't know how good you are with a controller.

Meh, I don't care how good you can be with a controller, there's limitations on movements that are easily outmatched by M/KB. I dunno, I just find it odd that a lot of people have a hard time moving from gamepad to M/KB for an FPS, when in reality, it's much harder the other way around.

Here's the thing, you're gonna get your ass handed to you for a while. I generally believe that FPS gaming on a PC requires a bit more skill and can be a bit faster and require more twitch aiming. If you are going to do a PC fps (especially competitive MP), just learn to use a M/KB. Seriously.

One thing I've noticed with PC gamers is unless you're willing agree with the general consensus you're almost always met with defensive attitudes, narrow-minded mentality's and absolutely no reasoning to be found.

It truly goes both ways.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

One thing I've noticed with console gamers is unless you're willing agree with the couch consensus you're almost always met with defensive attitudes, narrow-minded mentality's and absolutely no reasoning to be found.

Convenience and first party exclusives, son. Along with a slew of other reasons.

I don't want to sound like a sales-whore but there's a reason PC isn't the lead platform.

 

[elrechazado]

You need to take a step back and look at what I said instead of jumping to these harsh conclusion based off your your misinterpretations towards what I said.
I still stand by what I've said in regards to PC gaming and having bad console ports, whether you want to continue to try and sugarcoat it or actually look around instead of having me try and prove something that doesn't need to be proved in the first place, is all up to you.

He's exactly right - you regularly pop into this thread and apparently pretend that you haven't made any posts here, repeat your inane "points", just in different ways, and don't engage with any reality of what is being discussed. I'll see you in 2 pages when you come in with some variant of "know what? pc gamers are like intolerant and lame and don't see how lame they are".

 

[TheExodu5]

He's exactly right - you regularly pop into this thread and apparently pretend that you haven't made any posts here, repeat your inane "points", just in different ways, and don't engage with any reality of what is being discussed. I'll see you in 2 pages when you come in with some variant of "know what? pc gamers are like intolerant and lame and don't see how lame they are".

I was talking about bangai-o in that post.

 

[Stallion Free]

I don't want to sound like a sales-whore but there's a reason PC isn't the lead platform.

Don't want to sound like a sales whore, but the PC gaming market utterly demolishes the console market in overall sales.

 

[Dog Problems]

Meh, I don't care how good you can be with a controller, there's limitations on movements that are easily outmatched by M/KB. I dunno, I just find it odd that a lot of people have a hard time moving from gamepad to M/KB for an FPS, when in reality, it's much harder the other way around.

Here's the thing, you're gonna get your ass handed to you for a while. I generally believe that FPS gaming on a PC requires a bit more skill and can be a bit faster and require more twitch aiming. If you are going to do a PC fps (especially competitive MP), just learn to use a M/KB. Seriously.

Oh, I completely agree with you. But I do think there are some people out there very talented at FPS games with a controller that they could hold their own against some keyboard and mouse players. Overall, though, a player is limiting themselves by using a controller in regards to FPS.

 

[elrechazado]

I was talking about bangai-o in that post.

I can't keep track of these guys.

 

[TheExodu5]

I don't want to sound like a sales-whore but there's a reason PC isn't the lead platform.

Convenience and a lack of brand association would be the primary reasons for that.

There's no standardization on the PC, and buying a proper gaming PC can be a daunting task for the uninformed. That probably won't change, unless Valves makes something like a Steam Box...but standardization, in the end, could actually be detrimental to the PC as if it's taken too far, it can counteract many of the PC's inherent strengths.

 

[dimb]

I don't want to sound like a sales-whore but there's a reason PC isn't the lead platform.

No money hats or free marketing?

Spoiler

Games are inherently developed on PC, it is always the secret lead platform.

 

[scy]

Also during the time I've had my 360 and PS3, my co-worker has built a new rig 3 times at about 900 to 1k a pop. He just built his new rig about 6 months ago and he already had to spend a lot of time overclocking his video card so that he's happy while playing Witcher 2. At one point he was contemplating buying another card.

But this yearly rebuild isn't the norm. I know people who've purchased every 360 revision but I know that's not the average case. If you built a ~$600-700 rig at the start of this gen, there's a good chance it's still capable of running nearly every PC exclusive released up to now at medium; every multiplat title should run at least as good as their console counterparts.

One thing I don't get is for those who don't PC game but still own a desktop and cite the cost of a gaming PC as a factor ... how much did you spend on your desktop? For a few hundred dollars more, you'd have a perfectly fine gaming PC. Yeah, a good gaming PC may be $600-1000 depending on what you want out of it but it's not like all of that cost is just converting a regular PC to a gaming one.

Well, I get that it's easier to swallow a $300-ish PC than a $600+ one, regardless of it "only being an extra $300." I guess "I don't get it" isn't quite right but ... not sure of how I want to word that, honestly.

I still stand by what I've said in regards to PC gaming and having bad console ports most of the time, whether you want to continue to try and sugarcoat it or actually look around instead of having me try and prove something that doesn't need to be proved in the first place, is all up to you.

It does if you're going to make outlandish claims. I'd certainly expect console gamers to jump all over me if I started spouting crazy shit about their multiplat titles all being shoddy Wii ports.

 

[TheExodu5]

No money hats or free marketing?

Spoiler

Games are inherently developed on PC, it is always the secret lead platform.

Just because they're developed on the PC does not mean they're developed for the PC. It is most certainly not always the lead platform.

 

[dimb]

Just because they're developed on the PC does not mean they're developed for the PC. It is most certainly not always the lead platform.

It was a joke.

 

[plc268]

One thing I don't get is for those who don't PC game but still own a desktop and cite the cost of a gaming PC as a factor ... how much did you spend on your desktop?

You forget... EVERYONE owns laptops, tablets, and netbooks now. /sarcasm

 

[Chiggs]

I think the answer pretty much comes down to

A) Money

or

B) Convenience

Both are reasonable answers, honestly. For the former, however, I would argue that the value of a good gaming pc brings outweighs the initial cost.

Some of the mouse and keyboard arguments are pretty amusing, though. I'm primarily a pc gamer and I mostly use the 360 controller. Maybe that makes me a sellout?

 

[delta25]

He's exactly right - you regularly pop into this thread and apparently pretend that you haven't made any posts here, repeat your inane "points", just in different ways, and don't engage with any reality of what is being discussed. I'll see you in 2 pages when you come in with some variant of "know what? pc gamers are like intolerant and lame and don't see how lame they are".

I gave my reasons as to why I prefer consoles over the PC and was met with much hostility and negativity and whole lot of blind skepticism. I'm not sure how you've come to the conclusion that I'm "pretending", pretending what exactly?

 

[elrechazado]

I gave my reasons as to why I prefer consoles over the PC and was met with much hostility and negativity and whole lot of blind skepticism. I'm not sure how you've come to the conclusion that I'm "pretending", pretending what exactly?

How about answering the questions posed in response to your inane observations posted a few minutes ago?

 

[plc268]

Some of the mouse and keyboard arguments are pretty amusing, though. I'm primarily a pc gamer, and I mostly use the 360 controller. Maybe that makes me a sellout?

Not at all. Playing games on PC is all about choice, and how you want to play it.

Sure, I'm gonna recommend playing FPS games with M/KB, but if you want to play with a controller... go for it.

 

[scy]

Some of the mouse and keyboard arguments are pretty amusing, though. I'm primarily a pc gamer and I mostly use the 360 controller. Maybe that makes me a sellout?

Since I transitioned to comfy couch PC use, I've practically only gamed with a 360 controller. Hell, I think I've used it more with my PC than my actual 360.

I really need to get a bigger HDD for my 360; that's like the one thing keeping me from using it is the hassle of shuffling around game installs since I'm too anal to not play them installed.

 

[Chiggs]

Not at all. Playing games on PC is all about choice, and how you want to play it.

Sure, I'm gonna recommend playing FPS games with M/KB, but if you want to play with a controller... go for it.

I should also mention that all of my builds are now in Silverstone or Lian Li HTPC cases, and that they reside in home theater centers...and are connected to HDTVs.

Convergence!

 

[delta25]

Don't want to sound like a sales whore, but the PC gaming market utterly demolishes the console market in overall sales.

How so?

 

[Chiggs]

How so?

Well, if you factor in shovelware, hardware sales, OS sales...lol.

In terms of gaming software, no way. Still, pc software sales are actually a lot better than people think; they're just not heralded in the same way that console sales are.

For instance, Diablo 3 will be one of the biggest games of all time, but Call of Duty: Whatever will get the limelight.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

and try&error what resolution it should be played at

It's terrible isn't it, almost as bad as the weekly BIOS updates...

Seriously you don't know what resolution your display is? do you regularly have to scrape dogshit off your shoes as well?

 

[Gully State]

How so?

Bigger and more diverse market. There's a gamasutra article that breaks this down.

 

[delta25]

How about answering the questions posed in response to your inane observations posted a few minutes ago?

No need to, it was simple observation that ultimately should have been kept to myself.


sorry

 

[BomberMouse]

Having 100% knowledge that I can buy any game and it'll run as best as it can on the platform without me having yo do anything at all, no drivers update, tweaking .ini files or anything. At most if a patch needs to be applied, let the game install that patch for me.

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

Some posters in this thread really need to start using programs like RadeonPro/Nvidia Inspector before bitching about enabling options like anti-aliasing, texture filtering, vsync, etc.

This is a step-by-step guide to what everyone should be doing:


1. install game. buy on Steam and download it, OR for retail games add the .exe to your Steam list - this entire process is less intrusive than when a console game is installing because you can actually still the use the PC while it's working. time = 15mins, at most

[optional step] - for retail games, remove disk check by cracking the .exe. find one online. time = 5 mins Googling, if that

2. set up game profile in RadeonPro/Nvidia Inspector. point it towards the .exe (yes, even Steam games too) and enable options like AA, AF, triple buffer vsync etc. it's a case of ticking boxes people. for older games, you can even force RadeonPro to run them with a single core. tweaking time = 2 mins (15 seconds if you just mirror another game's profile)

3. in game, choose resolution and your other settings eg graphics options, controls etc. you have already set up AA, vsync etc in RadeonPro/Nvidia Inspector so they don't need to be touched. time = 2mins

4. plug in controller if needed, launch game from Steam

5. bitch to Backloggery about having too many games to play because PC gaming is awesome


total time = under 25 mins, or in other words about the same time you would spend installing on a PS3 or 360. even less time needed if you multi-task some of the above. it's not rocket science, and if you can't use a simple tick-box GUI with explicit instructions and explanations as to what each setting does, lord have mercy.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

Console gaming is way too inconveniant. I mean you actually have to have a physical disk mailed and put it into a machine? One click and play please.

 

[Stallion Free]

Well, if you factor in shovelware, hardware sales, OS sales...lol.

In terms of gaming software, no way. Still, pc software sales are actually a lot better than people think; they're just not heralded in the same way that console sales are.

Couldn't be more wrong.