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[Gully State]

If anything the shenanigans on console has pushed me to PC gaming. Map packs/paying for online gaming and all that BS on an inferior platform..

 

[Diatribe1974]

Due to how EA likes to run their business, it's just pushed me away from almost all their games these days. Did they return to sensible means of DRM/DLC, I'd warm back up to them. But then again, being less dickish (i.e. less like typical EA), works wonders as well.

 

[WEGGLES]

I'd rather run Steam and/or Origin than have to run it at sub HD/Sub 60fps.

 

[echoshifting]

It varies. If I have issues with the DRM it's console. If I get Battlefield 3 it'll be on console. From Dust, waiting for the PS3 version. And so on. But the DLC situation is way, way better on PC right now. DLC pricing on consoles is ridiculous. A lot of that stuff ends up getting packed in to the PC version, you just have to wait a bit for it.

Pricing, of course, is also much better on PC. I suppose it might work out better in some cases if you do trade-ins, but I'm kinda beyond that now. I keep my games.

 

[sykoex]

I have to really really want a game to pay more than $40 for it and at that point the DRM won't keep me away. Anything cheaper than that is usually some indie thing without much DRM or something off of Steam which I'm fine with.

This whole year I'll have only purchased 2 full priced new releases, Portal 2 & Skyrim. I mostly just stick to cheap Steam titles which are usually more in line with my gaming tastes than most new retail releases.

 

[bengraven]

Just the opposite.

 

[Yagharek]

OP is kidding, right?

I'll preface this first by saying that I'm not, have never been and will likely not ever be a PC gamer. I don't have patience for the platform nor preference for the particulars.

BUT

This console gen has been the most consumer-hostile generation from publishers in history.

Reasons:

DRM
* Capcom DRM lies with regards to Final Fight PSN
* Sony holding games and online access hostage to feature-stripping firmware updates
* Sony lying about game sharing, changing course mid-stream

DLC
* Half-finished games released with day one DLC (see Resident Evil 5)
* Half-coded games released with critical bugs (see all Bethesda and Obsidian games)
* Online passes from EA and Ubisoft devaluing and limiting a customers purchases
* Overpriced DLC map packs from Activision
* Online passes moving to half finished buggy as shit single player games (see Bioware)
* Games shipped without endings (see Prince of Persia)
* Retailer exclusive DLC
* DLC on the disc (see Dead Rising as a great example of how to rip off customers)

Not to mention other issues such as hardware that was never quality controlled, limited third party support depending on platform, half-arsed ports with platform exclusive content, overhyped and underdelivering blockbuster games (not solely a console issue, but these games are almost all platform exclusives).

This console gen has been fucking woeful with respect to how the customer has been treated with limitations to what used to be given freely in the past. Publishers have decided they want to crack down on people lending games to friends or being able to play them without an internet connection, or limit what they can play as a different user on the same console.

So unless you want to go Nintendo only, you're still going to have to deal with 99% of the same bullshit issues as you do on PC. And even then, Nintendo has it's own issues that a PC gamer may have trouble adapting to.

My one fear with Wii U is that in catering to THQ/EA/Ubisoft/Capcom (the most hostile publishers this gen), that Nintendo will have to allow for online pass bullshit and overpriced DLC costumes that should have been on the disc too.

 

[vertopci]

Yea man I've been totally pushed to consoles with their inferior products, controllers, standards, online play and pricing.

 

[gabbo]

I will actively avoid games with restrictive DRM. I don't feel it limits my choices. If anything it makes them much easier at times. I do on occasion buy into a game with such DRM, but it's rare and usually at a substantial discount (such as Assassin's Creed).

As for DLC, I have not, as of yet ever bought any. That isn't to imply I pirate it, I just go without. I can either wait for a goty, GTA-style full release expansions or simply go without altogther. I don't care about guns, maps, and character outfits and the like so I end up saving money on this too. Unless it's crucial to a storyline or free, DLC isn't something I ever even take into consideration.

As for required services, I'm always sitting on the same gaming pc to game, so I don't really care what account information I'm typing in, be it Steam, GAF, GG, maybe Origin in the future (hell, even GFWL now). While I'm keen on having some kind of physical copy of my games, and there are certain other aspects to DD I do not like, and I don't blindly follow one service against all others. Steam sales be damned, if it's a better price elsewhere, fuck Valve. I was never bothered by having to find and install patches and updates myself, it was something I actually embraced about the PC. I had an extra level of control over my gaming that no other platform had. Auto-updates are a blessing and a curse.

All this being said, no I have not left PC gaming for consoles. I buy a console game or two now and again (I think I own maybe 10 from the past two console generations combined) that I play on friends or families consoles. When I want to get down to gaming, I'm at my PC with a m/kb. It will take a lot more than the things in the OP to change that.

 

[Yeef]

* Half-finished games released with day one DLC (see Resident Evil 5)

i'd hardly consider Resident Evil 5 'half-finished.' The Versus DLC was worthless and had next to nothing to do with the game being a complete product. Do you consider RE4 'half-finished' for not having a Versus mode? Because bother games have all the same basic features.

Versus Mode also wasn't released day 1, but simply announced just before released, then released a couple of weeks later.

* Half-coded games released with critical bugs (see all Bethesda and Obsidian games)

Those games had tons of bugs in the PC versions as well. Patches, both official and community-made fixed them, but that doesn't mean the games weren't a buggy mess at launch on PC.

* Online passes from EA and Ubisoft devaluing and limiting a customers purchases

I'm not a fan of online passes, but I don't see how they limit your purchase anymore than PC Downloaded games do.

* Overpriced DLC map packs from Activision

Those same map packs are available on PC at the same price point.

* Online passes moving to half finished buggy as shit single player games (see Bioware)
* Games shipped without endings (see Prince of Persia)

These games are also on PC.
* Retailer exclusive DLC

* DLC on the disc (see Dead Rising as a great example of how to rip off customers)

I'll assume you mean Dead Rising 2. As far as I recall, all of the Dead Rising 1 DLC was on the disc, but only made available a few weeks after release, but it was all just cosmetic items and it was all free anyway.

This console gen has been fucking woeful with respect to how the customer has been treated with limitations to what used to be given freely in the past. Publishers have decided they want to crack down on people lending games to friends or being able to play them without an internet connection, or limit what they can play as a different user on the same console.

PC downloads have the same issues as the bolded. As a corollary, the only time I've had trouble, on PS3, using content between different accounts was in Red Dead Redemption. For the pre-order bonuses they had you put in the redemption code via the Rockstar Social Club instead of directly into PSN, which meant the content wasn't shared between accounts. I'v enever had ANY other issue sharing between my 5 or so PSN accounts on a single console.

 

[Bazhard]

If i was a PC gamer it would, i wouldn't buy any PC game with forced internet connection DRM because i think it's complete bullshit.

 

[Yagharek]

quotes.

I'm not going through all those quotes one by one, but none of them change the fact that the largest publishers have become increasingly hostile towards customers this gen.

Your quotes essentially aren't even arguing against my statements - just saying that the same happens on PC. The only points of contention you raise are Dead Rising (and I'm pretty certain it was DR1 that also had premium DLC that was on the disc, but it was 4 years ago. In any case, we all know others have done it).

So at the end of the day, you are no better off going from PC to console or vice versa, because the same shit happens on both platform types because publishers seem to actively hate their customers. Why else would they be doing what they do.

 

[ElectricBanquet]

I'm actually looking to get more into PC games because I was never really a big PC gamer and there's a lot of stuff I've missed out on. However, I'm really just looking at getting into GOG and retail games that don't require any kind of online authentication to install/play. I'm done with buying games that my use of requires connecting to a server that one day might not be there anymore, but I feel that way regardless of whether the game in question is on a console or PC.

 

[Snuggles]

Yeah, I hate when DRM forces me to use substandard systems, that's why I defected to consoles.

 

[ghst]

i've never had to suffer a piece of drm on pc that forced me to load a disc in a tray, roll back my hardware by six years and play with a totally inappropriate peripheral through a proprietary peer to peer network while charging me for the privilege.

pcs are plagued by drm.
consoles are drm.

 

[Red]

Yeah, I hate when DRM forces me to use substandard systems, that's why I defected to consoles.

 

[hlhbk]

No way. DRM is not a reason to play an inferior version of the game on consoles. BTW you can thank consoles for the DRM trend this generation, not PC's.

 

[njean777]

I guess my question would be: Why do you have to play exclusively on either the PC or on consoles? Both have flaws anyways, so why not play on both?

That's what I do and I am perfectly happy

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

Most DRM can be cracked (look at the 'scene') / is removed post-release (The Witcher 2, From Dust, Mass Effect) / is made more lax over time (BioShock) / or is really not that huge of an issue imo. Some hardline PC players might hate the fact that you have to install Origin with BF3, but I don't really care - as long as it doesn't auto-start with Windows and I can set up a script so that it starts when BF3 starts, it's fine. DRM is simply not a big enough deal to limit yourself to a worse experience all round on consoles.

 

[alstein]

Consoles have DRM. You can't even run a game without the disc in many cases.

So I don't get this as an argument.

What obnoxious DRM has done is moved me more towards indy games on PC and away from the AAA games.

 

[NinjaTehFish]

I have a very respectable gaming computer, but I find I only use it for GOG games and mmorpgs. Whenever possible I purchase the 360 version of a game, even if its the mod free inferior version like Oblivion. And some PC only titles I don't purchase at all.


1. I hate the trend of with-holding content and releasing it as DLC or releasing downloadable only DLC instead of putting together a full fledged expansion. When I purchase games on the console I just wait a year and get the inevitable GOTY or platinum hits release with everything bundled together. On the PC, do to incredible ease of purchase perhaps such GOTY editions are produced much less frequently and thus force you more often to buy the DLC piecemeal.

Ask any self respecting PC gamer about this and hear the stream of curses denouncing consoles as the reason for this happening at all in the PC space. PC's have been capable of this type of service far longer than consoles but it wasn't until it was viable on consoles that it became a mainstream practice. Hell the traditional "map" pack for pc back in the day was usually a full blown campaign plus improvements and additions to any multilayer component.

2. Horribly Draconian DRM. I shouldn't have to do research on what kind of DRM a game comes with in addtion to deciding if I want the game itself before making a purchase. All this limited activiation, required regisitration, and online always nonsense is horrendous. Aside from DRM free GOG stuff I refuse to deal with this. Console DRM on the other hand is pretty much non existant. By virtue of the fact that you have to be playing a 360 game on the 360 there is no need for aditional DRM. Single player games always work just fine offline. In essence console DRM works behind the scenes, and as such is never an issue for concern.

Only a few neurotic individuals even here on gaf let this worry them and unless your going out your way to have a problem with it DRM on PC is practically invisible.

3. I'm tired of all these DD services cropping and, all the fighting between them. I shouldn't have to have some third party software running in the background just to run a game of mine. EA apparently isn't completely retarded as demonstrated by them stating you will not need to use Origin in anyway to play SWTOR. On console, this is a complete non issue.

Honestly this is the dumbest complaint, suffice to say that having actual competition in the DD space has been a win for all involved.

I've never been a big fan of mods, as I've always been something of a purist. The rare game that could use some fan made assistance, well thats a small sacrifice compared to all the pain it saves me. I don't care about a small drop in graphical fidelity, hell I played Dragonrealms, a text only MUD for 10 years. Now a feature being completely cut for a console version of a game, like less players in multiplayer for instance...well yes that sucks; but consoles in general seem to be the better of two tough choices right now.



So does anyone else agree that all this stuff actually pushes one to console game more?

Other thoughts?

While i respect your opinion on mods is your opinion, You should realize allot of the people making your beloved console games cut there teeth on mods and a lot of innovations that are standard today first found life in mods. Not to mention the close knit communities that spring up around mod scenes. With this in mind I'd argue mods as being a major plus.

All in all you've done a pretty poor job of presenting your argument.
My pros for console gaming:

-No windows, bare minimum OS.
-Consolidates (lol) home entertainment to a single box
-COUCH!
-Kid friendly / Hard to really fuck up unintentionally
-Great exclusive games
-More socially acceptable / Local multi.

 

[lupinko]

No, but this is one of the reasons why I'm being pushed away from console gaming as it too is seeing DRM being shoved down the throats of consumers.

 

[Woo-Fu]

If I had a real problem with DRM I'd never be able to game on a console again.

 

[larvi]

I hate ala carte sales and DLC as well but the PC has been doing bundled game sales for way longer than the consoles and is way superior in this regard than the consoles. Great collections like the Interplay 15th Anniversary edition, EA Top Ten Pack, AD&D Masterpiece collection, Might and Magic Millenium Edition, Ultimate Wizardry Archives, etc. I purchased multiple (5-20) full titles for less than a single console title. More recently I've been buying the publisher collections from Steam and other dd services when they have a blowout sale. I picked up the complete Paradox collection from Steam and Strategy First's catalog directly from them. I don't thing you will ever see deals of that magnitude on a console unless you buy someones collection used from a flea market.