PC Gaming dying ?

[Mnus]

love playing the medal of honour games,crysis call of duty , NFS series and stuff like that,unfortuantely they are few and far between for anything decent to get

[manxspud]

For us old timers... its habit... no matter how many times i play xbox and wii with the kids, i still like to play games on the pc, mouse in the right hand and keyboard in the left. mind you i think Mrs Manxspud will soon be ready to divorce me if i build 1 more pc on the dinning rm table!!!!! Biggest bonus for me is easy to backup... never need to worry about discs after first install... But hate the M/S 'games for windows titles' had more than a few issuses with these games.

[Raven]

Totally agree mate those Games for Windows titles are unnesessarily aggrivating! F*ckin Microsoft eh ? They make brilliant Operating Systems I can't fault Windows at all for useability and stuff but I cannot stand Microsoft as a company - they have all that money and they just cannot do complex software at all unless it's Windows! And they are attempting to cripple the console gaming market aswell by trying to monopolize it too for their own ends. Greedy b@stards they are.

Just picture it if Microsoft was pretty much all there is on consoles.....the landscape for and from the top dog would be mostly dogshit titles with the odd bone thrown every now and then but buckets of money made regardless despite tons of crappy games - actually sounds alot like Nintendo at the moment doesn't it ? and which console is the runaway leader this time ? The Wii! At least while Microsoft and Sony are trying to slit each others throats it's us that are benefitting from the competition with really good games. Leader gets the luxury of major spoils with little effort, but the competing pack drives the market's popularity and is therefore the backbone and the beating heart of the industry. Without the competition there is no business. That's the value of competiton....and that's why I hate Microsoft for trying to monopolize for the sake of greed as they have done on the PC operating system platform. There's a difference between trying to compete and trying to put the competition out of business or at least to the extent that they can no longer efficiently compete. As I would say the case is now with Apple operating systems compared to Windows operating systems.

[Marchief]

i don't think PC game is dying as such, just become a lot harder to develop for. With graphics going through the roof in reality and optimisation for performance while looking like you are playing in a photograph ( hardware depending of course) makes it very challenging for developers to be able to balance graphics vs gameplay, on top of this you have the milestone games that really set the pace for others and usually cause 3 or more work in progress titles to be scrapped, last 2 milestone games, Crysis (set the way for next gen gaming - a bit before its time for once) and prototype ( showed that games are still FUN without looking like crap) and thats my opinion.

I have owned a PC ever since 6th form (about 8 years) buit my first, built this one, its easy to customise a PC, you can't customise a console, i had consoles up till the playstation (yes the first one and yes there were consoles before it ) and then moved to PC and never looked back, the only console i have now is a Wii and my gf uses it more than me.

Yes the games on PC take a long time to install but you rarely get any in-game loading, you played a PS3 recently? Install, update, take out disk put it back in hit it a few times start playing....loading...next scene....loading - its a joke, my mates own a 360 and a ps3 and i hear graphics complaints about the 360 and loading and slowdown issues from the PS3, a PC will always be superior no matter how much they try and make the consoles like PC's.

sorry for the long post

[Raven]

Thanks for the post mate it was an interesting read however I have to say that I disagree, I disagree because I also own a gaming PC, a PS3 and a Wii and a Xbox360 ...and I owned PS2/Xbox/Gamecube before this and N64/Playstation before that etc etc etc....anyhow my point is that no doubt PC has it's positives aswell as detriments...and any games available on console and PC are usually almost always better suited on the PC. But to basically say that consoles are alot worse than PC's I think is an inacurate statement and really quite fanboyish....it can be alot more powerful and allow for alot more customisation - however they are both different beasts to one another and I have to say that awesome games PS3 games which are miles better than anything I've played recently on PC like Uncharted and MGS4 will not be seen on PC as they are PS3 exclusive.....and as such especially with PS2/Gamecube/Xbox before this you have missed out on many excellent games in only sticking to the PC.

Also your point about PC games being harder to develop for I disagree because all games are made on a PC in the first place...and with the advances in PC hardware power it allows the developers more flexibility....so it's not that the PC games have become harder to develop - it's just that it's become a harder decision to develop a proper PC port due to piracy issues and DRM backlash....this is why we see such a distinct lack of great PC games and ports just lately ontop of such a hike in console migration - it's down to piracy mainly, but what doesn't help is the rise of the console so to speak. These are the reasons why we typically see sloppy ports nowadays and is also the reason why there hasn't been a good PC exclusive really since the likes of Crysis. Which by the way even that is no longer exclusive as such as the sequel is meant to be coming out on PS3 aswell next time.

I don't know if you can do this already, but I would have thought they would have released some sort of peripheral on PC be it a joystick or a Wii analogue stick type of thing that plugs in and allows you to map movement/strafing buttons to it because the mouse for aiming is superb but using keyboard keys and needing to be hunched over the keyboard just to move you character really isn't good - analogue sticks are way better. I just think independant joystick or analogue stick and mouse (similar in a way to how the wiimote/stick combo works) would be ideal. Certainly for me at least as I hate keyboard control but love mouse aim. Also love the Wiimote/nunchuck setup and how mobile that is.

[manxspud]

Wow this has been a great tread... It's nice to see i'm not the only one still playng on a pc.

on the whole i'd have to agree with Raven... there will always be a place for pc gaming... however i think consoles will always now be the mainstream and pc's for the die hards....

Lets face it consoles are convenient... if your mates come round you just plug in a few extra handsets and off you go. Like most people we have a pc, wii, xbox ect... but my kids mostly play on the consoles, leaving the pc for me. My 12yr old son plays his xbox online, he can play his mates over the road or half way round the world, he has a gaming chair hooked up for comfort and great sound... but why did he want one? Easy, most if not all his friends have one... its a culture, a social scene, just like pc gaming used to be like.

Every now and again the kids will play a pc game... but always they return to the xbox ect. When i play alone its on a pc... when i play with the kids its always on the xbox and wii... that should tell lots.

Ps. They wre both well miffed when i was wipping them at Mario carts... "Have you played this before dad" said they
"No never said i" Ha!

[Raven]

Hah! You know you played the early snes version (Super Mario Kart) to death back in 1994!

Totally agree though, no doubt alot of people want a certain console because their mate's have got one - also there will be a few who want the console itself for their own reasonings be it 360 or Wii or PS3....I have to think that other than price that's the reason that the PS3 isn't selling as well as the 360, because the online setup on 360 despite being a premium service is also alot better/convenient. As you said social scene culture, my mate's got one so I want one sort of thing, it was the same with the PS2 last time around too - this is the main benefit of being first to the market and having a year or so all to yourself without competition.

But don't get me started on the consoles themselves side by side, not with the calibre of PS3 exclusives and extra bells and whistles that come with the PS3 unlike with the 360!

In a nutshell the PS3 is alot more robust, in my honest opinion for me personally has much the better exclusive games, my take on the cost is that you get what you pay for with PS3 as it includes wireless connectivity and blu ray playback right out of the box etc....and it's my preference for these reasons. Mind you alot of that is also to do with the fact that I don't really play online - but when I do it's free on PS3 and it works so it's all good for me at least

My only fear is that next time around it may well be race to make a face time, with MS and Sony rushing to release their console first and we end up with 2 broken consoles....unless this generation of console is going to last longer than any previous one, which it probably will as PS3 is nowhere near it's peak yet, 360 may well already be there though, so unless they are already working on their new consoles underground and taking their time, ready to release at roughly the same time...that would be ideal. But in reality just as unlikely as it is probable.

[manxspud]

Yea ok... maybe i played it once or twice... But history shows it's not always the better quality product that comes out on top, ie... Take vhs and beta max, beta max was the better quality product but it was vhs that went mainstream.
beta max did find a home in the pro market but simply put vhs was cheaper.
For my self, i'm always going to be a pc gamer first... But as to what consols we have in the house, the kids will decide.

[alunfennell]

For fifteen year I have been a Pc Gamer now I am changing over to an Xbox because I am sick of upgrading Graphics Cards, Mother boards, and Processors virtualy once a year to keep up with the requirments, while Playstation & Xbox only need upgrading every 5 to 7 years there is something very wrong there ! for me this is the end of PC Gaming yes a Game for PC is far cheaper to buy but you spend far more on Graphics cards and other computer components in the long run !

Pc = Internet Browsing
Xbox 360 / Playstation = Gaming

Regards:
Alun

[manxspud]

Well Allenfennell, to be totally honest... I don't blame you.
If you do not need a pc for any thing but the internet, then it is a expensive way to play games, and most people probably only use their pc for the internet. Me i use mine for just about everything.... One of my other hobbies is video editing, I have been known to do the odd wedding or two... so having a higher than average spec is a must really, for me. But you really hit the nail on the head with what you said.
regards Manxspud.

Ps. pc's are powerful pieces of kit... Its a shame that most houses have them... But don't really understand what they can do with them...

[Raven]

@manxspud, most houses do have PC's but you can't typically do much with a crappy spec'd PC which to be honest is what the average household has. But I see your point though, I myself had a PC for years before I learned just some of the things that are possible with it, it's safe to say I've learned alot more about PC's in the last 7 years of using one properly than I ever learned about PC's at college....it's quite funny actually because it would come to something simple now but not at the time like reloading Windows or replacing a piece of hardware, and my brother would say you should know about this stuff you studied it at college - and I'd be like well yeah but not this specifically! I guess life teaches you more than college class can ever hope to

@allunfennel, it just occured to me that if you don't use your pc for gaming, technically you could use a PS3 for the same job if you install Linux on it and especially if you have a usb mouse and keyboard, as you can surf the internet and play movies right out of the box, Linux would net you msn, notepad etc....but I've never used Linux on PS3 so I don't know what the limitations are - and I don't know anybody that owns a PS3 that would actually put Linux on their PS3 to use as a PC essentially, that doesn't use their PC for gaming - let alone at all. But it's a point of note.

[ManofScience]

For fifteen year I have been a Pc Gamer now I am changing over to an Xbox because I am sick of upgrading Graphics Cards, Mother boards, and Processors virtualy once a year to keep up with the requirments, while Playstation & Xbox only need upgrading every 5 to 7 years there is something very wrong there ! for me this is the end of PC Gaming yes a Game for PC is far cheaper to buy but you spend far more on Graphics cards and other computer components in the long run !

Pc = Internet Browsing
Xbox 360 / Playstation = Gaming

Regards:
Alun

amen to that.

the cost is ridiculous to keep up with PC Gaming, parts outdated in a year, etc. who the chuff spends 2 grand on a gaming PC???

[Raven]

People with more money than sense as far as the ones who upgrade every year to stay up to date with the latest and greatest available.

I myself upgrade not just for primarily gaming/emulation purposes but also to have a speedy system for everything else - for example the difference between a 1.x ghz single core cpu and a 2.x dual core equivalent on a 700mb rar file extraction it takes a minute or two tops on the latter as opposed to 20 - 30 minutes on the former. This speed/time difference can be applied all across the board aswell.

So then myself personally, I upgrade as and when and also not for the latest and greatest that I cannot afford, but for good stuff when the price becomes reasonable and I still get a system that's more than useable for just about anything at any given time despite not being anywhere near the best spec'd machine but it's still justifiable. Unlike the ones that upgrade every 6 months to a year for the latest and greatest.

But if they have that much money to be able to do that and afford the absolute best of equipment available at any given time and at any given price, then fair play to them because I for one would love one of those top of the line Alienware PC's that look and perform immaculately but then they also cost about 3 grand!

[manxspud]

Oh @Raven... how to make a fellow feel old,

It really came down to picture quality... Betamax showed better depth of colour less noise ect... However at the time (mid 70's Betamax could only record 60min vers vhs 3hrs. Sony had a good product, but the recorders and tapes cost more.
Jvc gave the market what they wanted, longer recording times and cheaper recorders. By the time sony released longer betamax tapes most people had settled on vhs. I think it took sony 3yrs to release a longer playing tape.
Sony went on to use the beta formate in its first camcorders using video 8 then later Hi 8, these formats were used by media pros ie. repoters ect, then of course jvc released its vhs-c formate. However to my knowledge the pro market used the betacam formate until at least 2005.

Sorry if its a little long puffed... but the war between the 2 formates went on for a long time 8 to 10 yrs.

This is in reply to the bit you edited out.

[manxspud]

"But if they have that much money to be able to do that and afford the absolute best of equipment available at any given time and at any given price, then fair play to them because I for one would love one of those top of the line Alienware PC's that look and perform immaculately but then they also cost about 3 grand!"

God yea those Alienware pc's are fanbl**dytastic... I priced up my ideal desktop replacement... it was only ?5000. So i will have to stick with what i've got for now.