Rant the death of pc gaming?

[chipper]

so during this whole modern warfare 2 buisness it set me to thinking is this the start of end?

how many more games companies are gonna start to turn away from the development of pc games? lets face it thats exactly what infinity ward have done, and who can blame em when the sales figures for the console version speaks for its self.

theres a few points that really niggle me just lately. the disaster that is games for windows live, i cannot stress just how bad this is for a massive portion of gamers, people dont buy the game cos they know it wont work, as a result sales of games go down and the developer thinks theyve made a poor choice creating a pc port.

the pc games market is stagnating whats changed in the last 5 years? not a lot really graphics are better thats about it whats come along thats really innovative?

take a look at consoles, the nintendo wii, it brought something new and innovative and as such forced the other big consoles to try to follow suit. you can guarntee the next xbox will have some sort of motion feature

the pc stands alone and has nothing to force it to better its self as such im begining to think its stuck in a rut.


im not a console fan boi i dont even own one (well not to till wed anyway) i love my pc and am a massive FPS fan. im just beginning to think that because the pc has no competition theres no progression everything is a rehash of something done before.

maybe its something over nothing and im paranoid, but consoles are fast approaching the level of pcs maybe the next gen will even match it and the fact a console costs alot less than a top end graphics card is it something people will start to consider?

would like to hear other peoples oppinions please dont start turning it into a MW2 bitch fest we got the other thread for that

 

[Mabs]

i wont argue with what you put tbh, its mostly right however

the heavy hitters graphically will need PC power to play, or people buying a new console every 3 months - or consoles to be upgradeable, but people own consoles cos they are "easier" to use, so doubt that will happen.
yeah , MW2 was a console game.. fine, what else wasnt tho ?

and look at the cross development, by which i mean the REAL pc games not the sort of crusty wank IW tried to pawn off on us..

higher resolutions, better textures, etc.. cos top end pcs will thrash the shite out of any console anywhere.
things like Crysis and so on, the flagship DX10 games, or whatever , of their time, would never work on consoles.

so if it becomes an exclusive club, where its more expensive and most people dont bother cos they can play on a console, and dont want to shell out for the better sound/picture/menus/mouse support/etc.. maybe

as to novelty, well yes the Wii did have the "instant cash if u sue nintendo cos your retarded" toy. PC was first with force feed back iirc ?that was all WOOOO!!11 and noone uses it now. im sure i can think of some other things if you give me time

and consoles will never meet the levels of PCs, sorry, not possible.. oh , unless you mean for the three weeks after their launched? maybe, until a new gfx card comes out and they are left in the dirt...

 

[throdgrain]

My son bought MW2 for the pc yesterday. I told him not to but what can you do

I looked at it for a bit, its the same graphics as cod4, to me it looks like an expansion pack. The way you connect to other players in multiplayer is laughable, as has already been discussed. But I also noticed yesterday that it took ages to get a game going, becuase the server wants all the slots full it seems, and people are already arguing over what map to play, and leaving whan they don't get thier own way ...

I then fired up CoD4 on my pc, wondering if all the servers would be empty. Nope. The same servers, still there, with lots of people playing.

I then fired up BF2! There was more full 60 man servers than when I last play ed it 2 years ago, if my memory serves

 

[Raven]

I am not so sure about MW2 now, having seen it running on an XBox it looks so much better on my PC and from the controls it doesn't feel at all like a console port. Yes they have fucked up with regards to the online aspect but we have not been short changed on the actual game imo, its very polished.

There are several problems with PC gaming though.

Consoles are holding back the entire industry in both creativness and in graphical firepower, you can do what you can on a console on 3 year old PC hardware. discounting the Wii which is more gimmicky than inovative there is nothing new in console land, most games are just a re-hash of stuff that has been done to death. If you look at console exclusives there is not a lot that is actually worth bothering with. Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy...thats about it really... Both sequals ofc

Piracy. A lot of it happens and its an easy target for poor sales figures. It can be combated if the industry really wanted to. If everyone was to switch to digital distribution it would pretty much eliminate it. If you have to go online everytime you play... or at least every week then it would kill it over night. Steam is great for this but it needs competition. Its cheaper than it was but you still have no real option to shop around. As mentioned Games for Windows, while good in intention is a disaster really, it doesn't work properly. For PC gaming to survive it needs to lead the digital distribution business model. Idiotic DRM does not work and thankfully the industry is coming to understand this.

I am due a decent bonus this year so I will be buying myself a PS3 and a Wii for the wife. Mostly as a cheap blue ray media centre. There are only 3 games I will buy on the PS3, Gran Turismo, Either Fifa or Pro evo and Final Fantasy, everything else is either not worth bothering with or better on the PC. FPS games using a controller? No thanks. The only FPS game to ever work on a controller was goldeneye on the N64.

I don't think its a problem with Just PCs anyway, there hasn't been any truly ground breaking games in a long time. I get the feeling they are running out of ideas really, they need to go back to story telling. MW2 is a great action film, the story isn't that important at all. You are Arni or Stalone and you are wasting bad guys, the reason is unimportant. Dragon age: origins is an epic tale, I find myself listening to what every NPC has to tell me and I don't skip any text at all. DA is a good example of a great game that will sell in the millions which doesn't work on the consoles, if you buy it for a console you miss out on so much, not just half the existing game but also the hundreds of mods that will come out.

I am currently addicted to plants vs zombies...I paid £6.99 for it on steam and have probably clocked up 20odd hours on it, bloody good value for money I would say.

 

[PLightstar]

Would have to disagree, PC gaming sometimes looks like it is dying, but its still going strong, yes piracy is still rampant and damages the industry, but unlike the music and movie industry games companies are changing the way they deliver content so we have 'solutions' like Steam, EA store and impulse amoung others. EA have tried things with BF Heroes that have become common place on consoles like micro transactions and they have worked for the most part. Some games are now offering a flat rate per month like £14.99 or whatever and you can d/l any game from their libary and now they have new games, so you are not stuck with 2/3yr old games.

With Companies like Nvidia, AMD/ATI, EA, Valve, Bioware and Blizzard supporting PC gaming in every way, It will be around for a lot longer.

 

[DaGaffer]

Actually PC gaming is still successful from a revenue POV, the problem is that all the money is going to one company, Blizzard. WoW is the worst thing to ever happen to PC gaming from a creativity perspective.

 

[Mabs]

Actually PC gaming is still successful from a revenue POV, the problem is that all the money is going to one company, Blizzard. WoW is the worst thing to ever happen to PC gaming from a creativity perspective.

theyre ActivisionBlizzard now but the point stands

 

[PLightstar]

Another point is that Download Sales are rarely takin into account when analsyts talk about sales figures.

 

[Dukat]

Fuck sales figures with a rather large stick, to be fair!

PC Gaming isn't about to 'die' any time soon for several major reasons.

1. The internet.
People use the 'net to connect not just to play games, but to chat on places like this, in chat rooms, instant messenger services and social networking sites to which consoles have no equivelant. People will always use the internet for these things and so gaming is very often only going to be a short step away from this. So even if people don't play PC games themselves, thier presence will still help to support the communities that draw other people who do play PC games together.

2. The Accessories
PC's are distinct from consoles in that they have a far wider range and variability in the accessories you can get from them, from the same controllers used on consoles to keyboards and mice, all of the different accessories have a huge amount of choice and scale in what to buy - where as for the X-box a controller is a controller is a controller, on the Pc, keyboards and mice can be as basic as 101key boards/2button ball mice to such things as LCD display, reprogrammable key 'multimedia' wireless keyboards and multiple button laser wireless mice in any shape, size or colour you could imagine.

Consoles are getting better, but they're still miles behind the PC in terms of accessories.


3. Technology
The PC is still ahead in terms of technology. It may cost more, but the fact of the matter is that top end PC's beat top end consoles when it comes to audio/visual quality because of the almost limitless scope for increasing performance.

Plus a few more things like "niche" markets that still bring major amounts of gamers to the PC like Flight simulators and Strategy games.


PC gaming is far from being on the way out. Consoles may be catching up, but that doesn't mean the PC will suddenly fail when they do finally match it in terms of capabilities and things listed above, who'se to say it wont spur the kind of competition that could see both consoles and PC's become even more advanced at an even faster rate?

 

[chipper]

i agree dukat it could help push the development of pc gaming but when one of the top developers basically gives the pc gaming community a big FU it does make you wonder.

and on top of that i just remembered the microsoft flight simulator series? another game thats got canned possibly the most popular flight sim of all time and whole reason joysticks on the pc have advanced as much as they have. blatantly obvious microsoft are focusing on the xbox when it comes to gaming.

i was hoping someone would pick up on the keyboard and mouse thing, was gonna put it in my original post but thought i would leave it to see what got said. there are many configurations granted, but a mouse is a mouse and a keyboard is a keyboard. (yes there are some quirky versions) granted any gamer will tell you they can make or break your gaming experience. but when you have things like motion control, direct camera interaction (that new ps3 game) wii fit oh and the guitar hero series and new dj hero. these are top selling titles but will never be seen on a pc.

i dont think they would suit the pc if im honest they are console games to have a laugh with your m8s when they come round etc.

maybe death of pc gaming was too strong i should have put decline.

consoles have always had there place and done games better than a pc can in certain areas.
racing games
fighting
sports in general (football, skateboarding)

but now they are encroaching into the pc domain and regardless of what you think doing very well financially.

just feels like the pc is getting pushed to the side almost an afterthought by some developers.

 

[Zenith.UK]

I am due a decent bonus this year so I will be buying myself a PS3 and a Wii for the wife. Mostly as a cheap blue ray media centre. There are only 3 games I will buy on the PS3, Gran Turismo, Either Fifa or Pro evo and Final Fantasy, everything else is either not worth bothering with or better on the PC.

If I may also mention WipeoutHD, that is definitely worth the asking price.

People have been saying about PC gaming dying out for years, but when it comes down to it the games industry as a whole is stagnating. It isn't just one type of system, it's the games themselves. What I consider to be one of the best PC games in the last year was Left4Dead. That got a port to the Xbox as well. Now Left4Dead 2 is coming out and while it has progressed in terms of graphics and AI direction, it is essentially more of the same.

 

[mooSe_]

My main problem with console gaming becoming larger than pc gaming is that I hate using a controller thing for my favourite types of games (FPS and RTS). These games simply suck on consoles imo; FPS games are just about playable but always feel awkward to me no matter how long I play them for. And RTS on a console? Hell no.

I am currently addicted to plants vs zombies...I paid £6.99 for it on steam and have probably clocked up 20odd hours on it, bloody good value for money I would say.

Me too, it's awesome, I played it so much I had nightmares about it.

 

[kirennia]

consoles have always had there place and done games better than a pc can in certain areas.
racing games
fighting
sports in general (football, skateboarding)

I'd disagree with this. When you can plug your PC into a tele, use XBOX or PS3 controllers on your PC as well as have a lot more firepower in your computer, consoles don't serve better in any particular genre of game.

The PC will give you better graphics, more choice of controllers/control methods and modding capabilities.

Consoles do however win in ease-of-use and price and I don't see that changing any time soon. I can't think of any other catagory not tied into either of those that a console wins with really though.


Don't get me wrong, I love playing on consoles but given the choice, I'd rather play on a properly set up PC

 

[Ctuchik]

Steam is great for this but it needs competition. Its cheaper than it was but you still have no real option to shop around.

sure you do, direct2drive, impulse and even EA store, tho EA only deal with their own stuff.

but d2d and impulse are if not better then steam, shitloads cheaper for us that use euro on steam as those 2 still deal in £/local currency...

and tbh, i rather wait a week or 2 and get my games on d2d/impulse then steam nowadays just because the price difference between them is sometimes almost a week worth of food

but yes, steam is superb because it is what it is. but their pricing is retarded if your forced to use euro.

only reason i even have steam is because every now and then they have a weekend deal thats actually worth buying...

 

[PLightstar]

price isnt really an issue, yes its more expensive to begin with, but once you bought a £600-1000 that will cover you for 2-4yrs with all the scalabilty of pc settings, the games are so much cheaper, you think on a PC vs Console game you are saving £10-20 each game once you have bought say 10 r so games you have more than made up the price differnce between the start up cost of a PCvs Console.

A PC pays for itself and with the new gun-motion controller thing and Guitar Hero 3/Frets on Fire PC can compete with the console on party games and random plastic extras,

 

[Ch3tan]

price isnt really an issue, yes its more expensive to begin with, but once you bought a £600-1000 that will cover you for 2-4yrs with all the scalabilty of pc settings, the games are so much cheaper, you think on a PC vs Console game you are saving £10-20 each game once you have bought say 10 r so games you have more than made up the price differnce between the start up cost of a PCvs Console.

A PC pays for itself and with the new gun-motion controller thing and Guitar Hero 3/Frets on Fire PC can compete with the console on party games and random plastic extras,

I'm sorry, but a PC will last you 2 years if you want cutting edge games, and one of the biggest arguments has been graphics so far. A console is a quarter of the cost and lasts you longer 3- 5 year life span.

A PC does not "pay for itself"

you lot fail to see a very simple fact, the average gamer these days is not a hardcore gamer wanting the best, it's an average casual gamer and that is what the market will cater too. They want pick and play and no compatibility issues or fiddling, and that is where the console will win out. PC gaming will not die out, it will just become more of a niche market.

 

[Raven]

I'm sorry, but a PC will last you 2 years if you want cutting edge games, and one of the biggest arguments has been graphics so far. A console is a quarter of the cost and lasts you longer 3- 5 year life span.

A PC does not "pay for itself"

You need a £500 (at least) TV to play on modern consoles...

Console £250
TV £500
You can get a better PC with monitor for the cost of a console+TV

And fiddling about? Comparability issues? Do you live in 1996 or something?

 

[mooSe_]

You need a £500 (at least) TV to play on modern consoles...

Console £250
TV £500
You can get a better PC with monitor for the cost of a console+TV

And fiddling about? Comparability issues? Do you live in 1996 or something?

but most people already have a tv, and while most people also already have a computer, they know nothing about how it works or how to upgrade it, so they are more likely to buy a pre-made 'gaming' pc from some site if they were going play pc games, which will cost them a lot more than a console which they can just plug into their tv.
lots of people think setting up a computer is more complicated than it actually is, and I think that keeps them away from pc gaming altogether.

 

[Ch3tan]

You need a £500 (at least) TV to play on modern consoles...

Console £250
TV £500
You can get a better PC with monitor for the cost of a console+TV

And fiddling about? Comparability issues? Do you live in 1996 or something?

What moose said, people don't buy a new TV when they buy a console, they have a TV and use it for lots of different media in the house.

 

[Mabs]

I'm sorry, but a PC will last you 2 years if you want cutting edge games, and one of the biggest arguments has been graphics so far. A console is a quarter of the cost and lasts you longer 3- 5 year life span.

a PC will last as long as you want it to tho

you pay whatever for it, then can do rolling upgrades, new gfx, bit more ram, etc, etc, which is 100-150 quid tops , which is less than some consoles.. so you can tweak it to last a lot longer

 

[Ch3tan]

Again you are al arguing from the point of view of someone who already does PC gaming, not your average gamer. People just don;t see PC gaming that way. rolling upgrades only go so far. Like i said, it's not dead, but it's a niche.

 

[PLightstar]

I've had my PC two years and I can still play new games on full settings and my PC cost me £600 and as I explained the difference in cost of games between PC/Console games is why it pays for itself. The only problem I have had is HD Space and I bought a external HD for £50 that solved the issue.

As for the average person not knowing how to upgrade, thats stupid my grandad who only uses his PC for the internet has managed to upgrade the ram and HD just by using those Which! guides, which everyone has access to.

 

[Turamber]

I find game playing to be more enjoyable on a console than on the pc. Part of the reason is that my console is in the most comfortable room in the house, and is plugged into a huge flatscreen HD tv.

But there is also the technical side of things. All you need to do with a game on a console is put it in the tray. The last few pc games I've bought I spend a seeming eternity downloading updated drivers, which rarely work as they should first time.

And then you have the issue of new graphics cards or more powerful motherboards. Heck for Age of Conan I went out and bought a new pc altogether.

Console games are much easier to pick up and put down, and they don't require IT skills or for you to shell out more of your hard earned. Makes them perfect for my busy lifestyle.

 

[soze]

I think the problem came when you could port a 360 / PS3 game to a PC why would you write 3 copies of a game when you can make one and port it. It means games will never be built to the most a PC can handle so there is no reason to get the PC version as its the same. I hate FPS games unless i can use a keyboard and mouse so i hope PC games never die.

 

[Ch3tan]

As for the average person not knowing how to upgrade, thats stupid my grandad who only uses his PC for the internet has managed to upgrade the ram and HD just by using those Which! guides, which everyone has access to.

The only stupid thing is your comment. You are naive indeed to think that because your granddad can, everyone can. Obviously all the PC repair shops and people that make money doing simple things like installing a Virus scanner are a big lie?

Talk to Nath on these very forums, he makes money from your "average" home Pc user who does not have a scooby doo.

 

[mooSe_]

The difference is, with a console, you don't even need a which? guide.

 

[chipper]

gaming used to be the realm of the geeks 10-15 years ago if you told someone you played games on your pc, youd probably have got a slap and been called a geek, and yes back then it was alot harder to keep your pc running smooth. and consoles were really just coming into their own. playstation probably blew the industry wide open.

however times have changed and it is now a widely accepted media, why? because with consoles came accessability, plug and play etc. even ya mum could do it. thats not the case with a pc theres tons of wires lots of fiddly installation especially with security features whacked in its hassle for anyone new to pc gaming.

theres a big gaming market out there now and as said its aimed more at the casual gamer and casual = consoles, honestly i really think the golden age of pc gaming is coming to an end, and i dont see how the pc can stop it, the pc will rarely get games made for it that push it to the limits why? because they have to cater to those with lesser machines so they can still sell to a large portion of the market. consoles dont have this problem so games are easier to make.

 

[nath]

PC Gaming may change, but it's not going anywhere. The bigger developers may fuck off to consoles because there's more money in it but there will always be others to come along and fill their shoes.

The Unreal Tech 3 engine just got made free to use so we'll probably start seeing a fair bit of action from that. If people decided to sell what they make from it they have to pay 20% royalties over the first three or five thousand bucks. Quite a chunk but it's a great move for indie devs.

 

[Talyn]

I've seen this arguement a lot since MW2. I have only 3 words to counter that arguement...

Dragon Age: Origins.

 

[Raven]

Well, MW2 is better on the PC than it is on a console. The online is wank on all formats. The game is the same except for better controls and better graphics on the PC.