Tech and Talk > Gaming > PC gaming GAMES > The future of Gaming? PC or Console?

reply to TheThing

Re: The future of Gaming? PC or Console?

reply to TheThing
...

reply to TheThing
steam doesn't matter... i don't even use it

reply to TheThing
...

reply to TheThing

reply to TheThing
I am a recent PC convert, and I think both will be viable for a while. Like others, I have had consoles since I was a little kid, as that is what my parents bought me. I owned an Atari, all the Nintendos, all the Segas (except Dreamcast), all the Playstations and X Boxes over the years. I am not a technical PC building whiz like some of you so I can't speak to individual parts and builds with any great detail.

Pros as I see them for gaming on a PC:

1. PC exclusive (or near exclusive) games and genres. RTS, F2P, MMO, MOBA. Great gaming that most console only fans have very little experience with. Coming from a guy that played exclusively on consoles up until recently, it really is a different world. I am having a blast.

2. Superior tech and performance. Brand new console games look like garbage to me now. You can upgrade piecemeal and customize to your heart's content to ensure your games are always running and looking their best.

3. Steam sales. 'Nuff said. I was talking to a guy in the console forum the other day and he was comparing sales at brick and mortar console game stores to the Steam sales. No comparison.

Pros as I see them for gaming on a console:

1. It's easy. You buy a console and every game developed for that console is guaranteed to work the first time, every time. You don't have to worry about upgrading anything to make sure the newest game works. No getting that game and getting an 'error 32' for the first couple days. No GFWL.

2. It's easy. Most console gamers don't know the first thing about building gaming PCs. If they did, they'd be PC gamers. You can pick up a console anywhere.

3. Console exclusive games. I have loved many console games over the years (like Red Dead Redemption) that you can't experience on console.

Bottom line:

I am primarily a PC gamer now but I like to have the option to play anything that might interest me so I'll probably continue to be a PC AND console gamer. If it's a multiplat I'll most likely pick it up on PC as long as it's not a horrible port.

That said I haven't seen the next gen consoles yet so this is subject to change. They could suck.

reply to TheThing
the future is 100% digital (no boxes for games, no running to the store, no DVDs, no blurays), 100% one unit in your living room that connects to your TV that does everything... not a few

anything else is the console industry capitalizing on the ignorance of the masses

reply to bionicRod
Thanks for a reasonable approach to the topic. I think you encapsulated it well without insulting or viewing through rose-colored glasses either side.
--
Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

reply to Ghastlyone

reply to bionicRod

reply to TheThing

reply to TheThing

reply to bionicRod
I agree, but as I lack the funds to continuously update my PC every year or so, I tend to stick to a console for my game needs.

Keeping a PC in gaming shape costs money. I used to do it, buy new hard drives, new video cards, more ram. But then I ran out of a job, and ran out of money.
Currently I have two 5 year old PCs that can only run World of Warcraft on low settings. My windows box has a hard time doing even that. Where as my linux box seems to have little issue with it. [Yes, you can run WOW on linux].

Both PCs need to hit the junk heap, but I need to gather some cash before doing so. I am deciding on either building another box, or buying a mid range laptop [mid range 400 to 500 bucks].
--
Is a person a failure for doing nothing? Or is he a failure for trying, and not succeeding at what he is attempting to do? What did you fail at today?.

reply to El Quintron

quote:

---

I think Steam deserves some serious kudos for creating a platform that really plays to the PC's strenghts.

---

reply to Snakeoil
if you are strapped for cash:

there has to be a real requirement for getting a laptop instead of a desktop... there has to be a real "need" and not a "want"... a need would be "I need it for work" a need would NOT be "I want to be lazy and game on my couch"

for $600 you can build an AMD system with a great graphics card that can play pretty much everthing close to ultra...

adjust your gaming expectations a bit... and you can be all set for the next 5 years and not pay a dime for a game... but don't expect to play games like Crysis 3 on ultra

$600 for 5 years of gaming? no upgrades...sounds good to me...

the free to play games coming are no joke... and you will not have to spend a dime... Firefall, Planetside2, Marvel Heroes, League of Legends, Smite, Blacklight Retribution, World of Tanks, the list goes on FOREVER

and if you really need to splurge you have steam

what have I spent money on besies my system... Guild Wars 2$60... Path of Exile beta early access $10... Firefall early access $20...

besides GW2, I could of waited on the others and just gotten in for free

build a machine for $600... and your next 5 years are on the house.. you can move it to your living room, and hook up hdmi to TV if you REALLY miss the console living room experience

Thing is though, there are very few games that I want to play on the PC.

All I currently play is WOW and minecraft. I'd like to play Rift, and maybe Defiance [though that is hitting the console market as well].
Maybe UO, if I decide to return to it, and Vendetta online, again, if I decide to return to it.

But other then that, there isn't much in the way of new games I'm interested in playing.
I've played with one free to play game, DDO [Dungeons and Dragons Online], I was impressed with it's quality. But then again, my PC "choked' running even it.

As I have tablet devices, I really don't need a laptop. Hence I am thinking that for 300-400 bucks, I could build an updated PC using parts I already have.
Though it'll be a pain in the ass reinstalling Windows Vista [If I were to buy Win 8, my build cost increases]. Or I could just go linux 100%. And there are a handful of games [well more then a handful] that work fine on linux. Plus steam is porting games to linux.
--
Is a person a failure for doing nothing? Or is he a failure for trying, and not succeeding at what he is attempting to do? What did you fail at today?.

we are going to have to take up a collection to get you from 400 to 600 for that new system... its worth it!

want to be overwhelmed with how many F2P games are out there? youtube "mmobomb" and "mmohut"

that is why I said I don't even use steam... maybe steam is helping the F2P market, if it is, then thank you steam!

but you don't even need to touch steam

you can get lost in games like Runes of Magic, Allods, etc...

reply to Snakeoil
Why would you update a pc every year? Get a cpu lasts 3 or 4, gpu 2 or 3. HDD usually 4 or 5 but stuff happens. Heck I know a guy who still uses a 460, sure it cant max out 1080p, but it can play 1080p and decent settings.

Thanks to what I learned with Win Vista, I stopped the upgrade cycle. Vista complained when ever I changed a board. And I would have to reinstall Vista.

But anyhow, to keep "current" the only thing I'd change before buying a new PC would be video card and/or ram.
The video cards in my 2 PCs or 9600GTs.
The amount of ram in both boxes is 2 GB, which is all the mobo will accept.
A mistake I made when purchasing the mobo.

The CPUs are sluggish by todays standards.
One is a Amd Quadccore 9650
The other a dual core Amd 62 X2 3600+

But they did ok for a while, back when they were new.
But the first thing I would have changed would have been the mobo. I would have changed that out for one that would have taken more ram.
Then the video card.
But the cpu I would have left alone.
--
Is a person a failure for doing nothing? Or is he a failure for trying, and not succeeding at what he is attempting to do? What did you fail at today?.