265: Punching the Baby Seal of PC Gaming
- Thread starter Chuck Wendig
- Start date
To be honest, this was one of the most disappointing articles I have ever read on the Escapist. When I first saw the title, I was expecting an in-depth examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the PC as a gaming platform or at least something as constructive as the other articles in this weekly issue. What we got instead, however, was just a random rant about the issues that the author encountered while trying to play games on his PC, all the while completely ignoring the fact that his experience isn't reflective of PC gaming as a whole nor mentioning the limitations and compromises consoles have to make as a tradeoff for their "stability" (although even that is put into question, given the Xbox 360's many technical difficulties).
I understand that it wasn't the author's intention to make a one-sided potrayal of the subject matter...but he went on about it in the worst possible way. As a result, someone considering playing games on a PC might stumble on this article and judge PC gaming entirely based off of this article, instead of getting the entire picture and then weighting out the pros and cons based on their own personal preference.
I am sorry, but this is one of the worst articles I have ever read on the Escapist so far and I am suprised the administration green-lighted an article with so little substance. I would hardly consider myself an expert and I think even I could have done a much better job. A potentially good article gone to waste...
I understand that it wasn't the author's intention to make a one-sided potrayal of the subject matter...but he went on about it in the worst possible way. As a result, someone considering playing games on a PC might stumble on this article and judge PC gaming entirely based off of this article, instead of getting the entire picture and then weighting out the pros and cons based on their own personal preference.
I am sorry, but this is one of the worst articles I have ever read on the Escapist so far and I am suprised the administration green-lighted an article with so little substance. I would hardly consider myself an expert and I think even I could have done a much better job. A potentially good article gone to waste...
Veterinari, that's why I play PC games.
That, and mods.
And I can tell the pixels apart perfectly fine on my 1280x1024 screen. Not that it matters. L4D2 works great and runs great. BFBC2 looks great with the occasional black flicker, but never crashes. Global Agenda will have the occasional hiccup during a loadscreen but it still runs great. I only paid 150 for my graphics card too. Pretty cheap considering what some of them can go for. And that was nine months ago! It runs great because I did my research and read the reviews for it. Or I could have had a terd that was known for crashing every 10 minutes and arriving DOA half the time for 50. But it's still a GTS250.
That, and mods.
Aye. You're making it hard for me to keep professional. It's not about the number of pixels. That is the screen resolution, nothing more. One of the biggest reasons PC gamers buy new video cards every few years is the combination of a higher polygon count in models, the resolution of the textures (which, by god adds up fast), and the ever important lighting systems. We'll probably see multi-layer shaders sometime in the future as a standard. Sure, game companies are getting smarter and making what does appear on the screen look better without using more resources, but some PC gamers like turning the settings on max and ending up with something like a cinema quality experience. Like Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Additionally, PC's only have been able to surpass console's specs for only a few years now.Pugiron said:
And I can tell the pixels apart perfectly fine on my 1280x1024 screen. Not that it matters. L4D2 works great and runs great. BFBC2 looks great with the occasional black flicker, but never crashes. Global Agenda will have the occasional hiccup during a loadscreen but it still runs great. I only paid 150 for my graphics card too. Pretty cheap considering what some of them can go for. And that was nine months ago! It runs great because I did my research and read the reviews for it. Or I could have had a terd that was known for crashing every 10 minutes and arriving DOA half the time for 50. But it's still a GTS250.
Got an old PC? well you in luck, thanks to new technology you to can play some of the newest games with awesome graphic setting, all you need is a good internet connection. I play Assassin's Creed 2 and Splinter Cell conviction on my netbook thanks to OnLive.
ITT: A bunch of insecure PC Gamers assault someone making a very valid point because they're too busy trying to defend their medium to read between the lines.
That said, it's a fairly good article, and does a good job of illustrating the very reason by PC gaming has been on the decline these past few years. Simply put, PCs are finicky. Unless you have the patience and know-how to deal with the temperament of the modern PC, it's far easier to just buy an X-Box, plug it into the wall, plug it into your TV, and then just be done with it.
I'm seeing all these posts about "Oh you just need to", and all I can think when I read them is how much the poster is completely missing the point of this. The point isn't PC gaming needs to go away, and the point isn't him making a lengthy tech support request. The point is dealing with a PC through the eyes of the average consumer. Of course there are solutions to his problem, and of course you could probably have fixed them were you in his shoes, but the point is that he doesn't know about these fixes, and you aren't in his shoes.
To make matters worse, PC gamers are notoriously hostile about offering help. I'm sure there are communities out there where people are happy to offer help, but more often than not when you ask for any sort of tech help on a gaming forum, the only reply you get is along the lines of "If you don't know how to fix it, then you shouldn't be gaming on a PC". Escapist is generally friendly about it, granted, but this also isn't the only place I've asked for tech help when having an issue with a game, and it probably isn't the first stop for most people.
Over-all, very good article, and definitely the kind of thing that PC Hardware developers need to take to heart. Unless you get a pre-made computer (and most avid PC gamers will tell you it's better to build your own), it's far more complicated than it should be to build a gaming-level PC. Some of you might ask why this is the hardware developer's problem, and the answer is simply this: If PC gaming ever dwindles the point where software developers stop publishing for the PC, then a LOT of companies will go out of business when video cards and high-performance CPUs are no longer purchased by gamers who can no longer game on their PC.
If PC gaming is ever going to see a return to the old glory days, the first step is making the hardware more user-(and cost-)friendly. As long as consoles are far easier to set up, and generally cost the same as a single component for a PC, then PC gaming will always be the underdog.
I am Shiro, and I am a devoted PC gamer. I don't even own a 360 or a PS3. Keep that in mind when typing-up the knee-jerk "you're just an anti-PC console player" post that I know you're itching to post. ;P
That said, it's a fairly good article, and does a good job of illustrating the very reason by PC gaming has been on the decline these past few years. Simply put, PCs are finicky. Unless you have the patience and know-how to deal with the temperament of the modern PC, it's far easier to just buy an X-Box, plug it into the wall, plug it into your TV, and then just be done with it.
I'm seeing all these posts about "Oh you just need to", and all I can think when I read them is how much the poster is completely missing the point of this. The point isn't PC gaming needs to go away, and the point isn't him making a lengthy tech support request. The point is dealing with a PC through the eyes of the average consumer. Of course there are solutions to his problem, and of course you could probably have fixed them were you in his shoes, but the point is that he doesn't know about these fixes, and you aren't in his shoes.
To make matters worse, PC gamers are notoriously hostile about offering help. I'm sure there are communities out there where people are happy to offer help, but more often than not when you ask for any sort of tech help on a gaming forum, the only reply you get is along the lines of "If you don't know how to fix it, then you shouldn't be gaming on a PC". Escapist is generally friendly about it, granted, but this also isn't the only place I've asked for tech help when having an issue with a game, and it probably isn't the first stop for most people.
Over-all, very good article, and definitely the kind of thing that PC Hardware developers need to take to heart. Unless you get a pre-made computer (and most avid PC gamers will tell you it's better to build your own), it's far more complicated than it should be to build a gaming-level PC. Some of you might ask why this is the hardware developer's problem, and the answer is simply this: If PC gaming ever dwindles the point where software developers stop publishing for the PC, then a LOT of companies will go out of business when video cards and high-performance CPUs are no longer purchased by gamers who can no longer game on their PC.
If PC gaming is ever going to see a return to the old glory days, the first step is making the hardware more user-(and cost-)friendly. As long as consoles are far easier to set up, and generally cost the same as a single component for a PC, then PC gaming will always be the underdog.
I am Shiro, and I am a devoted PC gamer. I don't even own a 360 or a PS3. Keep that in mind when typing-up the knee-jerk "you're just an anti-PC console player" post that I know you're itching to post. ;P
I bashed my own median just as well as I defended it. On the page before this. More specifically, I bashed my last gaming PC and gave my current one a great deal of praise. I know why it works. The OS on this one isn't defective and the components were tediously picked. I understand most people don't have time to shop on Newegg for 20 hours looking for good parts for a good deal. And really, people are, from the couple pages I read, defending consoles and bashing PCs just as rampantly as the people defending PCs and bashing everything else.
I already stated why I play the PC... kinda. I left out the ability to alt tab and do whatever while a game's running and the fact that I just like something I can tinker with. Add to that that I've had years of experience with it, and you got yourself a pretty hefty bias. When I was little, I thought playing games on the computer was for losers. Then I tried it. I guess I got lucky.
If I might add, the PC market may be dwindling, but it will never die. Games are developed on the PC. With the exception of a few engines, most of them will also run on a PC without much effort. Unless the original game was a PS3 exclusive, and not even then thanks to automated multicore cooking and automatically porting engines, porting a game to the PC is relatively effortless. If developers can even sell ten copies of the game, the chances are they'll put it on Steam and let whatever profit they can roll in.
Also, this is quite the controversial topic. I do agree that there are heavy biases on each side, some of them completely aggressive, but the massive amounts of rage seeping from the original poster's article is what ignited the while aggressive attitude on this discussion in the first place. I'm sorry, but unless you want a barrage of angry posts saying how stupid you are, you don't insult your audience, let alone indirectly threaten. I don't care how mad you are, because neither will the people that write the backlash. Lets not forget that this is the PC community that he, whether he knew it or not, vented his rage at. Maybe what he said wasn't directed at the PC users as a whole, but that's not how the text reads to all non-narcissists.
I already stated why I play the PC... kinda. I left out the ability to alt tab and do whatever while a game's running and the fact that I just like something I can tinker with. Add to that that I've had years of experience with it, and you got yourself a pretty hefty bias. When I was little, I thought playing games on the computer was for losers. Then I tried it. I guess I got lucky.
If I might add, the PC market may be dwindling, but it will never die. Games are developed on the PC. With the exception of a few engines, most of them will also run on a PC without much effort. Unless the original game was a PS3 exclusive, and not even then thanks to automated multicore cooking and automatically porting engines, porting a game to the PC is relatively effortless. If developers can even sell ten copies of the game, the chances are they'll put it on Steam and let whatever profit they can roll in.
Also, this is quite the controversial topic. I do agree that there are heavy biases on each side, some of them completely aggressive, but the massive amounts of rage seeping from the original poster's article is what ignited the while aggressive attitude on this discussion in the first place. I'm sorry, but unless you want a barrage of angry posts saying how stupid you are, you don't insult your audience, let alone indirectly threaten. I don't care how mad you are, because neither will the people that write the backlash. Lets not forget that this is the PC community that he, whether he knew it or not, vented his rage at. Maybe what he said wasn't directed at the PC users as a whole, but that's not how the text reads to all non-narcissists.
I consigned my PC to the basement about a month ago when it refused to turn on. I love the extra space this has created on my desk.
Seriously, all platforms have their issues, but my experience with PC gaming is just that it required too much money and time to make the experience enjoyable. Actually I really hope that some developers start pitching games with Mac compatibility, like Blizzard have been doing for over a decade, because I find console controllers limiting and frustrating, so it would be nice to have a keyboard/mice compatible platform where you can be reasonably sure that if you pick up and install the game it will WORK.
NB: I don't want to hear any responses calling me a Mactard or whatever. No one's insulting you personally by expressing that something doesn't work for them and they would prefer to try something else.
Seriously, all platforms have their issues, but my experience with PC gaming is just that it required too much money and time to make the experience enjoyable. Actually I really hope that some developers start pitching games with Mac compatibility, like Blizzard have been doing for over a decade, because I find console controllers limiting and frustrating, so it would be nice to have a keyboard/mice compatible platform where you can be reasonably sure that if you pick up and install the game it will WORK.
NB: I don't want to hear any responses calling me a Mactard or whatever. No one's insulting you personally by expressing that something doesn't work for them and they would prefer to try something else.
Damn right.TOGSolid said:
I often wonder how other people's PCs can go wrong so much. Either I'm just that good, my PC is a raging god-machine, or other people are that bad.
Sadly, it's usually the last of those. Sometimes the second. This PC soldiers on though everything I do.
I pity the poor folks who work in IT and deal with that every day.
whats with the "When PC Gaming Is More Trouble Than It's Worth" article? Comments are disabled and it looks like half a article, was it meant to be posted?
Unless you get one with the right video chipset, laptops are not that great to game on unless your doing 5 year+ old gameing. You can however buy one that can run newer games but the price of it is crazy. A PC is easier to upgrade to the times,even more so if you have a ATX case you can slap a 100$ mobo/CPU combo in it once every 5ish years so you can upgrade the rest of it as needed.tmujir955 said:
This whole thread is bullshit, because technical issues occur on consoles as much as they occur on PC's. I didn't have any issues with my PC until it slowed down when overloaded it with stuff, but that's just me being lazy and not deleting stuff that I didn't use.
The only reasons why I prefer playing on my PC are these-
1.Mouse+Keyboard (gaming with a controller feels weird to me, kind of robotic, especially because I play FPS games most of the time)
2.I can tinker with my games in whatever way I want (trainers, easy patches, mods & all that stuff)
3. AMAZING steam sales (seriously, did you see the latest summer sales? fucking 75% off FTW)
That's all.
The only reasons why I prefer playing on my PC are these-
1.Mouse+Keyboard (gaming with a controller feels weird to me, kind of robotic, especially because I play FPS games most of the time)
2.I can tinker with my games in whatever way I want (trainers, easy patches, mods & all that stuff)
3. AMAZING steam sales (seriously, did you see the latest summer sales? fucking 75% off FTW)
That's all.
You just articulated the problem very nicely. When a PC has problems, it's assumed to be your fault for not cleaning up, or installing too much stuff, or not installing the right stuff, et cetera. And then sometimes it breaks anyway, because of a hardware incompatibility or outdated drivers. And if you don't always do these yourself, think how powerless a novice user must feel! No one ever told her about "outdated drivers."Dr_Steve_Brule said:
When a console has problems, either the power is out, the network is down, or the machine overheated. At all other times, I start the game and it just works. Microsoft doesn't expect you to choose the install directory, download the patch, and uninstall the toolbar they added when you weren't looking.
That may be, but as he said he doesn't want to have to do that, so just deal with it.ShrooM_DoughKiD said: