Altered Allegiance

[Brett Alex]

Quite so...
SNIP
That said, its a sad time for the PC gamer - after all, the money isn't with us anymore - its with the Wii and its ilk. Other consoles probably are on the same degree of cash.

Thats kinda the point though... this article is not saying PC gaming is dead or dying, its saying (as you just did) that PC gaming isn't where the money is anymore.

...?!

No, no I didn't. Note the word dying inside a pair of " s.

its saying (as you just did) that PC gaming isn't where the money is anymore.

after all, the money isn't with us anymore

I'm lead to believe that one of us is terribly misunderstood here.

 

[Gunner 51]

I found the transition from PC to console seamless. I admit to having hung up my PC spurs sometime in 2000 and haven't looked back since.

I found that having to pay through the nose for the latest and greatest hardware in addition to games and the nightmare that is Windows was just too much for me. It was all too expensive and I could never get around the buggy mess that was Windows 98.

Consoles didn't need to be upgraded with new hardware every few months - consoles were quick and easy. Even though they suffered somewhat in the graphics department. While I will still remember my PC gaming days fondly, I know that I just can't go back to Operating System Bug Hell.

But these days, I think the PC will ultimately have the last laugh. They may have buggy Operating Systems and need more maintenance than a pneumatic trophy wife - but consoles are fast headed down the constant updates route, too. (RRoD + YLoD + Overpriced DLC.)

In conclusion, people should choose the system they are happy with and respect other people's choices in return. Live and let live, eh?

 

[PlasticTree]

You what I find so curious about this article? Not the whole pc/console stuff, but that if you exchange the words 'PC' with 'Wii' and 'console' for 'xbox and ps3', you pretty much have an article that could be written by 90% of all 'hardcore' Nintendogamers.

 

[Doug]

Quite so...
SNIP
That said, its a sad time for the PC gamer - after all, the money isn't with us anymore - its with the Wii and its ilk. Other consoles probably are on the same degree of cash.

Thats kinda the point though... this article is not saying PC gaming is dead or dying, its saying (as you just did) that PC gaming isn't where the money is anymore.

...?!

No, no I didn't. Note the word dying inside a pair of " s.

its saying (as you just did) that PC gaming isn't where the money is anymore.

after all, the money isn't with us anymore

I'm lead to believe that one of us is terribly misunderstood here.

Saying we're not the focus of all the money anymore is not the same as 'PC gaming is dying'. The PS3 isn't where the bulk of the money is, and yet I'm not saying the PS3 or Sony are dying (though Sony as a whole needs sort itself out and cut down on the losses).

 

[kingcom]

Why I use a PC over my console.

I love RTS, have not played one which is remotely successful on a console.

I love RPGs (by which i mean games which actually allow decision making to take place so that rules out a massive chunk of JRPGS), and all my favourites have been on PC (the only exception were the KoTOR series but PC ports anyway). Dragon Age (i.e. baldurs gate tactical rpg working) is my ideal game, which cannot be pulled off with the limited fluency of a gamepad.

A keyboard provides the tactical flexibility a gamepad cannot. If you love gamepads fine but dont for a second pretend you can achieve everything as easily as a keyboard with its numerous ...well keys. If consoles could somehow fix this problem then it would allow the above to most likely be rectified.

I am not going to pay for a Mod or a new skin or even to SIMPLY USE multiplayer functionality (see how well GFWL did?). PC has always had this for free.

In Australia im paying $120 for a new console or PC game. The difference? On the PC digital distribution via Steam or the like cuts that down to $60-70.

 

[Worsle]

Gamers play games, not consoles

People watch TV programs, not the TV itself.

Play games for the games not for which console they are on.

That to me is exactly the way it should be viewed. On top of everything else, in this day and age consoles are becoming so similar to PC's in their set up that the once clear line between them has changed and become blurry.

I wouldn't get so hung up on what you choose to play on but I would reflect a bit longer on whats actually changing here. Overall though, good topic - nicely written and so on.

Here is the thing, give me a tv and it will play any tv show I like, a console/pc will not. No consoles are more like tv channels (only you are paying a lot more to watch more than one) and people to compare tv channels a lot. Really it is very flawed comparison you guys are doing there, while the games matters it also matters where the games are. Even more so it matters where you make the money you need to found the games you are making, and more and more often it wont be on the pc.

Saying we're not the focus of all the money anymore is not the same as 'PC gaming is dying'. The PS3 isn't where the bulk of the money is, and yet I'm not saying the PS3 or Sony are dying (though Sony as a whole needs sort itself out and cut down on the losses).

There is a difference, the ps3 has more of the money than the pc too. Dying might be an overly dramatic way of saying it but ultimately pc gaming is stagnating and shrinking (or if you wanted to be dramatic, dying). Devs can't afford to pump the same money into pc exclusives that they can for the consoles (except for mmos). Trying to pretend pc gaming is in a healthy position when all it is getting is ports, mmos and the odd rts is not a sensible line to take.

Ok - find me a flight-sim and a good RTS on a console. There's no such thing? That means that there's nothing of interest on consoles for me, so I'll stick with my PC then. Wake me up, when there will be some more complicated console games, because there are only dumbed down no-brainers at the moment.

Or you know fun? This whole pc master race thing is kind of old, making controls complicated is not making a game better. People don't go about making books better by making them harder to read and just giving your self a complex set of controls does not make a game better or even that smart. Most rts are not that smart and while flight sims are complicated you know what? Most people don't want or need a full recreation of a plain the will never fly, it is not dumbing down it is just ignoring the fluff.

 

[Brett Alex]

Saying we're not the focus of all the money anymore is not the same as 'PC gaming is dying'. The PS3 isn't where the bulk of the money is, and yet I'm not saying the PS3 or Sony are dying (though Sony as a whole needs sort itself out and cut down on the losses).

Yes, sorry, for the misunderstanding. I'm not saying PC gaming is dying either. Neither is this article, which is why I was commenting that your picture was inaccurate as a response to it.

I think we're clear now..?

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

PC's are not dying out. They will when the top games that they release (this year, fallout 3 etc...) do not come at ship with a pc version

If anything, the console versions are ports of the PC version! The only games that dont have PC ports are the ones that belong on the consoles, third person shooters, hack n slash, like Uncharted, gears of war, or god of war...Things that play excellent on a console pad

I think that console games will become the cash cows of developers...while they develop technological superiority using the PC platform (look at crysis 2)

I however dont posess the technical knowledge to make a comparison of platforms without getting into a PC fanboy state of mind, I think that PC gaming will stay mainstream as long as developers stop bumming graphics and keep their games playable to the wide audience

 

[gxs]

I have only one problem with consoles and that's the lack of mouse and keyboard and autoaim.
I love to play shooter games but I just can't play them with the pad because it doesn't feel right for me. I like my mouse and keyboard. So I would buy a console (they are cheaper than PC's) but I don't want to give up my mouse and I can't stand autoaim that's in the games just because those blasted pads exist.

I don't think that the gaming pads are bad for everyone but I'm sure that they're not for me.

 

[wildpeaks]

Console are just limited PCs.
Why get both a computer and a console when you can have one machine that does it all ?
If you miss using a pad, get a USB pad.

The day I'm stucked on a console is the day I stop gaming, period.

Both have their perks. Obviously, yeah, the PC does it all and a lot more. But there's something to be said for being able to sit on your couch in your PJs in front of a big TV playing a console.

Well you could just plug your PC to the big TV and use a wireless pad (or wireless keyboard, depending on your preferences), then you can enjoy your PC game from the confort of your couch :-D

 

[wildpeaks]

I don't think that the gaming pads are bad for everyone but I'm sure that they're not for me.

My thought as well.

 

[Superlordbasil]

I have little choice really my preference to strategy games leaves me a PC man as and consul strategy tends to suck or at least be only a shadow of the PC experience also I love mods for my games.

 

[Woodsey]

I don't know

Currently Available


Bioshock
Assassins Creed
Mirror's Edge
Borderlands
Street Fighter 4
Resident Evil 5
Devil May Cry 4
Dead Space
Prince of Persia
Fallout 3
Batman: AA
Team Fortress 2
Left 4 Dead
Grand Theft Auto 4
Race Driver: Grid
F.E.A.R 2
Red Faction: Guerrilla
Need For Speed: Shift
Section 8
[Prototype]

Upcomming

Assassins Creed 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Bioshock 2
Dead rising 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Dragon Age: Origins
Aliens Vs Predator
Crysis 2
Supreme Commander 2
Mafia 2
Max Payne 3
RAGE
Deus Ex 3
All Points Bulletin
Alpha Protocol
Mass Effect 2
Super Street Fighter IV

And thats just counting multiplatform titles so I don't see a particular need to make a console switch over now or even in the future

PC exclusives
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Starcraft 2
Diablo 3
Guild Wars 2
Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising
Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
Torchlight
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Shattered Horizon
Cities XL

I would still say the Golden age of the PC is now

Not to mention huge back catalogues (which console gamers struggle with due to limited or no backwards compatibility).

And this whole thing about the PC being the smallest platform in the market (not in the article but others on here have definitely mentioned it), as far as I'm aware, PC sales form over half the industry, whilst the consoles form share the remaining percentages.

Retail sales may not be as necessarily large but download clients such as Steam and Direct2Drive make up for it.

 

[Baby Tea]

I skimmed through it, saw "Dragon Age", and now I like you. Well done.

I was brought up on PC too, but I was transferred to Xbox too early in my life for me to change my ways now. I still prefer PC for RTS and simulation games, but FPS, RPG and the like are now console exclusive for me.

It's.. a bittersweet feeling.

Yeah, I hear you.
I was raised on PC gaming, since I first typed 'CD wolf3d' in DOS. I saw the enjoyment of Nintendo, but never had a console, until the Xbox came out. I already had a PC gaming rig, and wanted to try something new, so I went for it and got the Xbox.
Then, as time went by, my attention shifted, slowly, to the console over the PC. I still played my favourites (Baldur's Gate, for example) on the PC, as well as specific genres (Like RTS games), but everything else was played on the Xbox.
When the 360 came out, I had to make a choice: Build a new PC, or get a 360.
I only had money for one or the other, and both would step my into the 'next gen' of gaming.
I chose the 360.
And you know what? I'm totally happy with it. There are things I miss about PC gaming, but there are things I don't miss either. I've got a console now that runs the games I play at great detail all the time. No tweaking, no trouble shooting. I like that. I just put it in and play.
Plus I like playing from my couch on my nice TV!

PC gaming still holds a place in my heart (And I still play Baldur's Gate on my netbook!), but I'm a consoler now, and I'm happy with it.

 

[Fasckira]

Here is the thing, give me a tv and it will play any tv show I like, a console/pc will not. No consoles are more like tv channels (only you are paying a lot more to watch more than one) and people to compare tv channels a lot. Really it is very flawed comparison you guys are doing there, while the games matters it also matters where the games are. Even more so it matters where you make the money you need to found the games you are making, and more and more often it wont be on the pc.

Sorry, you're kind of reading too much into the post which is why you're seeing it as flawed. The point I was making is that the simple action of playing a game makes you a gamer, not specifically the games you play. Just because you switch to console to play a different game doesnt make you anymore or less of a gamer, just means you're using a console, do you see what I mean?

 

[MiodekPL]

Ok - find me a flight-sim and a good RTS on a console. There's no such thing? That means that there's nothing of interest on consoles for me, so I'll stick with my PC then. Wake me up, when there will be some more complicated console games, because there are only dumbed down no-brainers at the moment.

Or you know fun? This whole pc master race thing is kind of old, making controls complicated is not making a game better. People don't go about making books better by making them harder to read and just giving your self a complex set of controls does not make a game better or even that smart. Most rts are not that smart and while flight sims are complicated you know what? Most people don't want or need a full recreation of a plain the will never fly, it is not dumbing down it is just ignoring the fluff.

It's not like that. I really like complicated stuff like flight sims. Actually, simplifying a helicopter controls is making things worse for me. And I don't think I'm better in any way (nor I said that), so it's only your martyr's thinking. Never said that I'm better because I can memorize a hundred controls for a flight sim, or command units in StarCraft. It's what you said. So stop whining, and have fun with your games, while I have fun with mine ok? And don't say that your games are worse (maybe they are, but I probably haven't played them), just because they're simpler.

 

[odisious15]

Everyone mentioning how they don't want to be tied down to a 20 inch monitor when the could be playing their console on a 50 inch LCD should spend $5 on a DVI to HDMI cable and hook there pc up to said tv and either download the software to use the ps3 or 360 controller with the pc and download xpadder and spend 5 minutes setting things up so you can enjoy your pc just like you do a console; it's not hard at all, in fact I've typed this whole post sitting on my couch across from my 47" lcd in the living room. So you in fact can leave the "man cave" and join the rest of the family without much difficulty.

 

[shadow skill]

Everyone mentioning how they don't want to be tied down to a 20 inch monitor when the could be playing their console on a 50 inch LCD should spend $5 on a DVI to HDMI cable and hook there pc up to said tv and either download the software to use the ps3 or 360 controller with the pc and download xpadder and spend 5 minutes setting things up so you can enjoy your pc just like you do a console; it's not hard at all, in fact I've typed this whole post sitting on my couch across from my 47" lcd in the living room. So you in fact can leave the "man cave" and join the rest of the family without much difficulty.

True but I have found that simply doing that does not fix the fact that the game interface probably will not lend itself to pad play. What you have to do in order to get the best experience on a pad is a bit more involved than simply using a program like Xpadder. Even in games that do support pads like HL2:episode 1 I find that even after you set everything up it still does not even work right in the most basic sense. I do imagine that this has improved lately however though I am still skeptical.

 

[theSovietConnection]

This thread is ridiculuos

Gamers play games, not consoles

People watch TV programs, not the TV itself.

Play games for the games not for which console they are on. There's no need to say certain games with a 90 metacritic rating are crap because they are simply on another console.

Just pick one that is suitable to your budget, if you have a lot of money, buy everything, if not pick one and stick with it

This sums up my view quite nicely. Why is it we must identify ourselves as a ____ gamer? Why are we not content just being gamers? I own both a console (PS3) and a laptop that is more then adequate at running games. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The console allows me to just throw in a game and play it for a little while while waiting for an appointment, or for dinner to finish cooking. It also allows me to jump right into the game without having to sit through an installation screen (most of the time), letting me jump right into some delicious delicious gaming.

PCs, on the other hand, allow me greater control over certain aspects of the game, such as graphics, soundtracks, and greater customization of controls. I can also take a game which may feel incomplete (Fallout 3, for example) and find mods that help make the game feel more like a finished product (which, come to think of it, may or may not be a pro, as in the end I'm still buying an unfinished product, which is never a good thing). It also allows a greater degree of control over my most beloved genre, the RTS.

The day I class myself as either a console or PC gamer is the day I hang up my mouse and pad, and shut down my computer for good.

 

[Mira Star]

Mouse and Keyboard is not better. For some maybe, but not everyone. Mouse and Keyboard are akward for me, but a contoller is natural. Maybe its better when you over-dose on needed buttons, but for all my life consoles have had enough buttons. PC may be better ultimatly, but at what cost? About a few console's price tags worth. I also can just pop my game into a console and play. No downloading, no super long updates. Console is best for those who just want to play. To make PC superior, it requires alot of money, and alot of time, and alot of know-how.

I do not desire PC gamers to submit to consoles, just respect them and why people like them.